Hannah Sue Hults

English 299C
01/25/2016
Mirror Neurons, Empathy and Mirror-Touch Synthesia
Have you ever wondered why watching dramatic romantic scenes in a movie, like in The
Notebook when Allie and Noah die in each others arms, always makes you tear up? You may
think this is because of your ability to empathize with the characters, but: what enables you to
empathize? Well, within the past couple of decades, some scientists believe they have found the
answer. These scientists suggest that mirror neurons are the reason that we can empathize, and
they believe that these neurons, which were originally found in the pre-motor cortices in
macaque monkeys in the 1990s, not only fire when one is doing something, but also when one is
observing another person as he/she does something. In this paper, I will explain what we
currently know about mirror neurons and how they seem to allow us to empathize, and will then
discuss a condition called mirror-touch synesthesia, which causes patients to have a heightened
ability to empathize. Because of this heightened empathetic ability, patients with this disorder
have severe physical and emotional issues in their lives that need to be solved through research.
Ultimately, research will not only help those with mirror-touch, but will also aid scientists in
better understanding the mirror neuron systems in all human beings.
Since the recent discovery of mirror neurons in macaques, there has been a lot of hype
about the functions of mirror neurons, and how they have affected the human race. One
particularly famous neuroscientist, V.S. Ramachandran, has sparked particular excitement about
mirror neurons. In a popular Ted Talk video, he explains that mirror neurons are specialized
motor command neurons that fire when an individual performs actions, but also fire when

watching someone else doing something or being touched. Ramachandran relates this to how
cavemen learned to use fire by watching someone accidentally make the discovery. Then, he
explains how this accidental discovery of fire, or any new discovery, and the knowledge attained
with it can spread rapidly horizontally across the population, or is transmitted vertically down
the generations (Ramachandran Video). Ramachandran is here suggesting that mirror neurons
allowed an increase in learning; this statement has encouraged his huge claim: that mirror
neurons are the basis of culture. This claim, and actual research on mirror neurons, has caused a
number of writers to write popular sources attributing language, emotion, relationships, and so
on, to mirror neurons. For example, in a popular book written by Siam Beilock, she talks about
how married couples that imitate each others facial expressions tend to facilitate similar
emotional experiences, and how pictures spanning twenty-five years have shown that this
mimicry [can lead] to permanent changes in how the face is shaped (Beilock 137). Here,
Beilock is claiming that through mirror neurons and imitating facial expressions, our brain tells
us how to feel according to the other person, and overtime can lead us too look similar to
whomever we are mimicking. However, this claim is not well supported as we actually do not
know much about mirror neurons; and as the critic Christian Jarrett points out, most studies
about mirror neurons have been done on monkeys not humans (Jarret 1). Also, studies using
microelectrodes, which is an intrusive technique, have only been done on patients already
receiving brain surgery. Thus, without large numbers of reliable studies regarding the average
human brain, the excitement about mirror neurons has lead to many theories that popular sources
have misused.
Most humans with normally functioning brains can empathize with others, whether we
attribute that to mirror neurons or not. However, only 1.6% of the population has the ability to

hyper empathize, literally feel what others feel. This almost supernatural ability is due to a
severe condition: mirror-touch synesthesia. However, the patients with this condition would
almost certainly argue that having mirror-touch is not an advantage, and that it causes problems
in their everyday lives. These issues are all to real for Fiona, a sufferer of mirror-touch, as she
describes how, she had once seen one man punch another. She promptly passed out in her car
and she said she, felt the punch (Hayasaki 1). Here, Fiona is revealing how simple everyday
activities such as being in a car can be a danger to someone with mirror-touch synesthesia, as she
ended up unconscious and in the hospital. This type of danger for a person with mirror-touch is
also prevalent when just watching the television. In the article This Doctor Knows Exactly How
You Feel, a doctor with mirror-touch synesthesia himself recounts a time when watching a horror
movie, when he, was suddenly gripped by the sensation of his own neck twisting around
backward, his spine cracking, and hints of asphyxiation (Hayasaki 1). This doctors response
reveals that even people with mirror-touch who are extremely well trained in dismissing the
feelings of otherssuch as a doctor, can be overwhelmed with unexpected new sensations. The
difficulties for patients with mirror-touch do not all involve watching others in extreme pain, but
also involve the confusion of simply experiencing everything at the same time. In an NPR
podcast interview with a patient, Amanda, the interviewer mentions that Amanda keeps all the
windows in her house closed as she prefer[s] things subdued because the outside world can be
over stimulating and unpredictable (Invisibilla Podcast). This subtle difference, between the
home of a patient and that of an average person, shows how even at her own house Amanda must
perform extra measures to ensure protection from dangerous stimuli. Within her house, another
subtlety is that she has no dinner table. Amanda explains that the reason for not owning one is
because when she eats with others she, feels like they are shoving food in my mouth

