Wang, Y; Hamilton, AFDC; (2012) Social top-down response modulation (STORM): a model of the control of mimicry in social interaction. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience , 6 , Article June. 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00153.

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Abstract

Human social interaction is complex and dynamic(Hari and Kujala,2009).Individuals communicate with each other by means of multiple verbal and nonverbal behaviors,which rapidly change from moment to moment.Unraveling mechanisms underlying the subtlety of social behaviors is important for our understanding of the nature of human social interaction. One remarkable nonverbal behavior during social interactions is spontaneous mimicry(van Baarenetal.,2009). People have a tendency to unconsciously imitate other’s behaviors(Chartr and and van Baaren,2009). In the past decade, this spontaneous mimicry has become the key focus of research in socialpsychology and cognitive neuroscience(Heyes,2009),and has been regarded as a paradigm for exploring the complexity of human social interaction.Investigations of the causes,consequences and brain basis of mimicry have been widely carried out(Chartr and and van Baaren,2009). For example,socialpsychology suggests that mimicry has positive consequences on social interaction;it increases liking and affiliation between interaction partners and makes communication more smooth and enjoyable(Chartr and and Bargh,1999). Cognitive neuroscience further suggests that mimicry is based on the mirror neuron system(MNS)(Catmur et al., 2008, 2009; Heyes, 2011a). This system provides a direct link between perception and action where observing an action automatically activates the motor representation of that action(Brass and Heyes,2005)and this link is most likely developed by associative sequence learning(“the ASL theory,” Heyes,2001,2011a; Catmur et al.,2007,2008,2009). However,two key questions still remain unclear. First,what is the purpose of mimicry? Although the ASL theory clearly elucidates how we develop the ability to mimic,it does not directly explain under what circumstances we will mimic and why we mimic to different degrees in different situations. Second,what brain mechanisms control and implement mimicry responses? In this article we aim to address these two questions by reviewing cutting-edge research on the control of mimicry by social signals. In the first part,we give a brief outline of past theories on the purpose of mimicry and emphasize that mimicry is a strategy for social advantage.We provide evidence that mimicry changes depending on the social context[i.e.,social top-down response modulation (STORM)], and suggest that this subtle control may reflect a Machiavellian strategy for enhancing one’s social standing. In the second part, we move to a neuroscience point of view and examine the information processing systems underlying the control of mimicry. We suggest that medial pre-frontal cortex(mPFC)plays a key role in the control of mimicry in social contexts. Finally, we discuss the importance of the STORM model of mimicry in our understanding of social interaction and social cognition. We argue that subtly controlling when and who to mimic is essential to human competence in social interactions and suggest that impairment of this function could lead to social-communication disorders such as autism.

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