A mirror neuron is a neuron which fires both when one observes someone to act some action and also when he acts that action
These mirror neurons may be important for understanding the actions of other people, and for learning new skills by imitation
Some researchers also contemplate that mirror systems may simulate observed actions
While others relate mirror neurons to language abilities
It has also been proposed that problems with the mirror system may underlie cognitive disorders, particularly autism
The brain imaging study using fMRI has shown that the human inferior frontal cortex and superior parietal lobe is active when a person has seen someone to perform an action and also when the person performs that action
It has been suggested that these regions of the human brain contain the mirror neurons and they have been defined as the human mirror neuron system (MNS)