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Ioumpa K, Gallo S, Keysers C, Gazzola V. Neural mechanisms of costly helping in the general population and mirror-pain synesthetes. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11617. [PMID: 38773183 PMCID: PMC11109206 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62422-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
It has been argued that experiencing the pain of others motivates helping. Here, we investigate the contribution of somatic feelings while witnessing the pain of others onto costly helping decisions, by contrasting the choices and brain activity of participants that report feeling somatic feelings (self-reported mirror-pain synesthetes) against those that do not. Participants in fMRI witnessed a confederate receiving pain stimulations whose intensity they could reduce by donating money. The pain intensity could be inferred either from the facial expressions of the confederate in pain (Face condition) or from the kinematics of the pain-receiving hand (Hand condition). Our results show that self-reported mirror-pain synesthetes increase their donation more steeply, as the intensity of the observed pain increases, and their somatosensory brain activity (SII and the adjacent IPL) was more tightly associated with donation in the Hand condition. For all participants, activation in insula, SII, TPJ, pSTS, amygdala and MCC correlated with the trial by trial donation made in the Face condition, while SI and MTG activation was correlated with the donation in the Hand condition. These results further inform us about the role of somatic feelings while witnessing the pain of others in situations of costly helping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kalliopi Ioumpa
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Selene Gallo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Christian Keysers
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Kyriazos T, Poga M. Quantum concepts in Psychology: Exploring the interplay of physics and the human psyche. Biosystems 2024; 235:105070. [PMID: 37939870 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2023.105070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
This paper delves into the innovative intersection of quantum mechanics and psychology, examining the potential of quantum principles to provide fresh insights into human emotions, cognition, and consciousness. Drawing parallels between quantum phenomena such as superposition, entanglement, tunneling, decoherence and their psychological counterparts, we present a quantum-psychological model that reimagines emotional states, cognitive breakthroughs, interpersonal relationships, and the nature of consciousness. The study uses computational models and simulations to explore this interdisciplinary fusion's implications and applications, highlighting its potential benefits and inherent challenges. While quantum concepts offer a rich metaphorical lens to view the intricacies of human experience, it is essential to approach this nascent framework with enthusiasm and skepticism. Rigorous empirical validation is paramount to realize its full potential in research and therapeutic contexts. This exploration stands as a promising thread in the tapestry of intellectual history, suggesting a deeper understanding of the human psyche through the lens of quantum mechanics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mary Poga
- Independent Researcher, Athens, Greece
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Lu T, Liang D, Hong M. Time Matters: Time Perspectives Predict Intertemporal Prosocial Preferences. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:590. [PMID: 37504037 PMCID: PMC10376203 DOI: 10.3390/bs13070590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The study utilizes the Chinese version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI-C) and a novelty intertemporal prosocial discounting paradigm to explore the preferences of individuals with the Present Impulsive Time Perspective (PITP) and the Future Time Perspective (FTP) in intertemporal prosocial choices, and uncovers the cognitive mechanisms underpinning intertemporal altruism from the personality traits. The findings revealed: (1) The donation behaviors of both groups decreased as time delay rose, aligning with the hyperbolic model. (2) PITP individuals had significantly higher discount rates than those with FTP, and the scores of FTP individuals on the "Future" dimension of the ZTPI-C were positively correlated with the amount of money they were willing to forgo. These results suggest that time perspective, as a stable personality trait, can predict individuals' intertemporal prosocial preferences. Our research enriches the theory of intertemporal choices and extends the Perceived-time-based model (PTBM) to the domain of intertemporal social preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teng Lu
- School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 Xidazhi Street, Nangang District, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Dapeng Liang
- School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 Xidazhi Street, Nangang District, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Mei Hong
- School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 Xidazhi Street, Nangang District, Harbin 150001, China
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Christov-Moore L, Reggente N, Vaccaro A, Schoeller F, Pluimer B, Douglas PK, Iacoboni M, Man K, Damasio A, Kaplan JT. Preventing antisocial robots: A pathway to artificial empathy. Sci Robot 2023; 8:eabq3658. [PMID: 37436969 DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.abq3658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
Given the accelerating powers of artificial intelligence (AI), we must equip artificial agents and robots with empathy to prevent harmful and irreversible decisions. Current approaches to artificial empathy focus on its cognitive or performative processes, overlooking affect, and thus promote sociopathic behaviors. Artificially vulnerable, fully empathic AI is necessary to prevent sociopathic robots and protect human welfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Christov-Moore
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, USA
- Consciousness Center of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
| | - Nicco Reggente
- Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, USA
| | - Anthony Vaccaro
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Felix Schoeller
- Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, USA
- Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Centre, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Brock Pluimer
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Pamela K Douglas
- Institute for Simulation and Training, Department of Computer Science, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Marco Iacoboni
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kingson Man
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Antonio Damasio
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonas T Kaplan
