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Nummenmaa L, Saarimäki H, Glerean E, Gotsopoulos A, Jääskeläinen IP, Hari R, Sams M. Emotional speech synchronizes brains across listeners and engages large-scale dynamic brain networks. Neuroimage 2014; 102 Pt 2:498-509. [PMID: 25128711 PMCID: PMC4229500 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.07.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2014] [Revised: 07/28/2014] [Accepted: 07/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Speech provides a powerful means for sharing emotions. Here we implement novel intersubject phase synchronization and whole-brain dynamic connectivity measures to show that networks of brain areas become synchronized across participants who are listening to emotional episodes in spoken narratives. Twenty participants' hemodynamic brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they listened to 45-s narratives describing unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant events spoken in neutral voice. After scanning, participants listened to the narratives again and rated continuously their feelings of pleasantness–unpleasantness (valence) and of arousal–calmness. Instantaneous intersubject phase synchronization (ISPS) measures were computed to derive both multi-subject voxel-wise similarity measures of hemodynamic activity and inter-area functional dynamic connectivity (seed-based phase synchronization, SBPS). Valence and arousal time series were subsequently used to predict the ISPS and SBPS time series. High arousal was associated with increased ISPS in the auditory cortices and in Broca's area, and negative valence was associated with enhanced ISPS in the thalamus, anterior cingulate, lateral prefrontal, and orbitofrontal cortices. Negative valence affected functional connectivity of fronto-parietal, limbic (insula, cingulum) and fronto-opercular circuitries, and positive arousal affected the connectivity of the striatum, amygdala, thalamus, cerebellum, and dorsal frontal cortex. Positive valence and negative arousal had markedly smaller effects. We propose that high arousal synchronizes the listeners' sound-processing and speech-comprehension networks, whereas negative valence synchronizes circuitries supporting emotional and self-referential processing. We model how emotional speech synchronizes brains across listeners. Participants listened to emotional and neutral narratives during fMRI scan. Arousal synchronized auditory cortices and Broca's area. Valence synchronized limbic system, prefrontal, and orbitofrontal cortices. Valence and arousal triggered distinct patterns of dynamic functional connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauri Nummenmaa
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland; Brain Research Unit, O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland; Turku PET Centre, Finland.
| | - Heini Saarimäki
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland
| | - Enrico Glerean
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland
| | - Athanasios Gotsopoulos
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland
| | - Iiro P Jääskeläinen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland
| | - Riitta Hari
- Brain Research Unit, O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland; Advanced Magnetic Imaging Centre, Aalto NeuroImaging, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland
| | - Mikko Sams
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland; Advanced Magnetic Imaging Centre, Aalto NeuroImaging, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland
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152
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Guadagni V, Burles F, Ferrara M, Iaria G. The effects of sleep deprivation on emotional empathy. J Sleep Res 2014; 23:657-663. [DOI: 10.1111/jsr.12192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2014] [Accepted: 06/05/2014] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Guadagni
- Department of Psychology and Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary; Calgary AB Canada
| | - Ford Burles
- Department of Psychology and Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary; Calgary AB Canada
| | - Michele Ferrara
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences; University of L'aquila; L'Aquila Italy
| | - Giuseppe Iaria
- Department of Psychology and Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary; Calgary AB Canada
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153
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Borgomaneri S, Gazzola V, Avenanti A. Transcranial magnetic stimulation reveals two functionally distinct stages of motor cortex involvement during perception of emotional body language. Brain Struct Funct 2014; 220:2765-81. [PMID: 25023734 PMCID: PMC4549387 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-014-0825-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2014] [Accepted: 06/12/2014] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Studies indicate that perceiving emotional body language recruits fronto-parietal regions involved in action execution. However, the nature of such motor activation is unclear. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) we provide correlational and causative evidence of two distinct stages of motor cortex engagement during emotion perception. Participants observed pictures of body expressions and categorized them as happy, fearful or neutral while receiving TMS over the left or right motor cortex at 150 and 300 ms after picture onset. In the early phase (150 ms), we observed a reduction of excitability for happy and fearful emotional bodies that was specific to the right hemisphere and correlated with participants’ disposition to feel personal distress. This ‘orienting’ inhibitory response to emotional bodies was also paralleled by a general drop in categorization accuracy when stimulating the right but not the left motor cortex. Conversely, at 300 ms, greater excitability for negative, positive and neutral movements was found in both hemispheres. This later motor facilitation marginally correlated with participants’ tendency to assume the psychological perspectives of others and reflected simulation of the movement implied in the neutral and emotional body expressions. These findings highlight the motor system’s involvement during perception of emotional bodies. They suggest that fast orienting reactions to emotional cues—reflecting neural processing necessary for visual perception—occur before motor features of the observed emotional expression are simulated in the motor system and that distinct empathic dispositions influence these two neural motor phenomena. Implications for theories of embodied simulation are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Borgomaneri
- Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen and University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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154
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The canny social judge: Predicting others' attitudes from sparse information. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2014.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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155
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Is the emotion recognition deficit associated with frontotemporal dementia caused by selective inattention to diagnostic facial features? Neuropsychologia 2014; 60:84-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2013] [Revised: 05/22/2014] [Accepted: 05/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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156
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Choi D, Nishimura T, Motoi M, Egashira Y, Matsumoto R, Watanuki S. Effect of empathy trait on attention to various facial expressions: evidence from N170 and late positive potential (LPP). J Physiol Anthropol 2014; 33:18. [PMID: 24975115 PMCID: PMC4083863 DOI: 10.1186/1880-6805-33-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2014] [Accepted: 06/12/2014] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The present study sought to clarify the relationship between empathy trait and attention responses to happy, angry, surprised, afraid, and sad facial expressions. As indices of attention, we recorded event-related potentials (ERP) and focused on N170 and late positive potential (LPP) components. Methods Twenty-two participants (12 males, 10 females) discriminated facial expressions (happy, angry, surprised, afraid, and sad) from emotionally neutral faces under an oddball paradigm. The empathy trait of participants was measured using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI, J Pers Soc Psychol 44:113–126, 1983). Results Participants with higher IRI scores showed: 1) more negative amplitude of N170 (140 to 200 ms) in the right posterior temporal area elicited by happy, angry, surprised, and afraid faces; 2) more positive amplitude of early LPP (300 to 600 ms) in the parietal area elicited in response to angry and afraid faces; and 3) more positive amplitude of late LPP (600 to 800 ms) in the frontal area elicited in response to happy, angry, surprised, afraid, and sad faces, compared to participants with lower IRI scores. Conclusions These results suggest that individuals with high empathy pay attention to various facial expressions more than those with low empathy, from very-early stage (reflected in N170) to late-stage (reflected in LPP) processing of faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damee Choi
- Department of Kansei Science, Kyushu University, 4-9-1, Shiobaru, Minami-ku, Fukuoka 815-8540, Japan.
