Mirror Neurons and Language | Interview with Gregory Hickok (Thinking Tools Podcast #20)

Mirror neurons are a special type of brain cell that were once thought to explain the brain basis of language and that of our understanding of the actions of other people, or “action understanding.” However, between the late 1990s and early 2010s, neuroscientist Gregory Hickok crafted a devastating argument against these claims, culminating in his 2014 book “The Myth of Mirror Neurons: The Real Neuroscience of Communication and Cognition.” (WW. Norton and Co.) His critiques contributed to a lively debate on the topic of mirror neurons, language, and action understanding.

So what are mirror neurons? In this episode of the Thinking Tools Podcast, I speak with Dr. Gregory Hickok about his book as well as a sophisticated dual stream model of speech and language processing in the brain, which he created with neuroscientist David Poeppel.

Dr. Hickok’s research focuses on the neurobiology of language, speech, and hearing with application to understanding the nature of acquired language disorders (aphasia). He has published over 190 scientific papers and book chapters and edited several book volumes on the neurobiology of language and hearing. His research uses a multi-method approach including functional MRI, electrocorticography, neuropsychology, and computational modeling, and has been funded by the National Institutes of Health for the last three decades. Dr. Hickok was the inaugural Chair of the Society for the Neurobiology, founding director of UC Irvine’s Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Center for Language Science, and Editor-in-Chief of Psychonomic Bulletin & Review from 2014-2019. Dr. Hickok received his Ph.D. in Psychology and Linguistics at Brandeis University in 1991 and did postdoctoral training in Cognitive Neuroscience at MIT and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. He joined the faculty at UC Irvine in 1996 where he is currently Professor of Cognitive Sciences and Language Science.

❓ Have you heard of mirror neurons? ❓

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Chapters:
00:00 Mirror neurons are a controversial type of brain cell related to action understanding.
00:51 Gregory Hickok’s credentials and background
02:30 Gregory Hickok’s backstory
05:05 What are mirror neurons? How were they discovered? How do mirror neurons work?
12:45 Mirror neurons and speech perception
14:12 Motor theory of speech perception
17:05 Limb apraxia (and action understanding)
19:33 Dual stream sensory processing (why mirror neurons would be anomalies in the dorsal stream)
23:47 The current mainstream view of mirror neurons
27:10 The hickok poeppel dual stream model of speech and language processing
30:45 Language in left side of the brain?
33:57 Predictive coding in speech perception
46:21 How does the brain work? Gregory Hickok’s (short) answer
51:40 What is the difference between the brain and mind?
54:15 Tips for science writers
56:24 Greg's neuroscience book recommendations (“Behave”, “Innate,” and “The Blank Slate”)
59:07 Find Greg on Twitter @gregoryhickok
50:52 Thanks so much for watching! Please like and subscribe!

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#mirrorneurons #gregoryhickokinterview #neuroscience