RESEARCHERS at the University of Nottingham have made new discoveries about the brain which could help children with autism.

Their study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, has investigated how our brains decide who and when we should mimic people.

The research found that eye contact triggers mechanisms in the frontal region of the brain, which controls imitation.

The results could be the first clues to understanding why some people, such as children with autism, struggle to grasp when they are expected to copy the actions of others in social situations.

Dr Antonia Hamilton led the research, carried out by a team from the university's School of Psychology.

She said: "Many studies have looked at copying and imitation in terms of 'mirror neurons', which are believed to be specialised parts of the human brain that implement imitation.

"However, we also know that imitation is carefully controlled – people don't imitate everything they see, and only copy what's important.

"Our previous research has shown that when somebody makes eye contact with you, you are more likely to copy them. So eye contact seems to act as a message that says "Copy me now". This recent study aimed to see what happens to that signal in the brain."