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157
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Horan WP, Iacoboni M, Cross KA, Korb A, Lee J, Nori P, Quintana J, Wynn JK, Green MF. Self-reported empathy and neural activity during action imitation and observation in schizophrenia. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2014; 5:100-8. [PMID: 25009771 PMCID: PMC4087183 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2014.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2014] [Revised: 06/12/2014] [Accepted: 06/16/2014] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Introduction Although social cognitive impairments are key determinants of functional outcome in schizophrenia their neural bases are poorly understood. This study investigated neural activity during imitation and observation of finger movements and facial expressions in schizophrenia, and their correlates with self-reported empathy. Methods 23 schizophrenia outpatients and 23 healthy controls were studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they imitated, executed, or simply observed finger movements and facial emotional expressions. Between-group activation differences, as well as relationships between activation and self-reported empathy, were evaluated. Results Both patients and controls similarly activated neural systems previously associated with these tasks. We found no significant between-group differences in task-related activations. There were, however, between-group differences in the correlation between self-reported empathy and right inferior frontal (pars opercularis) activity during observation of facial emotional expressions. As in previous studies, controls demonstrated a positive association between brain activity and empathy scores. In contrast, the pattern in the patient group reflected a negative association between brain activity and empathy. Conclusions Although patients with schizophrenia demonstrated largely normal patterns of neural activation across the finger movement and facial expression tasks, they reported decreased self perceived empathy and failed to show the typical relationship between neural activity and self-reported empathy seen in controls. These findings suggest that patients show a disjunction between automatic neural responses to low level social cues and higher level, integrative social cognitive processes involved in self-perceived empathy. Comparable activation patterns were present in both groups for finger and facial stimuli. There were no group differences on any of the activation tasks. Self-reported empathy differentially related to neural activation in the two groups. Empathy related to right inferior frontal activity in controls but not in patients. Patients showed a disconnect between low- and high-level social cognitive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- William P. Horan
- VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, USA
- University of California, Los Angeles, USA
- Corresponding author at: University of California, Los Angeles & VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, MIRECC 210A, Bldg. 210, 11301 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA. Tel.: + 1 310 478 3711x44041; fax: + 1 310 268 4056.
| | | | | | - Alex Korb
- University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Junghee Lee
- VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, USA
- University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Poorang Nori
- VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, USA
- University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Javier Quintana
- VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, USA
- University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Jonathan K. Wynn
- VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, USA
- University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Michael F. Green
- VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, USA
- University of California, Los Angeles, USA
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158
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Dambacher F, Sack AT, Lobbestael J, Arntz A, Brugman S, Schuhmann T. Out of control: evidence for anterior insula involvement in motor impulsivity and reactive aggression. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2014; 10:508-16. [PMID: 24837479 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsu077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2013] [Accepted: 05/14/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Inhibiting impulsive reactions while still defending one's vital resources is paramount to functional self-control and successful development in a social environment. However, this ability of successfully inhibiting, and thus controlling one's impulsivity, often fails, leading to consequences ranging from motor impulsivity to aggressive reactions following provocation. Although inhibitory failure represents the underlying mechanism, the neurocognition of social aggression and motor response inhibition have traditionally been investigated in separation. Here, we aimed to directly investigate and compare the neural mechanisms underlying the failure of inhibition across those different modalities of self-control. We used functional imaging to reveal the overlap in neural correlates between failed motor response inhibition (measured by a go/no-go task) and reactive aggression (measured by the Taylor aggression paradigm) in healthy males. The core overlap of neural correlates was located in the anterior insula, suggesting common anterior insula involvement in motor impulsivity as well as reactive aggression. This evidence regarding an overarching role of the anterior insula across different modalities of self-control enables an integrative perspective on insula function and a better integration of cognitive, social and emotional factors into a comprehensive model of impulsivity. Furthermore, it can eventually lead to a better understanding of clinical syndromes involving inhibitory deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Dambacher
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, and Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, and Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Alexander T Sack
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, and Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, and Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Jill Lobbestael
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, and Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Arnoud Arntz
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, and Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Suzanne Brugman
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, and Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Teresa Schuhmann
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, and Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, and Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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159
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Keysers C, Gazzola V. Hebbian learning and predictive mirror neurons for actions, sensations and emotions. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2014; 369:20130175. [PMID: 24778372 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Spike-timing-dependent plasticity is considered the neurophysiological basis of Hebbian learning and has been shown to be sensitive to both contingency and contiguity between pre- and postsynaptic activity. Here, we will examine how applying this Hebbian learning rule to a system of interconnected neurons in the presence of direct or indirect re-afference (e.g. seeing/hearing one's own actions) predicts the emergence of mirror neurons with predictive properties. In this framework, we analyse how mirror neurons become a dynamic system that performs active inferences about the actions of others and allows joint actions despite sensorimotor delays. We explore how this system performs a projection of the self onto others, with egocentric biases to contribute to mind-reading. Finally, we argue that Hebbian learning predicts mirror-like neurons for sensations and emotions and review evidence for the presence of such vicarious activations outside the motor system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Keysers
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, , Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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160
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161
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Abstract
A frontoparietal action-observation network (AON) has been proposed to support understanding others' actions and goals. We show that the AON "ticks together" in human subjects who are sharing a third person's feelings. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, 20 volunteers watched movies depicting boxing matches passively or while simulating a prespecified boxer's feelings. Instantaneous intersubject phase synchronization (ISPS) was computed to derive multisubject voxelwise similarity of hemodynamic activity and inter-area functional connectivity. During passive viewing, subjects' brain activity was synchronized in sensory projection and posterior temporal cortices. Simulation induced widespread increase of ISPS in the AON (premotor, posterior parietal, and superior temporal cortices), primary and secondary somatosensory cortices, and the dorsal attention circuits (frontal eye fields, intraparietal sulcus). Moreover, interconnectivity of these regions strengthened during simulation. We propose that sharing a third person's feelings synchronizes the observer's own brain mechanisms supporting sensations and motor planning, thereby likely promoting mutual understanding.
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162
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Terasawa Y, Moriguchi Y, Tochizawa S, Umeda S. Interoceptive sensitivity predicts sensitivity to the emotions of others. Cogn Emot 2014; 28:1435-48. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2014.888988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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163
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Choi D, Watanuki S. Effect of empathy trait on attention to faces: an event-related potential (ERP) study. J Physiol Anthropol 2014; 33:4. [PMID: 24460950 PMCID: PMC3904693 DOI: 10.1186/1880-6805-33-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2013] [Accepted: 01/08/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Empathy is deeply linked with the ability to adapt to human social environments. The present study investigated the relationship between the empathy trait and attention elicited by discriminating facial expressions. Methods Event-related potentials were measured while 32 participants (17 men and 15 women) discriminated facial expressions (happy or angry) and colors of flowers (yellow or purple) under an oddball paradigm. The empathy trait of participants was measured using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1980). Results The empathy trait correlated positively with both the early portion (300 to 600 ms after stimulus onset) and late portion (600 to 800 ms after stimulus onset) of late positive potential (LPP) amplitude elicited by faces, but not with LPP elicited by flowers. Conclusions This result suggests that, compared to people with low empathy, people with high empathy pay more attention when discriminating facial expressions. The present study suggests that differences exist in methods of adapting to social environments between people with high and low empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damee Choi
- Department of Kansei Science, Kyushu University, 4-9-1, Shiobaru, Minami-ku, Fukuoka 815-8540, Japan.
