Emre HARI, Canberk CENGİZ, Ferhat KILIÇ, Ertan YURDAKOŞ

AYNA NÖRON SİSTEMİ VE FONKSİYONLARINA KLİNİK YAKLAŞIM

Mirror neurons were discovered in macaque monkeys in the early 1990s by Rizzolatti and his colleagues at the University of Parma. In studies investigating mirror neurons in humans, noninvasive methods of neuroimaging and electrophysiology have been used because the invasive methods used on macaque monkeys are not available. Several complex functions, including identification, evaluation, and imitation of action, empathy, learning, and memory, have been attributed to this neuron group since its discovery. Thus, the mirror neuron system is thought to be the bridge between cognition and action. This possible role in cognition shows the contribution of this system in some neurological and psychiatric diseases. With this perspective, studies on the pathology of the mirror neuron system in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and autism-spectrum and psychotic disorders are mentioned in this review, together with research on the possible involvement of the mirror neuron system in congenital mirror movement disorder. A re-evaluation of neurological and psychiatric diseases in light of new opinions on the organization of the brain following the discovery of mirror neurons may be helpful in understanding clinical features and establishing new methods of treatment and rehabilitation.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Mirror neurons, mirror neuron system, mirror neuron functions, neurodegenerative diseases, psychotic disorders, autism spectrum disorder

A CLINICAL APPROACH TO THE MIRROR NEURON SYSTEM AND ITS FUNCTIONS

Mirror neurons were discovered in macaque monkeys in the early 1990s by Rizzolatti and his team at the University of Parma. In mirror neuron studies on human, non-invasive methods of neuroimaging and electrophysiology have been used since the implication of the invasive methods, which have been used on macaque monkeys, is not available. Several complex functions such as identification, evaluation, and imitation of action; empathy; learning; and memory have been attributed to this neuron group since its discovery. Thus, the mirror neuron system is thought to be the bridge between cognition and action. This possible role in cognition shows the contribution of this system in some neurological and psychiatric diseases. With this perspective, the studies on the pathology of the mirror neuron system in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, autism-spectrum and psychotic disorders were mentioned in this review. Re-evaluation of the neurological and psychiatric diseases in the light of the new opinions on the organization of the brain following the discovery of mirror neurons, might be helpful to understand the clinical features and establish new ways for treatment and rehabilitation.

Keywords:

Mirror neuron system, Mirror neurons, Mirror neuron functions, Neurodegenerative diseases, Psychotic disorders, Autism spectrum disorder,

