title: How mirror-touch informs theories of synesthesia.
abstract: Ward and Banissy provide an excellent overview of the state of mirror-touch research in order to advance this field. They present a comparison of two prominent theoretical approaches for understanding mirror-touch phenomena. According to the threshold theory, the phenomena arise as a result of a hyperactive mirror neuron system. According to the Self-Other Theory, they are due to disturbances in the ability to distinguish the self from others. Here, we explore how these two theories can inform theories of synesthesia more generally. We conclude that both theories are not suited as general models of synesthesia.
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Psychology and Center for Cognition, Learning, and Memory , University of Bern , Bern , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Beat
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meier
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lunke
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rothen
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions / Q000502:physiology*; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*