The Mirror Neuron System Flashcards
Who discovered the role of mirror neurons? How was this discovered?
Rizzolatti et al. found that an area of the monkey’s brain became active when the monkey reached for its food but also when the monkey watched a researcher collect his lunch.
Give some of the roles of mirror neurons.
- Plays a role regarding the Theory of Mind - Meltzoff - beads into jar, the children imitated what the adult intended to do rather than what they actually did.
- Play a role in human empathy as we are able to relate to their emotions.
- Play a role in evolution - we are able to acquire skills within generations rather than over millions of years like other species.
What is the relationship between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the mirror neuron system?
It is likely those with autism have a poor mirror neuron system as they are unable to relate to the emotions of others.
What is the name of the theory proposed by Ramachandran and Oberman?
The ‘Broken mirror’ theory of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
What is the ‘broken mirror’ theory?
Autism develops due to neurological deficits. Such dysfunction prevents a child understanding social behaviours in others. Researchers have identified that children with ASD typically mimic their elders less than those without.
Give an advantage of the mirror neuron theory of social cognition.
Advantage:
- Social cognition appears to only be present in species with complex social systems e.g. humans and elephants - suggesting a biological basis to social cognition that has evolved due to its survival value - however Atkins et al. found it to exist in birds e.g. quail implying the theory may be more widespread in the animal kingdom - supporting its biological basis.
- Supporting evidence - Mouras et al. - before watching pornography, parts of the pars opercularis (are rich in mirror neurons) became active - suggesting mirror neurons produced perspective-taking, making the pornography arousing - high practical validity in relation to addictions of this nature - furthered our understanding of how addictions come about.
Give two disadvantages of the mirror neuron theory of social cognition.
Disadvantages:
- Flawed methodology - brain scanning - mirror neuron research is based on inferences - e.g. Gallese - fMRI scans and found the anterior cingulate cortex and inferior frontal cortex are active when observing emotions in others - cannot be used as direct evidence of mirror neuron activity.
- Relies heavily on animal studies - e.g. Atkins/Rizzolatti - difficulty extrapolating these findings to humans - mirror neuron theory is based on inferences of animal behaviour on humans - humans have highly complex social systems - animal studies are inappropriate.
Outline Dapretto et al’s study.
- Aimed to compare mirror neuron ability in normal and autistic children.
- 10 high functioning autistics and 10 normally functioning normal children between 10 and 14.
- Presented various facial expressions for two seconds.
What did Dapretto et al. find?
Children with autism showed no mirror neuron activity in the pars opercularis. They also found a negative correlation between pars opercularis activity and the scores of the autistic children.
