Today, our understanding has evolved beyond just these single cells to whole mirror systems. “It’s more like when we see someone in distress, we tend to map it onto similar brain states as when we experience it ourselves,” says Michael, In one of his studies, he looked at a special group with “mirror touch synesthesia” (MTS)—people who intriguingly will see someone stroked, tapped, or jabbed with a needle and feel the sensation on their own bodies. These subjects, he found, also tend to catch others’ emotions more than a control group.

In other research, he has found that people with MTS have differences in an area of the brain called the temporal parietal junction. “The TPJ is what helps you distinguish between yourself and somebody else,” he says, “so they have difficulties inhibiting other people. And that might explain why they share other people’s experiences more.”