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Atypical mentalizing, mirror neuron connectivity may be linked with social impairment in autism

Researchers studied the functional connectivity of theory of mind and mirror neuron system brain networks in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and found over– and under-connectivity between the systems, suggesting that excessive theory of mind and mirror neuron system crosstalk may be associated with social impairment.

Researchers hypothesized that those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) would show atypical connectivity between the two brain networks and that those with the greatest social impairment would have an increase in atypical connectivity compared with the adolescent control group.

The sample was made up of 25 adolescents with ASD and 25 typically developing controls matched in age, handedness and nonverbal IQ. Participants were aged between 11 and 18 years.

 

Inna Fishman

Each participant had resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging done with seeds placed in regions activated by theory of mind (ToM) or mirror neuron system (MNS) tasks.

Within the MNS network, researchers found no significant functional connectivity differences between the two groups, though they did note “its average connectivity was positively correlated with ADI-R Social scores such that greater MNS connectivity was associated with increase in social symptoms of ASD.”

While there was a mixed pattern of over-connectivity and under-connectivity in the ToM network, researchers found overconnectivity between the two networks, ToM and MNS, in adolescents with ASD. Moreover, the extent of the “cross-talk” between the two networks was strongly linked to the amount of autistic symptoms observed. This result led them to believe that social impairment in ASD is specifically associated with inadequate segregation between ToM and MNS social networks.

“The dynamic nature and complexity of social stimuli and social interactions may be overtaxing for inefficient neural networks in ASD; as a result, over-connectivity may be a consequence of an overuse of aberrant social circuits,” researchers wrote.

Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.