Recent CBC News

Updates and thoughts from members of the Center for Brain and Cognition.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Several new articles examine CBC hypotheses

A number of recent articles have been published which provide new evidence confirming several hypotheses put forward by CBC researchers over the years.

A recent study by Dr. Peter Enticott et al. found a diminished activation of the mirror neuron system amongst individuals with autism spectrum disorders.  The mirror neuron theory of autism ("The shattered mirrors theory") was initially proposed and confirmed experimentally by CBC researchers Ramachandran, Altschuler, Hubbard  and Pineda and presented at the Society for Neuroscience in 2000.  Subsequently confirmed by Oberman, Ramachandran, Altschuler, and Pineda  in 2005.
(http://www.icare4autism.org/news/2012/03/deficiency-in-mirror-neuron-system-connected-to-autism/)


Another recent study, by Lindsay Oberman (a CBC alumnus), conducted a meta-analysis of five previous studies and found that  the MNS (mirror neuron system) is deficient in ASD but rate of  maturation occurs similarly in both ASD and neurotypical individuals. 
(http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/in-brief/2012/cognition-and-behavior-mirror-neurons-age-normally-in-autism)

Another CBC hypothesis which has received significant attention and has seen multiple confirmations is the hypothesis that mirror visual therapy provides relief for a variety of neurological conditions, including phantom limb pain, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD), and paralysis from stroke.