Modulation of Mu Suppression in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Response to Familiar or Unfamiliar Stimuli: The Mirror Neuron Hypothesis

Autor/inn/en	Oberman, Lindsay M.; Ramachandran, Vilayanur S.; Pineda, Jaime A.
Titel	Modulation of Mu Suppression in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Response to Familiar or Unfamiliar Stimuli: The Mirror Neuron Hypothesis
Quelle	In: Neuropsychologia, 46 (2008) 5, S.1558-1565 (8 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0028-3932
DOI	10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.01.010
Schlagwörter	Responses; Autism; Familiarity; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Films; Neurological Organization; Novelty (Stimulus Dimension); Neurological Impairments; Interpersonal Relationship; Video Technology; Visual Stimuli + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Autismus; Film; Neurodegenerative Erkrankung; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung
Abstract	In an early description of the mu rhythm, Gastaut and Bert [Gastaut, H. J., & Bert, J. (1954). EEG changes during cinematographic presentation. "Clinical Neurophysiology", 6, 433-444] noted that it was blocked when an individual identified himself with an active person on the screen, suggesting that it may be modulated by the degree to which the individual can relate to the observed action. Additionally, multiple recent studies suggest that the mirror neurons system (MNS) is impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which may affect their ability to relate to others. The current study aimed to investigate MNS sensitivity by examining mu suppression to familiarity, i.e., the degree to which the observer is able to identify with the actor on the screen by using familiar versus unfamiliar actors. The participants viewed four 80 s videos that included: (1) stranger: an unfamiliar hand performing a grasping action; (2) familiar: the child's guardian or sibling's hand performing the same action; (3) own: the participant's own hand performing the same action; (4) bouncing balls: two balls moving vertically toward and away from each other. The study revealed that mu suppression was sensitive to degree of familiarity. Both typically developing participants and those with ASD showed greater suppression to familiar hands compared to those of strangers. These findings suggest that the MNS responds to observed actions in individuals with ASD, but only when individuals can identify in some personal way with the stimuli. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.) (As Provided).
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Update	2017/4/10