Breakthroughs in Science: What’s Hot and What’s Sure To Be
Dr. Grigori Perelman, a Russian mathematician, was recently awarded the Fields Medal for solving Poincare’ Conjecture, a problem thought by many to be unsolvable. While his ingenious contribution in solving this mathematical problem that has existed for over a century is extraordinary, the behavior of Dr. Perelman after receiving this award is almost as fascinating as the details of his work.
Dr. Perelman’s work was scrutinized for over five years by a group of nine mathematicians before they awarded Dr. Perelman the Fields Medal, the highest award in mathematics. Upon hearing of this honor, however, Dr. Perelman didn’t celebrate or pursue his studies further. Instead he appears to have completely retired from mathematics and is living with his mother in St. Petersburg, avoiding contact with former mathematical colleagues and with the press.
Much has been written about the motivation of Dr. Perelman. Why would he spend his lifetime dedicated to the solution of a problem and when he reaches this goal, become a complete recluse? People who have known Dr. Perelman have long described him as polite but very quiet. He has been quoted as saying that for him to accept the accolades of others is akin to “being treated like a pet.”
Understanding the social needs of people has typically been an issue relegated to the back pages of science. But as the story of Dr. Perelman highlights, our social lives are a critical aspect of our humanity. How could this genius of a person lose the drive to do what he so clearly loved when he suddenly received attention from others?
In the past several years the role that social relationships play in our lives has begun to receive extensive attention from the scientific community. It has been widely established that one’s social network can contribute to such fundamental aspects of our lives as our cognitive ability and, most stunningly, our longevity. But despite the very positive impact that developing social relationships seems to have for most individuals, there are still people like Dr. Perelman, people who seem to be somehow hardwired to avoid social relationships.
A relatively recent finding suggests that our brains have special types of cells, called mirror neurons, that controls how we engage with others. Mirror neurons will fire not only when the person does a specific action but also when the person sees someone else performing the action. These neurons have been called the “empathy” neurons because they fire not only if something painful happens to the person but also if the person sees another person experience pain.
Suggestions are that these mirror neurons work to varying degrees in different people, and that they may not be as active in some people who have difficulty relating to other people. People with Asperger’s Syndrome, a condition where people have normal or even superior intelligence yet completely lack normal social skills, have been found to lack the number of mirror neurons that others have. Conversely, there is also speculation that an active mirror neuron system is needed for the development of language, empathy and other high level activities that make us distinctly human. Given the role that social relationships play in health and longevity others have also speculated if mirror neurons, or the abilities they mediate in humans, play some role in the better health outcomes that underlie longevity.
It all is a very speculative field right now. But in considering the future of what is hot in science, how our brain responds to social relationships is sure to be the source of scientific breakthroughs for years to come. Stay tuned, we’ll keep you informed.
