Brain stimulation used as biofeedback in neuronal activation of the temporal lobe area in autistic children

Abstract

ARTICLE Brain stimulation used as biofeedback in neuronal activation of the temporal lobe area in autistic childrenEstimulação cerebral usada como biofeedback na ativação neural do lobo temporal em crianças autistas Thus, it is generally accepted that individuals with some form of ASD display at least some impairment in recognizing emotions through facial expressions 4 , although there are a host of inconsistent results 5 . However, the automatic mirroring of affective gestures and expressions is also considerably weaker in infants with ASD 6 and the differences in emotion processing between typically developing individuals and their peers with ASD are also observable at a neural level 6 . ABSTRACTThis 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.Keywords: autistic disorder; mirror neurons; emotions. RESUMOO estudo verificou a capacidade funcional dos neurônios-espelho em crianças autistas. 30 indivíduos, sendo 10 portadores da síndrome autista (GCA), 10 com deficiência intelectual (GDI), e 10 não-autistas (GCN) tiveram registrado o eletroencefalograma da área do cérebro relacionada teoricamente com os neurônios espelho. O procedimento de coleta de dados ocorreu antes e após uma sessão de estimulação cerebral. Durante a segunda coleta de dados, os participantes tiveram de processar alternadamente figuras evocando sentimentos neutros, felizes e tristes. Os resultados provaram que, para todos os grupos, o processo de estimulação de fato produziu ativação adicional na área neural em estudo. O nível de ativação foi relacionada com o formato dos estímulos emocionais. Uma vez que o aumento da ativação ocorreu em um modelo semelhante ao observado para o grupo controle, pode-se sugerir que as pessoas com autismo têm dificuldade em expressar emoções não devido à inexistência de neurônios-espelho.Palavras-chave: transtorno autístico; neurônios-espelho; emoções.

Modulatory Effect of Association of Brain Stimulation by Light and Binaural Beats in Specific Brain Waves

“…The technique of flashing light, with parallel sound, in a binaural beats activation version has proofed to be effective in researches investigating brain functions improvement in a range of studies. For instance looking at gains of motor functions in a post stroke situation [ 8 ], temporal lobe activation of autistic children [ 9 ], attention concentration improvement of children diagnosed as low learners [ 6 ], working memory and attentional deficits of hyperactive children [ 10 , 11 ], and for children kinesthetic sense improvement [ 12 ].…”

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“…Persons with autism are supposed to present an impairment in recognizing emotions by means of facial expressions, although there is little literature evidence in this respect. Empathic response by gestures and affective expressions is considerably more reduced in children with autism spectrum disorders compared to children with normal mental development, a difference at neural level being observed between the two categories of children (Silva et al, 2016).…”

“…Also, the authors considered that mirror neurons are present in subjects with autism and tend to react when the subjects are exposed to emotional stimuli. Thus, the absence of an adequate emotional expression and the lack of harmony observed during interactions between subjects with autism and healthy subjects are more probably unrelated to the activation of these neurons or these are not located in the studied cortical area (Silva et al, 2016).…”

“…Recently, this hypothesis of mirror neuron dysfunction in persons with autism has become the focus of attention of neuroscientists. Silva et al (2016) conducted a study to assess the functional capacity of mirror neurons in children with autism. The aim of this study was to investigate the reactivity of the mirror neuron system to emotional stimuli in subjects with autism and in subjects with the same demographic characteristics without autism or mental disease, and to test the hypothesis that these subjects can be stimulated by biofeedback.…”

“…If mirror neurons are really involved in the interpretation of complex situations, the interruption of the neuronal circuit in which they are involved might explain the classic symptoms of autism and the lack of social skills in these patients (Silva et al, 2016), and might open perspectives using neurofeedback training for individuals with autism (Saffin & Tohid, 2016).…”