MIRROR NEURONS: IMITATION USED AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL

Abstract

Mirror neurons are currently a subject much treated by motor science due to their implications in sports disciplines and relative repercussions on teaching. The interest of Motor Sciences for this topic is obviously dictated by the fact that one of the main forms of learning is precisely that by imitation. Our motor system is no longer to be considered a mere passive executor of the impulses coming from the sense organs, but rather a system used to understand the acts of others, including the possibility of codifying the type, methods, times of realization and also the execution of an action. Mirror neurons therefore allow us to understand the intentional dynamics of the gesture, anticipating the outcome to which the initial movements of the observed subject correspond. Crucial to the recognition of intention is the context in which the action takes place. With regard to the aspect of learning through imitation, the student therefore has the possibility of easily imitating the gesture when it is part of his motor heritage. It is therefore legitimate to think that the technical proposals by the instructors must be made taking this fact into consideration.