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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5
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Vickers BD, Seidler RD, Stansfield RB, Weissman DH, Preston SD. Altruistic responses to the most vulnerable involve sensorimotor processes. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1140986. [PMID: 36970269 PMCID: PMC10036353 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1140986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
IntroductionWhy do people help strangers? Prior research suggests that empathy motivates bystanders to respond to victims in distress. However, this work has revealed relatively little about the role of the motor system in human altruism, even though altruism is thought to have originated as an active, physical response to close others in immediate need. We therefore investigated whether a motor preparatory response contributes to costly helping.MethodsTo accomplish this objective, we contrasted three charity conditions that were more versus less likely to elicit an active motor response, based on the Altruistic Response Model. These conditions described charities that (1) aided neonates versus adults, (2) aided victims requiring immediate versus preparatory support, and (3) provided heroic versus nurturant aid. We hypothesized that observing neonates in immediate need would elicit stronger brain activation in motor-preparatory regions.ResultsConsistent with an evolutionary, caregiving-based theory of altruism, participants donated the most to charities that provided neonates with immediate, nurturant aid. Critically, this three-way donation interaction was associated with increased BOLD signal and gray matter volume in motor-preparatory regions, which we identified in an independent motor retrieval task.DiscussionThese findings advance the field of altruism by shifting the spotlight from passive emotional states toward action processes that evolved to protect the most vulnerable members of our group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D. Vickers
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Rachael D. Seidler
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - R. Brent Stansfield
- Department of Medical Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Daniel H. Weissman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Stephanie D. Preston
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- *Correspondence: Stephanie D. Preston,
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Coetzee JP, Johnson MA, Lee Y, Wu AD, Iacoboni M, Monti MM. Dissociating Language and Thought in Human Reasoning. Brain Sci 2022; 13:brainsci13010067. [PMID: 36672048 PMCID: PMC9856203 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13010067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
What is the relationship between language and complex thought? In the context of deductive reasoning there are two main views. Under the first, which we label here the language-centric view, language is central to the syntax-like combinatorial operations of complex reasoning. Under the second, which we label here the language-independent view, these operations are dissociable from the mechanisms of natural language. We applied continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS), a form of noninvasive neuromodulation, to healthy adult participants to transiently inhibit a subregion of Broca's area (left BA44) associated in prior work with parsing the syntactic relations of natural language. We similarly inhibited a subregion of dorsomedial frontal cortex (left medial BA8) which has been associated with core features of logical reasoning. There was a significant interaction between task and stimulation site. Post hoc tests revealed that performance on a linguistic reasoning task, but not deductive reasoning task, was significantly impaired after inhibition of left BA44, and performance on a deductive reasoning task, but not linguistic reasoning task, was decreased after inhibition of left medial BA8 (however not significantly). Subsequent linear contrasts supported this pattern. These novel results suggest that deductive reasoning may be dissociable from linguistic processes in the adult human brain, consistent with the language-independent view.
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Affiliation(s)
- John P. Coetzee
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Polytrauma Division, 3801 Miranda Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
| | - Micah A. Johnson
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Youngzie Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Allan D. Wu
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Brain Research Institute (BRI), University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Marco Iacoboni
- Brain Research Institute (BRI), University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Martin M. Monti
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Brain Research Institute (BRI), University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Brain Injury Research Center (BIRC), Department of Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-310-825-8546
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Chow TE, Veziris CR, La Joie R, Lee AJ, Brown JA, Yokoyama JS, Rankin KP, Kramer JH, Miller BL, Rabinovici GD, Seeley WW, Sturm VE. Increasing empathic concern relates to salience network hyperconnectivity in cognitively healthy older adults with elevated amyloid-β burden. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 37:103282. [PMID: 36525744 PMCID: PMC9758499 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 11/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Enhanced emotional empathy, the ability to share others' affective experiences, can be a feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but whether emotional empathy increases in the preclinical phase of the disease is unknown. We measured emotional empathy over time (range = 0 - 7.3 years, mean = 2.4 years) in 86 older adults during a period in which they were cognitively healthy, functionally normal, and free of dementia symptoms. For each participant, we computed longitudinal trajectories for empathic concern (i.e., an other-oriented form of emotional empathy that promotes prosocial actions) and emotional contagion (i.e., a self-focused form of emotional empathy often accompanied by feelings of distress) from informant ratings of participants' empathy on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Amyloid-β (Aβ) positron emission tomography (PET) scans were used to classify participants as either Aβ positive (Aβ+, n = 23) or negative (Aβ-, n = 63) based on Aβ-PET cortical binding. Participants also underwent structural and task-free functional magnetic resonance imaging approximately two years on average after their last empathy assessment, at which time most participants remained cognitively healthy. Results indicated that empathic concern, but not emotional contagion, increased more over time in Aβ+ participants than in Aβ- participants despite no initial group difference at the first measurement. Higher connectivity between certain salience network node-pairs (i.e., pregenual anterior cingulate cortex and periaqueductal gray) predicted longitudinal increases in empathic concern in the Aβ+ group but not in the Aβ- group. The Aβ+ participants also had higher overall salience network connectivity than Aβ- participants despite no differences in gray matter volume. These results suggest gains in empathic concern may be a very early feature of AD pathophysiology that relates to hyperconnectivity in the salience network, a system that supports emotion generation and interoception. A better understanding of emotional empathy trajectories in the early stages of AD pathophysiology will broaden the lens on preclinical AD changes and help clinicians to identify older adults who should be screened for AD biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiffany E Chow
