Autism: Mirroring, Neurofeedback, and Empathy€¦ · Autism: Mirroring, Neurofeedback, and Empathy...
Transcript of Autism: Mirroring, Neurofeedback, and Empathy€¦ · Autism: Mirroring, Neurofeedback, and Empathy...
Autism: Mirroring, Neurofeedback, and Empathy
Jaime A. Pineda, Ph.D. University of California, San Diego
U.S.A.
Outline of Talk
1. Autism and the mirror neuron theory 2. Mu rhythms and mirror neuron activity 3. Empathy and mu rhythms 4. Mu rhythm neurofeedback as neurological
rehabilitation in autism
Au#sm Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
Problems in: Social ability Language development Behavior
Common Characteris#cs of Social Dysfunc#ons
– Impairment in social play and imagina#on
– Difficulty interpre#ng ac#ons and inten#ons of others
– Inability to par#cipate in a reciprocal conversa#on
– Language delays – Impaired joint/sustained aEen#on
– Trouble imita#ng others – Absence of empathy
Mirror Neurons
• A class of neurons that discharge when the monkey performs an ac#on and when it observes a similar ac#on done by another agent
– Found in: • area F5 (homolog of Broca’s area) • inferior parietal cortex (PF/PFG/7b)
– Ac+vated by: • Goal directed ac#ons (reaching, grasping, holding) • Observa#on of similar ac#ons performed by “biological” agents
Di Pellegrino et al., Exp. Brain Res., 1992, 91, 176-80
Rizzolatti et al., Cogn. Brain Res., 1996, 3:131-141
Mirror Neuron Ac#vity
Perception-to-Action Mapping Selectivity
Action
Logically-Related (effector independent; 2X; Goal of movement)
Congruent (effector dependent; Kinematics of movement)
Perception
The Mirror Neuron Theory of Au#sm
– Au#sm as deficits in imita#on learning (Rogers and Pennington, 1991) – MNS as the neural basis for imita#on learning (Iacoboni et al., 1999) – Dysfunc#ons in MNS may help explain social dysfunc#ons in au#sm (Williams et al., 2001)
“ If mirror neurons support the ability to imitate others and to understand the goal behind their ac7ons, the disrup7on of this system might also impair the later development of the ability to understand the state of mind of other individuals.”
(Iacoboni and Dapretto, 2006; Meltzoff and Decety, 2003; Oberman and Ramachandran, 2007; Rizzolatti et al., 2009)
Dapretto et al., Nat Neurosci., 2006
Ac#va#on for Imita#on of Facial Emo#ons
Mu Rhythms and Mirror Neuron Ac#vity
• Mu rhythms reflect ac#vity in sensorimotor cortex that is modulated by MNS (Altschuler et al., 2000)
• Sensorimotor simula#on of observed ac#ons are reflected in mu rhythm ac#vity (Pineda, 2005)
Characteris#cs of the Human Mu Rhythm
• Maximal over sensorimotor areas
• AEenuated or blocked by movement
• Not affected by opening/closing the eyes
• Not affected by auditory/visual s#mula#on in the absence of movement
Kuhlman, W.N., Electroenceph. Clin. Neurophys., 1978, 44: 83-93
The Mirror Neuron System
Iacoboni and Dapretto, Nature Reviews, 2006,7:942-951
mu rhythm (8-‐12 Hz)
MNS Ac#vity -‐-‐> Suppression
Normal Oscilla#ons at rest
Pineda et al., IEEE Trans. Rehab. Engr., 2000, 8(2): 219-222
Are Mu Rhythms Affected by Ac#ons and the Observa#on of Ac#ons?
Baseline
Move
Observe
Imagine
Do ASD Children Have A Dysfunc#onal MNS?
RATIONALE
• If mu rhythms reflect MNS ac#vity then ASD individuals should show differences in mu rhythms compared to typically-‐developing controls
Oberman et al., Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2005, 24(2):190-8.
Experimental Paradigm
• Measured mu power (2 min of EEG) in children (7-‐17 yrs): – Typically developing (n=12) – High func#oning ASD (n=10)
• Condi#ons – Self-‐movement of hand
– Watching video of someone moving their hand
– Watching a video of balls moving up and down
ASD Children Exhibit an Absence of Mu Suppression to Observa#on of Ac#ons
Oberman et al., Neuropsychologia, 2008
Is the Mirror Broken and Unfixable?
RATIONALE
If mirror neurons in IFG are involved in the direct modula#on of sensorimotor mu rhythms, then temporary inhibi#on of these neurons should prevent suppression of mu rhythms and cause “au#s#c-‐like” behaviors.
Do MNS Areas Modulate Mu Rhythms?
