What does embodied simulation add to understanding?

Observing someone else being touched seems to activate one's own somatosensory cortex (e.g., this report).  It is has been claimed that this effect contributes to action understanding via embodied simulation. Some view this as an example of the "mirror mechanism" by which we understand others by mirroring their experience in our own bodies (or something like that).First note that this touch-based "mirror mechanism" is quite different from so-called motor mirroring. The motor claim is non-trivial: perceptual understanding is not achieved by perceptual systems alone, but must (or can benefit from) involvement of the motor system. What about perceptual mirroring?  At the most abstract level, the claim is this: perceptual understanding is based on perceptual processes.  Not so insightful is it?  Perhaps it's even vacuous. But maybe this is too harsh an analysis.  One could presumably understand the concept of someone being touched on the arm without involving an actual somatosensory representation.  So maybe it is non-trivial, insightful even, that we do activate our touch cortex when observing touch.  In fact, for the sake of argument, let's grant that the empirical observation is true and that it does contribute to our understanding. What might it add to understanding?  Or put differently, how much does that somatosensory "simulation" add to our understanding of an observed touch?  Consider the following narrative scenarios.Scenario ...
Source: Talking Brains - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Source Type: blogs
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