Associative learning alone is insufficient for the evolution and maintenance of the human mirror neuron system.
Cook et al. argue that mirror neurons originate from associative learning processes, without evolutionary influence from social-cognitive mechanisms. We disagree with this claim and present arguments based upon cross-species comparisons, EEG findings, and developmental neuroscience that the evolution of mirror neurons is most likely driven simultaneously and interactively by evolutionarily adaptive psychological mechanisms and lower-level biological mechanisms that support them.
Department of Neurology, Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, and Division of Cognitive Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215. loberman@bidmc.harvard.edu http://www.tmslab.org.
Lindsay M
LM
Oberman
Department of Educational Psychology and Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705. emhubbard@wisc.edu http://website.education.wisc.edu/edneurolab.
Edward M
EM
Hubbard
School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom. j.p.mccleery@bham.ac.uk http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/psychology/mcCleery-joe.aspx.
Joseph P
JP
McCleery
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D059167:Mirror Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D012938:Social Perception