understanding the behavior of others. If

understanding the behavior of others. If your brain mirrors the neural activity in the brain of someone you see acting, this could provide a basis for understanding the motivation for the action. If your brain resonates to the observed action as if you were acting, this could call to mind previous experiences acting that way providing a memory for why you acted that way. That is, our social brain may directly resonate to the actions of others without reasoning explicitly about those actions. This kind of mechanism, through which intentions might be inferred, could then prepare responses quickly to facilitate the smooth flow of social interactions whether in a game or a dialogue. Of course, a critical aspect of such a mechanism is to differentiate our resonance to other people’s actions and the control of our own. This kind of neural system for mapping the actions and intentions of others has been identified with a network of regions called the mirror neuron system °, and this system may help to induce a degree of reflexive similarity or identification between self and other. The mirror neuron system appears to be continuously engaged unless it is actively suppressed by inhibition, so that this system may continuous monitor the behavior of ‘others’ in our social environment. Of course, mapping the movements of the opponent is useful, but certainly not sufficient to defend our position, score a point, or win a match. One needs to execute countermoves. This is the domain of the motor system in the brain, which includes regions involved in the preparation and execution of motor action. The motor system is responsible for the implementation of one’s goals and intentions to perform an action®. Thus, Page | 60 the social brain includes monitoring and motor systems that function in parallel. The mirror system puts the player in the opponent’s shoes and monitors the opponent’s actions in an anticipatory manner. Other parts of the social brain maintain the distinction between player and opponent by shaping the implementation of one’s actions, namely by engaging a counteraction. In sum, a tennis game or any social interaction depends on a complex network of brain regions that mediate perception and action, and the relationship between observed action and one’s own behavior. The overlap in brain regions responsible for these two important social functions suggests how tightly coupled and coordinated social interactions can be. However, these two systems cannot operate in isolation from our knowledge of the context in which behavior occurs. We, therefore, turn to this topic next. The Social Context In a tennis game or any social interaction (e.g., dancing, conversation), the behavior of one individual constitutes a stimulus for others. If a behavior is meaningful, then neural mechanisms responsible for social perception and social interaction are likely to be activated to engage in complementary action. In a competitive context, such as the tennis game, the motor system is engaged in the preparation and execution of complementary actions to those observed and anticipated based on the inferred goals and intentions of the competitor. However, if everyone shares the same goal, for example, as in an audience clapping, the neural systems for monitoring the actions of others and executing one’s own actions can be HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021306