Episode 39 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Dr. Michael Arbib from the University of Southern California. Dr. Arbib's work with functional brain imaging has established the presence of mirror neurons in the human brain. In our interview we focused on the role of mirror neurons in imitation and language. In particular I questioned Dr. Arbib about the Mirror System Hypothesis (MSH) of Language Evolution that he proposed in 1998 with Giacomo Rizzolatti. We also explored how this hypothesis diverges from the universal grammar proposed by Noam Chomsky. Dr. Arbib also shared his enthusiasm for future research and we talked about the special challenges caused by the interdisciplinary nature of modern neuroscience.

Listen to the Interview

Related Episodes:

• Brain Science Podcast #7: A discussion of bonobos with Stuart Shanker, PhD


• Brain Science Podcast #30: a discussion of language evolution including my thoughts on Chomsky


• Brain Science Podcast #35: a detailed discussion of Mirrors in the Brain by Giacomo Rizzolatti

Click here for  detailed show notes including links and references