Inferior parietal lobule
Superior temporal sulcus
Inferior frontal gyrus
Sensorimotor cortex
Keuken et al., Brain Research, 2011
Measured EEG in typically developing adults (n=8) before and aher IFG s#mula#on
• Observa#on of movement (4 videos)
– Simple (hand movements) and complex (social interac#ons)
• Baron-‐Cohen’s Eyes Task – Emo#on and gender discrimina#on
– 1 Hz rTMS (5 min at ~ 40-‐50% absolute threshold) targeted at leh IFG
Method: Transcranial Magne#c S#mula#on
IFG Inhibi#on Results in an Absence of Mu Suppression During Observa#on of Ac#ons
IFG Inhibi#on Reduces Behavioral Performance in an Emo#on Recogni#on Task
Reaction Time Accuracy
Empathy and Mu Rhythms
Simula#on theories argue that during the processing of emo#onal faces observers ac#vate sensorimotor representa#ons involved in crea#ng their own emo#onal facial expressions in order to recognize the emo#ons and infer the feelings and inten#ons of others (Adolphs, 2003; Goldman and Sripada, 2005).
Do mu rhythms reflect sensorimotor simula#on of facial expressions during empathy?
• N=22 undergraduate students at UCSD (11 males/females)
• 4 blocks of faces (happy and disgusted) in two condi#ons (empathy/non-‐empathy) and 2 blocks of buildings – 40 unique photos for each emo#on (both genders; 3 ethnici#es)
presented pseudorandomly
– Empathy: “try to share the emo#ons felt and expressed by the photographed people”
– Posi#ve and Nega#ve Affect Scale-‐Expanded (PANAS-‐X) filled out aher each empathy condi#on
– Non-‐empathy: “rate how aErac#ve the photographed face is”
Experimental Paradigm: Timing of Individual Trials
Methods
• 32 channels of EEG (linked mastoid)
• Bandpass: 0.05-‐30 Hz; 500 Hz sampling rate • Data were FIR filtered (4-‐30 Hz) • A three-‐stage second-‐order blind iden#fica#on (SOBI)
algorithm applied – Remove EOG components
– Remove EMG components in brain ac#vity
– Iden#fy mu rhythm components
Leh Hemisphere Mu Component Clusters
Right Hemisphere Mu Component Clusters
Spectral Analysis
• Event-‐related spectral perturba#ons computed using wavelet decomposi#on with Morlet tapers
• A 2 (empathy/non-‐empathy) x 2 (happy/disgusted) repeated measures ANOVA
ERD present at 500 ms post s#mulus to both emo#ons regardless of empathy
ERSP Results
Neurofeedback as Neurological Rehabilita#on
• Based on operant condi#oning (learning) • Noninvasive • Posi#ve treatment outcomes obtained rapidly
• Few known adverse side effects • Outcomes maintained long aher treatment ends
• Principled reason or theore#cal underpinning to why it would work
Applica#on of EEG Neurofeedback
• ADHD • Substance abuse • Anxiety • Depression • Epilepsy • OCD • Learning disabili#es • Migraines • Pain • Cogni#ve impairments • Sleep dysregula#on
Neurofeedback and Au#sm
Frontal -‐ parietal areas may be underconnected
If we change the dynamics of the sensorimotor mu oscilla#ons,
And these oscilla#ons are func#onally linked to the MNS network (IFG, IPL, STS),
Then we may affect func#onal connec#vity via neuroplas#c changes and recover MNS engagement
This can lead to posi#ve changes.
IPL
STS
SM Cortex
IFG
User
Interface Technology
Mul#channel
Data Acquisi#on
Feature Extrac#on
PaEern Recogni#on
Mapping to Keyboard Commands
Applica#on
BCI System
Mu Rhythm-‐based Neurological Rehabilita#on
• Amplitude Training at C4 – 30 min x 3/week x 10/20 weeks
– HF ASD: 7-‐17 yr olds, n=27
• Experimental/Control groups – Mu ac#vity above threshold (E)
– EMG ac#vity below threshold (E/C)
Pineda et al., Research in ASD, 2008
Pre/Post Assessments
• Verifica#on of diagnosis (IQ, ADI, ADOS)
• Quan#ta#ve EEG • Test of Variable AEen#on
(TOVA)
• Imita#on ability (Apraxia imita#on)
• Mu suppression index (MSI) • Au#sm Treatment Evalua#on
Checklist
• Neuroimaging (fMRI, fcMRI, DTI, MRS)
ASD
TD
TD and ASD Groups Learn to Control Mu Rhythms
Global Changes in Amplitude and Coherence
ASD Group Shows Recovery of Mu Suppression following Training
ASD Group Shows Posi#ve Changes in Sustained AEen#on
ASD Groups Shows Posi#ve Changes in Parental Assessment
Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist
Conclusions
1. Findings support the mirror neuron theory of autism
2. EEG mu rhythms reflect mirror neuron activity 3. Aspects of empathy can be measured by
changes in mu rhythms 4. Neurofeedback centered on mu rhythms has
positive effects on symptoms of autism
• Vilayanur Ramachandran • Lindsay Oberman • Eric Altschuler • Andrey Vankov • Bill Skinner • Chulie Ulloa • Brendan Allison • Ed Hubbard • Joe McCleery • Erin Hecht • David Brang • ScoE Carey • MaE Schalles • Robin Johnson • Julia Stephen
• 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 • Alan Lincoln • Dick Gevirtz
• Oriana Clark • Jia-‐Min Bai • Derrick Asher • Dane Chambers • MaE Earhardt • Heather Pelton • Alicia Trigerio • Albert Ayala • Stephen Johnson • Steve Gilmore • Nick Pojman • Kelly Head • Michael Linden • Tom Sullivan
Collaborators