The study regarding the understanding of transitive and intransitive actions of ASD

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24531259
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Special needs education
• Research Institution: Sakushin Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: TANAKA Kentaro 作新学院大学, 人間文化学部, 教授 (70217024)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): MOROTOMI Takashi 作新学院大学, 人間文化学部, 名誉教授 (60003951) ; MATSUMOTO Hidehiko 高知大学, 学内共同利用施設等, 特任准教授 (70348093) ; TADOKORO Katsuyoshi 作新学院大学, 人間文化学部, 教授 (80616300) ; TAKAHAMA Kouji 作新学院大学, 人間文化学部, 教授 (40616299)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 自閉症スペクトラム / 自動詞的行為 / 伝達意図 / ミラーニューロンシステム / μ抑制 / バイオロジカルモーション / メタ表象 / 誤信念理解

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In our experimental study, the clearer communicative intention of an intransitive action (i.e., pointing) became, the more salient EEG mu suppression became under the observation condition of the action. This finding indicates that the mirror neuron system (MNS) is involved in understanding the meaning of gestures. In our theoretical study, it was clarified that not the medial prefrontal cortex but the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is specifically involved in‘Theory of Mind’, especially in understanding false beliefs, and that simulation for understanding false beliefs is executed in the TPJ. This finding suggests the possibility that not mentalizing system but MNS is the neural network involved in the ability to understand false beliefs.

Free Research Field

哲学