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Christina R Veziris
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Renaud La Joie
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Alex J Lee
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Jesse A Brown
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Jennifer S Yokoyama
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Katherine P Rankin
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Joel H Kramer
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Bruce L Miller
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Gil D Rabinovici
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - William W Seeley
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Virginia E Sturm
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
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Tsesmelis Piccolino S. Vicarious resilience: traversing the path from client to clinician through a search for meaning. SOCIAL WORK IN HEALTH CARE 2022; 61:468-482. [PMID: 36222370 DOI: 10.1080/00981389.2022.2134274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Life-threatening illness such as cancer may lead to existential distress, fears about dying, and questioning our legacy and impact on those around us. Building on the foundation of meaning-focused interventions in cancer care and the significance of the therapeutic alliance, the paradigm of vicarious resilience can inform oncology social work, serving as a means of growth, resilience, and self-care for clinicians. Vicarious resilience is the strength clinicians may experience through clients' resilience in facing adversity, and the meaning that practitioners can gain from supporting individuals through traumatic situations, namely life-threatening illness. Social workers in the field of oncology are at risk for vicarious traumatization and compassion fatigue, as they walk alongside clients through suffering and loss, while also positioned to experience vicarious resilience and meaning through the resilience displayed by clients. This paper will examine the potential benefits of vicarious resilience in the field, and through enhancing psychoeducation and incorporating it into training and supervision, it can be brought to the fore as a paradigm in cancer care, offering a means to support practitioners. A case study involving a composite client navigating her cancer journey will be shared, illustrating the companionship and vicarious resilience through the oncology social work relationship.
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Vaccaro AG, Heydari P, Christov-Moore L, Damasio A, Kaplan JT. Perspective-taking is associated with increased discriminability of affective states in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2022; 17:1082-1090. [PMID: 35579186 PMCID: PMC9714424 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent work using multivariate-pattern analysis (MVPA) on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data has found that distinct affective states produce correspondingly distinct patterns of neural activity in the cerebral cortex. However, it is unclear whether individual differences in the distinctiveness of neural patterns evoked by affective stimuli underlie empathic abilities such as perspective-taking (PT). Accordingly, we examined whether we could predict PT tendency from the classification of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI activation patterns while participants (n = 57) imagined themselves in affectively charged scenarios. We used an MVPA searchlight analysis to map where in the brain activity patterns permitted the classification of four affective states: happiness, sadness, fear and disgust. Classification accuracy was significantly above chance levels in most of the prefrontal cortex and in the posterior medial cortices. Furthermore, participants' self-reported PT was positively associated with classification accuracy in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and insula. This finding has implications for understanding affective processing in the prefrontal cortex and for interpreting the cognitive significance of classifiable affective brain states. Our multivariate approach suggests that PT ability may rely on the grain of internally simulated affective representations rather than simply the global strength.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony G Vaccaro
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Panthea Heydari
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Leonardo Christov-Moore
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Antonio Damasio
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Jonas T Kaplan
- Correspondence should be addressed to Jonas T. Kaplan, Brain and Creativity Institute, 3620A McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. E-mail:
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Mendez MF, Akhlaghipour G, Jimenez EE. Empathy and Impaired Socioemotional Self-Perception in Frontotemporal Dementia. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2022; 34:177-181. [PMID: 34961333 DOI: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.21040099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Impaired empathy is a core feature of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Patients with bvFTD are also prominently impaired in experiencing self-conscious emotions. The investigators explored whether impaired empathy in bvFTD, such as self-conscious emotions, may result from impaired self-consciousness in social situations (socioemotional self-perception). METHODS This pilot study evaluated 25 patients with bvFTD and compared them with 25 patients with Alzheimer's disease who had comparable dementia severity. Their caregivers completed the Social Dysfunction Scale (SDS), which quantifies empathy, and an extensive intake interview that included questions regarding self-consciousness and insight. The patients completed two measures of self-perception in social situations, the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) scale and the Embarrassability Scale (EMB). RESULTS Caregivers of patients with bvFTD, but not of patients with Alzheimer's disease, reported a high correlation between significantly decreased empathy (SDS) and decreased self-consciousness (intake interview questions). Consistent with lack of insight, the patients with bvFTD, unlike the patients with Alzheimer's disease, did not report decreases on the SSEIT and EMB measures. CONCLUSIONS These preliminary findings suggest that impaired socioemotional self-perception plays a role in the loss of empathy among patients with bvFTD. A lack of self-consciousness in social situations may contribute to a loss of empathy resulting from an inability to co-represent another's emotion in relation to oneself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario F Mendez
- Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles (Mendez, Jimenez); and Departments of Neurology (Mendez, Akhlaghipour, Jimenez), Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and Medicine (Mendez), David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Golnoush Akhlaghipour
- Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles (Mendez, Jimenez); and Departments of Neurology (Mendez, Akhlaghipour, Jimenez), Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and Medicine (Mendez), David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Elvira E Jimenez
- Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles (Mendez, Jimenez); and Departments of Neurology (Mendez, Akhlaghipour, Jimenez), Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and Medicine (Mendez), David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
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11
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Herne K, Hietanen JK, Lappalainen O, Palosaari E. The influence of role awareness, empathy induction and trait empathy on dictator game giving. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0262196. [PMID: 35271566 PMCID: PMC8912153 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
We ask how state empathy, trait empathy, and role awareness influence dictator game giving in a monetarily incentivized experiment. We manipulated two factors: role awareness (role certainty vs. role uncertainty) and state empathy induction (no empathy induction vs. empathy induction). Under role uncertainty, participants did not know their role as a dictator or a recipient when making their choices. State empathy was induced by asking the dictators to consider what the recipient would feel when learning about the decision. Each participant was randomly assigned into one of the four conditions, and in each condition, participants were randomly assigned into dictator and receiver roles. The role assignment took place before or after decisions were made, depending on the condition. We also studied the direct influence of trait empathy on dictator game giving as well as its interaction with the experimental manipulations. Trait empathy was measured by the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE) before the experiment. Of our experimental manipulations, role awareness had an effect on dictator game giving; participants donated more under role uncertainty than under role certainty. Instead, we did not observe an effect of state empathy induction. Of trait empathy subscales, only affective empathy was positively associated with dictator game giving. Finally, role awareness did not influence all participants similarly but had a larger impact on those with low scores on trait empathic concern or trait affective empathy. Our results indicate that specific measures to induce altruistic sharing can be effective but their effect may vary depending on certain personal characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaisa Herne
- Tampere University, Faculty of Management and Business, Politics, Tampere, Finland
- * E-mail:
| | - Jari K. Hietanen
- Tampere University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Pyschology, Tampere, Finland
| | - Olli Lappalainen
- Tampere University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Pyschology, Tampere, Finland
| | - Esa Palosaari
- Tampere University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Pyschology, Tampere, Finland
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12
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Rochat MJ. Sex and gender differences in the development of empathy. J Neurosci Res 2022; 101:718-729. [PMID: 35043464 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The topic of typical sex and gender difference in empathy is examined in both a developmental and neuroscientific perspective. Empathy is construed as a multi-layered phenomenon with various degrees of complexity unfolding in ontogeny. The different components of empathy (i.e., affective, cognitive, and prosocial motivation) will be discussed as they interact and are expressed behaviorally. Significant sex/gender differences in empathy are discussed in relation to putative bottom-up or top-down processes underlying empathetic responses. The early onset and the pervasive presence of such sex/gender differences throughout the lifespan are further discussed in light of social and neurobiological modeling factors, including early socialization, brain's structural/functional variances, as well as genetics and hormonal factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magali Jane Rochat
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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Role of the prefrontal cortex in prosocial and self-maximization motivations: an rTMS study. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22334. [PMID: 34785670 PMCID: PMC8595880 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01588-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
More than a decade of neuroimaging and brain stimulation studies point to a crucial role for the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) in prosocial behavior. The intuitive prosociality model postulates that the rDLPFC controls intuitive prosocial behavior, whereas the reflective model assumes that the rDLPFC controls selfish impulses during prosocial behavior. The intuitive prosociality model implies that the transient disruption of the rDLPFC should increase voluntary transfers in both dictator and generosity games. In contrast, the reflective model suggests that the transient disruption of the rDLPFC should decrease transfers in the dictator game, without affecting voluntary transfers in the generosity game, in which selfish motives are minimized. The aim of this paper was to compare predictions of the intuitive and reflective models using the classic dictator game and generosity game and continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS). In this study, two groups of healthy participants (dictators) received either cTBS over the rDLPFC or right extrastriate visual areas. As shown by the results, the transient disruption of the rDLPFC significantly promoted prosocial motives in the dictator game only, particularly in the trials with the lowest dictator's costs. These findings partially support the notion that the rDLPFC controls intuitive prosocial behavior.
