Mirror Neuron Summary

Overy and Molnar-Szakacs look at the influence of mirror neurons in the realm of music therapy. They do this through looking people’s emotional responses to music via the Shared Affective Motion Experience (SAME) model. In terms of music, previous research showed that neurons “with mirror properties” in the premotor cortex and parietal area fire when a person is performing music and when someone is watching another person perform. The SAME model looks at how the musical sound interacts with various areas of the brain such as the temporal cortex, limbic system, and the frontoparietal mirror neuron system. The authors allude to the fact that music is not just enjoyable for people to listen to on an auditory level, but when people listen to music

One-way people can find emotional regulation is through movement. While the mirror neurons are still not fully understood it is found that mirror neurons help with “embodied simulation.” Meaning, it allows the observer to have the same simulation within them as those who they are observing. This helps to construct emotional empathy. In dance/movement therapy, clients are supported to use movement to express themselves or work through a conflict in their life. The movement they engage in allow for certain emotional responses to occur which provides the space for the client to identify their emotion and process their feelings. Dance/movement therapists can also encourage and support their client to try different movement patterns to help challenge them, which in return may help them access new feelings. Motor mirroring is a technique often used in dance/movement therapy sessions to help the client feel validated and accepted for where they are. It also allows the therapist to build empathy and begin to understand the client. Motor observation also is used as part of the therapy process, which is due to the mirror neurons. Observing a client’s movement while paying

However, it is noted that movement execution allows for more crystallization of feelings experienced than just observation. It is also said that the mirror neuron system is “plastic” and can change through sensorimotor learning. Engaging in movements outside of one’s movement repertoire can help people with understanding feelings that may come up when they engage in new movements. Also, the mirror system plays a more active role when people observe movements that are in their own repertoire as opposed to new movements. This suggests the more personal connection people have towards a movement, the more they can associate it with an emotion. As a whole, the mirror neuron system is an important player in terms of mirroring clients and starting to meet where they are at, on an emotional level.Winters first examined previous studies and found that overall looking at how embodying certain postures can elicit affective states, witnessing others in affective states and make one feel the same way, and people experience the same process on a neurological level regardless if they are observing or embodying. The goal of this study was to see if either embodying or observing