Developmental changes in mu suppression to observed and executed actions in autism spectrum disorders.
There has been debate over whether disruptions in the mirror neuron system (MNS) play a key role in the core social deficits observed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). EEG mu suppression during the observation of biological actions is believed to reflect MNS functioning, but understanding of the developmental progression of the MNS and EEG mu rhythm in both typical and atypical development is lacking. To provide a more thorough and direct exploration of the development of mu suppression in individuals with ASD, a sample of 66 individuals with ASD and 51 typically developing individuals of 6-17 years old were pooled from four previously published studies employing similar EEG methodology. We found a significant correlation between age and mu suppression in response to the observation of actions, both for individuals with ASD and typical individuals. This relationship was not seen during the execution of actions. Additionally, the strength of the correlation during the observation of actions did not significantly differ between groups. The results provide evidence against the argument that mirror neuron dysfunction improves with age in individuals with ASD and suggest, instead, that a diagnosis-independent developmental change may be at the root of the correlation of age and mu suppression.
Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA. loberman@bidmc.harvard.edu
Lindsay M
LM
Oberman
Joseph P
JP
McCleery
Edward M
EM
Hubbard
Raphael
R
Bernier
Jan R
JR
Wiersema
Ruth
R
Raymaekers
Jaime A
JA
Pineda
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000150:complications*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology*; D019370:Observation; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric