End Of Week 2 - I am getting better every day thanks to my Mirror Neurons!!!

MIRROR NEURONS HAVE ME BE A BETTER DANCER - READ ON!!! VERY INTERESTING DISCOVERY TONIGHT!

I did an Advanced Hip Hop Class tonight - which I thought I would struggle with given this is the end of the second week and I have not danced much in the last many years. However I didn't just do OK, I picked up every piece of choreography and then near the end I stopped looking at the mirror (which helps you see if you are doing it right) and let myself just feel the music and totally nailed the choreography. Joseph was wrapped with how well I did and I was a little surprised how well I did.

So then I wondered how come I have had a breakthrough in my dancing even though I have not been dancing much at all for years - I am actually better than I was when I was dancing regularly about 5 years ago. I remembered some neuroscience I had seen on TED.com and some Landmark work I had done and realised Its because of Mirror Neurons in my brain. I have been watching endless Michael Jackson videos and You Tube dance videos and choreography online for the last 9 months which has actually improved my dancing. HERE IS WHY.........some research - read on

Each time an individual sees an action done by another individual, neurons that represent that action are activated in the motor cortex. This automatically induced, motor representation of the observed action corresponds to what is spontaneously generated during active action and whose outcome is known to the acting individual. Thus, the mirror system transforms visual information into knowledge ¹

This is incredibly intriguing, because it seems to demonstrate a biological basis for the benefits of simulation. As simulation designers, we always make the argument that engaging in behaviors in simulation prepares us to engage in behaviors in the real world. But the argument has always been from a cognitive perspective—it helps us form the way we think. The mirror neuron research would suggest that it’s deeper than cognition. And for that matter, that simulation may not just be the next best thing to real world experience—it may be nearly equivalent ..................

..............Back to the main point about whether mirror neurons could help us get better at a sport just by watching an expert play. I’m not aware of any specific research on this issue, but there is at least one experiment that sheds some light. Daniel Glaser asked some capoeira and ballet dancers to watch other ballet dancers and capoiera dancers while he hooked up some wires to their brains. He found that the dancers had substantial activity in the part of the brain that controlled dancing when watching the form of dance they performed. In other words, when ballet dancers watched other ballet dancers, their mirror neurons lit up – when they watched the capoiera dancers … not so much. The opposite was true for the capoeira dancers.

This would suggest that watching an expert play a sport will only help you if you already have some degree of experience in regard to what they are doing. This squares with common sense. I have never done a back flip on a balance beam, and I don’t think I would have any better chance of avoiding breaking my neck by watching someone else do it first. I don’t have any motor maps for this activity in my brain whatsoever, so there is nothing to light up when I watch someone else. However, I have played a lot of tennis, and do have many neurons in my brain devoted to hitting forehands and backhands. If I see Roger Federer hit some balls, these neurons fire, and I can in some sense “feel” his movements in my body. I can even in some sense feel what it would be like to do it better. And I really feel like I play a little better afterwards. Similarly, if I watch someone hacking away at balls in an awkward manner, its tough to watch. Ouch.

So there you have it. If you want to get better at something you already have some skill in - watch performances and visualise. You will improve cos your brain does not know the difference between watching it and doing it.

So thats the end of week 2. I am so in love with dancing and so excited about what I am going to be capable of!