(Invisibilla Podcast). This difference shows that there are endless experiences that happen every
moment that can lead to an unpleasant life for someone who has mirror touch. Without a way to
filter what someone like Amanda feels, it is clear that people with mirror-touch experience too
much in one day. With mirror-touch synesthesia, a person can be physically abused and
exhausted without doing anything but observing others.
Patients with mirror-touch synesthesia are known to be very considerate, because when
another person feels pleased, they feel pleased too. Extreme selflessness, may seem like a good
trait, however, people with mirror-touch synesthesia sometimes forget that they have feelings
too, as they are so consumed with the feelings of others. In her personal essay for The Guardian
called, I Feel Other Peoples Pain Fiona Torrante describes how she is too aware of others
emotions and has often found herself, constantly crying not because something had happened
to me, but because I had seen someone else crying or felt someone elses pain (Torrante 1). This
ability to instantly know how people feel distracts those with mirror-touch from identifying what
they are feeling at the moment, and this difficulty in distinguishing the feelings of self versus
others can lead to a loss of self. In an NPR podcast Amanda, a patient with mirror-touch, further
explains this sense of a loss of self. Amanda says that when she is involved with other people she
feels like a human chameleon always changing how she feels to please others and is always
left wondering, is this who I am? Or is this who I am because of the people around me?
(invisibilla podcast). In this conversation, Amanda is basically saying that mirror-touch can cause
a person to become just a reflection of someone elses emotions, and that it can be scary not to
know whether or not the beliefs you have are your own. This problem with self and identity can
also cause problems within the family. In the podcast, the interviewers explain that Amanda is a
recluse and only leaves the house for groceries, which leaves her children feeling unsupported, as

Amanda never makes it to school events and hardly talks to her kids. Amanda explains her
behavior by saying, Im supposed to be their mother. Im not supposed to be them (invisibilla
podcast). This comment demonstrates Amandas struggle with being surrounded by other people,
as she is worried that if she spends quality time with her children, she will begin to feel their
emotions so strongly that she will not be able to remain separate from them. This problem is
severe in families with mirror-touch, as the condition is genetic. Amandas daughter also has
mirror-touch synesthesia and the relationship between the two is not easy. Amanda claims it is
difficult because if one of them is sad, the other reflects that, and it turns, into a cycle of
depression (invisibilla podcast). So in response, they have a complicated relationship and do not
spend quality time together; thus revealing how hard it is for those with mirror-touch to have
healthy familial bonds. Patients with mirror-touch synesthesia all seem to struggle with
distinguishing between others feelings versus their own, and this issue is particularly problematic
both in terms of how it affects relationships, and these patients relationships with themselves.
Scientists have noted the physical and emotional pain patients with mirror-touch
experience, and in response have performed research to better understand how mirror-touch
affects the brain. In an experiment conducted by Maister and his colleagues, the researchers
studied what is known as enfacement illusion in mirror touch patients. At first subjects were
shown images of their face morphed with others, and then after watching others be touched while
they were touched, were shown the morphed photos again. After this, the subjects were more
likely to recognize the morphed photo as self. The study showed that people with mirror-touch
synesthesia experienced a higher effect of enfacement illusion, even when their own face was not
touched in the experiment. This revealed that people with mirror-touch experience, a blurring in
the self-other distinction process (Cioffi et. al 1). This means that people with mirror touch may

have different anterior insula, an area of the brain responsible for self-other processing. These
types of studies have led to more discoveries about mirror-touch, and could eventually help to
find a cure and to lessen the pain of those within this small, but suffering, population. Further,
the results from such studies also help scientists better understand the brain differences between
someone with mirror touch and someone with a normal brain. For example, in an article by
Michael J. Banissy and Jamie Ward the authors highlight that, recent findings [have indicated]
that mirror-touch synthetetes show structural brain differences relative to control within the right
TPJ (namely reduced gray matter volume) (2). This difference in the TPJ, which is associated
with perspective taking and empathy, reveals what brain structure is common in mirror-touch
patients. These cutting edge studies will not only further scientists knowledge about mirrortouch, but also help scientists better understand the make up of the normal brain.
Overall, there is a lot of excitement about the new discovery of mirror neurons and how
they may have created the ability to empathize, and the basis of culture itself. Regardless, people
can sympathize with others to a point where they visualize what it would be like to be in the
others situation. However; patients with mirror-touch synesthesia experience this empathetic
ability on a much higher level. Dealing with so much stimulation everyday, and having trouble
deciphering if it is self versus other leads to physical and emotional pain that must be cured. With
research on mirror-touch, an exaggerated version of mirror neurons, not only will 1.6% of the
population be relieved of their pain, but also scientists will have a better understanding of how
the regular brain works.

Works Cited
Banissy, Michael J. "Mirror-touch Synesthesia Is Linked with Empathy." Nature Neuroscience.
N.p., 17 June 2007. Web. 23 Jan. 2016.
Beilock, Sian. "Tearjerkers." How the Body Knows Its Mind the Surprising Power of the
Physical Environment to Influence How You Think and Feel. New York, NY: Atria, 2015.
129-46. Print.
Cioffi, Maria. "What Can Mirror-touch Synesthesia Tell Us about the Sense of Agency?"
Frontiers. N.p., 24 Apr. 2014. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.
Hayasaki, Erika. "This Doctor Knows Exactly How You Feel." Pacific Standard. N.p., 13 July
2015. Web. 23 Jan. 2016.
Jarret, Christian. "A Calm Look at the Most Hyped Concept in Neuroscience Mirror Neurons."
Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2016.
"Mirror Touch." NPR. NPR, 30 Jan. 2015. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.
"The Neurons That Shaped Civilization." Vilayanur Ramachandran:. Ted Talk, n.d. Web. 07 Jan.
2016.
Torrance, Fiona. "I Feel Other People's Pain." The Guardian. N.p., 18 Mar. 2011. Web. 23 Jan.
2016.