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Holbrook C, Iacoboni M, Gordon C, Proksch S, Makhfi H, Balasubramaniam R. Posterior medial frontal cortex regulates sympathy: A TMS study. Soc Neurosci 2021; 16:595-606. [PMID: 34517789 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2021.1980097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Harm to some elicits greater sympathy than harm to others. Here, we examine the role of posterior medial frontal cortex (PMFC) in regulating sympathy, and explore the potential role of PMFC in the related phenomena of mentalizing and representing others as connected with oneself. We down-regulated either PMFC or a control region (middle temporal visual area), then assessed feelings of sympathy for and self-other overlap with two characters described as having suffered physical harm, and who were framed as adversarial or affiliative, respectively. We also measured mentalizing performance with regard to inferring the cognitive and affective states of the adversarial character. As hypothesized, down-regulating PMFC increased sympathy for both characters. Whereas we had predicted that down-regulating PMFC would decrease mentalizing ability given the postulated role of PMFC in the mentalizing network, participants in the PMFC down-regulation condition evinced greater second-order cognitive inference ability relative to controls. We observed no effect of the TMS manipulation on self-other overlap, although sympathy and self-other overlap were positively correlated. These findings are discussed as they may inform understanding of the functional role(s) of PMFC in regulating responses broadly linked with empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin Holbrook
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA
| | - Marco Iacoboni
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Chelsea Gordon
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA
| | - Shannon Proksch
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA
| | - Harmony Makhfi
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA
| | - Ramesh Balasubramaniam
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA
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15
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A New Neurorehabilitative Postsurgery Intervention for Facial Palsy Based on Smile Observation and Hand-Mouth Motor Synergies. Neural Plast 2021; 2021:8890541. [PMID: 33833792 PMCID: PMC8016575 DOI: 10.1155/2021/8890541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective To perform a preliminary test of a new rehabilitation treatment (FIT-SAT), based on mirror mechanisms, for gracile muscles after smile surgery. Method A pre- and postsurgery longitudinal design was adopted to study the efficacy of FIT-SAT. Four patients with bilateral facial nerve paralysis (Moebius syndrome) were included. They underwent two surgeries with free muscle transfers, one year apart from each other. The side of the face first operated on was rehabilitated with the traditional treatment, while the second side was rehabilitated with FIT-SAT. The FIT-SAT treatment includes video clips of an actor performing a unilateral or a bilateral smile to be imitated (FIT condition). In addition to this, while smiling, the participants close their hand in order to exploit the overlapped cortical motor representation of the hand and the mouth, which may facilitate the synergistic activity of the two effectors during the early phases of recruitment of the transplanted muscles (SAT). The treatment was also aimed at avoiding undesired movements such as teeth grinding. Discussion. Results support FIT-SAT as a viable alternative for smile rehabilitation after free muscle transfer. We propose that the treatment potentiates the effect of smile observation by activating the same neural structures responsible for the execution of the smile and therefore by facilitating its production. Closing of the hand induces cortical recruitment of hand motor neurons, recruiting the transplanted muscles, and reducing the risk of associating other unwanted movements such as teeth clenching to the smile movements.
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Ferrari C, Vecchi T, Sciamanna G, Blandini F, Pisani A, Natoli S. Facemasks and face recognition: Potential impact on synaptic plasticity. Neurobiol Dis 2021; 153:105319. [PMID: 33647447 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual recognition of facial expression modulates our social interactions. Compelling experimental evidence indicates that face conveys plenty of information that are fundamental for humans to interact. These are encoded at neural level in specific cortical and subcortical brain regions through activity- and experience-dependent synaptic plasticity processes. The current pandemic, due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection, is causing relevant social and psychological detrimental effects. The institutional recommendations on physical distancing, namely social distancing and wearing of facemasks are effective in reducing the rate of viral spread. However, by impacting social interaction, facemasks might impair the neural responses to recognition of facial cues that are overall critical to our behaviors. In this survey, we briefly review the current knowledge on the neurobiological substrate of facial recognition and discuss how the lack of salient stimuli might impact the ability to retain and consolidate learning and memory phenomena underlying face recognition. Such an "abnormal" visual experience raises the intriguing possibility of a "reset" mechanism, a renewed ability of adult brain to undergo synaptic plasticity adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Ferrari
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Italy; IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Italy; IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | | | - Fabio Blandini
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Italy; IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Antonio Pisani
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Italy; IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Silvia Natoli
- Department of Clinical Science and Translational Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
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17
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Investigating the effects of pain observation on approach and withdrawal actions. Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:847-856. [PMID: 33399898 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-020-05990-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has shown that observing another individual receiving a painful stimulus leads to motor facilitation as indexed by faster reaction times. The current study explores whether the type of action that is executed modulates this facilitation effect. Specifically, we examined whether approach-like and withdraw-like movements are differentially influenced by pain observation. In experiment 1, participants performed key presses (approach) and releases (withdraw) after observing another person in pain (vs. no pain). In experiment 2, participants used a joystick to make forward (approach) and backward (withdraw) movements after observing another person in pain (vs. no pain). Across both experiments, we did not find evidence for differential effects of pain observation on approach-like and withdraw-like movements. We do, however, report a robust response-general effect of pain observation on motor behaviour (i.e., faster reaction times after pain observation vs. no pain, regardless of movement type). We discuss these results in relation to the wider emotion, attention, and social neuroscience of empathy literatures.
