The New York Times Science section reported this week on subtle empathy cells in our brains known as mirror neurons. In our brains they exhibit the same behavior whether we are experiencing something firsthand or merely observing another being having the experience. It’s one small but significant scientific step towards hardwired, physical evidence of yogic wisdom, “As without so within.”

The discovery of the mirror neurons, led by Iaccomo Rizzolatti of the University of Parma in 1995, was nearly accidental. Actually researching the neurons involved with movement, the team wired a monkey’s brain such that when the primate grabbed a peanut, a sound was triggered. But during a break—by providence or accident—a researcher grabbed a peanut for himself, and the monkey’s brain fired—as if the monkey itself grabbed the nut. But the monkey hadn’t moved.

Scientists then noticed the same effect—even more so—in humans, and expanded the vicarious neuronal investigations to include emotional relations. NOVA scienceNOW features an excellent introduction to mirror neurons alongside the highly recommended 14-minute videocast on the subject. The Times article also features illustrations detailing the significance of the cells—

1. Empathy and social pain
2. Human mimicry
3. Your intentions and feelings are my own
4. Aggression breeds aggression

The director of the University of California’s Center for Brain and Cognition, Dr. V.S. Ramachandran—highlighted in the above linked scienceNow videocast—sometimes terms mirror neurons “Dalai Lama neurons.” It’s an attempt to bridge the gap between the scientific understanding of the cells and their mystical implications. Full details can be found in his new article Mirror Neurons And The Brain In The Vat at Edge, a webzine that continues to garner acclaim for its popular collage of brainiac punditry “What Is Your Dangerous Idea?“

Just as we learn by mimicry—but expand and infer beyond—so may our understanding of these cells. It may be that the yogis had it figured out all along. As the yoga master Sri K. Pattabhi Jois often says:

yad yad pashyati chakshurbhyam tadatma iti bhavayet; yad yad shrunoti karnabhyam tadatma iti bhavayet

Whatsoever one sees with the eyes, one should think, that is my own self; Whatsoever one hears with the eyes, one should think, that is my own self¹

Illustration credit: Leigh Wells / New York Times Online

¹ Stern, Eddie and Summerbell, Deirdre, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois: A Tribute. New York: Eddie Stern and Gwenyth Paltrow, 2002.