A Collection Of Electrical Impulses

I find any and all studies about the human brain fascinating. It seems the more we study about ourselves, the more it appears that we are just a collection of electrical impulses. A recent study posits that altruism and sympathy can be linked to 'mirror neurons':

"Enthusiasm among scientists has been spreading as growing evidence suggests that "mirrors" may explain the roots of human empathy and altruism as well as provide insight into such disorders as autism and even schizophrenia. But that's not all. In the past few years, dozens of studies have linked mirror neurons to the emergence of language, abstract reasoning and even self-awareness or consciousness. "The self and the other are just two sides of the same coin. To understand myself, I must recognize myself in other people," says Marco Iacoboni."

This is scary stuff, this elimination the soul or the mind or whatever you want to call it. Being a punchy atheist, I use these studies to bolster my arguments that there is no mystical side to the universe, but my more poetic side can't help feeling a sense of loss at the death of something more transcendent than humans being nothing more than a collection of cells.