Editing Mirror neuron (section)

==In monkeys==
[[Image:Makak neonatal imitation.png|thumb|300px|right|[[Infant|Neonatal]] (newborn) [[macaque]] imitating facial expressions]]
The first animal in which researchers have studied mirror neurons individually is the [[macaque monkey]]. In these monkeys, mirror neurons are found in the [[inferior frontal gyrus]] (region F5) and the [[inferior parietal lobule]].<ref name="RizzolattiCraighero2004" />

Mirror neurons are believed to mediate the understanding of other animals' [[behavior|behaviour]]. For example, a mirror neuron which fires when the monkey rips a piece of paper would also fire when the monkey sees a person rip paper, or hears paper ripping (without visual cues). These properties have led researchers to believe that mirror neurons encode abstract concepts of actions like 'ripping paper', whether the action is performed by the monkey or another animal.<ref name="RizzolattiCraighero2004" />

The function of mirror neurons in macaques remains unknown. Adult macaques do not seem to learn by imitation. Recent experiments by Ferrari and colleagues suggest that infant macaques can imitate a human's face movements, though only as [[neonate]]s and during a limited temporal window.<ref>
{{cite journal | vauthors = Ferrari PF, Visalberghi E, Paukner A, Fogassi L, Ruggiero A, Suomi SJ | title = Neonatal imitation in rhesus macaques | journal = PLOS Biology | volume = 4 | issue = 9 | pages = e302 | date = September 2006 | pmid = 16953662 | pmc = 1560174 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pbio.0040302 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Even if it has not yet been empirically demonstrated, it has been proposed that mirror neurons cause this behaviour and other imitative phenomena.<ref name="pmid19620103">{{cite journal | vauthors = Ferrari PF, Bonini L, Fogassi L | title = From monkey mirror neurons to primate behaviours: possible 'direct' and 'indirect' pathways | journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences | volume = 364 | issue = 1528 | pages = 2311–23 | date = August 2009 | pmid = 19620103 | pmc = 2865083 | doi = 10.1098/rstb.2009.0062 }}</ref> Indeed, there is limited understanding of the degree to which monkeys show imitative behaviour.<ref name="Dinstein" />

In adult monkeys, mirror neurons may enable the monkey to understand what another monkey is doing, or to recognize the other monkey's action.<ref>
{{cite journal | vauthors = Rizzolatti G, Arbib MA | title = Language within our grasp | journal = Trends in Neurosciences | volume = 21 | issue = 5 | pages = 188–194 | date = May 1998 | pmid = 9610880 | doi = 10.1016/S0166-2236(98)01260-0 | hdl-access = free | s2cid = 679023 | hdl = 11858/00-001M-0000-002C-4B59-6 }}</ref>