Other People's Mirrors
People with autism often appear to be trapped in their own world, unable to forge the interpersonal connections that others make almost effortlessly. While normally developing infants constantly interact with adults--smiling when smiled at, making eye contact with others, following the direction of other people's gaze--infants with autism often seem more interested in objects than people, many have observed.
Other People's Mirrors
But while many in the field follow that logic for autism's social impairments, there is less agreement on whether the disorder's mental retardation and repetitive behaviors could arise from a mirror-neuron system gone awry. Theoret posits that faulty mirror neurons could lead to repetitive behavior, and researchers such as Marco Iacoboni, MD, PhD--a neuroscience professor at the University of California, Los Angeles--believe an inability to imitate could lead to mental retardation. However, other researchers, such as Helen Tager-Flusberg, PhD, professor of anatomy, neurobiology and psychology at Boston University, argue that only social deficits could result from faulty mirror neurons.
While scientists have yet to pinpoint the precise function of the mirror-neuron system in humans--and what problems a dysfunction could cause--a flurry of new research suggests that autistic people's mirror systems are not as active as those of normal adults. For example, a study by Théoret, Tager-Flusberg and their colleagues, published in the February issue of Current Biology (Vol. 15, No. 3, pages 84-85), shows that when autistic people watch the hand movements of other people, their brains' mirror-neuron areas activate less than the mirror-neuron areas in normal adults' brains.
Developing theories about the human brain's mirroring system suggest that faulty mirror neurons could lead to serious social dysfunction, learning disability and maybe even involuntary repetitive behaviors, such as hand flapping and repeating the words of others.
Imitation appears to be the primary function of mirror neurons. People without working mirror neurons would need to analyze a movement before attempting to copy it, while those with a working mirror system can do so automatically. In line with this theory, a decade of research has shown that people with autism tend to have difficulty imitating others, especially when those movements are complex, says Tager-Flusberg.
As-yet-unpublished research by Iacoboni and his colleagues suggests that, when instructed to, high-functioning people with autism can imitate the facial expressions of others, but they do not appear to use the brain's mirror system. Instead they may consciously analyze the action to imitate it, says Iacoboni.
Moreover, the study found that as the mirror areas of normal adults activated, so did their limbic systems--brain areas associated with emotion. Mirror-system activity seems to touch off an imitation of other people's actual emotional state, Iacoboni says. People with autism, however, do not show limbic activation as they mimic the facial expressions of others, he found.
In normal adults, the brain probably counteracts mirror-neuron activation with overriding signals further down the motor pathway, researchers say. In fact, involuntary mimicking among people with brain injuries suggests that override signals may occur in the prefrontal cortex, according to research by University of California, Los Angeles, professor Mario Mendez, MD, PhD, and others. People with autism and some people with brain damage may have a faulty override system, resulting in hand-flapping or other stereotyped behavior, Théoret says.
Additionally, researchers have yet to theorize how mirror neurons might sustain a concentrated hit, leaving other areas of the brain unaffected, says Sally Rogers, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, Davis.
Mirroring is the behavior in which one person subconsciously imitates the gesture, speech pattern, or attitude of another.[1] Mirroring often occurs in social situations, particularly in the company of close friends or family, often going unnoticed by both parties.The concept often affects other individuals' notions about the individual that is exhibiting mirroring behaviors, which can lead to the individual building rapport with others.
Mirroring is distinct from conscious imitation under the premise that while the latter is a conscious, typically overt effort to copy another person, mirroring is unconsciously done during the act and often goes unnoticed.[citation needed][2] It has also been described as the chameleon effect.[3]
The display of mirroring often begins as early as infancy, as babies begin to mimic individuals around them and establish connections with particular body movements.[4] The ability to mimic another person's actions allows the infant to establish a sense of empathy and thus begin to understand another person's emotions. The infant continues to establish connections with other individual's emotions and subsequently mirror their movements.
