Human Movement Responses to the Rorschach and Mirroring Activity: An fMRI Study

Abstract

It has been suggested that the Rorschach human movement (M) response could be associated with an embodied simulation mechanism mediated by the mirror neuron system (MNS). To date, evidence for this hypothesis comes from two electroencephalogram studies and one repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation study. To provide additional data on this topic, the Rorschach was administered during fMRI to a sample of 26 healthy adult volunteers. Activity in MNS-related brain areas temporally associated with M responses was compared with such activity for other, non-M Rorschach responses. Data analyses focused on MNS regions of interest identified by Neurosynth, a web-based platform for large scale, automated meta-analysis of fMRI data. Consistent with the hypothesis that M responses involve embodied simulation and MNS activity, univariate region of interest analyses showed that production of M responses associated with significantly greater activity in MNS-related brain areas when compared with non-M Rorschach responses. This finding is consistent with the traditional interpretation of the M code.

Introducing the concept of neurobiological foundation of Rorschach responses using the example of Oral Dependent Language

“…To demonstrate how a neurobiological dataset might support the validity of a Rorschach code's interpretation, the current study intended to test whether producing an ODL response would activate our four ROIs more than producing a response that is not coded ODL (i.e., a non-ODL response). Consistent with Giromini et al (2018), we thus performed a series of univariate ROI analyses aimed at assessing statistically significant activation differences between ODL and non-ODL responses inside our predefined ROIs. Accordingly, a first-level (i.e., individual subject) ROI-based general linear model with blocked design assessed BOLD signal changes induced by production of ODL responses relative to fixation (i.e., ODL > fixation) and BOLD signal changes induced by production of non-ODL responses relative to fixation (i.e., non-ODL > fixation).…”

“…This study used archival, fMRI data that had been analyzed before to investigate what brain areas get activated when one takes the Rorschach (Giromini, Viglione, Zennaro & Cauda, ), and to confirm via fMRI that delivering a M response would associate with activation of MNS‐like areas in the brain (Giromini et al ., ). Additional details on participants, procedures, fMRI data acquisition and preprocessing, and Rorschach scores’ interrater reliability analyses may therefore be found in those two articles.…”

“…More in detail, we expected that while producing an ODL response, the brain of the test‐taker would show a pattern of activations somehow associated with the psychological processes linked to “dependence” and “orality.” To select ROIs associated with these two concepts, we thus used the same automated literature review meta‐analytic approach used by Giromini et al . () to identify brain areas associated with MNS activity, that is, we relied on Neurosynth (see http://www.neurosynth.org), a web‐based platform for large scale, automated synthesis of fMRI data (see Yarkoni, Poldrack, Nichols, Van Essen & Wager, 2011).…”

“…Consistent with Giromini et al . (), we thus performed a series of univariate ROI analyses aimed at assessing statistically significant activation differences between ODL and non‐ODL responses inside our predefined ROIs. Accordingly, a first‐level (i.e., individual subject) ROI‐based general linear model with blocked design assessed BOLD signal changes induced by production of ODL responses relative to fixation (i.e., ODL > fixation) and BOLD signal changes induced by production of non‐ODL responses relative to fixation (i.e., non‐ODL > fixation).…”

“…Indeed, because the mirror neuron system (MNS; di Pellegrino, Fadiga, Fogassi, Gallese & Rizzolatti, 1992;; for a review, see Kilner & Lemon, 2013;Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004) is deemed to underlie the embodied simulation or identification mechanism described above, we tested whether the M response would associate with increased activity in MNS-related brain areas. Multiple studies, conducted with EEG (Giromini, Porcelli, Viglione, Parolin & Pineda, 2010;Pineda, Giromini, Porcelli, Parolin & Viglione, 2011;Porcelli, Giromini, Parolin, Pineda & Viglione, 2013), rTMS (Ando et al, 2018;Ando' et al, 2015), and fMRI (Giromini, Viglione, Pineda et al, 2018), have produced very strong evidence across methods of a link between M responses and mirroring activity in the brain. In short, the same brain process during the delivery of M on the Rorschach task, accompanies that same psychological process or behavior (embodied simulation or ideational activity associated with identification with another) when it is produced in the external world.…”