Seeing isn’t just believing, as far your brain is concerned seeing is also doing.  And the players in this little game are the recently discovered “mirror neurons”.  What does this have to do with eating.  Well it appears that merely observing other people eating food has some very interesting effects in your neurons.  These amazing brain cells are giving scientists a lot of insight into human learning and behavior, and a lot of this is critical to our understanding of the psychology of eating.


The discovery of mirror neurons in 1995 by Iaccomo Rizzolati of the University of Parma was a very happy accident. This breakthrough has had a profound effect on our understanding of how the human brain functions. But to do so requires a little background information.  There are a hundred billion neurons in the human brain with hundreds of TRILLIONS of connections.  Neurons, or nerve cells, differ from other kinds of cells in that over the course of an animals life these cells generally do not divide or regenerate, so  basically the neurons you have now are the ones that you were born with. This is why damage to the nervous system like head traumas, spinal cord injuries and strokes can have such devastating consequences.  Because nerve cells live so long individual neurons are very specialized  – they act in a very consistent way.  For example, a motor neuron will turn on to signal a particular muscle so that we are able to move voluntarily.  That way an intention you have in your brain can result in a specific action, such as picking up a cup.  On the other hand a particular mirror neuron will not only turn on when you make a specific action, it will also turn on or “fire” when you observe someone else making that action.   


So how did this amazing breakthrough occur?  Well, as the story goes, one day a researcher went into the lab to check up on the monkeys. These monkeys were wearing measuring devices on their heads that recorded individual neuronal activity associated with behavior and movement. While going about his routine tasks the researcher helped himself to some peanuts that were placed a few meters away from a monkey cage. As he picked up some nuts he was startled by the sound of the monitor buzzing wildly. Why was he so surprised? Well, because the monkey was not moving! 


An enormous amount of research has been initiated to understand what happened. It was then confirmed that area’s of your brain that were thought to be specifically associated with movement will “fire” or activate when you watch somebody do something, JUST AS IF YOU HAD DONE IT YOURSELF. Thus the term mirror neurons was born. At this time it looks as if monkey’s and primates have mirror neurons  (giving a new twist to the old saying “monkey see, monkey do”) but human mirror neurons appear to fire more readily and in a more sophisticated manner.  For example, in humans, mirror neurons will not only fire when you watch another person performing a certain action, they will also fire at a photograph or video of another person performing that action.  


Have you ever heard that you are the average of the five people that you spend most time with?


Mirror neurons allow us to learn and be influenced by others. Some scientists, such as world renowned neurologist  V.S. Ramachandran, believe it is mirror neurons which are responsible for the extraordinary advancements of the human species. For example if you are a bear, and suddenly your environment gets cold, you would need a few million years of evolution to build up polar bear type layers of fat and fur. If you are human, you watch your father killing a bear, skinning it and using the fur as a coat, and as you watch it your mirror neurons start firing and you learn. So instead of going through millions of years of evolution you have learned to adapt to your environment in ONE generation.


We have mirror neurons because we are extremely social beings. They would not have much use if you did not interact with other humans. Mirror neurons are what allow us to feel what other people are feeling. If you have you ever watched a football game where somebody got a terrible injury and you grimaced in anguish, then you know what I am talking about….you had this response because at some level you felt like it was you getting injured. Or maybe you a watching a sad movie and you begin to feel a bit sad yourself. These are just some examples of your mirror neurons at work.


We are not aware of mirror neuron activity. They function in the background firing automatically in response to our environmental observations. We are constantly and involuntarily reacting to the actions of everyone around us. When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight the eating behavior of the people around you can have profound effects on your dieting success. You see, mirror neurons can be your best friend or your worst enemy. In our brains they reproduce the activities that we are observing. So if you see somebody eating a chocolate brownie, “chocolate brownie eating” parts of your brain get activated. Additionally the emotional part of your brain remembers how nice it was to eat a chocolate brownie and so it increases your desire to eat one. Even just looking at photos, particularly of people who appear to be enjoying the food, can activate these areas of our brains and motivate us to eat. The more our mirror neurons are exposed to eating, the more powerful the brain activation and the more intense the craving.


But there is even more to the story. As you watch your friends eating the chocolate brownies your mirror neurons are telling your brain about brownie eating, but because you are not ACTUALLY eating the brownie your pleasure centers are not getting any stimulation. This amps up your cravings even more, because now your brain begins to ANTICIPATE what eating the brownie would be like. You start to think how delicious it would taste. You think how the texture would feel in your mouth and how you would feel if you just took a bite. This is all the workings of your brain, as it goes through your past experiences of eating foods similar to the chocolate brownie.


You are doing well if you have still managed to hold out, but next comes the biggest craving. The greatest brain activation is achieved when anticipation is paired with a degree of uncertainty. So you have your limbic system telling you how delicious it will be, your mirror neurons are activating the movement patterns that are associated with eating the chocolate brownie, and your pre-frontal cortex is saying “No please, I have to stick to my diet!”. Under these conditions of “it might happen, it might not happen”, humans are extremely motivated to seek pleasure because we get an intense reward when it does occur. This is what you constantly face when you see people eating foods that you desire but cannot have. It’s not long before the intense cravings finally overpower your willpower and you give in to temptation.  


The food industry knows about mirror neurons all too well. That’s why they place their food everywhere for you to see. They know that the more you are exposed to their advertisements the more you are likely to consume what they are selling. They are also extremely clever in how they present their product. Have you ever noticed that food manufacturers advertise their products by showing images of people consuming their products in a very fun and positive way. Manufacturers know that when you observe these scenarios the areas of your brain related to happiness and fun and pleasure get associated with their particular food or drink. Check it out the next time you watch an advertisement. Oh and isn’t it ironic that the actors are usually physically fit and very attractive? Its almost like consuming their product can help you with that too…..