title: Brain stimulation used as biofeedback in neuronal activation of the temporal lobe area in autistic children.
abstract: This study focused upon the functional capacity of mirror neurons in autistic children. 30 individuals, 10 carriers of the autistic syndrome (GCA), 10 with intellectual impairments (GDI), and 10 non-autistics (GCN) had registered eletroencephalogram from the brain area theoretically related to mirror neurons. Data collection procedure occurred prior to brain stimulation and after the stimulation session. During the second session, participants had to alternately process figures evoking neutral, happy, and/or sorrowful feelings. Results proved that, for all groups, the stimulation process in fact produced additional activation in the neural area under study. The level of activation was related to the format of emotional stimuli and the likelihood of boosting such stimuli. Since the increase of activation occurred in a model similar to the one observed for the control group, we may suggest that the difficulty people with autism have at expressing emotions is not due to nonexistence of mirror neurons.
authors.affiliation: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Esportes, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil;
authors.forename: Vernon Furtado da
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Mapeamento Cerebral e Integração Sensório Motora do Instituto de Neuropsiquiatria, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil;
authors.forename: Mauricio Rocha
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Calomeni
authors.affiliation: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Esportes, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil;
authors.forename: Rodolfo Alkmim Moreira
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.affiliation: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Esportes, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil;
authors.forename: Carlos Elias
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Pimentel
authors.affiliation: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Esportes, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil;
authors.forename: Gabriela Paes
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Centro Universitário de João Pessoa, João Pessoa PB, Brasil.
authors.forename: Patrícia da Cruz Araruna
authors.initials: Pda C
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Esportes, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil;
authors.forename: Patrícia Bagno
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Mapeamento Cerebral e Integração Sensório Motora do Instituto de Neuropsiquiatria, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil;
authors.forename: Alair Pedro Ribeiro de Souza E
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D006801:Humans; D059167:Mirror Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*