Autism and Mirror Neuron System: A Review-Based on EEG

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

PhD student of Speech and Language Pathology, Department of Speech and Language Pathology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background and Aims: Different neurological theories have been suggested to discuss the etiology of autism. One of the most recent and premier theories is the Broken Mirror Theory, that concerns the mirror neuron dysfunctions in the patients' brain. This issue is currently the topic of research in the world and so far various results have been reported. It is expected that better understanding of this system can lead to designing more detailed treatments. The present review was carried out following EEG to summarize the previous studies on mirror neuron system in individuals with autism.
Materials and Method: Databases of ScienceDirect, Ebsco, Google Scholar, Ovid, Proquest, and PubMed were searched using the following keywords: autism, mirror neuron system, and EEG.
Results: Six papers were selected since they implemented EEG as their instrument to evaluate the Mirror Neuron System in people with autism spectrum disorder. It was revealed that in four studies there were statistically significant differences in Mirror Neuron System’s function between people with autism and those in control group, while in the other two studies, no significant difference was observed between the two groups.
Conclusion: These studies support the difference in mu wave suppression between people with autism and control group. Considering the available studies, factors such as research methodology, behavioral heterogeneity, and diagnostic criteria may have influenced the results; however, it can conservatively be stated that the results of most studies indicate dysfunction in mirror neuron system of autistic people. More experimental data with more advanced neural imaging techniques are required to support mirror neuron system.

Keywords

References

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The Scientific Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine
Volume 5, Issue 4
January and February 2017
Pages 260-270

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History

  • Receive Date: 04 October 2015
  • Revise Date: 15 February 2016
  • Accept Date: 18 February 2016
  • First Publish Date: 21 December 2016

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