The neurons of the brain not only directly organize our movements, but also model them. Already children can solve problems not only through direct action with objects, but also with the help of imagination, only imagining certain actions with them. It is clear that you can imagine not only your own actions, but also other people’s actions, especially when you see them directly in front of you.
In 1996, the Italian scientist Giacomo Risolatti was able to «catch» this phenomenon at the level of brain activity of neurons. During experiments on macaques, when microelectrodes were introduced into the frontal cortex, it was found that certain groups of neurons are equally excited both when performing an action and when observing the action of another individual. Whether the monkey scratched itself or watched another monkey scratch, this group of neurons had identical, mirror-like activity. As a result, such neurons were called mirror neurons.
There was a fuss around this in the scientific world as something incredible and mysterious, such as a mechanism for transmitting feelings at a distance, but it must be emphasized: we are talking only about the fact that neurons are excited when OBSERVING ACTIONS. If a monkey does not see another monkey, then no matter what happens in the soul or life of a neighbor, nothing mirror-like happens in the brain of the first monkey. The firing of mirror neurons occurs as a result of imagining and modeling what the higher primates see directly.
In fact, a developed brain can do much more interesting things. A developed brain not only gives a command to move, it first models the future action, ahead of it, seeing it as if in advance. As P.K. Anokhin back in 1955, an afferent model of the future movement with all its temporal and spatial parameters is built in the brain with the help of afferent systems. It «anticipates» the afferent properties of the result that should be obtained in accordance with the decision made, and, therefore, ahead of the course of events in the relationship between the organism and the outside world. When the parameters of the ideal, afferent way of movement and the real result are inconsistent, the center makes an appropriate correction to the efferent system.
A developed brain models not only what it sees directly, it can remember what it once modeled, which, in particular, is evidenced by the phenomenon of phantom sensations during the loss of limbs. Almost all people who have lost limbs experience phantom sensations, in 80% of them these sensations are in the nature of pain. Computed tomography showed that the brain continues to store the image of the amputated organ, as a result of which the lost arm and leg are felt by the person as alive.
A similar phenomenon: a living sensation from an imaginary object. Remember yellow and sour lemon, or rather, how you put a slice of sour lemon on your tongue. Has the saliva gone? Fine! This means that you also have neurons that are excited only in response to certain events.