Mirror neurons and autism

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Mirror neurons and autism

• Time to be thinking about therapy?

Justin H G Williams, University of Aberdeen,
Scotland.
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• Normal development
• How might mirror neurons be involved?
• Why might problems become manifest with autism?
• What can be done to help?

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• In earlier writings Piaget talked about autistic
  intelligence
• Undirected intelligence
• Inwardly directed
• Not concerned with relationships with others
• Independent of others influences
• Becomes socialised with age

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Supramodal Representation
Emotional expression
Primary perceptions
Emotional State
Actions
Action Control
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Supramodal representation

• Memories
• Experience
• Motor skills
• Modulates emotion and action
• Both perception and action

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Normal motor learning the dynamic inverse model
of motor control
action previously learnt to achieve desired
effects
Training signal

Enactor
Desired outcome
Cross-modal translation sensory error measure
used to generate training signal in motor domain
Calculates mismatch
Wolpert et al., Trends in Cognitive Sciences,
1998, 2 338-347
Effect or motor command
Behaviour
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Imitation (Oztop and Arbib, 2002)
Training signal
Premotor cortex

Parietal Cortex mirror neurons
Desired trajectory
Premotor Mirror neurons
Observed Action
Effect or motor command
Actual trajectory
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Modified model for imitation
Training signal
Premotor cortex

Observed behaviour
Mirror neuron system
Orbitofrontal cortex-Amygdala
Effect or motor command
Behavioural
Consequences
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Mirror neuron system

• Crucial for developing feedback modification
  learning.
• Serves to modify behaviour in response to others
  behaviour as well as own.
• Allows for development of complex
  representational systems that modulate emotion
  and behaviour.

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Impaired mirror neuron system in autism

• Probably not a mirror neuron deficit as such.
• ? Poor development of connectivity e.g white
  matter problems
• ? Poor plasticity of learning system
• ? Abnormal connectivity with other structures
  e.g. orbitofrontal cortex

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What can we do?

• Imitation training
• Social skills training
• Explicit feedback-based behavioural modification
  (coaching)
• Focussed at the right representational level.

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Increase plasticity?

• TMS or tDCS
• Apply electrical field to cortex
• tDCS 1.5v (1x AA battery) for 20 minutes
• rTMS high strength magnetic field to very small
  area of cortex.
• ? Drugs such as methylphenidate

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For references and more, see

• Williams J.H.G. (2008). Self-other matching and
  comparison in autism and social development
  multiple roles for mirror neurons and other brain
  bases Autism Research (1,73-90)

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