The discovery of mirror neurons is possibly one the most important findings of the decade, and will possibly do for psychology what DNA did for biology. In short mirror neurons help explain how we learn through observation, which is an important aspect for us to understand if we are to instruct others in a physical skill for example.

Mirror neurons are brain cells which are predominately found in the frontal lobes. Earlier studies with monkeys revealed that mirror neurons respond both when we do something and also when we simply watch someone else do it. Although it was initially known that these neurons fire when we performed an action, it came as quite a surprise that the same cells also fired when we only saw that action being performed.

In a more recent study undertaken researchers at the University of College London, dancers from London's Royal Ballet and experts in capoeira, a Brazilian martial art, were asked to watch short videos of either ballet or capoeira dancers performing brief dance moves. While watching the videos, the dancers were lying perfectly still in an MRI scanner. What the researchers found was that areas of the brain collectively known as the "mirror neuron system" showed more activity when a dancer saw movements he had been trained perform than when he observed movements he hadn't been trained to perform.

As a result the evidence suggest that anytime you watch someone else doing something (or even starting to do something), the corresponding mirror neuron might fire in your brain, thus aiding recall through recognition. As Daniel Glaser, a neuroscientist who was part of the UCL team stated: "This is the first proof that your personal motor repertoire, the things that you yourself have learned to do, changes the way that your brain responds when you see movement."

The findings of the UCL researchers suggest that once the brain has learned a skill it may continue to simulate the skill without even moving through simple observation.

This has important implications for all of us who teach and coach physical skills in a number of ways. As we all know over 57% of communication is body language - i.e. they way we communicate through bodily movement etc., therefore the need for instructors and coaches to promote good posture and correct technique when demonstrating a physical skill becomes even more paramount when we consider the impact of how we learn through mirror neuron activity. 

In addition, the use of visualization exercises and video / dvd instruction could help increase and individuals performance by them focusing on (internal visualization) or being exposed to (external viewing) the skills and techniques that they have been trained in.

As many of you who have trained with us will be aware we use video presentations as part of our instructional technique.

Our next Physical Restraint Instructors Qualifying Courses are being held between the 17^th - 21^st September and the 15^th - 19^th October 2007. Why not enroll and expose yourself to some state of the art instruction?