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164
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Trautwein FM, Naranjo JR, Schmidt S. Meditation Effects in the Social Domain: Self-Other Connectedness as a General Mechanism? MEDITATION – NEUROSCIENTIFIC APPROACHES AND PHILOSOPHICAL IMPLICATIONS 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-01634-4_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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165
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Hillis AE. Inability to empathize: brain lesions that disrupt sharing and understanding another's emotions. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 137:981-97. [PMID: 24293265 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awt317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Emotional empathy--the ability to recognize, share in, and make inferences about another person's emotional state--is critical for all social interactions. The neural mechanisms underlying emotional empathy have been widely studied with functional imaging of healthy participants. However, functional imaging studies reveal correlations between areas of activation and performance of a task, so that they can only reveal areas engaged in a task, rather than areas of the brain that are critical for the task. Lesion studies complement functional imaging, to identify areas necessary for a task. Impairments in emotional empathy have been mostly studied in neurological diseases with fairly diffuse injury, such as traumatic brain injury, autism and dementia. The classic 'focal lesion' is stroke. There have been scattered studies of patients with impaired empathy after stroke and other focal injury, but these studies have included small numbers of patients. This review will bring together data from these studies, to complement evidence from functional imaging. Here I review how focal lesions affect emotional empathy. I will show how lesion studies contribute to the understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying emotional empathy, and how they contribute to the management of patients with impaired emotional empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Argye E Hillis
- 1 Departments of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Meyer 6-113, Johns Hopkins Hospital 600 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
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166
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Nolte T, Bolling DZ, Hudac CM, Fonagy P, Mayes L, Pelphrey KA. Brain mechanisms underlying the impact of attachment-related stress on social cognition. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:816. [PMID: 24348364 PMCID: PMC3841757 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2013] [Accepted: 11/10/2013] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Mentalizing, in particular the successful attribution of complex mental states to others, is crucial for navigating social interactions. This ability is highly influenced by external factors within one's daily life, such as stress. We investigated the impact of stress on the brain basis of mentalization in adults. Using a novel modification of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET-R) we compared the differential effects of two personalized stress induction procedures: a general stress induction (GSI) and an attachment-related stress induction (ASI). Participants performed the RMET-R at baseline and after each of the two inductions. Baseline results replicated and extended previous findings regarding the neural correlates of the RMET-R. Additionally, we identified brain regions associated with making complex age judgments from the same stimuli. Results after stress exposure showed that the ASI condition resulted in reduced mentalization-related activation in the left posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS), left inferior frontal gyrus and left temporoparietal junction (TPJ). Moreover, the left middle frontal gyrus and left anterior insula showed greater functional connectivity to the left posterior STS after the ASI. Our findings indicate that attachment-related stress has a unique effect on the neural correlates of mentalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Nolte
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University New Haven, CT, USA ; Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London London, UK
| | - Danielle Z Bolling
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Caitlin M Hudac
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Peter Fonagy
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London London, UK
| | - Linda Mayes
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Kevin A Pelphrey
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University New Haven, CT, USA
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167
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Jankowiak-Siuda K, Zajkowski W. A neural model of mechanisms of empathy deficits in narcissism. Med Sci Monit 2013; 19:934-41. [PMID: 24189465 PMCID: PMC3829700 DOI: 10.12659/msm.889593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
From a multidimensional perspective, empathy is a process that includes affective sharing and imagining and understanding the emotions of others. The primary brain structures involved in mediating the components of empathy are the anterior insula (AI), the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and specific regions of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). The AI and ACC are the main nodes in the salience network (SN), which selects and coordinates the information flow from the intero- and exteroreceptors. AI might play a role as a crucial hub – a dynamic switch between 2 separate networks of cognitive processing: the central executive network (CEN), which is concerned with effective task execution, and the default mode network (DMN), which is involved with self-reflective processes. Given various classifications, a deficit in empathy may be considered a central dysfunctional trait in narcissism. A recent fMRI study suggests that deficit in empathy is due to a dysfunction in the right AI. Based on the acquired data, we propose a theoretical model of imbalanced SN functioning in narcissism in which the dysfunctional AI hub is responsible for constant DMN activation, which, in turn, centers one’s attention on the self. This might hinder the ability to affectively share and understand the emotions of others. This review paper on neural mechanisms of empathy deficits in narcissism aims to inspire and direct future research in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamila Jankowiak-Siuda
- Department of Experimental Neuropsychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland
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168
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Meffert H, Gazzola V, den Boer JA, Bartels AAJ, Keysers C. Reduced spontaneous but relatively normal deliberate vicarious representations in psychopathy. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 136:2550-62. [PMID: 23884812 PMCID: PMC3722356 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awt190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 153] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Psychopathy is a personality disorder associated with a profound lack of empathy. Neuroscientists have associated empathy and its interindividual variation with how strongly participants activate brain regions involved in their own actions, emotions and sensations while viewing those of others. Here we compared brain activity of 18 psychopathic offenders with 26 control subjects while viewing video clips of emotional hand interactions and while experiencing similar interactions. Brain regions involved in experiencing these interactions were not spontaneously activated as strongly in the patient group while viewing the video clips. However, this group difference was markedly reduced when we specifically instructed participants to feel with the actors in the videos. Our results suggest that psychopathy is not a simple incapacity for vicarious activations but rather reduced spontaneous vicarious activations co-existing with relatively normal deliberate counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harma Meffert
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, The Netherlands
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169
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Gu X, Hof PR, Friston KJ, Fan J. Anterior insular cortex and emotional awareness. J Comp Neurol 2013; 521:3371-88. [PMID: 23749500 PMCID: PMC3999437 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 434] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2012] [Revised: 04/30/2013] [Accepted: 05/23/2013] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
This paper reviews the foundation for a role of the human anterior insular cortex (AIC) in emotional awareness, defined as the conscious experience of emotions. We first introduce the neuroanatomical features of AIC and existing findings on emotional awareness. Using empathy, the awareness and understanding of other people's emotional states, as a test case, we then present evidence to demonstrate: 1) AIC and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) are commonly coactivated as revealed by a meta-analysis, 2) AIC is functionally dissociable from ACC, 3) AIC integrates stimulus-driven and top-down information, and 4) AIC is necessary for emotional awareness. We propose a model in which AIC serves two major functions: integrating bottom-up interoceptive signals with top-down predictions to generate a current awareness state and providing descending predictions to visceral systems that provide a point of reference for autonomic reflexes. We argue that AIC is critical and necessary for emotional awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaosi Gu
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom WC1N 3BG
- Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Roanoke, Virginia 24011
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029
| | - Karl J. Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom WC1N 3BG
| | - Jin Fan
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029
- Department of Psychology, Queens College, The City University of New York, Flushing, New York 11367
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170
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Borgomaneri S, Gazzola V, Avenanti A. Temporal dynamics of motor cortex excitability during perception of natural emotional scenes. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2013; 9:1451-7. [PMID: 23945998 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nst139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it is widely assumed that emotions prime the body for action, the effects of visual perception of natural emotional scenes on the temporal dynamics of the human motor system have scarcely been investigated. Here, we used single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to assess motor excitability during observation and categorization of positive, neutral and negative pictures from the International Affective Picture System database. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) from TMS of the left motor cortex were recorded from hand muscles, at 150 and 300 ms after picture onset. In the early temporal condition we found an increase in hand motor excitability that was specific for the perception of negative pictures. This early negative bias was predicted by interindividual differences in the disposition to experience aversive feelings (personal distress) in interpersonal emotional contexts. In the later temporal condition, we found that MEPs were similarly increased for both positive and negative pictures, suggesting an increased reactivity to emotionally arousing scenes. By highlighting the temporal course of motor excitability during perception of emotional pictures, our study provides direct neurophysiological support for the evolutionary notions that emotion perception is closely linked to action systems and that emotionally negative events require motor reactions to be more urgently mobilized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Borgomaneri
- Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Roma, Italy, The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy and Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italia Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Roma, Italy, The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy and Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italia
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Roma, Italy, The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy and Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italia Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Roma, Italy, The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy and Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italia
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Roma, Italy, The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy and Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italia Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Roma, Italy, The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy and Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italia Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Roma, Italy, The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy and Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italia
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171
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Gingnell M, Engman J, Frick A, Moby L, Wikström J, Fredrikson M, Sundström-Poromaa I. Oral contraceptive use changes brain activity and mood in women with previous negative affect on the pill--a double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized trial of a levonorgestrel-containing combined oral contraceptive. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2013; 38:1133-44. [PMID: 23219471 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2012] [Revised: 11/02/2012] [Accepted: 11/05/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Most women on combined oral contraceptives (COC) report high levels of satisfaction, but 4-10% complain of adverse mood effects. The aim of this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was to investigate if COC use would induce more pronounced mood symptoms than placebo in women with previous history of COC-induced adverse mood. A second aim was to determine if COC use is associated with changes in brain reactivity in regions previously associated with emotion processing. METHODS Thirty-four women with previous experience of mood deterioration during COC use were randomized to one treatment cycle with a levonorgestrel-containing COC or placebo. An emotional face matching task (vs. geometrical shapes) was administered during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) prior to and during the COC treatment cycle. Throughout the trial, women recorded daily symptom ratings on the Cyclicity Diagnoser (CD) scale. RESULTS During the last week of the treatment cycle COC users had higher scores of depressed mood, mood swings, and fatigue than placebo users. COC users also had lower emotion-induced reactivity in the left insula, left middle frontal gyrus, and bilateral inferior frontal gyri as compared to placebo users. In comparison with their pretreatment cycle, the COC group had decreased emotion-induced reactivity in the bilateral inferior frontal gyri, whereas placebo users had decreased reactivity in the right amygdala. CONCLUSION COC use in women who previously had experienced emotional side effects resulted in mood deterioration, and COC use was also accompanied by changes in emotional brain reactivity. These findings are of relevance for the understanding of how combined oral contraceptives may influence mood. Placebo-controlled fMRI studies in COC sensitive women could be of relevance for future testing of adverse mood effects in new oral contraceptives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin Gingnell
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
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172
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Ernst J, Northoff G, Böker H, Seifritz E, Grimm S. Interoceptive awareness enhances neural activity during empathy. Hum Brain Mapp 2013; 34:1615-24. [PMID: 22359353 PMCID: PMC6869919 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2011] [Revised: 10/03/2011] [Accepted: 11/17/2011] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy is a multicomponent function that includes sensorimotor, affective, and cognitive components. Although especially the affective component may implicate interoception and interoceptive awareness, the impact of interoception on empathy has never been evaluated behaviorally or neurophysiologically. Here, we tested how a preceding period of interoceptive awareness impacts and modulates neural activity during subsequent empathy. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and measured the sequential interaction between interoception and empathy using fMRI in 18 healthy subjects. We found that the preceding interoceptive awareness period significantly enhanced neural activity during empathy in bilateral anterior insula and various cortical midline regions. The enhancement of neural activity during empathy in both interoceptive and empathy networks by preceding interoceptive awareness suggests a close relationship between interoception and empathy; thereby, interoception seems to be implicated to yielding empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jutta Ernst
- Clinic for Affective Disorders and General Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Georg Northoff
- University of Ottawa, Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Heinz Böker
- Clinic for Affective Disorders and General Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Erich Seifritz
- Clinic for Affective Disorders and General Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Simone Grimm
- Clinic for Affective Disorders and General Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychiatry, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité, 14050 Berlin, Germany
- Languages of Emotion Cluster of Excellence, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany
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173
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Abstract
Modern medicine has progressed in parallel with the advancement of biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology. By using the tools of modern medicine, the physician today can treat and prevent a number of diseases through pharmacology, genetics, and physical interventions. Besides this materia medica, the patient's mind, cognitions, and emotions play a central part as well in any therapeutic outcome, as investigated by disciplines such as psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology. This review describes recent findings that give scientific evidence to the old tenet that patients must be both cured and cared for. In fact, we are today in a good position to investigate complex psychological factors, like placebo effects and the doctor-patient relationship, by using a physiological and neuroscientific approach. These intricate psychological factors can be approached through biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology, thus eliminating the old dichotomy between biology and psychology. This is both a biomedical and a philosophical enterprise that is changing the way we approach and interpret medicine and human biology. In the first case, curing the disease only is not sufficient, and care of the patient is of tantamount importance. In the second case, the philosophical debate about the mind-body interaction can find some important answers in the study of placebo effects. Therefore, maybe paradoxically, the placebo effect and the doctor-patient relationship can be approached by using the same biochemical, cellular and physiological tools of the materia medica, which represents an epochal transition from general concepts such as suggestibility and power of mind to a true physiology of the doctor-patient interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrizio Benedetti
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin Medical School, and National Institute of Neuroscience, Turin, Italy.
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174
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Pijnenborg GHM, Spikman JM, Jeronimus BF, Aleman A. Insight in schizophrenia: associations with empathy. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2013; 263:299-307. [PMID: 23076736 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-012-0373-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2012] [Accepted: 09/26/2012] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Many people with schizophrenia (50-80%) demonstrate impaired insight, something which has been associated with a poorer outcome. Two types of empathy can be distinguished: affective empathy via shared emotions and cognitive empathy, also referred to as Theory of Mind (ToM). ToM can be subdivided into cognitive ToM (knowledge about beliefs of other people via perspective taking) and affective ToM (knowledge about other people's emotions via perspective taking). Recent studies show a relationship between Theory of Mind (ToM) and insight. However, the relationship between affective empathy and insight in schizophrenia was not examined previously. This was the aim of the present study. We expected that affective empathy would show a stronger relationship with insight than both cognitive and affective ToM. We assessed forty-six patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and fifty-three healthy controls were assessed with a test battery consisting of tests of social cognition (a self-rating scale for affective empathy, a ToM task assessing both cognitive and affective ToM, and two tests of emotion perception), verbal memory, executive functioning, psychomotor speed, and intelligence. Insight was assessed with item G12 of the PANSS-interview. A regression equation showed that affective empathy made the strongest unique contribution to insight, followed closely by affective ToM. Together, they explained 45% of the variance in insight. None of the other independent variables made a unique contribution to the prediction of insight. Both affective ToM and affective empathy are associated with insight in schizophrenia. Being able to take empathize with other peoples feeling at both the affective and cognitive level may enhance insight in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- G H M Pijnenborg
- Department of Psychotic Disorders, GGZ-Drenthe, Dennenweg 9, 9404 LA Assen, The Netherlands.
