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Tenets of Human Presence, Empathy, and Compassion
Published in Shamit Kadosh, Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar, Incorporating Psychotherapeutic Concepts and Interventions Within Medicine, 2019
Shamit Kadosh, Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar
The discovery of mirror neurons in 1990s ( Gallese et al., 1996) has led to a cross-disciplinary revolution in the study of empathy. Mirror neurons belong to a specialised group of neurons located in the premotor cortex and the inferior parietal cortex. When we observe other people’s activities, these neurons are activated and our brains stimulate what it is like to engage in that action. Some scientists have surmised that some areas in the brain, like the anterior cingulate cortex, interpret not only physical actions but also their associated emotional affect. Furthermore, studies indicate that for a motor neuron to be activated, we need to be affectively activated by observing the other (Gallese et al., 2002; Lamm & Singer, 2010; Reiss, 2010). In other words, being emotionally touched necessitates resonance; when we observe our patients’ pain and suffering, it needs to be affectively meaningful for us, to activate bodily resonance. These emotional bodily resonance systems are the basis of emotional intelligence, and allow us to feel the other through our own bodies by breaking the walls between us (Epstein, 2017). Research shows that while humans (doctors included) share neuroanatomical representations of pain, they experience the other’s pain in an attenuated form. That is to say the observer has the capability to experience the other’s pain to the extent that cultivates an empathic response without overwhelming the observer (Lamm et al., 2007; Singer & Lamm, 2009).
Brain, mind, and relationship
Published in Rebecca L. Haller, Karen L. Kennedy, Christine L. Capra, The Profession and Practice of Horticultural Therapy, 2019
The field of social neuroscience studies the social circuitry networks of the brain (Freedberg and Gallese 2007; Cacioppo and Berntson 1992). Mirror neurons are one component of this network. As is often the case, the initial excitement over the discovery of these neurons led to overstating their role in a complex network of brain activity. Nevertheless, they seem to be a key component of our capacity to learn from others. The mirror neurons were discovered by a group of Italian researchers while studying Macaque monkeys (Rizzolatti and Fabbri-Destro 2010). They observed that when a monkey acted intentionally to pick up a peanut, neurons in an area of their frontal lobe called the motor strip would activate. The same neurons in the motor strip of an observing companion monkey would become active in preparation for the same action. Mirror neurons have been observed and recorded in multiple human systems, including the cortex, hippocampus, and motor areas (Mukamel et al. 2010). For example, when an observing participant watches another participant move their hand to pick up a glass of water, neurons in the observer’s motor strip activates and the experience of thirst is reported.
The physician’s understanding of the patient’s bodily meaning
Published in Rolf Ahlzén, Martyn Evans, Pekka Louhiala, Raimo Puustinen, Medical Humanities Companion, 2018
The operation of mirror neurons thus gives a biological clue to intersubjectivity and empathy. As metaphors, the magnetic resonance images of the activated clusters of neurons are quite strong, and accordingly we may anticipate an increasing interest in empathy in medicine. Obviously, what is shown in these images is not understanding in itself. The ‘hard problem of consciousness’, the explanatory gap between consciousness and nature,17 has not been solved, and will most probably not be. Experience is only to be understood as experience. However, experience and scientific explanations are two versions of one and the same reality.
Action observation training and brain-computer interface controlled functional electrical stimulation enhance upper extremity performance and cortical activation in patients with stroke: a randomized controlled trial
Published in Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 2022
Su-Hyun Lee, Seong Sik Kim, Byoung-Hee Lee
Stroke can be described as an interruption of the blood supply to the brain or hemorrhage into the brain tissue (Seitz and Donnan, 2015; Sharp and Brouwer, 1997). After stroke, up to 85% stroke survivors experience impairment of an upper extremity, and between 55 and 75% of survivors continue to experience upper extremity functional limitations associated with diminished health-related quality of life (Kiper et al., 2018; Nichols-Larsen et al., 2005). Therefore, recovery of the upper-limb function is important for the independent living of the patients with stroke (Kwah and Herbert, 2016; Sheng and Lin, 2009). Recently, methods in stroke rehabilitation based on the mirror neuron system have been proposed as an alternative or complement to rehabilitation (Cengiz et al., 2018; Hioka et al., 2019; Zhang, Fong, Welage, and Liu, 2018). These methods include action observation (AO), motor imagery (MI) and imitation, and may enhance the reorganization of function in damaged neural networks to minimize motor deficits (Garrison, Winstein, and Aziz-Zadeh, 2010). The mirror neuron system plays an essential role in both action understanding and imitation, and might explain the human capacity to learn by imitation (Rizzolatti and Craighero, 2004). Mirror neurons are able to induce specific neurophysiological changes in some corticocortical circuits of the human motor system (Hannah, Rocch, and Rothwell, 2018; Koch et al., 2010) and they can be activated by the simple observation of others’ goal-directed actions (Cengiz et al., 2018; Lang et al., 2012).
A preliminary study of atypical cortical change ability of dynamic whole-brain functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorder
Published in International Journal of Neuroscience, 2022
Brodmann area 45 (BA45)is the pars triangularis of the IFG.Together with BA44 andBA46, the BA45 comprises Broca’s area, which is active in semantic tasks (remains controversial).Furthermore, pars triangularis have a role in cognitive control of memory. Lesions of the BA45 may lead to the characteristic findings of expressive aphasia. Greater GMV in the IFG.Lis associated with reduced ASD symptoms severity [66]. Hypo-activation of the IFG during the perception of facial expressions has been reported as the evidence fora deficit of the mirror neuron system in children with ASD [67]. Mirror neuron system may have a role in imitation, empathy, theory of mind and language. Meanwhile, cortical thinning of the mirror neuron system was correlated with ASD symptom severity [68]. Cortical thinning was also observed in the areas involved in emotion recognition and social cognition.
Motor imagery and gait control in Parkinson’s disease: techniques and new perspectives in neurorehabilitation
Published in Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 2022
Giovanna Cuomo, Valerio Maglianella, Sheida Ghanbari Ghooshchy, Pierluigi Zoccolotti, Marialuisa Martelli, Stefano Paolucci, Giovanni Morone, Marco Iosa
The discovery of mirror neurons in macaque monkeys [11] increased the investigation of motor imagery by focusing on the investigation of neural activity relative to the observation of movements. The ‘functional equivalence hypothesis’ supports the idea that MI and motor execution are equivalent from the functional point of view because of the shared neural system [12]. The difference is the overt movement inhibition in MI by simulation mechanisms. Jeannerod [13] proposed that MI may improve motor skills through priming and rehearsing of the motor system. Imagery is part of the motor planning and of the motor spectrum, for this reason, it is still questioned if imagery and actual movement can be disentangled [3,8,9]. Motor suppression during MI has been associated to volitional movements, defined ‘quasi-movements’ [14], which are neither action executions nor true MI.