Neural correlates of emotion processing in autism, schizophrenia and mental health

PhD ceremony: Ms. J.A.C.J. Bastiaansen, 16.15 uur, Aula Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Dissertation: Mirror images! Neural correlates of emotion processing in autism, schizophrenia and mental health

Promotor(s): prof. C. Keysers, prof. R.B. Minderaa

Faculty: Medical Sciences

In this thesis we show that such entwining of emotion perception and experience is evident at the level of the brain: seeing others’ emotional facial expressions involves some of the same regions as experiencing the emotions yourself. Mirroring or simulating motor aspects in the so-called mirror neuron system (MNS) plays an important role in this process. In contrast to what was previously thought, we show that abnormalities in the MNS cannot explain the whole constellation of clinical features associated with autism. We do find that adults with autism improve in mirroring as they age, which could be related to slight concurrent improvements in social functioning.