Additionally, mirroring may play a role in how well an individual fares in a job interview.[6] Within a study conducted by Word, Zanna and Cooper, interviewers were instructed to follow specific types of body language in different experimental conditions. In one condition, interviewers were instructed to demonstrate distant and uninterested body language (such as leaning away or avoiding eye contact), and in another condition, they were asked to demonstrate more welcoming body language (such as smiling and making eye contact). As a result, the individuals being interviewed began to mirror the actions of the interviewer, and thus the individuals in the condition with less friendly body language fared worse within the interview than did individuals in the friendly condition. The study demonstrates that the initial attitudes that an interviewer may have of the individual being interviewed may affect the performance of the interviewee due to mirroring.
Individuals with autism or other social difficulties may be less likely to exhibit mirroring, as they may be less unconsciously and consciously aware of the actions of others.[7] This factor may cause additional difficulties for the individuals, as without mirroring, establishing connections with other people may be more difficult. Additionally, other individuals may be less likely to build rapport with the person, as without mirroring the person may seem more dissimilar and less friendly. Individuals who are not unconsciously aware of the gesture may have difficulties in social situations, as they may be less able to understand another person's perspective without it being explicitly stated, and thus may not understand covert cues that are often used in the social world. It is possible for autistic individuals to deliberately learn and become aware of these cues.[8]
The use of noninvasive fMRI studies have shown that there is evidence of mirroring in humans similar to that found in monkeys in the inferior parietal lobe and part of the inferior frontal gyrus.[9] Humans show additional signs of mirroring in parts of the brain not observed to show mirroring properties in primates, such as the cerebellum.[10] Mirroring has also been shown to allow neurotypical children to understand what the intentions of an action are before seeing the entire sequence.[11] Because of this, a child can see someone pick up food with the intention to eat and fire all necessary motor chains needed for them to pick up their own food and go through the motions of eating it as well. It has been shown that children with autism lack this motor chain reaction and are thought to use other senses, such as visual or somatosensory, to accomplish similar tasks.[12]
The inability to properly mirror other individuals may strain the child's social relationships later in life.[15] This strain may exist because others may feel more distant from the child due to a lack of rapport, or because the child may have a difficult time feeling empathy for others without mirroring. Mirroring helps to facilitate empathy, as individuals more readily experience other people's emotions through mimicking posture and gestures. Mirroring also allows individuals to subjectively feel the pain of others when viewing injuries. [16] This empathy may help individuals create lasting relationships and thus excel in social situations. The action of mirroring allows individuals to believe they are more similar to another person, and perceived similarity can be the basis for creating a relationship. As such, mirroring values is also important.
Rapport may be an important part of social life, as establishing rapport with an individual is generally the initial route to becoming friends or acquaintances with another person.[5] Mirroring can help establish rapport, as exhibiting similar actions, attitudes, and speech patterns as another person may lead them to believe that one is more similar to them and thus more likely to be a friend. Individuals may believe that because one replicates the individual's gestures, that one may hold similar beliefs and attitudes as the individual. Mirroring may be more pervasive in close friendships or romantic relationships, as the individuals regard each other highly and thus wish to emulate or appease them. Additionally, individuals who are friends may have more similarities than two strangers, and thus may be more likely to exhibit similar body language regardless of mirroring.
The activation of mirror neurons takes place within the individual who begins to mirror another's movements and allows them a greater connection and understanding with the individual who they are mirroring, as well as allowing the individual who is being mirrored to feel a stronger connection with the other individual.[17]
Additionally, individuals are likely to mirror the person of higher status or power within the situation or when they feel physical attraction to the other person.[18][19] Mirroring individuals of higher power may create an illusion of higher status, or create rapport with the individual in power, thus allowing the person to gain favor with the individual in power. This mechanism may be helpful for individuals in situations where they are in a position of bargaining with an individual who possesses more power, as the rapport that mirroring creates may help to persuade the higher status individual to help the person of lower status. These situations include job interviews, other work situations such as requesting promotions, parent-child interactions and asking professors for favors. Each of these situations involves one party who is in a less powerful position for bargaining and another party who has the ability to fulfill the person of lower status's needs but may not necessarily wish to. Thus, mirroring can be a useful tool for individuals of lower status in order to persuade the other party to provide goods or privileges for the lower status party. 041b061a72