Social Cognition and the Mirror Neuron System of the Brain Jaime A. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Social Cognition and the Mirror Neuron System of the Brain Jaime A. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Social Cognition and the Mirror Neuron System of the Brain Jaime A. Pineda, Ph.D. Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory COGS1 class Motivating Questions How do our brains perceive the mental states of others despite their inaccessibility?

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Social Cognition and the Mirror Neuron System of the Brain

Jaime A. Pineda, Ph.D. Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory COGS1 class

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Motivating Questions

How do our brains perceive the mental states of others despite their inaccessibility?

How do we read other minds?

How do we understand the actions, emotions and the intentions of others?

Rationally?

Intuitively?

How do we understand first- and third-person experiences?

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Classic Explanation

Theory-Theory

(argument from analogy; disembodied knowledge; visual hypothesis)

Involves striate, extrastriate, inferotemporal lobe and superior temporal sulcus, among others

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A Different Perspective

Simulation Theory

(Direct-matching hypothesis; embodied knowledge)

Map visual information onto motor representations of the same action

Mirroring systems

bridges between perception and action that allow for simulation

 Mirror neurons  EEG Mu rhythms

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A Different Perspective

Simulation Theory

(Direct-matching hypothesis; embodied

knowledge)

Map visual information onto motor representations of the same action

Mirroring systems

bridges between perception and action that allow for simulation

 Mirror neurons  EEG Mu rhythms

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The Mirror Neuron System

Iacoboni and Dapretto, Nature Reviews, 2006,7:942-951

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Biological Motion

Visual system's ability to recover object information from sparse input

Gender

Activity engaged in

Emotional state

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Biological Motion Perception: Monkeys

Perret and colleagues (1989; 1990; 1994)

Cells in superior temporal polysensory area (STPa) of the macaque temporal cortex appear sensitive to biological motion

Oram & Perrett, J. Cog. Neurosci., 1994, 6(2), 99-116

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Biological Motion Perception: Humans

An area in the superior temporal sulcus (STS) in humans responds to biological motion

Other areas do as well, including frontal cortex, SMA, insula, thalamus, amygdala

Grossman et al. J. Cog. Neurosci., 2000, 12(5), 711-720

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Brain Circuit for Social Perception (SP)

Allison et al., Trends in Cog. Sci., 2000, 4, 267-272

  • SP is processing of

information that results in the accurate analysis of the intentions of others

  • STS involved in the

processing of a variety of social signals

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Mirror Neurons

A specific class of neurons that discharge both when the monkey performs an action and when it observes a similar action done by another monkey or an experimenter

Found in:

 area F5 (homolog of Broca’s area);

10-20%

 inferior parietal cortex (PF/7b)

Activated by:

 Goal directed actions (reaching,

grasping, holding)

 Observation of similar actions

performed by “biological” agents

Di Pellegrino et al., Exp. Brain Res., 1992, 91, 176-80

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Rizzolatti et al., Cogn. Brain Res., 1996, 3:131-141

Mirror Neuron Activity

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Perception-to-Action Mapping Selectivity

Action Logically-Related

(effector independent; 2X)

Congruent

(effector dependent)

Perception

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Understanding Goals and Intentions?

Umilta et al. Neuron, 2001, 32: 91-101

Grasping Mimicking

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Response facilitation

Mimicry

Simulation

Imitation learning

Understanding actions

Understanding intentions

Empathy

Theory of Mind

Language

Functional Significance

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MNS activity No MNS Activity

intentionality?anthropomorphism? biological realism? motivational significance? transitive/intransitive actions? generalizability?

Characterizing the System

learning? social relevance?

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The Mirror Neuron System

Iacoboni and Dapretto, Nature Reviews, 2006,7:942-951

mu rhythm

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Frequency Analysis of Mu Rhythm

P

  • w

e r Frequency

(8-13 Hz) (10-14 Hz)

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Pineda et al., IEEE Trans. Rehab. Engr., 2000, 8(2): 219-222

Does Mu Suppression Reflect Mirror Activity?

Baseline Move Observe Imagine

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Mu Rhythm

8-13 Hz oscillation over sensorimotor cortex

Normal Oscillation Self Action Observed Action

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Action Observation and Social Interaction

To what degree do mu rhythms, like mirror neurons, reflect social interaction?

