mirror neuron

A neuron found in the cerebral cortex that is active when one performs an action or when one witnesses another performing the same action, and whose function is thought to be involved in acquiring language and the ability to empathize.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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