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18
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Neville FG, Drury J, Reicher SD, Choudhury S, Stott C, Ball R, Richardson DC. Self-categorization as a basis of behavioural mimicry: Experiments in The Hive. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0241227. [PMID: 33125438 PMCID: PMC7598449 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Do we always do what others do, and, if not, when and under what conditions do we do so? In this paper we test the hypothesis that mimicry is moderated by the mere knowledge of whether the source is a member of the same social category as ourselves. METHODS We investigated group influence on mimicry using three tasks on a software platform which interfaces with mobile computing devices to allow the controlled study of collective behaviour in an everyday environment. RESULTS Overall, participants (N = 965) were influenced by the movements of confederates (represented as dots on a screen) who belonged to their own category in both purposive and incidental tasks. CONCLUSION Our results are compatible with collective level explanations of social influence premised on shared social identification. This includes both a heuristic of unintended mimicry (the acts of group members are diagnostic of how one should act), and communication of affiliation (based on a desire to make one's group cohesive). The results are incompatible with traditional 'contagion' accounts which suggest mimicry is automatic and inevitable. The results have practical implications for designing behavioural interventions which can harness the power of copying behaviour, for example in emergency evacuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fergus G. Neville
- School of Management, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - John Drury
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen D. Reicher
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | | | - Clifford Stott
- School of Psychology, Keele University, Keele, United Kingdom
| | - Roger Ball
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel C. Richardson
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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19
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Turner JH, Schutt RK, Keshavan MS. Biology and American Sociology, Part II: Developing a Unique Evolutionary Sociology. THE AMERICAN SOCIOLOGIST 2020; 51:470-505. [PMID: 32836293 PMCID: PMC7275132 DOI: 10.1007/s12108-020-09448-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
In sociology's formative period between 1830 and 1930, evolutionary analysis organized much theorizing and research. This line of work ended abruptly in the 1920s but, over the last decades, has come back into the discipline somewhat piecemeal with the reintroduction of more sophisticated stage models of societal evolution, functional analysis, human ecological analysis, and other new lines of evolutionary inquiry outlined in this paper. Our goal is to demonstrate that revitalized paradigms of the past can still be useful with modest reconceptualization, while at the same time new intellectual movements in the other social sciences, especially economics and psychology, incorporating evolutionary ideas from biology provide sociology with an opportunity to develop its own approach to evolutionary analysis that avoids the problems that let to the demise of this line of inquiry in the 1920s, as well as the problems of other social sciences applying their more narrowly focus models to sociological problems. Indeed, sociology can become a leader in the social sciences in developing more sophisticated theoretical and methodological approaches to incorporating biology and evolutionary analysis into the social sciences. When presented in a new, more sophisticated guise, old approaches like functionalism, stage models of societal evolution, and ecological models can be seen as still having a great deal of explanatory power, while revealing a progressive and future orientation that should appeal to all contemporary sociologists. It is time, then, for sociology to remember its past in order to move into the future.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Russell K. Schutt
- Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Research Scientist I, University of Massachusetts Boston and Lecturer, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA
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20
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Zhao H, Turel O, Brevers D, Bechara A, He Q. Smoking cues impair monitoring but not stopping during response inhibition in abstinent male smokers. Behav Brain Res 2020; 386:112605. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Revised: 02/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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21
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Galang CM, Obhi SS. Automatic imitation does not predict levels of prosocial behaviour in a modified dictator game. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2020; 204:103022. [PMID: 32028112 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Revised: 01/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Automatic imitation refers to the automatic tendency to imitate observed actions. Previous research on automatic imitation has linked it to a wide variety of social cognitive processes and functions, although the evidence is mixed and suggestive. However, no study to date has looked at the downstream behavioural effects of automatic imitation. The current research addresses this gap in the literature by exploring the possible relationship between trait-levels of automatic imitation, as measured by the automatic imitation task (AIT), and explicit prosocial behaviours, as measured by a modified dictator game (DG). Contrary to our expectations, AIT effects did not correlate with DG scores. This conclusion is supported by both equivalence tests and Bayesian analysis. However, we discuss a number of alternative explanations for our results, and caution against strong interpretations from a single study. We further discuss the implications of this finding in relation to the widespread notion that automatic imitation, and self-other control more generally, underlie social cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carl Michael Galang
- Social Brain, Body and Action Lab, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Canada.
| | - Sukhvinder S Obhi
- Social Brain, Body and Action Lab, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Canada.
