Mirror Neurons: The Science Behind Empathy Ft. Dr. Marco Iacoboni Purposeful Empathy Hosted by Anita Nowak

Watch this episode to learn about the neural mechanisms that underpin our natural capacity to empathize. Marco Iacoboni, MD, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA who investigates brain systems and mechanisms for higher cognitive functions, in particular social cognition. He is also the author of Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect with Others. In this episode, he explains how humans evolved to be empathic, describes how mirror neurons work, and argues that empathy can help combat our society’ deep-seated divisions. 00:00 Introduction 00:23 About Dr. Marco Iacoboni 03:29 His reflections on empathy, 15 years after publishing Mirroring People 07:15 Why Marco is passionate about the brain mechanisms of empathy 11:29 The Chameleon Effect: Imitation and empathy 14:02 How we evolved to be empathic 16:28 Combating social divisiveness with empathy 18:39 Mirror neurons: The neural mechanism of empathy 24:34 What is "Existential Neuroscience?" 27:13 How Marco's research has changed him 29:02 Is empathy good for the empathizer? 34:55 Advice on becoming more empathic 37:40 Marco’s perspective on psychedelics 38:31 Marco Iacoboni’s Purposeful Empathy Story CONNECT WITH ANITA ✩ Email [email protected] ✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com/ ✩ LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak ✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram ✩ Twitter https://twitter.com/anitanowak21 ✩ Facebook Page https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyFacebook ✩ Facebook Group https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyCommunity ✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast This episode was brought to you by Grand Heron International REACH THEM AT ✩ Website www.grandheroninternational.ca; www.ghi.coach ✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/grand-heron-international/ ✩ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/grandheroninternational/ ✩ Instagram @Grand_Heron_International ✩ Twitter @GrandHeronIntl ✩ https://twitter.com/GrandHeronIntl Video edited by David Tsvariani