The visual neuropsychology of the other

Abstract

This article offers a contribution to explain the neuropsychological apparatus involved in the human capacity both to imitate and to synchronize movements with those of another person, in a complementary way. It is based on studies that show the relation of mirror neurons with the ability to repeat observed movements, which do not fully explain human voluntary synchrony. By bringing together the concepts of forebrain contralaterality, visuomotor coordination, and hemispheric specialization, we can understand the basic processes of the human learning through social interaction because these neurological facts allow for both language and emulation and not mere involuntary mimicry, maintaining the distinction between oneself and the other. For Homo sapiens, forebrain contralaterality, corpus callosum, and mirror neurons work together to favor human cognitive empathy and, by consequence, social learning. © 2018 American Psychological Association.