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Parapsychology: Harnessing Your Etheric Energy
It is an unfortunate reality that society has inadvertently categorized the natural abilities associated with bio-etheric energy as a form of entertainment. Classifying skills such as precognitive event recognition alongside attractions like stage...
The Nature of Deja Vu
Déjà Vu
by Dr. Jeffry R. Palmer Ph.D.
The term déjà vu comes from the French and means, literally, "already seen." Those who have experienced the feeling describe it as an overwhelming sense of familiarity with something that shouldn't be...
What does statistics have to do with drug contaminated bank notes?
Does the topic pique your curiosity? Are you wondering what
indeed does statistics have to do with drug contaminated notes?
Let's suffice it to say: Everything. Yes, though the connection
may sound implausible, a team of conscientious and...
Wholistics
I have yet to see a scientist talk about the impact of time viewing in any article. It will ensure the continuing exponential growth in knowledge. I think it is quite possible that this has been part of what has unleashed Pandora’s Box already and...
Why Most People Don't Really Want to Heal (Part 1)
I recently attended a metaphysical lecture facilitated by Guy Williams, a friend of mine who also happens to be a minister of Religious Science. After the lecture, Guy opened the floor for prayer requests, and one of the attendees asked for...
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'Broken Mirror' May Cause Autism
When observing and imitating emotions, children with autism
display virtually no activity in a key part of the brain's
mirror neuron system, according to new imaging research
published in Nature Neuroscience.
The human brain has a matching system of observation and
execution that causes mirror neurons to fire both when a person
observes others performing a goal-directed action and when he or
she carries out the same action. This is the neural mechanism
that allows most people to automatically understand others'
actions, intentions and emotions, neuroscientists believe.
But autism is characterized by difficulties with social
interaction, including verbal and nonverbal communication,
imitation and empathy. The new findings dramatically bolster a
growing body of evidence pointing to a breakdown of the brain's
mirror neuron system as the mechanism behind these symptoms.
Dysfunctional Mirror Neuron System
"Our findings suggest that a dysfunctional mirror neuron system
may underlie the social deficits observed in autism," says
Mirella Dapretto, lead author and assistant professor in
residence of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the Semel
Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and the
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
"Together with other recent data, our results provide strong
support for a mirror neuron theory of autism. This is exciting
because we finally have an account that can explain all core
symptoms of this disorder," Dapretto adds.
Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to
measure brain activity in 10 high-functioning children with
autism while they imitated and observed 80 photos
depicting
different emotions, such as anger, fear, happiness or sadness.
The brain activity of 10 typically developing children also was
studied while they performed the same tasks.
All of the children rehearsed the tasks prior to the fMRI scans
to assure researchers they could perform the tasks. Both groups
performed equally well. Normal brain activity in areas of the
brain involving sight and facial movements indicated that the
children with autism remained on task during the fMRI scans.
The team assessed symptom severity of each autistic child with
two independent measures: the Autism Diagnostic Observation
Schedule-Generic, and the Autism Diagnostic Interview.
Reduced Activity in the Emotion Centers
Unlike the typically developing children, the autistic children
showed virtually no activity in the part of the brain called the
pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus, which has been
identified as a key part of the mirror neuron system in previous
research.
Importantly, the level of mirror neuron activity seen in
children with autism was inversely related to symptom severity
in the social domain.
Children with autism also showed reduced activity in the emotion
centers of the brain, consistent with the hypothesis that this
mirroring mechanism may play a crucial role for understanding
how others feel and for empathizing with them.
Copyright 2005 Daily News Central
About the author:
Nicole Weaver is a health journalist for Daily News Central,
an online publication that delivers breaking news and reliable
health information to consumers, healthcare providers and
industry professionals.
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