Learning How To Talk

Our brain's recently discovered mirror neuron system resolves much of the mystery of how we learn to talk. Some brain memory networks store and recall facts and experiences, such as the sequence of letters that spell shoelaces, or the memory of a broken shoelace at an inopportune time. Mirror neuron and related networks store and recall specific movement sequences (or skills), such as the sequence of hand movements that tie shoelaces.

Mirror neurons activate the motor neurons that carry out a mastered specific action, but they also activate when we observe someone else carry out that action. They create a mental template of the observed action, and so allow us to feel what the other person is experiencing as if it were happening to us.

Since mirror neurons allow us to imitate (or mirror) an action the first time that we observe it, they are central to the development and maintenance of memories of basic actions. Smile at a newborn infant and she'll smile. Yawn and observers will either yawn or stifle a yawn. Children have so many basic actions to learn that they tend to automatically imitate whatever actions they observe, and thus begin their mastery of basic movements.

When we have learned a fact or skill, we can comprehend it in its entirety. For example, when we hear someone spell the first three letters of Xerox or observe someone picking up a pencil we can infer what will probably follow. Think of how your computer will complete the address of a frequently used website after you've typed in the first few letters. A previous column explained how this capability allows us to easily and correctly read misspelled words.