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175
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Empathic deficits in combat veterans with traumatic brain injury: a voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping study. Cogn Behav Neurol 2013; 25:160-6. [PMID: 23277137 DOI: 10.1097/wnn.0b013e318280cf4e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To understand better which brain regions support emotional empathy. BACKGROUND Emotional empathy, the ability to interpret and share the affective states of others, is a key component in human social interaction. Previous research has suggested that emotional empathy relies on several distinct brain regions, although further evidence from human lesion studies is needed to determine which regions are critical. METHODS We studied 192 male Vietnam combat veterans who had sustained focal penetrating traumatic brain injuries, and 54 non-brain-injured veterans. We used voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping on computed tomographic scans to elucidate the neural bases of self-reported emotional empathy as measured by the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale. RESULTS Damage in several brain regions, particularly the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, left and right posterior temporal lobes, and insula, was associated with diminished emotional empathy. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide further insight into the neural substrates of emotional empathy, and are consistent with the notion that emotional empathy is supported by a distributed network of brain regions. Additional work may advance our understanding of the empathic deficits commonly observed in patients with neurologic and psychiatric disorders.
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176
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Enhanced neural responses to rule violation in children with autism: a comparison to social exclusion. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2013; 1:280-94. [PMID: 21743819 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2011.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study aimed to explore the neural correlates of two characteristic deficits in autism spectrum disorders (ASD); social impairment and restricted, repetitive behavior patterns. To this end, we used comparable experiences of social exclusion and rule violation to probe potentially atypical neural networks in ASD. In children and adolescents with and without ASD, we used the interactive ball-toss game (Cyberball) to elicit social exclusion and a comparable game (Cybershape) to elicit a non-exclusive rule violation. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we identified group differences in brain responses to social exclusion and rule violation. Though both groups reported equal distress following exclusion, the right insula and ventral anterior cingulate cortex were hypoactive during exclusion in children with ASD. In rule violation, right insula and dorsal prefrontal cortex were hyperactive in ASD. Right insula showed a dissociation in activation; it was hypoactive to social exclusion and hyperactive to rule violation in the ASD group. Further probed, different regions of right insula were modulated in each game, highlighting differences in regional specificity for which subsequent analyses revealed differences in patterns of functional connectivity. These results demonstrate neurobiological differences in processing social exclusion and rule violation in children with ASD.
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177
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Paulus FM, Müller-Pinzler L, Westermann S, Krach S. On the distinction of empathic and vicarious emotions. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:196. [PMID: 23720621 PMCID: PMC3654216 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2013] [Accepted: 04/27/2013] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In the introduction to the special issue "The Neural Underpinnings of Vicarious Experience" the editors state that one "may feel embarrassed when witnessing another making a social faux pas". In our commentary we address this statement and ask whether this example introduces a vicarious or an empathic form of embarrassment. We elaborate commonalities and differences between these two forms of emotional experiences and discuss their underlying mechanisms. We suggest that both, vicarious and empathic emotions, originate from the simulation processes mirroring and mentalizing that depend on anchoring and adjustment. We claim the term "empathic emotion" to be reserved exclusively for incidents where perceivers and social targets have shared affective experience, whereas "vicarious emotion" offers a wider scope and also includes non-shared affective experiences. Both are supposed to be highly functional in social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frieder M. Paulus
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychiatry, Philipps-University MarburgMarburg, Germany
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Philipps-University MarburgMarburg, Germany
| | - Laura Müller-Pinzler
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychiatry, Philipps-University MarburgMarburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Westermann
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychiatry, Philipps-University MarburgMarburg, Germany
| | - Sören Krach
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychiatry, Philipps-University MarburgMarburg, Germany
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178
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Mutschler I, Reinbold C, Wankerl J, Seifritz E, Ball T. Structural basis of empathy and the domain general region in the anterior insular cortex. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:177. [PMID: 23675334 PMCID: PMC3648769 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2013] [Accepted: 04/20/2013] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathy is key for healthy social functioning and individual differences in empathy have strong implications for manifold domains of social behavior. Empathy comprises of emotional and cognitive components and may also be closely linked to sensorimotor processes, which go along with the motivation and behavior to respond compassionately to another person's feelings. There is growing evidence for local plastic change in the structure of the healthy adult human brain in response to environmental demands or intrinsic factors. Here we have investigated changes in brain structure resulting from or predisposing to empathy. Structural MRI data of 101 healthy adult females was analyzed. Empathy in fictitious as well as real-life situations was assessed using a validated self-evaluation measure. Furthermore, empathy-related structural effects were also put into the context of a functional map of the anterior insular cortex (AIC) determined by activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analysis of previous functional imaging studies. We found that gray matter (GM) density in the left dorsal AIC correlates with empathy and that this area overlaps with the domain general region (DGR) of the anterior insula that is situated in-between functional systems involved in emotion-cognition, pain, and motor tasks as determined by our meta-analysis. Thus, we propose that this insular region where we find structural differences depending on individual empathy may play a crucial role in modulating the efficiency of neural integration underlying emotional, cognitive, and sensorimotor information which is essential for global empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabella Mutschler
- Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, University of Basel Basel, Switzerland ; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego (UCSD) La Jolla, California, USA
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179
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Insular networks for emotional processing and social cognition: Comparison of two case reports with either cortical or subcortical involvement. Cortex 2013; 49:1420-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2012.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2012] [Revised: 04/27/2012] [Accepted: 08/10/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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180
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Sniffing around oxytocin: review and meta-analyses of trials in healthy and clinical groups with implications for pharmacotherapy. Transl Psychiatry 2013; 3:e258. [PMID: 23695233 PMCID: PMC3669921 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2013.34] [Citation(s) in RCA: 289] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The popularity of oxytocin (OT) has grown exponentially during the past decade, and so has the number of OT trials in healthy and clinical groups. We take stock of the evidence from these studies to explore potentials and limitations of pharmacotherapeutic applications. In healthy participants, intranasally administered OT leads to better emotion recognition and more trust in conspecifics, but the effects appear to be moderated by context (perceived threat of the 'out-group'), personality and childhood experiences. In individuals with untoward childhood experiences, positive behavioral or neurobiological effects seem lowered or absent. In 19 clinical trials, covering autism, social anxiety, postnatal depression, obsessive-compulsive problems, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder and post-traumatic stress, the effects of OT administration were tested, with doses ranging from 15 IU to more than 7000 IU. The combined effect size was d=0.32 (N=304; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.18-0.47; P<0.01). However, of all disorders, only studies on autism spectrum disorder showed a significant combined effect size (d=0.57; N=68; 95% CI: 0.15-0.99; P<0.01). We hypothesize that for some of the other disorders, etiological factors rooted in negative childhood experiences may also have a role in the diminished effectiveness of treatment with OT.
