Mirror Neurons Essay Example for Free

Mirror Neurons Essay The sight of a strangers foot getting hammered induces an instant surge of sympathy within us. Watching a friend nauseate after eating something repulsive quickly causes our own stomachs to turn. This ability to understand and relate to another individuals internal state has provided great motivation for research. One source of explanation arose from research on mirror neurons-which fire both during execution and observation of a behaviour (Rizzollati Arbib, 1998). This particular class of neurons plays a crucial function in human social interactions. The importance of the mirror neuron system (MNS) for communication can be understood through its influence on nonverbal communication including facial expressions and hand gestures and verbal language. Furthermore, disorders affecting human communication-such as autism and schizophrenia-convey the impression of stemming from a malfunctioning MNS. Generally, human social interaction involves both verbal and nonverbal forms of communication. Obvious examples of nonverbal communication are facial expressions and hand gestures. A recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study by Montgomery and Haxby (2008) found evidence supporting the claim that the MNS contains distinct representations for facial expressions and hand gestures. Particularly, this study examined the inferior parietal lobule and the frontal operculum as the potential MNS brain regions involved in nonverbal communication. Further evidence comes from another fMRI study by Montgomery, Isenberg and Haxby (2007)-which demonstrated the activation of the MNS during hand movements used to manipulate objects and hand gestures used to communicate. A third fMRI study by Van, Minderaa and Keysers (2007) highlighted similar results by examining other putative MNS brain regions-inferior frontal gyrus, posterior parietal cortex, insula and amygdala-thought to be associated with facial expressions. Activity spontaneously increased in the MNS of participants that produced and observed certain facial expressions (Van et al., 2007). A study by Enticott, Johnston, Herring, Hoy, and Fitzgerald (2008) demonstrated an associations between mirror neurons and facial emotion processing. Instead of using fMRI as a method of analysis, Enticott and colleagues (2008) used the transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) technique. In brief, much evidence supporting the involvement of the MNS in the processes of facial expression and hand gesture exists. Such forms of communication form the basis for the later, more complex, verbal language development. Taking this thought further, verbal language also seems to be linked to the MNS. Firstly, Rizzollati et al. (1998) marked the discovery of mirror neurons in the F5 area within the monkeys’ frontal cortex. This primate-specific F5 area has been considered to be the homolog of the human Broca’s area, which is a region crucial for language (Rizzollati et al., 1998). With this in mind, Horwitz et al. (2003) demonstrated that both spoken and signed language are associated with mirror neurons firing in Broca’s area as a result of the production of language. In addition, an fMRI study by Aziz-Zadeh, Wilson, Rizzollati, and Lacoboni (2006) made evident that the MNS of the premotor cortex is activated both when participants observed mouth, hand and foot movements and when participants read phrases related to these body parts. Overall, these findings suggest that indeed the MNS influences verbal language. Moreover, another way of understanding the importance of the mirror neurons’ influence on human social interaction is by considering the consequences of a malfunctioning system. Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by social and language impairments. In other words, individuals with autism tend to be less interactive when it comes to communicating with others. Part of the MNS-the posterior inferior frontal and rostral inferior parietal areas are affiliated with social behaviour and imitative learning; however these areas have deficits in autistic individuals (Locoboni Mazziotta, 2007). In one study individuals with autism spectrum disorder showed significantly different electroencephalography (EEG) recordings of mirror neurons compared to a control group consisting of healthy individuals (Oberman, Hubbard, McCleery, Altschular, Ramachandran, Pineda, 2005). Similarly, schizophrenia is another disorder characterized by deficits in social communication, especially of the nonverbal type. Research by Kato Y., Muramatsu, Kato M., Shibukawa, Shintani, and Mimura (2011) using magnetoencephalography recordings on the right inferior parietal cortex showed atypical mirror neuron activity in non-treated schizophrenia patients. Likewise, similar results were found in a study that tested mirror neuron activity using TMS,; it was demonstrated that during action observation a reduction in motor facilitation occurs in schizophrenia patients (Enticott, Hoy, Herring, Johnston, Daskalakis, Fitgerald, 2008). Clearly, communication impairments observed in individuals with autism and schizophrenia are influenced by the MNS. In conclusion, human social interaction is influenced by mirror neurons. Evidence supports this statement through research done on the involvement of the MNS in nonverbal communication, including facial expressions and hand gestures and verbal language. Research has also suggested that an impaired MNS negatively affects social interaction, which is exemplified in the cases of autism and schizophrenia. Taken as a whole, combining mirror neurons’ role in imitative behaviour and social interaction-the process through which humans possibly acquire new social knowledge becomes evident. Additionally, the presence of mirror neurons in primates as well as humans provide evidence for the development of social interaction over the course of evolution. Thus, in order to further strengthen their existing relationship, future research should examine the co-evolution of mirror neurons and social interaction.

