School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2013 Jan;3:91-105. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2012.09.008. Epub 2012 Oct 13.
There is much interest in the claim that dysfunction of the mirror neuron system in individuals with autism spectrum condition causes difficulties in social interaction and communication. This paper systematically reviews all published studies using neuroscience methods (EEG/MEG/TMS/eyetracking/EMG/fMRI) to examine the integrity of the mirror system in autism. 25 suitable papers are reviewed. The review shows that current data are very mixed and that studies using weakly localised measures of the integrity of the mirror system are hard to interpret. The only well localised measure of mirror system function is fMRI. In fMRI studies, those using emotional stimuli have reported group differences, but studies using non-emotional hand action stimuli do not. Overall, there is little evidence for a global dysfunction of the mirror system in autism. Current data can be better understood under an alternative model in which social top-down response modulation is abnormal in autism. The implications of this model and future research directions are discussed.
人们对自闭症谱系障碍个体的镜像神经元系统功能障碍导致社交互动和沟通困难的说法非常感兴趣。本文系统地回顾了所有使用神经科学方法（EEG/MEG/TMS/眼动追踪/EMG/fMRI）来研究自闭症镜像系统完整性的已发表研究。共回顾了 25 篇合适的论文。该综述表明，目前的数据非常混杂，并且使用镜像系统完整性的弱局部测量的研究难以解释。唯一能很好地定位镜像系统功能的测量方法是 fMRI。在 fMRI 研究中，使用情绪刺激的研究报告了组间差异，但使用非情绪手动作刺激的研究则没有。总体而言，自闭症患者的镜像系统没有普遍的功能障碍。在自闭症中，社会自上而下的反应调节异常的替代模型下，当前的数据可以得到更好的理解。讨论了该模型的意义和未来的研究方向。