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22
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Christov-Moore L, Reggente N, Douglas PK, Feusner JD, Iacoboni M. Predicting Empathy From Resting State Brain Connectivity: A Multivariate Approach. Front Integr Neurosci 2020; 14:3. [PMID: 32116582 PMCID: PMC7033456 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2020.00003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent task fMRI studies suggest that individual differences in trait empathy and empathic concern are mediated by patterns of connectivity between self-other resonance and top-down control networks that are stable across task demands. An untested implication of this hypothesis is that these stable patterns of connectivity should be visible even in the absence of empathy tasks. Using machine learning, we demonstrate that patterns of resting state fMRI connectivity (i.e. the degree of synchronous BOLD activity across multiple cortical areas in the absence of explicit task demands) of resonance and control networks predict trait empathic concern (n = 58). Empathic concern was also predicted by connectivity patterns within the somatomotor network. These findings further support the role of resonance-control network interactions and of somatomotor function in our vicariously driven concern for others. Furthermore, a practical implication of these results is that it is possible to assess empathic predispositions in individuals without needing to perform conventional empathy assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Christov-Moore
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States
- Brain and Creativity Institute, School of International Relations, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Nicco Reggente
- The Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, Santa Monica, CA, United States
| | - Pamela K. Douglas
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States
| | - Jamie D. Feusner
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Marco Iacoboni
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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23
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Jauniaux J, Khatibi A, Rainville P, Jackson PL. A meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies on pain empathy: investigating the role of visual information and observers' perspective. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2019; 14:789-813. [PMID: 31393982 PMCID: PMC6847411 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsz055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2019] [Revised: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathy relies on brain systems that support the interaction between an observer's mental state and cues about the others' experience. Beyond the core brain areas typically activated in pain empathy studies (insular and anterior cingulate cortices), the diversity of paradigms used may reveal secondary networks that subserve other more specific processes. A coordinate-based meta-analysis of fMRI experiments on pain empathy was conducted to obtain activation likelihood estimates along three factors and seven conditions: visual cues (body parts, facial expressions), visuospatial (first-person, thirdperson), and cognitive (self-, stimuli-, other-oriented tasks) perspectives. The core network was found across cues and perspectives, and common activation was observed in higher-order visual areas. Body-parts distinctly activated areas related with sensorimotor processing (superior and inferior parietal lobules, anterior insula) while facial expression distinctly involved the inferior frontal gyrus. Self- compared to other-perspective produced distinct activations in the left insula while stimulus- versus other-perspective produced distinctive responses in the inferior frontal and parietal lobules, precentral gyrus, and cerebellum. Pain empathy relies on a core network which is modulated by several secondary networks. The involvement of the latter seems to depend on the visual cues available and the observer's mental state that can be influenced by specific instructions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josiane Jauniaux
- École de psychologie, Université Laval, 2325, rue des Bibliothèques, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
- Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale (CIRRIS), 525, boul. Wilfrid-Hamel, Québec, QC G1M 2S8, Canada
- Centre de recherche CERVO, 2601, rue de la Canardière, Québec, QC G1J 2G3, Canada
| | - Ali Khatibi
- Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), 4545, Chemin Queen-Mary, Montréal, QC H3W 1W4, Canada
- Center of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain (CPR Spine), School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Pierre Rainville
- Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), 4545, Chemin Queen-Mary, Montréal, QC H3W 1W4, Canada
- Département de stomatologie, Université de Montréal, CP 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Philip L Jackson
- École de psychologie, Université Laval, 2325, rue des Bibliothèques, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
- Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale (CIRRIS), 525, boul. Wilfrid-Hamel, Québec, QC G1M 2S8, Canada
- Centre de recherche CERVO, 2601, rue de la Canardière, Québec, QC G1J 2G3, Canada
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24
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Christov-Moore L, Iacoboni M. Sex differences in somatomotor representations of others' pain: a permutation-based analysis. Brain Struct Funct 2019; 224:937-947. [PMID: 30552572 PMCID: PMC6773910 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1814-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Sex differences in empathy for pain have been repeatedly observed. However, it is unclear whether this is due to sex differences in "bottom-up" somatomotor representations of others' pain (self-other resonance) or to "top-down" prefrontal control of such responses. Here, we provide data from 70 subjects suggesting that sex differences in empathy for pain lie primarily in pre-reflective, bottom-up resonance mechanisms. Subjects viewed a right hand pierced by a needle during fMRI. They also filled out a self-report measure of trait empathy, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. A permutation-based analysis (FSL's Randomise) found that females showed greater signal in a cluster in primary somatomotor cortex that includes the motor hand area. No significant differences were observed in other task-implicated areas. An examination of condition-specific parameter estimates found that this difference was due to reduced signal in this cluster in males. No significant differences in resting connectivity or within-task (generalized psychophysiological interaction analysis or gPPI) dynamic connectivity of this region with prefrontal areas were observed. While female subjects scored higher on affective subscales of the IRI, there were no sex differences in Perspective-Taking, the primary index of cognitive, top-down empathy processes. These findings suggest that localized internal somatomotor representations of others' pain, a functional index of bottom-up resonance processes, are stronger in female subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Christov-Moore
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, USA.
