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Contagious depression: Automatic mimicry and the mirror neuron system - A review
Lisiê Valéria Paz1, Thiago Wendt Viola2, Bruna Bueno Milanesi1
1Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|December 30, 2021
Summary
Depression can spread through social interactions via emotional contagion. This review explores how automatic mimicry and the mirror neuron system contribute to contagious depression.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Social Science
Background:
- Contagious depression theory suggests depression can be triggered by social environments.
- This is linked to emotional contagion, where affective states transfer during social interaction.
- Humans utilize emotional contagion for conscious and unconscious emotional communication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the behavioral, physiological, and neuroanatomical aspects of contagious depression.
- To examine the roles of automatic mimicry and the mirror neuron system in this phenomenon.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of behavioral, physiological, and neuroanatomical studies.
- Analysis of research on emotional contagion, automatic mimicry, and the mirror neuron system.
Main Results:
- Emotional contagion facilitates the transfer of affective states between individuals.
- Automatic mimicry and the mirror neuron system are key mechanisms underlying contagious depression.
- These mechanisms involve both conscious and unconscious processes.
Conclusions:
- The social environment plays a significant role in the onset and transmission of depression.
- Understanding automatic mimicry and the mirror neuron system offers insights into depression's social transmission.
- Further research into these mechanisms can inform interventions for contagious depression.
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