Mirror system based therapy for autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

This paper reviews the present theories and empirical research of autisms’ cognitive research and mirror systems and introduces a new hypothesis about the causes of autism spectrum disorders (ASD): autistic mirror neuron dysfunction hypothesis. ASD subjects show obvious lack of the activation of the mirror system during the task of observation or emotional cognition. It is significant to investigate the mirror system for revealing the causes of autism and it is also helpful for developing new ways to diagnose or treat this disorder.

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