Abstract

GIRALDO TORRES, Laura Rocío; RESTREPO DE MEJIA, Francia  and  ARBOLEDA SANCHEZ, Viviana Andrea. Autism spectrum disorder, electroencephalography and mirror neurons. Acta Neurol Colomb. [online]. 2018, vol.34, n.3, pp.215-222. ISSN 0120-8748.  https://doi.org/10.22379/24224022215.

The mirror neuron system (MNS) is the circuit of nerve cells that are activated both by performing an action and by observing that the same action is performed by another subject. In humans, this neural system is closely related to the understanding of motor actions and imitation, as well as to high level skills such as verbal language development, theory of mind (ToM) and the manifestation of qualities such as emotional empathy, factors that are altered in subjects with a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), evidencing mainly affectations at the level of social interaction. Several studies with electroencephalography (EEG) have allowed us to recognize alterations in the activation of the MNS in people with ASD in tasks where there are conditions of observation of motor actions, which is evidenced in the absence of the desynchronization of mu rate of electroencephalogram. Thus, this article presents a review of the researches that have been developed in the subjects of mirror neurons, autism spectrum disorder, electroencephalography and their relationship.

Keywords : electroencephalography; mirror neuron system; autism spectrum disorder (MeSH).

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