The DOI matches its Crossref record; 11 of the 11 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Gender Differences in the Mu Rhythm of the Human Mirror-Neuron System
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Psychologically, females are usually thought to be superior in interpersonal sensitivity than males. The human mirror-neuron system is considered to provide the basic mechanism for social cognition. However, whether the human mirror-neuron system exhibits gender differences is not yet clear. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We measured the electroencephalographic mu rhythm, as a reliable indicator of the human mirror-neuron system activity, when female (N = 20) and male (N = 20) participants watched either hand actions or a moving dot. The display of the hand actions included androgynous, male, and female characteristics. The results demonstrate that females displayed significantly stronger mu suppression than males when watching hand actions. Instead, mu suppression was similar across genders when participants observed the moving dot and between the perceived sex differences (same-sex vs. opposite-sex). In addition, the mu suppressions during the observation of hand actions positively correlated with the personal distress subscale of the interpersonal reactivity index and negatively correlated with the systemizing quotient. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The present findings indirectly lend support to the extreme male brain theory put forward by Baron-Cohen (2005), and may cast some light on the mirror-neuron dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders. The mu rhythm in the human mirror-neuron system can be a potential biomarker of empathic mimicry.
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Cites
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Empathy: its ultimate and proximate bases
Preston, S. D., & de Waal, F. B. M. (2002) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x02000018 · Cited by 4,126
Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1023/b:jadd.0000022607.19833.00 · Cited by 4,093
Understanding motor events: a neurophysiological study
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The functional architecture of human empathy
Decety, J., & Jackson, P. L. (2004) · Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews · doi:10.1177/1534582304267187 · Cited by 3,407 · cited 1×
“This automatic perception–action resonance mechanism is considered to be the basis of the emotional recognition and social sensitivity [22–24].”
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EEG evidence for mirror neuron dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders
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“Particularly, a study using EEG mu rhythm reported little mu suppression in individuals with ASD when they observed hand movements [13].”
BackgroundHuman empathy through the lens of social neuroscience.
Decety, J., & Lamm, C. (2006) · The Scientific World JOURNAL · doi:10.1100/tsw.2006.221 · Cited by 1,051 · cited 1×
“This sharing stems from the perception–action coupling (supported by the MNS), which automatically induces the observer to resonate with the emotional state of another individual, with the observer emulating the motor representations and associated automatic and somatic responses that stem from the observed target [22…”
BackgroundExpertise modulates the perception of pain in others
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Self-citation
Cited by
Empathy: Gender effects in brain and behavior
Christov-Moore, L., Simpson, E. A., Coudé, G., Grigaityte, K., Iacoboni, M., & Ferrari, P. F. (2014) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.09.001 · Cited by 1,137
Assessing human mirror activity with EEG mu rhythm: A meta-analysis.
Fox, N. A., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Yoo, K. H., Bowman, L. C., Cannon, E. N., Vanderwert, R. E., Ferrari, P. F., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2016) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000031 · Cited by 440
Mu suppression – A good measure of the human mirror neuron system?
Hobson, H. M., & Bishop, D. V. M. (2016) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2016.03.019 · Cited by 256
Tomova, L., von Dawans, B., Heinrichs, M., Silani, G., & Lamm, C. (2014) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.02.006 · Cited by 224
Yamada, M., & Decety, J. (2009) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2009.01.028 · Cited by 199
Metadata
- Authors
- Cheng, Y., Lee, P.-L., Yang, C.-Y., Lin, C.-P., Hung, D., & Decety, J.
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2008-05-07
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- e2113
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2069278965
- Cited by
- 160
- References
- 11
- FWCI
- 17.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
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