Giacomo Rizzolatti

Giacomo Rizzolatti ( born April 28, 1937 in Kiev ) is an Italian neurophysiologist. He received his doctorate in 1961 at the University of Padua and completed three years later his neurological training from there. Rizzolatti is now a professor at the University of Parma and leads a research group on mirror neurons. He is a member of the Academia Europaea since 1989.

Life

Giacomo Rizzolatti is one of the most important neuroscientists of our time. Since the 1980s, Rizzolatti engaged in the study of nerve cells that control actions and are therefore called " action neurons ". In 1992, Rizzolatti achieved with a simple experiment with monkeys a scientific breakthrough in this field. Rizzolatti showed that in the brain of a monkey run the same neural processes, regardless of whether it performs an action yourself, or just observed. For this, the brain waves of monkeys were measured when they find a nut and eat or watch only through a glass window as a conspecific does this. In both cases, it came to identical sequences in the brains of monkeys. Never before had been measured experimentally and compared how a brain responds when an action itself is executed or only spiritually understood. The neurons that observing the same reactions show how the self-management and called Rizzolatti mirror neurons. Since Rizzolattis success scientists explore multiple disciplines all over the world, the mirror neurons. Rizzolatti itself still works at the University of Parma in this area. The study of mirror neurons is considered an important building block for research into the questions of why humans are sentient, behave socially and how human morality arose.

Honors

Works

  • Giacomo Rizzolatti, Corrado Sinigaglia: empathy and mirror neurons: The biological basis of compassion. Frankfurt aM: Suhrkamp, ​​2008 ISBN 3-518-26011-1. . ( Original title: So Quel che fai - Il cervello che ei agisce neuroni specchi, 2006 9788860300027. )
  • Giacomo Rizzolatti, Lisa Vozza: Nella degli altri elements. Neuroni specchio comportamento e sociale. 2007 Zanichelli. 9788808066718
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