Psychologists and philosophers have long suggested that simulation is the mechanism whereby humans understand the minds of others. However, the neural basis of this complex process had not been identified until a group of researchers identified a type of neuron that had not previously been described that actively and spontaneously learns from decision-making by other individuals and simulates their mental processes.
It was not known whether specific neurons contributed to advanced social knowledge, such as simulating the decisions of other individuals. The dysfunction of these simulation neurons might be involved in the restriction of social knowledge, one of the symptoms of autism and, through hyperactivity, may give an exaggerated version of others and play an important role in social anxiety, the authors speculate.
The study, published in Cell, one of the journals with the highest impact factor, is the result of research led by Wolfram Schultz, a scientist at the University of Cambridge (UK) involving Gustavo Deco, ICREA research professor with the Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC) and director of the Center for Brain and Cognition (CBC) at UPF.
Anything that is captured in the
subconscious will directly affect us in the form of emotions, circumstances and events. There is more and more research investigatng what thoughts and ideas govern our mind.
The work suggests that these so-called "simulation neurons", found in the amygdala, a collection of nerve cells in the brain's temporal lobe, allow animals (and potentially also humans) to reconstruct the mental state of their social partners and, therefore, predict their intentions.
The simulation of decisions is involved in social learning