biography of Arthur Ashe jr. :: essays research papers

Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. is a man of trust, courage, grace and honor. Although many of these attriobutes I share with Arthur, his high level of moral values and self reliance I aspire to achieve. Arthur was of African American decent and being born on July 10, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia he had to face many racial struggles and hardships. On the contrary, I was born and raised in somerset, New Jersey, in the 1990’s so my racial struggles were close to non-existent. Being of Italian- American decent, if I had lived in the time of Arthur Ashe I still would not have faced racial struggles as greatly as African Americans did in that time. Arthur was the first born just as I was, except he was the first and only while I on the other hand have three siblings. We were both born into extremely loving and caring families. Arthur was raised by extremely strict parents and was not even allowed to go out after school or hang out with friends as I do occasionally. His father just like my parents set goals for self-reliance, discipline and responsibility. Because of those goals Arthur began to take great pride in his reputation. I also feel as if I’m always being judged. We have both been called â€Å"quiet† people but Arthur eventually grows out of that and my parents tell me I’m beginning to do the same. Both of our parents, to our displeasure, force us to do our numerous chores before anything else. The difference lies within the punishment for disobeying our parents wishes. The so called â€Å"beatings† that Arthur received in his time were nothing unordinary yet if those beatings were to occur t oday they would be seen as wrong and inhumane. Despite the differences we share many similar diversions such as good quality time with our families. Arthur was known to spend countless hours reading and listening to music with his mom. Yet at the age of 6 Arthur had to face one of the most traumatic expierences of his life when he lost his mother, Matti Ashe, to a fatal case of toxemia while in labor. Similar to this experience I lost my grandfather at the age of five. Although I was impacted greatly it was not a loss as great as Arthurs loss of a loving mother. I Can recall the day it happened just as well as Arthur recalled the details of when he last saw his mother.