PDF

___

1. Di Pellegrino G, Fadiga L, Fogassi L, Gallese V, Rizzolatti G. Understanding motor events: a neurophysiological study. Exp brain Res 1992;91(1):176-80. [CrossRef]
2. Ferri S, Peeters R, Nelissen K, Vanduffel W, Rizzolatti G, Orban GA. A human homologue of monkey F5c. Neuroimage 2015;111:251-66. [CrossRef]
3. Mukamel R, Ekstrom AD, Kaplan J, Iacoboni M, Fried I. Single-neuron responses in humans during execution and observation of actions. Curr Biol 2010;20(8):750-6. [CrossRef]
4. Nelissen K, Borra E, Gerbella M, Rozzi S, Luppino G, Vanduffel W, et al. Action observation circuits in the macaque monkey cortex. J Neurosci 2011;31(10):3743-56. [CrossRef
] 5. Farina E, Borgnis F, Pozzo T. Mirror neurons and their relationship with neurodegenerative disorders. J Neurosci Res 2020;98(6):1070-94. [CrossRef]
6. Grèzes J, Armony JL, Rowe J, Passingham RE. Activations related to “mirror” and “canonical” neurones in the human brain: an fMRI study. Neuroimage 2003;18(4):928-37. [CrossRef]
7. Vogt S, Buccino G, Wohlschläger AM, Canessa N, Shah NJ, Zilles K, et al. Prefrontal involvement in imitation learning of hand actions: effects of practice and expertise. Neuroimage 2007;37(4):1371-83. [CrossRef]
8. Molenberghs P, Cunnington R, Mattingley JB. Brain regions with mirror properties: a meta-analysis of 125 human fMRI studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2012;36(1):341-9. [CrossRef]
9. Mehta B, Bhandari B. The Mirror Neuron System: Basic Concepts. Int Physiol 2016;4(2):77-80. [CrossRef]
10. Montgomery KJ, Isenberg N, Haxby J V. Communicative hand gestures and object-directed hand movements activated the mirror neuron system. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2007;2(2):114-22. [CrossRef]
11. Yeo BTT, Krienen FM, Sepulcre J, Sabuncu MR, Lashkari D, Hollinshead M, et al. The organization of the human cerebral cortex estimated by intrinsic functional connectivity. J Neurophysiol 2011;106(3):1125-65. [CrossRef]
12. Jeon H, Lee S-H. From neurons to social beings: Short review of the mirror neuron system research and its socio-psychological and psychiatric implications. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci 2018;16(1):18-31. [CrossRef]
13. Northoff G, Bermpohl F. Cortical midline structures and the self. Trends Cogn Sci 2004;8(3):102-7. [CrossRef]
14. Raichle ME, MacLeod AM, Snyder AZ, Powers WJ, Gusnard DA, Shulman GL. A default mode of brain function. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2001;98(2):676-82. [CrossRef]
15. Gastaut HJ, Bert J. EEG changes during cinematographic presentation (Moving picture activation of the EEG). Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 1954;6:433-44. [CrossRef]
16. Perry A, Bentin S. Does focusing on hand-grasping intentions modulate electroencephalogram μ and α suppressions? Neuroreport 2010;21(16):1050-4. [CrossRef]
17. Aleksandrov AA, Tugin SM. Changes in the mu rhythm in different types of motor activity and on observation of movements. Neurosci Behav Physiol 2012;42(3):302-7. [CrossRef]
18. Heiser M, Iacoboni M, Maeda F, Marcus J, Mazziotta JC. The essential role of Broca’s area in imitation. Eur J Neurosci 2003;17(5):1123-8. [CrossRef]
19. Cengiz B, Vurallı D, Zinnuroğlu M, Bayer G, Golmohammadzadeh H, Günendi Z, et al. Analysis of mirror neuron system activation during action observation alone and action observation with motor imagery tasks. Exp brain Res 2018;236(2):497-503. [CrossRef]
20. Valchev N, Gazzola V, Avenanti A, Keysers C. Primary somatosensory contribution to action observation brain activity-combining fMRI and cTBS. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2016;11(8):1205-17. [CrossRef]
21. Gallese V, Fadiga L, Fogassi L, Rizzolatti G. Action recognition in the premotor cortex. Brain 1996;119(2):593- 609. [CrossRef]
22. Iacoboni M, Molnar-Szakacs I, Gallese V, Buccino G, Mazziotta JC, Rizzolatti G. Grasping the intentions of others with one’s own mirror neuron system. PLoS Biol 2005;3(3):e79. [CrossRef]
23. Fogassi L, Ferrari PF, Gesierich B, Rozzi S, Chersi F, Rizzolatti G. Parietal lobe: from action organization to intention understanding. Science 2005;308(5722):662-7. [CrossRef]
24. Thompson EL, Bird G, Catmur C. Conceptualizing and testing action understanding. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019;105:106-14. [CrossRef]
25. Nishitani N, Hari R. Viewing lip forms: cortical dynamics. Neuron 2002;36(6):1211-20. [CrossRef]
26. Tramacere A, Pievani T, Ferrari PF. Mirror neurons in the tree of life: mosaic evolution, plasticity and exaptation of sensorimotor matching responses. Biol Rev 2017;92(3):1819- 41. [CrossRef]
