Clinical applications and efficacy of mirror neuron function

Abstract

Mirror therapy aims to restore the function of a disabled body part by using the function of mirror neurons in the brain and mimicking the physiological activity of a healthy body part. The existence of mirror neurons was first discovered in the monkey brain, then they were proven to occur in the human brain. The working pattern is always the same. If one limb moves, the correct part of the brain is activated and the mirror neurons responsible for stimulating the other limbs are activated. This is how the "mirror" in the brain works. The therapy uses a box with a mirror on one side and hides the impaired limb in it.. When a healthy limb moves, it is reflected in the mirror. The brain receives it as a movement of an inefficient limb, even though it is only an illusion. It drives the recruitment of neural joints and provides the reconstruction of neural pathways. The activity of mirror neurons is used in rehabilitation, in mirror therapy (MT), observational action therapy (AOT) and their variants, such as therapies based on Virtual Reality (VR). A significant effect of this treatment was observed in phantom limb pain (PLP) and post-stroke syndromes, such as motor aphasia, hemiparesis of the lower or upper limb. There are reports on the use of MT in some mental diseases or in autistic people in learning emotions. This review outlines the current possibilities and hopes for therapies based on mirror neuron functions based on selected cases.

Keywords

• mirror neurons
• mirror therapy
• stroke
• phantom limb pain
• bell’s palsy
• complex regional pain syndrome