In the current opinion paper, we provide a comparative perspective on specific aspects of primate empathic abilities, with particular emphasis on the mirror neuron system associated with mouth/face actions and expression. Mouth and faces can be very salient communicative classes of stimuli that allow an observer access to the emotional and physiological content of other individuals. We thus describe patterns of activations of neural populations related to observation and execution of specific mouth actions and emotional facial expressions in some species of monkeys and in humans. Particular attention is given to dynamics of face-to-face interactions in the early phases of development and to the differences in the anatomy of facial muscles among different species of primates. We hypothesize that increased complexity in social environments and patterns of social development have promoted specializations of facial musculature, behavioral repertoires related to production and recognition of facial emotional expression, and their neural correlates. In several primates, mirror circuits involving parietal-frontal regions, insular regions, cingulate cortices, and amygdala seem to support automatic forms of embodied empathy, which probably contribute to facial mimicry and behavioural synchrony. In humans these circuits interact with specific prefrontal and temporo-parietal cortical regions, which facilitates higher order cognitive functions such as cognitive empathy and mental state attribution. Our analysis thus suggests that the evolution of higher forms of empathy, such as mentalizing, is also linked to the coupling between the perceptual and motor system related to face processing, which may have undergone a process of exaptation during primate phylogeny.

中文翻译：

---

从模仿的神经科学到心理化的出现，镜子里的面孔。

在当前的意见书中，我们提供了关于灵长类动物同理能力特定方面的比较观点，特别强调了与口/脸动作和表情相关的镜像神经元系统。嘴和脸可能是非常显着的交流刺激类别，使观察者可以接触到其他人的情感和生理内容。因此，我们描述了在某些种类的猴子和人类中，与特定嘴部动作和情感面部表情的观察和执行有关的神经种群激活模式。在开发的早期阶段，特别注意了面对面相互作用的动力学，以及在不同灵长类动物之间的面部肌肉解剖结构上的差异。我们假设社会环境和社会发展模式的日益复杂性促进了面部肌肉组织的专业化，与面部情感表达的产生和识别有关的行为方式及其神经相关性。在一些灵长类动物中，涉及顶叶额叶区域，岛状区域，扣带状皮层和杏仁核的镜回路似乎支持体现共情的自动形式，这可能有助于面部模仿和行为同步。在人类中，这些回路与特定的前额叶和颞顶皮层区域相互作用，从而促进了更高阶的认知功能，例如认知移情和精神状态归因。因此，我们的分析表明，较高同情心的演变，例如心智化，