Κατοπτρικοί νευρώνες και Γλώσσα

Mirror neurons were discovered in 1992 by Giacomo Rizzolatti and his team at the Laboratory of Experimental Psychology at the University of Parma, Italy. This discovery has triggered a debate about the origins of human language by describing an evolutionary transition from gestures to vocal language. This paper presents a brief introduction to the discovery of the mirror neurons, while focusing on their contribution to human action understanding and to the emergence of the human language. It also presents a discussion regarding the existence of mirror neuronsand their functions. Under this scope, a brief criticism to mirror neuron theory and their contribution in human communication is also presented.

The Effectiveness of Action Observation Therapy Based on Mirror Neuron Theory in Chinese Patients with Apraxia of Speech after Stroke

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of action observation therapy (AOT) on apraxia of speech (AOS) in patients after stroke. Materials and Methods: Forty-two patients diagnosed with AOS after stroke were randomly divided into an experimental group (n = 21) and a control group (n = 21). Both groups received 30 min of conventional language therapy twice daily, 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The patients in the experimental group additionally received 20 min of AOT before 10 min language therapy each day. The speech function and aphasia severity of the 2 groups were assessed using the speech apraxia assessment method of the China Rehabilitation Research Center, Western Aphasia Battery (WAB), and the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination before and after treatment. Results: AOS and WAB scores increased significantly after treatment in both groups (p < 0.05). AOS and WAB scores exhibited significant differences between the experimental group and the control group after training (p < 0.05). The response rate in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: AOT based on mirror neuron theory may improve language function in patients with AOS after stroke.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal – Neuroanatom, Künstler und Literat

Santiago Ramón y Cajal came from North Spain and was very talented in painting and writing. Actually he wanted to become a painter but his father, who was a medical doctor himself, forced him to study medicine. In the end, he became a famous neuroanatomist, developed the neuron theory and, together with Camillo Golgi, was awarded the Nobel Price for medicine in 1906. In his career, he was very much supported by German scientists, especially by the Würzburg anatomist von Koelliker. He also displayed a lively literary activity. But most of his works are little known to us. Of his 5 “Cuentos de vacaciones” (vacation stories) there is a translation into English only since 2001.

A major blow to primate neonatal imitation and mirror neuron theory

Keven & Akins' (K&A's) compelling new hypothesis explaining the developmental and neural basis of neonatal tongue protrusion has important implications for current understanding of primate imitation and the explanatory value of mirror neurons. If correct, this hypothesis eliminates a major source of evidence for neonatal imitation. I explore the implications this has for mirror neuron research and the arguments building upon them.

Cajal’s Legacy

This chapter looks into the legacy of Santiago Ramón y Cajal. Historians rank Cajal alongside more recognizable names such as Darwin and Pasteur among the greatest biologists of the nineteenth century and Copernicus, Galileo, and Isaac Newton among the greatest scientists of all time. In his final testament to the neuron theory, Neuron Theory or Reticular Theory? Cajal reported to have seen more than a million neurons. Cajal’s drawings of these neurons are much like portraits. “Only true artists are attracted to science,” he once said. Although the majority of his work concerns the nervous system, Cajal was a physician who contributed to many other fields. To pathology, he contributed studies on tuberculosis, leprosy, syphilis, rabies, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer. He also published science fiction and wrote one of the earlier manuals on color photography. Cajal was a true polymath and a national hero in his home country of Spain.

On the Divergence of Psychology and Neuroanatomy

Freud’s career in neurohistology effectively ended in 1888, the “year of fortune” in which Cajal’s career auspiciously began. However, on the subject of his relationship to Cajal, one might ask, “How did Freud respond to Cajal’s new discoveries?” Freud was among the later adopters of the neuron theory, after he realized that the new facts might help support his grandiose theory of the psyche. Although the two men never met, the relationship between Cajal and Freud, defined by both proximity and distance, seems to reflect the subsequent disconnect between neurobiology and psychoanalysis. Although there have been collaborative and conciliatory efforts between the two disciplines, considerable philosophical and methodological differences remain. One of the current battlefronts for their ideological conflict happens to be the science of dreams.