Why Some Sports Fans Have More Fun - Issue 59: Connections

You won't have seen it on the podium, but the human brain's mirror neuron system could have medaled at this year's Olympic Games, or basically any sporting event with an audience. The mirror neuron system is a network of neurons that activates both when you watch someone do something and when you do it yourself, and it turns out to be an important part of the subjective experience of being a fan. But watching a sport doesn't just flip your mirror neuron system on like a switch. There are degrees of activation. While you and the person sitting beside you probably both have your mirror neuron systems firing, your neighbor's neurons might have different levels of activation than yours.