Does dysfunction of the mirror neuron system contribute to symptoms in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?

Eisen, Andrew, Lemon, Roger, Kiernan, Matthew C., Hornberger, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2214-3788 and Turner, Martin R. (2015) Does dysfunction of the mirror neuron system contribute to symptoms in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis? Clinical Neurophysiology, 126 (7). pp. 1288-1294. ISSN 1388-2457

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Abstract

There is growing evidence that mirror neurons, initially discovered over two decades ago in the monkey, are present in the human brain. In the monkey, mirror neurons characteristically fire not only when it is performing an action, such as grasping an object, but also when observing a similar action performed by another agent (human or monkey). In this review we discuss the origin, cortical distribution and possible functions of mirror neurons as a background to exploring their potential relevance in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We have recently proposed that ALS (and the related condition of frontotemporal dementia) may be viewed as a failure of interlinked functional complexes having their origins in key evolutionary adaptations. This can include loss of the direct projections from the corticospinal tract, and this is at least part of the explanation for impaired motor control in ALS. Since, in the monkey, corticospinal neurons also show mirror properties, ALS in humans might also affect the mirror neuron system. We speculate that a defective mirror neuron system might contribute to other ALS deficits affecting motor imagery, gesture, language and empathy.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,mirror neurons,empathy,motor cortex,cognition
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Mental Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	28 Jan 2016 17:01
Last Modified:	19 Oct 2023 01:34
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/56859
DOI:	10.1016/j.clinph.2015.02.003

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