At two weeks of age newborns copy someone whom they see sticking out his tongue. Newborns map the action they have just seen someone do thanks to mirror neurons and then they try to reproduce the mapped action. The process is automatic and based on a copy/paste process. Perception and production do not have to be learned and understood, but simply copied faithfully comparing perceived and mapped actions (movements, making sounds etc. of the performance. Games based on reciprocal imitation such as throwing a ball to one another rely on the work of mirror neurons and create a strong bond between parent and child. Mapping relies on the coordination of all our senses so that deaf children can even learn a language using tactile stimuli.
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