Oberman et al., Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2007, 2, 62-66

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Measured mu power (2 min of EEG) in normals (n=20) ages 18-34 (mean=21.1, SD=3.40 ) under different

  • bservation conditions:

Non-interacting

Social Action - Spectator

Social Action - Interactive

Visual white noise

Engaged in continuous performance task during

  • bservation

Experimental Paradigm

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Non-interacting Social Action - Spectator Social Action - Interactive

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Results

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Results

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ASD shows impairments in:

social interactions

delayed/abnormal language development

behavior

 Impaired imitation  Repetitive patterns of

behavior

No common underlying mechanism

Deficits in imitation learning (Rogers and Pennington, 1991)

Deficits in mirror neuron system (Williams et al., 2001)

Autistic Spectrum Disorder

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Hypothesis

If mu rhythms reflect MNS activity and the capacity to understand actions as well as learn through imitation, then autistics should show differences in mu rhythms compared to controls

Oberman et al., Cog. Brain Res. 2005, 24: 190-198

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Experimental Paradigm

Measured mu power (2 min of EEG) in normals (n=12) and autistics (n=10) under different conditions:

Self-movement of hand

Watching video of someone moving their hand

Watching a video of a ball moving up and down

Oberman et al., Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2005, 24(2):190-8.

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Results

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Oberman et al., Neuropsychologia, 2008

Is the Mirror Broken and Unrepairable?

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Creating a Temporary “Autistic” Brain

Inferior parietal

lobule Superior temporal sulcus Inferior frontal gyrus Sensorimotor cortex

RATIONALE

If mirror neurons in IFG are involved in the direct modulation of sensorimotor mu rhythms, then temporary inhibition

  • f these neurons should

prevent suppression of mu rhythms and cause “autistic-like” behaviors.

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Measured EEG in typically developing adults (n=8) before and after IFG stimulation

 Observation of movement

(4 videos)

 Simple (hand

movements) and complex (social interactions)

 Baron-Cohen’s Eyes Task  Emotion and gender

discrimination

1 Hz rTMS (5 min at ~ 40-50% absolute threshold) targeted at left IFG

Method: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

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Eyes Task

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Results

Reaction Time Accuracy

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Absence of Mu Suppression

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Neurofeedback Training Rationale

Frontoparietal areas in an ASD brain may be underconnected If we change the dynamics of the sensorimotor mu oscillations, And these oscillations are functionally linked to the MNS network (IFG, IPL, STS), Then we may change functional connectivity via neuroplasticity and recover MNS engagement, leading to positive changes.

IPL STS SM Cortex IFG

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Reversing Social Deficits in Autism

Training

30 min x 3/week x 10 weeks

HF ASD: 7-17 yr olds; n=20

Experimental/Control groups

Mu activity above threshold (E)

EMG activity below threshold (E/C)

Pineda et al., Research in ASD, 2008

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Assessments

Verification of diagnosis (IQ, ADI, ADOS)

Quantitative EEG (QEEG)

Test of Variable Attention (TOVA)

Imitation ability (De Renzi’s Apraxia imitation test)

Mu suppression index (MSI)

Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC - parental assessment)

Neuroimaging (fMRI, fcMRI)

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Emotion/Gender discrimination

Interpreting Facial Expressions: Nonverbal

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Mental attribution Physical causation

Decoding Thoughts and Intentions

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ASD TD

Behavioral Performance

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Baseline Hand Social

Mu-Suppression Normalizes Following Training

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Positive Changes in Sustained Attention

Improved ability to maintain attention in experimental group

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Positive Changes in Parental Assessment

Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist

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Imitation

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Functional connectivity Diffusion Tensor Imaging structural functional

Future: Neuroimaging Techniques

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A Fundamental Feature of Brain Organization?

“Understanding others as intentional agents may be grounded in the relational nature of our interactions with the world”

 Beyond understanding actions

 emotions: the root of empathy?  sounds and other senses  language

Other problems in “mirroring”

Aberrant imitation learning: addiction?

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What Is It Like To Be…?

Thomas Nagel, The Philosophical Review 83 (1974).

Can aspects of subjective experience be reduced to brain activity?

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Collaborators and Students

Vilayanur Ramachandran

Lindsay Oberman

Eric Altschuler

Andrey Vankov

Bill Skinner

Chulie Ulloa

Brendan Allison

Ed Hubbard

Joe McCleery

Erin Hecht

David Brang

Scott Carey

Adrienne Moore

Rajiv Rao

Chris Robinson

Hanie Elfenbein

Alex Bressler

Steven Thurman

Jena Davis

Dong Suk

Christa Futagaki

Judith Kaye

Lee Edwards

Ralph-Axel Mueller

Brandon Keehn

Oriana Clark

Jia-Min Bai

Derrick Asher

Dane Chambers

Matt Earhardt

Heather Pelton

Alicia Trigerio

Albert Ayala

Stephen Johnson

Steve Gilmore

Nick Pojman

Kelly Head