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181
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Virani K, Jesso S, Kertesz A, Mitchell D, Finger E. Functional neural correlates of emotional expression processing deficits in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2013; 38:174-82. [PMID: 23031250 PMCID: PMC3633710 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.120008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative disorder resulting in social-cognitive deficits partially attributed to abnormalities processing social cues, such as facial expressions. However, to our knowledge, the functional neuroanatomy of deficient social cue processing in individuals with FTD has not been examined. The objective of this study was to delineate the functional abnormalities under lying altered facial expression processing in individuals with FTD using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). METHODS Patients meeting Neary criteria for behavioural variant FTD (bvFTD) with supportive neuroimaging and 18 age-matched healthy controls completed an implicit facial expression task during fMRI. We conducted volumetric brain morphometry to correct functional imaging data for volume differences. RESULTS We included 20 patients with bvFTD and 18 controls in our study. The results demonstrate emotion-specific functional abnormalities in frontal and limbic regions in patients with bvFTD. Patients also showed decreased activity in posterior ventral visual regions, specifically the fusiform cortex, possibly reflecting reduced afferent input from limbic regions. Finally, bvFTD was associated with increased activity in posterior regions, including the inferior parietal cortex. LIMITATIONS Autopsy validation of frontotemporal dementia is not yet available for this cohort. CONCLUSION Together, these findings suggest that fMRI combined with tasks targeting social-cognitive deficits is a powerful technique to objectively measure neural systems involved in emotion processing in individuals with bvFTD. As viewing emotional expressions is known to engage many of the same neural systems that are active when experiencing the emotion itself, fMRI during expression processing provides a novel window into the emotions of patients with FTD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Elizabeth Finger
- Correspondence to: E. Finger, Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, University of Western Ontario, B10-004, 339 Windermere Rd., London ON N6A 5A5;
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182
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Bernhardt BC, Klimecki OM, Leiberg S, Singer T. Structural covariance networks of the dorsal anterior insula predict females' individual differences in empathic responding. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 24:2189-98. [PMID: 23535178 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bht072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Previous functional imaging studies have shown key roles of the dorsal anterior insula (dAI) and anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) in empathy for the suffering of others. The current study mapped structural covariance networks of these regions and assessed the relationship between networks and individual differences in empathic responding in 94 females. Individual differences in empathy were assessed through average state measures in response to a video task showing others' suffering, and through questionnaire-based trait measures of empathic concern. Overall, covariance patterns indicated that dAI and aMCC are principal hubs within prefrontal, temporolimbic, and midline structural covariance networks. Importantly, participants with high empathy state ratings showed increased covariance of dAI, but not aMCC, to prefrontal and limbic brain regions. This relationship was specific for empathy and could not be explained by individual differences in negative affect ratings. Regarding questionnaire-based empathic trait measures, we observed a similar, albeit weaker modulation of dAI covariance, confirming the robustness of our findings. Our analysis, thus, provides novel evidence for a specific contribution of frontolimbic structural covariance networks to individual differences in social emotions beyond negative affect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris C Bernhardt
- Department of Social Neuroscience, Max-Planck-Institute of Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, D-04301 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Olga M Klimecki
- Department of Social Neuroscience, Max-Planck-Institute of Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, D-04301 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Susanne Leiberg
- Laboratory for Social and Economic Systems Research, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, CH-8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tania Singer
- Department of Social Neuroscience, Max-Planck-Institute of Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, D-04301 Leipzig, Germany Laboratory for Social and Economic Systems Research, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, CH-8006 Zurich, Switzerland
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183
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Damasio A, Carvalho GB. The nature of feelings: evolutionary and neurobiological origins. Nat Rev Neurosci 2013; 14:143-52. [PMID: 23329161 DOI: 10.1038/nrn3403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 520] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Feelings are mental experiences of body states. They signify physiological need (for example, hunger), tissue injury (for example, pain), optimal function (for example, well-being), threats to the organism (for example, fear or anger) or specific social interactions (for example, compassion, gratitude or love). Feelings constitute a crucial component of the mechanisms of life regulation, from simple to complex. Their neural substrates can be found at all levels of the nervous system, from individual neurons to subcortical nuclei and cortical regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Damasio
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620 A McClintock Avenue, Suite 265, Los Angeles, California 90089-2921, USA.
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184
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Neural activities during affective processing in people with Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging 2013; 34:706-15. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2012.06.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2012] [Revised: 06/07/2012] [Accepted: 06/22/2012] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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185
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Broderick J, Grisham JR, Weidemann G. Disgust and fear responding in contamination-based obsessive-compulsive disorder during pictorial exposure. Behav Ther 2013; 44:27-38. [PMID: 23312424 DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2012.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2011] [Revised: 04/12/2012] [Accepted: 05/30/2012] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The emotion of disgust has been implicated in the development and maintenance of contamination-based obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In the present study nonclinical participants with high (n=26) and low (n=28) levels of OCD contamination symptoms were exposed to 2 categories of disgust stimuli (blood injury and body waste) across 4 blocks using standardized disgust images. Self-report disgust and fear were recorded, as well as cardiovascular heart rate. In both groups, an initial primary disgust reaction was observed. Self-report disgust and fear, but not heart rate deceleration, was greater in the high symptom group. The high symptom group showed reductions in heart rate deceleration, whereas the low symptom group did not. Significant differences in self-report changes across time were observed between the groups, with fear increasing to a greater extent for high contamination fearful individuals when viewing body waste images. The implications of these findings for theoretical models and clinical treatment of OCD with prominent contamination symptoms are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Broderick
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia.
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186
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Okano AH, Fontes EB, Montenegro RA, Farinatti PDTV, Cyrino ES, Li LM, Bikson M, Noakes TD. Brain stimulation modulates the autonomic nervous system, rating of perceived exertion and performance during maximal exercise. Br J Sports Med 2013; 49:1213-8. [DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2012-091658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2012] [Accepted: 01/30/2013] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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187
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Vicario CM, Kritikos A, Avenanti A, Rafal R. Reward and punishment: investigating cortico-bulbar excitability to disclose the value of goods. Front Psychol 2013; 4:39. [PMID: 23386841 PMCID: PMC3564061 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2012] [Accepted: 01/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Carmelo M. Vicario
- School of Psychology, University of QueenslandBrisbane, QLD, Australia
- Faculty of Motor Science, University of PalermoPalermo, Italy
| | - Ada Kritikos
- School of Psychology, University of QueenslandBrisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna “Alma Mater Studiorum,”Bologna, Italy
- Centro di Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Polo Scientifico-Didattico di CesenaCesena, Italy
- Istituto Di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Fondazione Santa LuciaRoma, Italy
| | - Robert Rafal
- School of Psychology, Univerisity of WalesBangor, UK
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188
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Abstract
In social life actions are tightly linked with emotions. The integration of affective- and action-related information has to be considered as a fundamental component of appropriate social understanding. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging study aimed at investigating whether an emotion (Happiness, Anger or Neutral) dynamically expressed by an observed agent modulates brain activity underlying the perception of his grasping action. As control stimuli, participants observed the same agent either only expressing an emotion or only performing a grasping action. Our results showed that the observation of an action embedded in an emotional context (agent's facial expression), compared with the observation of the same action embedded in a neutral context, elicits higher neural response at the level of motor frontal cortices, temporal and occipital cortices, bilaterally. Particularly, the dynamic facial expression of anger modulates the re-enactment of a motor representation of the observed action. This is supported by the evidence that observing actions embedded in the context of anger, but not happiness, compared with a neutral context, elicits stronger activity in the bilateral pre-central gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus, besides the pre-supplementary motor area, a region playing a central role in motor control. Angry faces not only seem to modulate the simulation of actions, but may also trigger motor reaction. These findings suggest that emotions exert a modulatory role on action observation in different cortical areas involved in action processing.
