The discovery of mirror neurons, considered to be responsible for empathy, intrigued researchers all over the world. Many studies have been developed associating mirror neurons to the incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Identifying a possible influence of mirror neuron in autism.

Reviewing the recent trajectory of neuroscience in relation to the connection of impaired mirror neurons in autism.

Bibliographical review of studies in English, published in SciELO and LILACS databases, between 2008 and 2013. The keywords used were: autism, brain, cortex and mirror neuron.

Different subjects explored the influence of mirror neurons in autism as shown below (Fig. 1). Among 17 studies, 12 were bibliographical reviews and 5 involved experiments. Seventy-six percent of the studies were favorable to the influence of these neurons, while 24% were not.

There was a balance in the distribution of themes explored in the articles and few studies exploring the role of mirror neurons in autism. Even though the current research may not be conclusive, it can be said that currently neuroscientists tend to agree that mirror neurons significantly influence ASD. Recent studies suggest that, if properly stimulated, ASD individuals can develop their social skill and, consequently, be socially inserted. According to most author studied, technological development is needed in order to enable scientific advances involving mirror-neurons and ASD.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.