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- Training the Brain to Behave:
- Neurofeedback, Mirror Neurons & Autism
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- Dr. Jaime A. Pineda, Director
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory
- 858-534-9754
- pineda@cogsci.ucsd.edu
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- To test the effectiveness of neurofeedback training (NFT) as a means=
to
change behavior in children diagnosed with autism.
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- The brain generates electrical signals as part of how it processes
information
- These signals are measured as the EEG and have a certain amplitude a=
nd
frequency
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- Learning to control the amplitude of a specific frequency component =
of
the EEG
- A type of learning or skill
- This is done by visualizing that frequency component and seeing the
effects of changing its amplitude
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- It temporarily changes the dynamics of the brain
- Affects amplitudes and frequencies of EEG components
- Persistent training produces permanent changes in the brain
- New connections
- Changes how the brain is organized and wired
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- Brain is plastic and therefore changeable
- NFT gains access to regulatory mechanisms that control information
processing
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- Anatomical irregularities exist in the brains of autistic children=
li>
- Increased cell densities
- Larger/smaller areas
- More/less connections between areas
- Changes in anatomy can occur with neurofeedback training
- Changes in anatomy produce changes in behavior
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- Construction of
- a first-person experience
- a self different from others
- It’s how we understand others
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- Monkey see, monkey do cells
- Activated by:
- Goal directed actions
- Observation of similar actions
- Found in:
- Inferior frontal gyrus (F5)
- Superior temporal sulcus
- Inferior parietal cortex (7b)
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- Response facilitation
- Mimicry
- Simulation
- Imitation
- Understanding actions
- Understanding intentions
- Empathy
- Theory of Mind
- Language
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- Maximal over frontal cortex
- Attenuated or blocked by
- movement and
- observation of movement
- Not affected by auditory/visual stimulation in the absence of moveme=
nt
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- ASD is characterized by:
- Impairments in social interaction
- Delayed/abnormal language development
- Impaired imagination
- Repetitive and restricted patterns of behavior
- No common underlying mechanism has been identified
- Deficits in imitation
learning – Rogers and Pennington, 1991
- ASD children should show differences in mu rhythms compared to contr=
ols
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- Mu suppression for executing actions, but not observing them (Oberma=
n et
al., 2005)
- No fMRI activation in IFG during imitation of emotional facial
expressions
- (Dapretto=
et
al., 2006)
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- Operant conditioning of the mu rhythm (7-17 yr olds; n=3D8)
- Rewarded when
- Mu activity above threshold (E)
- EMG activity below threshold (E/C)
- Hypothesis:
- Functional changes in mu rhythm dynamics produce changes in MNS
activity and in behaviors mediated by this system
- “Reengaging” MNS
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- Quantitative EEG (qEEG)
- Test of Variable Attention (TOVA)
- Imitation ability (Apraxia imitation test)
- Mu rhythm suppression index
- Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist
- (ATEC -
parental assessment)
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- Decreased coherence in experimental group relative to controls
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- Sustained attention
- Reduction in
- ADHD sco=
re for
experimental group
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- ASD children learn to change cortical dynamics via operant condition=
ing
- Training produces effects on:
- EEG spectral power
- Cognitive and behavioral assessments
- Parental assessments
- Some changes are specific to manipulating EEG dynamics
- Other effects are due to non-specific (EMG/attentional) changes
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