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189
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Preis MA, Schmidt-Samoa C, Dechent P, Kroener-Herwig B. The effects of prior pain experience on neural correlates of empathy for pain: An fMRI study. Pain 2012; 154:411-418. [PMID: 23318128 DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2012.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2012] [Revised: 11/22/2012] [Accepted: 11/29/2012] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have revealed partially shared neural substrates for both the actual experience of pain and empathy elicited by the pain of others. We examined whether prior pain exposure increased neural activity in the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) and bilateral anterior insula (AI) as a correlate of empathy for pain. Participants (N=64: 32 women, 32 men) viewed pictures displaying exposure to pressure pain (pain pictures) and pictures without any cue of pain (neutral pictures). Prior to the experiment, half of the participants were exposed to the same pain stimulus as the one seen in the pain pictures (pain exposure condition); the other half had no such experience (touch exposure condition). A balanced sex ratio was kept, to investigate possible sex differences. In the region-of-interest analyses, participants of the pain exposure condition showed decreased activity in the right AI and the aMCC relative to participants of the touch exposure condition. While in men, no differences were found in relation to their exposure condition, women with pain exposure showed decreased activity in the aMCC and additionally, in bilateral AI. Based on the entire sample, whole brain analyses revealed stronger activation in the retrosplenial cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and medial prefrontal cortex in the pain exposure condition. In conclusion, prior pain exposure did not increase, but decreased activity in regions regularly associated with empathy for pain. However, pain experience increased activity in regions associated with memory retrieval, perspective taking, and top-down emotion regulation, which might facilitate empathizing with others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mira A Preis
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Georg-Elias-Mueller Institute of Psychology, Georg-August University of Goettingen, Goettingen 37073, Germany Department of Cognitive Neurology, MR Research in Neurology and Psychiatry, Georg-August University of Goettingen, UMG, Goettingen 37073, Germany
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190
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Telle NT, Pfister HR. Not Only the Miserable Receive Help: Empathy Promotes Prosocial Behaviour Toward the Happy. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-012-9157-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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191
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de Greck M, Scheidt L, Bölter AF, Frommer J, Ulrich C, Stockum E, Enzi B, Tempelmann C, Hoffmann T, Han S, Northoff G. Altered brain activity during emotional empathy in somatoform disorder. Hum Brain Mapp 2012; 33:2666-85. [PMID: 21998038 PMCID: PMC6870370 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2010] [Revised: 05/28/2011] [Accepted: 05/31/2011] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Somatoform disorder patients suffer from impaired emotion recognition and other emotional deficits. Emotional empathy refers to the understanding and sharing of emotions of others in social contexts. It is likely that the emotional deficits of somatoform disorder patients are linked to disturbed empathic abilities; however, little is known so far about empathic deficits of somatoform patients and the underlying neural mechanisms. We used fMRI and an empathy paradigm to investigate 20 somatoform disorder patients and 20 healthy controls. The empathy paradigm contained facial pictures expressing anger, joy, disgust, and a neutral emotional state; a control condition contained unrecognizable stimuli. In addition, questionnaires testing for somatization, alexithymia, depression, empathy, and emotion recognition were applied. Behavioral results confirmed impaired emotion recognition in somatoform disorder and indicated a rather distinct pattern of empathic deficits of somatoform patients with specific difficulties in "empathic distress." In addition, somatoform patients revealed brain areas with diminished activity in the contrasts "all emotions"-"control," "anger"-"control," and "joy"-"control," whereas we did not find brain areas with altered activity in the contrasts "disgust"-"control" and "neutral"-"control." Significant clusters with less activity in somatoform patients included the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, the left amygdala, the left postcentral gyrus, the left superior temporal gyrus, the left posterior insula, and the bilateral cerebellum. These findings indicate that disturbed emotional empathy of somatoform disorder patients is linked to impaired emotion recognition and abnormal activity of brain regions responsible for emotional evaluation, emotional memory, and emotion generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moritz de Greck
- Department of Psychology, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, China.
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192
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Sevdalis V, Keller PE. Perceiving bodies in motion: expression intensity, empathy, and experience. Exp Brain Res 2012; 222:447-53. [PMID: 22941314 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-012-3229-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2011] [Accepted: 08/12/2012] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated the perceptual identification of individuals' intended expression intensity in point-light displays depicting dance. Participants watched point-light displays of 200-1,000-ms duration, as well as static displays, of expressive and inexpressive dance performances. The task was to identify the intended expression intensity of the performer. The results indicate that expression intensity could be discerned reliably only from dynamic displays, even when they were as short as 200 ms, though the accuracy of judgments increased with exposure duration. Judgment accuracy for dynamic displays was positively correlated with self-report empathy indices and confidence in judgments. Accuracy for these displays also correlated with indices of informal music and dance experience. The findings are discussed in relation to sensorimotor and cognitive-emotional processes underlying action understanding and social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vassilis Sevdalis
- Music Cognition and Action Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1A, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
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193
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Citron FMM. Neural correlates of written emotion word processing: a review of recent electrophysiological and hemodynamic neuroimaging studies. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2012; 122:211-226. [PMID: 22277309 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2011.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 271] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2011] [Revised: 12/07/2011] [Accepted: 12/12/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
A growing body of literature investigating the neural correlates of emotion word processing has emerged in recent years. Written words have been shown to represent a suitable means to study emotion processing and most importantly to address the distinct and interactive contributions of the two dimensions of emotion: valence and arousal. The aim of the present review is to integrate findings from electrophysiological (ERP) and hemodynamic neuroimaging (fMRI) studies in order to provide a better understanding of emotion word processing. It provides an up-to-date review of recent ERP studies since the review by Kissler et al. (2006) as well as the first review of hemodynamic brain imaging studies in the field. A discussion of theoretical and methodological issues is also presented, along with suggestions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca M M Citron
- Cluster of Excellence Languages of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
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194
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Morelli SA, Rameson LT, Lieberman MD. The neural components of empathy: predicting daily prosocial behavior. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2012; 9:39-47. [PMID: 22887480 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nss088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 166] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous neuroimaging studies on empathy have not clearly identified neural systems that support the three components of empathy: affective congruence, perspective-taking, and prosocial motivation. These limitations stem from a focus on a single emotion per study, minimal variation in amount of social context provided, and lack of prosocial motivation assessment. In the current investigation, 32 participants completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging session assessing empathic responses to individuals experiencing painful, anxious, and happy events that varied in valence and amount of social context provided. They also completed a 14-day experience sampling survey that assessed real-world helping behaviors. The results demonstrate that empathy for positive and negative emotions selectively activates regions associated with positive and negative affect, respectively. In addition, the mirror system was more active during empathy for context-independent events (pain), whereas the mentalizing system was more active during empathy for context-dependent events (anxiety, happiness). Finally, the septal area, previously linked to prosocial motivation, was the only region that was commonly activated across empathy for pain, anxiety, and happiness. Septal activity during each of these empathic experiences was predictive of daily helping. These findings suggest that empathy has multiple input pathways, produces affect-congruent activations, and results in septally mediated prosocial motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvia A Morelli
- Franz Hall, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA.
