Introduction to Psychology 10th Edition by Rod Plotnik,Haig Kouyoumdjian

Exercise 16

Mirrors in Your Brain?
When we see someone yawn, we yawn too. When we watch a spider crawl up someone's leg, we get creepy sensations on our leg. When we see someone in danger, we experience a wave of fear. When we see someone's arm get jabbed with a sharp needle, the muscles in our arms tense up and our breathing intensifies. When we watch our favorite Olympic athlete near the finish line to win first place, our heart races with excitement. How can simply observing others lead us to experience such intense responses so similar to those experienced by the people we are observing? The answer is found in our brain cells. A type of neuron, called a mirror neuron, helps explain how we effortlessly "read" other people's minds and empathize with them?feel what they do. Mirror neurons automatically put us in somebody else's shoes. Not convinced? Consider brain scan research that finds that romantic partners who observe loved ones in pain show similar activity in their emotional brain areas as that experienced by the loved ones. It turns out that when we empathize with someone's pain, on some level we actually feel pain! One fascinating characteristic of mirror neurons is that they are the only brain cells that are activated the same way whether we are "seeing" or "doing." These special neurons mirror what the other person is doing. For instance, when we see someone smiling, our mirror neurons for smiling get activated, which triggers neural activity leading to feelings associated with smiling, such as happiness. In other words, we get all the benefits of smiling without making even the slightest movement of our lips! Mirror neurons also help us understand someone's intentions. They get activated when we watch someone do something, which helps us predict what their goal is and what they may do next. For example, if you see a boy begin to reach for candy on the counter in front of him, you have a copy of what he is doing in your brain, which helps you to understand his goal (getting the candy).
Research on mirror neurons is still in its infancy, and much has yet to be learned. But, for now, those of us who are embarrassed by our free-flowing tears during dramatic scenes in television programs, movies, and, yes, sometimes even commercials should be relieved to know that the emotions we experience may be out of our control; that is, we may not be able to contain our tears after all.
Question
How might mirror neurons explain the social problems of people with autism?