Is the "mirror neuron hypothesis" valid?

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I've been wondering recently about the validity of the mirror neuron hypothesis... some of you will have heard of it and know that it is one of the theories behind why autism manifests as it does, i.e. a failure to integrate nonverbal signals into a cohesive whole and thus infer that person's state of mind, as well as intuit their motivations and even predict how they might act soon.

Well, I think that it's only partially valid but doesn't explain the whole picture of autism... case in point: I recall an article I read somewhere (but didn't save it, sigh) that said even people who are blind early in life take on the same facial expressions as their seeing peers [all of which are NT], which would negate that part of the mirror neuron hypothesis that says people acquire expressions of emotion by mirroring others.

So, I suppose a good deal of it is open to interpretation and weighing the evidence, and that's part of why autism remains something of a mystery.

I've heard of the hypothesis but I'm not very familiar with it so I couldn't comment on it specifically. But I will say that any overly simplified explanation of ASD just doesn't seem to work. It's too complex and too varied to be boiled down to one theory, I think. Or at least if such an explanation exists it's not yet been discovered.

Read about cerebellum damage too.

The mirror neuron thing isn't enough imo. It wouldn't explain our nervous system disliking certain stimuli in terms of sensory overwhelm. It wouldn't explain our fixations and need for repetition.

I don't like autism research that is overly-focussed on the social aspect.

The mirror thing might be one part for some people, but it's not everything.

I don't know about you, but I sometimes simply fail to notice some interpersonal cues, like I would be looking at someone's face and fail to recognize a face in the face - mild prosopagnosia. How would you even mirror... a shape that isn't a face for your brain? You don't. Also if someone doesn't make eye contact, it's not possible to mirror. I often find eye contact makes it impossible for me to listen, I look away in order not to lose track of the conversation completely, because I don't hear people all that great. I mean, I hear quiet noises and they drive me crazy or they jam the sound and make the conversation hard. One sensory issue on top of another. My brain isn't made for that kind of interactions, especially in groups or busy environments... Those are all apparently hallmark symptoms of the autism spectrum, so....

Mirror neurons are the neurons that make you want to mimic people. I think I have very few mirror neurons. I have a mind of my own and I do my own thing.

Oh, I thought mirror neurons explained my out-of-control empathy which lends itself to shutdown (flat affect) or meltdown (overreacting). In any case, independent of Theory of Mind stuff. Sure, I might not know the superficial motivations, but I swear I understand the underlying reason for others' behavior better than they do.

The hyperempathy part is there for me too

I think it's likely an aspect of it, at least for some people. I do think that for others it's a similar issue to OCD where often times folks will process faces backwards from the way that you're supposed to. A typical NT starts from the outline and works towards the details and can stop processing whenever they've got the information they need. Often times with OCD you get the opposite where it starts with the detail and works out. That's certainly the issue I have and why when I'm super tired and stressed I can completely lose the ability to read faces, but sometimes I can tell identical twins apart without much effort.

hey Jayo.

no scientific proof for the mirror neuron theory when I last looked.

however the idea that all brains have functionality like mirror neurons, that Aspies turned away from using (tried to do life by logic instead) makes sense to me. I have tried to restart and use my mirror neuron functionality (i.e. tried to not think or analyse, and to surf through NT social interactions, waiting and seeing if spontaneous (silly) reactions come up in my brain and using them), and it's been great.

disclaimer; I am not recommending anyone else do this, i have no qualifications.

best wishes

I think that basic facial expressions are instinctive, and only refined by mirror neurons. Even puppies smile when they are happy. I definitely struggle with learning manual skills by watching. People give up on trying to teach me, but then are sometimes amazed by what I figure out myself.

Was meeting with a new friend .. over coffee ..and I selectively have observed this interesting effect . And noticed
silly little things like this only alittle younger was mimicking me. at the table .....several times , I would see the coincidence of her doing a incidence of raising her coffee cup consistently to her mouth within moments of my raising my cup to mine . Then within moments and her body language mimicked mine several times during this encounter.
Never thought to look for this ...type of stuff .. Its extrem3ly subtle , but I think these mirror things..are a way to subconciously signal validation between NTs . It happens in conversations as well .. like subtle sounds intonations people tend to make when seemingly on somewhat agreeable terms. ?. imho

I think our developing brains use multiple neural pathways to acquire learning, A compartmentalised approach where specific parts of the brain code/programmed for specific function is now a little dated.

Having said that, mirror neurons may well be involved as per the hypothesis in imitating social behaviours but are likely just one piece of the puzzle.