Reactivity of the Mirror System of the Brain and Intelligence Levels in School-Age Children

• Published in: Neuroscience and behavioral physiology Vol. 51; no. 4; pp. 486 - 495
• Main Authors: Makhin, S. A., Kaida, A. I., Eismont, E. V., Pavlenko, V. B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-05-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Age; Age groups; Auditory perception; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Children; Cortex (frontal); EEG; Intelligence; Neurobiology; Neurosciences; Operant conditioning; Rhythm; Sensorimotor system; mirror system of the brain; operant movement; children; μ rhythm; intelligence
• ISSN: 0097-0549; 1573-899X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11055-021-01095-1

Differences in measures of verbal and nonverbal intelligence (Wechsler test, WISC) were analyzed in 98 children of different age groups (younger children of 8–11 years/older children of 12–15 years), along with sensorimotor specifi city on execution of operant movements of a computer mouse (decreases in the amplitude of the EEG μ rhythm in the low-frequency/high-frequency subranges) and the presence of μ-rhythm suppression on observation and auditory perception of analogous movements executed by another person. In the situation of watching movements, the absence of any decrease in the amplitude of the μ rhythm in frontal areas of the cortex (i.e., the absence of “mirror” activation) in children of the older group with a high-frequency μ rhythm was typical for subjects with lower levels of development of nonverbal intelligence. The absence of “mirror” activation in the central areas was seen in children of both age groups with high-frequency μ rhythms and lower levels of nonverbal intelligence, but in the parietal areas in those with higher levels of verbal intelligence. In the situation of auditory perception of movements, less marked mirror activation was seen in children with low-frequency μ rhythms and higher levels of nonverbal intelligence. Thus, the nature of the connection between mirror system reactivity and intelligence levels in schoolchildren depends on age, the frequency characteristics of their μ rhythm, the area of the cortex analyzed, and the experimental situation in which the dynamics of EEG rhythms are recorded.