Introduction: Mirror neurons are visuomotor neurons that perform mirror mechanisms, meaning each time an individual observes another individual performing an action, these neurons which encode that action, are activated in the observer’s cortical motor system. One of the cognitive domains of controversy in schizophrenia is Motor Resonance, also known as the Mirror Neuron System (MNS). In the current paper, we aim to review all the available literature regarding mirror mechanism examination in patients with schizophrenia and present an explicit summary of the available findings up to this date.
Methods: We will search MEDLINE (through PubMed), Embase, and Web of Science for papers which evaluated the functional integrity of MNS, using Electroencephalography (EEG), Magnetoencephalography (MEG), Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), Eye tracking, and muscle activation (EMG) in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. We will perform a meta-synthesis based on vote counting methods on the data. We will also evaluate the publication bias using Funnel plots and assess the confidence in cumulative evidence using CERQual.