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195
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Geng Y, Xia D, Qin B. The Basic Empathy Scale: a Chinese validation of a measure of empathy in adolescents. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2012; 43:499-510. [PMID: 22222487 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-011-0278-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES). The Chinese version of BES was administered to a sample (n = 1,524) aged 9-18 and 65 males with conduct disorder aged 13-18. The result of confirmatory factor analysis showed a two-factor structure with four items deleted to be the most adequate model (cognitive empathy, affective empathy). Empathy was positively correlated with a measure of prosocial behaviour and a measure of emotional problems. Boys with conduct disorder scored significantly lower than matched participants on cognitive empathy. Moreover, in line with previous researches, girls were found to score significantly higher on empathy than boys and the scores on both cognitive and affective empathy increased with age. The Chinese revision exhibited satisfactory internal consistency and moderate test-retest reliability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaoguo Geng
- Department of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
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196
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris C. Bernhardt
- Department of Social Neuroscience, Max-Planck Institute of Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1a, 04309 Leipzig, Germany;
| | - Tania Singer
- Department of Social Neuroscience, Max-Planck Institute of Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1a, 04309 Leipzig, Germany;
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197
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Azevedo RT, Macaluso E, Avenanti A, Santangelo V, Cazzato V, Aglioti SM. Their pain is not our pain: brain and autonomic correlates of empathic resonance with the pain of same and different race individuals. Hum Brain Mapp 2012; 34:3168-81. [PMID: 22807311 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2011] [Revised: 04/21/2012] [Accepted: 04/27/2012] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in social neuroscience research have unveiled the neurophysiological correlates of race and intergroup processing. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying intergroup empathy. Combining event-related fMRI with measurements of pupil dilation as an index of autonomic reactivity, we explored how race and group membership affect empathy-related responses. White and Black subjects were presented with video clips depicting white, black, and unfamiliar violet-skinned hands being either painfully penetrated by a syringe or being touched by a Q-tip. Both hemodynamic activity within areas known to be involved in the processing of first and third-person emotional experiences of pain, i.e., bilateral anterior insula, and autonomic reactivity were greater for the pain experienced by own-race compared to that of other-race and violet models. Interestingly, greater implicit racial bias predicted increased activity within the left anterior insula during the observation of own-race pain relative to other-race pain. Our findings highlight the close link between group-based segregation and empathic processing. Moreover, they demonstrate the relative influence of culturally acquired implicit attitudes and perceived similarity/familiarity with the target in shaping emotional responses to others' physical pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben T Azevedo
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
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198
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Przyrembel M, Smallwood J, Pauen M, Singer T. Illuminating the dark matter of social neuroscience: Considering the problem of social interaction from philosophical, psychological, and neuroscientific perspectives. Front Hum Neurosci 2012; 6:190. [PMID: 22737120 PMCID: PMC3380416 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2012] [Accepted: 06/07/2012] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Successful human social interaction depends on our capacity to understand other people's mental states and to anticipate how they will react to our actions. Despite its importance to the human condition, the exact mechanisms underlying our ability to understand another's actions, feelings, and thoughts are still a matter of conjecture. Here, we consider this problem from philosophical, psychological, and neuroscientific perspectives. In a critical review, we demonstrate that attempts to draw parallels across these complementary disciplines is premature: The second-person perspective does not map directly to Interaction or Simulation theories, online social cognition, or shared neural network accounts underlying action observation or empathy. Nor does the third-person perspective map onto Theory-Theory (TT), offline social cognition, or the neural networks that support Theory of Mind (ToM). Moreover, we argue that important qualities of social interaction emerge through the reciprocal interplay of two independent agents whose unpredictable behavior requires that models of their partner's internal state be continually updated. This analysis draws attention to the need for paradigms in social neuroscience that allow two individuals to interact in a spontaneous and natural manner and to adapt their behavior and cognitions in a response contingent fashion due to the inherent unpredictability in another person's behavior. Even if such paradigms were implemented, it is possible that the specific neural correlates supporting such reciprocal interaction would not reflect computation unique to social interaction but rather the use of basic cognitive and emotional processes combined in a unique manner. Finally, we argue that given the crucial role of social interaction in human evolution, ontogeny, and every-day social life, a more theoretically and methodologically nuanced approach to the study of real social interaction will nevertheless help the field of social cognition to evolve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marisa Przyrembel
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Institute for Philosophy, Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinBerlin, Germany
- Center for Subjectivity Research, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jonathan Smallwood
- Department of Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzig, Germany
| | - Michael Pauen
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Institute for Philosophy, Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinBerlin, Germany
| | - Tania Singer
- Department of Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzig, Germany
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199
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Banissy MJ, Kanai R, Walsh V, Rees G. Inter-individual differences in empathy are reflected in human brain structure. Neuroimage 2012; 62:2034-9. [PMID: 22683384 PMCID: PMC3778747 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.05.081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2011] [Revised: 05/29/2012] [Accepted: 05/29/2012] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy is a multi-faceted concept consisting of our ability not only to share emotions but also to exert cognitive control and perspective taking in our interactions with others. Here we examined whether inter-individual variability in different components of empathy was related to differences in brain structure assessed using voxel-based morphometry. Following a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, participants completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Multiple regression was then used to assess the relationship between individual differences in grey matter volume and individual differences in empathy traits. We found that individual differences in affective empathic abilities oriented towards another person were negatively correlated with grey matter volume in the precuneus, inferior frontal gyrus, and anterior cingulate. Differences in self-oriented affective empathy were negatively correlated with grey matter volume of the somatosensory cortex, but positively correlated with volume in the insula; cognitive perspective taking abilities were positively correlated with grey matter volume of the anterior cingulate; and the ability to empathise with fictional characters was positively related to grey matter changes in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These findings are discussed in relation to neurocognitive models of empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, SE14 6NW, UK.
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200
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Primary somatosensory cortex discriminates affective significance in social touch. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012; 109:E1657-66. [PMID: 22665808 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1113211109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 204] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Another person's caress is one of the most powerful of all emotional social signals. How much the primary somatosensory cortices (SIs) participate in processing the pleasantness of such social touch remains unclear. Although ample empirical evidence supports the role of the insula in affective processing of touch, here we argue that SI might be more involved in affective processing than previously thought by showing that the response in SI to a sensual caress is modified by the perceived sex of the caresser. In a functional MRI study, we manipulated the perceived affective quality of a caress independently of the sensory properties at the skin: heterosexual males believed they were sensually caressed by either a man or woman, although the caress was in fact invariantly delivered by a female blind to condition type. Independent analyses showed that SI encoded, and was modulated by, the visual sex of the caress, and that this effect is unlikely to originate from the insula. This suggests that current models may underestimate the role played by SI in the affective processing of social touch.
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