Geography Coursework – Merry Hill

Course Work Aims: The aim of my course work is to investigate if three shopping centres in the west midlands can be placed into shopping hierarchies. Hypothesis: My hypothesis is that * Merry hill will have a bigger sphere of influence than Kidderminster and Dudley * Merry hill will have a better environment than Kidderminster and Dudley * Merry hill will have more comparison shops than Kidderminster and Dudley Justification of hypothesis: I predict that the settlements will fit in the following hierarchy. First Prediction: People will travel farther – I predict that Merry Hill will be at the top of the hierarchy because it is more accessible (roads, bus routes, railway links and motorway), it contains better facilities (shops, restaurants, car parks), it will also have high order goods. As Merry Hill contains all of the following, it will be at the top of the hierarchy. I predict that Dudley will be at the bottom of the hierarchy because it is less accessible than Merry Hill and Kidderminster, it has low quality facilities compared to Merry Hill and Kidderminster and it mainly supplies low order goods. To prove this I will collect car registrations and shopper surveys. Second prediction: Environment Quality – I predict that Merry Hill will have the highest quality of environment because it is undercover, there is no litter and it has good air conditioning, weather doesn't affect the shoppers, there are lots of bins, greenery all around the car park, CCTV, guards and cleaners o clean up the area so everything is very hygienic. I predict that the environment with the lowest environmental quality will be Dudley because there isn't any cover as it is outdoors, litter everywhere, no air conditioning, and no bins, not a lot of greenery, no CCTV and no guards. To prove this I will carry out an environmental survey. Third Prediction: Tourists and Comparison Shops – I predict that Merry Hill will have the most tourists and comparison shops because the large number of shops means that there will be a wider range of shops to compare and also as most shops sell high order goods, they are well known and this will help attract tourists. I predict that Dudley will have few comparison and convenience stores because it's a small shopping centre, which means that there will be fewer shops meaning you will have less shops to compare. To prove this I will carry out a shop survey, listing all the shops each settlement consists of. Geographical Information: Shopping habits have changed due to the new technology and, the higher prices of products having been introduced, meaning more and more people are likely to compare prices in different shops before buying anything, whereas before all prices were rather similar. More shops have also been introduced, which has also caused shopping habits to change. In the future shopping hierarchies may have totally changed. There is a possibility that the smaller shopping centres may slowly start to increase moving higher in the hierarchy. Also larger shopping centres may slowly deteriorate especially as there are so many shops all around that are closing down. The advantages of out of town shopping centres are: * Firstly, the shopping centres have a lot of comparison shops, so shoppers can buy the cheapest product. * As there are more shops in one area shoppers have a larger variety of products to choose from, so there are bound to be a larger number of comparison shops. * Another advantage of having an out of town shopping centre is that people are likely to go there and it increases tourism. The disadvantages of out of town shopping centre: * Firstly out of town shopping centres increase traffic jams as there is an increasing of traffic * Out of town shopping centres increase the level of noise pollution on the road * Next out of town shopping centres allow more congestion on the road * Lastly, out of town shopping centres increase pollution on a whole and also contribute majorly to global warming Methods of data collection: Data was collected over a period of two days. On the first day, we visited Kidderminster (Old and New). On the second day we visited Merry Hill and Dudley. We worked in a group of three or more because then we would be able to get other people's opinions and so we can collect data faster, before time runs out. Primary Data: We recorded 50 car registrations for each area to work out how far people had travelled to come to these shopping centres. This data was collected in order to work out where the cars had been registered to give us some idea as to the sphere of influence of each settlement. At each location we completed 5 environmental surveys to access the quality of the environment. This was done by scoring the environment on a number of indi9cators on a sliding scale from (o-5), with 0 being poor and 5 being excellent. The surveys were taken at roughly equal spacing in each settlement and marked clearly on the map. The scores were our own personal feeling of the environment and may have been skewed by bad weather conditions and time of day i.e. rush hour. We listed all of the shops recording if they were comparison or convenience shops. We collected this data because it gave us an idea of whether the shops were mainly sold high or low order goods and it helped show us the sphere of influence of the location. Secondary Data: To support my primary data I collected background information for each settlement from the internet, I looked at bus routes for each settlement which would show the accessibility of the areas, I looked at maps of each area o show the size of each area and I collected data on the history of each settlement.

Ambition Determines the Fate of Characters in...

Ambition Determines the Fate of Characters in Shakespeares MacBeth What a person craves for herself often determines her fate. The ambition of three characters in the play MacBeth was a key factor in the outcome of their fate, MacBeths ambition for the throne of Scotland, Lady Macbeths ambition for her husband to have power, and Banquos lack of ambition for himself. These intentions all determined the fate of these characters, as well as the outcome of the play. Being named Thane of Cawdor after absorbing the three witches prophesies prompted MacBeths sole ambition to have the throne of Scotland for himself. MacBeth is somewhat uneasy to the fact that he feels that he wants fate alone to hand him the throne, rather than†¦show more content†¦This happens because of MacBeths ambition for the throne, an ambition that he will do anything in order to behold. Lady MacBeth wants MacBeth to be a great and powerful man. She loves MacBeth, and her only ambition is to help him gain the throne of Scotland. She craves this to the extent that she pleads to all of the evil spirits to replace her nourishment with ruthlessness. Lady MacBeth thinks that MacBeth will be less of a person if he does not steal the Scottish throne. She late dubs him a coward for not wanting to carry out their murder plan. (Was the hope drunk Wherein you dresss yourself? hath it slept since? And wakes in now, to look so green and pale At what it did so freely? From this time Such I account thy love, art thou afraid To be the same in thy own act and valour As though art in desire? Wouldst thou have that which thou esteemt the ornament of life, And live a coward in thire own esteem,.... Act 1, Scene 7, lines 38-46) The ambitions of Banquo are much more simple and paradox than that of MacBeth and Lady MacBeth. Though Banquo was curious when it concerned the witches prophesy, he was reluctant to believe it. 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