Mirroring Brains combines neuroscience, psychology and philosophy to provide a comprehensive account of one of the most intriguing discoveries of the last 30 years-the discovery of mirror neurons. These neurons are characterized by firing both when someone performs an action, and also when they observe the same action being performed by others. Whereas it was widely regarded as characteristic of only a small subset of neurons, recent discoveries have shown that the mirror property is a fundamental principle of the functioning of the whole brain. Exploring this discovery, Rizzolatti and Sinigaglia explain how we are able to immediately understand others' actions and emotions, providing a deeper understanding of how we relate to each other and introducing the idea of 'understanding from the inside'. Mirroring Brains provides a new interpretation of the property and function of mirror neurons, allowing readers an insight into a fundamental principle of brain function. Rizzolatti and Sinigaglia provide a rich survey of the main neuronal and psychological findings concerning the mirror mechanism, plus an extensive discussion of its potential role in social cognition. It is an essential read for neuroscientists, psychologists, philosophers, sociologists, and anyone who is interested in understanding how we relate to each other.

Everyone knows what consciousness is: it is what vanishes when we fall into dreamless sleep and reappears when we wake up or when we dream. However, we become less and less confident when we are called to answer fundamental questions about the relationships between consciousness and the physical world. Why is the cerebral cortex associated with consciousness, but not the liver, the heart, the cerebellum or other neural structures? Why does consciousness fade during deep sleep, while cortical neurons remain active? Can unresponsive patients with an island of active cortex surrounded by widespread damage be conscious? Is an artificial system that outperforms people at driving, recognizing faces and objects, and answering difficult questions conscious? Using the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) as a guiding principle, Sizing up Consciousness explores these questions, taking the reader along a fascinating journey from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum, from wakefulness to sleep, anesthesia, and coma, supercomputers, octopuses, dolphins, and much more besides. By translating theoretical principles into practical measurements, the book outlines a preliminary attempt to identify a general rule to size up the capacity for consciousness within the human skull and beyond. Sizing up Consciousness is a short, accessible book, spanning neuronal activity to existential considerations and is essential reading for anyone interested in awareness and cognition.