mirror neuron

A neuron that fires both when an organism acts and when the organism observes the same action performed by another. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of the other, as though the observer were itself acting.

They have been directly observed in humans and primate species, rodents, and birds.
In humans, brain activities of mirror neurons have been found in the premotor cortex, supplementary motor area, primary somatosensory cortex, and inferior parietal cortex.
Females may exhibits stronger motor resonance and enhanced empathetic ability than males.

The mirror neuron system (MNS) may simulate observed actions, and thus contribute to theory of mind skills, while others relate to language abilities.
It develops before 12 months of age and helps understand the actions and intentions of other people. In addition, it contributes to the neural basis of the human capacity for emotions such as empathy.
It is trained through Hebbian or associative learning.

(Possible functions)
• understanding intentions
• learning facilitation
• empathy
• human self awareness
• language
• motor mimicry
• automatic imitation
• theory of mind: The ability to infer another person's mental state (i.e. beliefs and desires) from experiences or the behaviour.

(Disorders due to dysfunction of the MNS)
• sleep paralysis: Prone to hallucinations of human-like shadowy beings.
• autism, psychosis: Mu-wave suppression is observed. Autism is a disorder that is associated with social and communicative deficits, not understanding other individuals' intentions and goals.
• schizophrenia