27. Rizzolatti G, Craighero L. The mirror-neuron system. Annu Rev Neurosci 2004;27:169-92. [CrossRef]
28. Ferrari PF, Gerbella M, Coudé G, Rozzi S. Two different mirror neuron networks: the sensorimotor (hand) and limbic (face) pathways. Neuroscience 2017;358:300-15. [CrossRef]
29. Hage SR. Auditory and audio-vocal responses of single neurons in the monkey ventral premotor cortex. Hear Res 2018;366:82-9. [CrossRef]
30. Arbib MA. From monkey-like action recognition to human language: An evolutionary framework for neurolinguistics. Behav Brain Sci 2005;28(2):105-24. [CrossRef]
31. Anders S, Sack B, Pohl A, Münte T, Pramstaller P, Klein C, et al. Compensatory premotor activity during affective face processing in subclinical carriers of a single mutant Parkin allele. Brain 2012;135(4):1128-40. [CrossRef]
32. Pohl A, Anders S, Chen H, Patel HJ, Heller J, Reetz K, et al. Impaired emotional mirroring in Parkinson’s disease—a study on brain activation during processing of facial expressions. Front Neurol 2017;8:682. [CrossRef]
33. Bisio A, Casteran M, Ballay Y, Manckoundia P, Mourey F, Pozzo T. Motor resonance mechanisms are preserved in Alzheimer’s disease patients. Neuroscience 2012;222:58-68. [CrossRef]
34. Rattanachayoto P, Tritanon O, Laothamatas J, Sungkarat W. Comparison of a mirror neuron system among elders with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and no disease. Thailand: N. p., 2012.
35. Moretti D V. Involvement of mirror neuron system in prodromal Alzheimer’s disease. BBA Clin 2016;5:46-53. [CrossRef]
36. Farina E, Baglio F, Pomati S, d’Amico A, Campini IC, Di Tella S, et al. The mirror neurons network in aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer disease: A functional MRI study. Front Aging Neurosci 2017;9:371. [CrossRef]
37. Lee TMC, Sun D, Leung M-K, Chu L-W, Keysers C. Neural activities during affective processing in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiol Aging 2013;34(3):706-15. [CrossRef]
38. Li H, Chen Y, Li Y, Yin B, Tang W, Yu X, et al. Altered cortical activation during action observation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients: a parametric functional MRI study. Eur Radiol 2015;25(9):2584-92. [CrossRef]
39. Jelsone-Swain L, Persad C, Burkard D, Welsh RC. Action processing and mirror neuron function in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: an fMRI study. PLoS One 2015;10(4):e0119862. [CrossRef]
40. Nishitani N, Avikainen S, Hari R. Abnormal imitation-related cortical activation sequences in Asperger’s syndrome. Ann Neurol 2004;55(4):558-62. [CrossRef]
41. Oberman LM, McCleery JP, Hubbard EM, Bernier R, Wiersema JR, Raymaekers R, et al. Developmental changes in mu suppression to observed and executed actions in autism spectrum disorders. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2013;8(3):300-4. [CrossRef]
42. Enticott P, Kennedy H, Rinehart NJ, Bradshaw J, Tonge B, Daskalakis ZJ, et al. Interpersonal motor resonance in autism spectrum disorder: evidence against a global “mirror system” deficit. Front Hum Neurosci 2013;7:218. [CrossRef]
43. Oberman LM, Hubbard EM, McCleery JP, Altschuler EL, Ramachandran VS, Pineda JA. EEG evidence for mirror neuron dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders. Cogn brain Res 2005;24(2):190-8. [CrossRef]
44. Oberman LM, Ramachandran VS, Pineda JA. Modulation of mu suppression in children with autism spectrum disorders in response to familiar or unfamiliar stimuli: the mirror neuron hypothesis. Neuropsychologia 2008;46(5):1558-65. [CrossRef]
45. Todorova GK, Hatton REM, Pollick FE. Biological motion perception in autism spectrum disorder: a meta-analysis. Mol Autism 2019;10(1):49. [CrossRef]
46. McCormick LM, Brumm MC, Beadle JN, Paradiso S, Yamada T, Andreasen N. Mirror neuron function, psychosis, and empathy in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2012;201(3):233-9. [CrossRef]
47. Derntl B, Finkelmeyer A, Voss B, Eickhoff SB, Kellermann T, Schneider F, et al. Neural correlates of the core facets of empathy in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2012;136(1-3):70- 81. [CrossRef]
48. Cox BC, Cincotta M, Espay AJ. Mirror movements in movement disorders: a review. Tremor Other Hyperkinet Mov (N Y). 2012;2: tre-02-59-398-1. [CrossRef]
49. Spencer-Smith M, Knight JL, Lacaze E, Consortium I, Depienne C, Lockhart PJ, et al. Callosal agenesis and congenital mirror movements: outcomes associated with DCC mutations. Dev Med Child Neurol 2020;62(6):758-62. [CrossRef]
50. Demirayak P, Onat OE, Gevrekci AÖ, Gülsüner S, Uysal H, Bilgen R, et al. Abnormal subcortical activity in congenital mirror movement disorder with RAD51 mutation. Diagnostic Interv Radiol 2018;24(6):392. [CrossRef]