Impairments in mind-reading abilities (ie, mentalization, empathy) represent core psychopathological features and key therapeutic targets in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (Ciaramidaro et al, 2015). A functional mirror neuron system (MNS) is considered a prerequisite of these abilities (see Dinstein et al, 2010 for alternative views).

The MNS refers to the brain mirror mechanism that allows one to understand the meaning of actions and emotions of others by internally simulating and replicating them (Van Overwalle and Baetens, 2009). Theories on MNS activity were initially inferred from the finding of specific populations of neurons (ie, mirror neurons) that fired during both action execution and observation in macaques. Further studies confirmed the existence of MNS in humans and identified specific brain regions (middle temporal, inferior frontal and inferior parietal gyri, insula, superior temporal sulcus, and sensorimotor cortex) that have a fundamental role in distinguishing environmental and visceral cues, labeling them as safe or life threatening (Van Overwalle and Baetens, 2009). Some authors refer to this neural activity associated with risk assessment as ‘neuroception’ (Porges, 2007).

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