M & N are for Mirror Neurons
Have you heard of “mirror neurons”? The implications of mirror neurons and their activity in cross-cultural communication may surprise you.

Every so often I love to delve into a bit of brain science! Mirror neurons are nerve cells in the brain that activate when you perform an action AND when you see someone else performing that action. In other words, you think you can see yourself in that person (hence the mirror reference) and know what they are experiencing or trying to communicate.

In one study at UCLA, researchers showed mirror neurons were more active when participants viewed their own cultural gestures being performed (a gesture in this instance could be a *thumbs up*). The participants recognised and related to these gestures. However, it also showed when these same cultural gestures were performed by someone NOT from their culture, the mirror neuron activity dropped.

The implications of mirror neurons in this study could be researched further, but perhaps this is one source of unconscious bias – it matters WHAT is being communicated, but also WHO is doing the communicating when it comes to us having a sense of connection and understanding with the other party.

The good news is that our mirror neurons don’t act in isolation. They are connected to all the other parts of our brain. We can regulate our assumptions and emotions through logic, including that gained through cross-cultural training. Knowing you are different to others, what those differences are and why they occur can help us have greater understanding in all aspects of communication.

A-Z of Cross-Cultural Awareness
This blog post is part of a series of short posts on cross-cultural awareness. Keep an eye out for the rest of the series.