| | - Marco Iacoboni
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, USA
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25
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Soutschek A, Tobler PN. Motivation for the greater good: neural mechanisms of overcoming costs. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.01.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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26
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Vaughn DA, Savjani RR, Cohen MS, Eagleman DM. Empathic Neural Responses Predict Group Allegiance. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:302. [PMID: 30108493 PMCID: PMC6079240 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 07/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Watching another person in pain activates brain areas involved in the sensation of our own pain. Importantly, this neural mirroring is not constant; rather, it is modulated by our beliefs about their intentions, circumstances, and group allegiances. We investigated if the neural empathic response is modulated by minimally-differentiating information (e.g., a simple text label indicating another's religious belief), and if neural activity changes predict ingroups and outgroups across independent paradigms. We found that the empathic response was larger when participants viewed a painful event occurring to a hand labeled with their own religion (ingroup) than to a hand labeled with a different religion (outgroup). Counterintuitively, the magnitude of this bias correlated positively with the magnitude of participants' self-reported empathy. A multivariate classifier, using mean activity in empathy-related brain regions as features, discriminated ingroup from outgroup with 72% accuracy; the classifier's confidence correlated with belief certainty. This classifier generalized successfully to validation experiments in which the ingroup condition was based on an arbitrary group assignment. Empathy networks thus allow for the classification of long-held, newly-modified and arbitrarily-formed ingroups and outgroups. This is the first report of a single machine learning model on neural activation that generalizes to multiple representations of ingroup and outgroup. The current findings may prove useful as an objective diagnostic tool to measure the magnitude of one's group affiliations, and the effectiveness of interventions to reduce ingroup biases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Don A Vaughn
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA, United States
| | | | - Mark S Cohen
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - David M Eagleman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
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Gallo S, Paracampo R, Müller-Pinzler L, Severo MC, Blömer L, Fernandes-Henriques C, Henschel A, Lammes BK, Maskaljunas T, Suttrup J, Avenanti A, Keysers C, Gazzola V. The causal role of the somatosensory cortex in prosocial behaviour. eLife 2018; 7:32740. [PMID: 29735015 PMCID: PMC5973831 DOI: 10.7554/elife.32740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 04/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Witnessing another person’s suffering elicits vicarious brain activity in areas that are active when we ourselves are in pain. Whether this activity influences prosocial behavior remains the subject of debate. Here participants witnessed a confederate express pain through a reaction of the swatted hand or through a facial expression, and could decide to reduce that pain by donating money. Participants donate more money on trials in which the confederate expressed more pain. Electroencephalography shows that activity of the somatosensory cortex I (SI) hand region explains variance in donation. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) shows that altering this activity interferes with the pain–donation coupling only when pain is expressed by the hand. High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) shows that altering SI activity also interferes with pain perception. These experiments show that vicarious somatosensory activations contribute to prosocial decision-making and suggest that they do so by helping to transform observed reactions of affected body-parts into accurate perceptions of pain that are necessary for decision-making. When we experience physical pain, certain areas in our brain that process bodily sensation and emotions switch on. If we see someone else in pain, many of the same regions also get activated. In contrast, convicted criminals with psychopathic traits have less activation in these areas of the brain when witnessing someone’s pain; they also show less empathy and disregard the needs of others. This suggests that a lack of this ‘shared activations’ may lead to problems in empathy. In fact, many scientists believe that shared activations are why we feel empathy for people in pain, and why we are driven to help them. Yet, there is little direct evidence about how the activity in the pain processing parts of the brain actually influences helpful behavior. As a result, some scientists now argue that empathy-related processes may actually contribute very little to helping behavior. Gallo et al. designed an experiment where participants watched videos of someone having their hand swatted with a belt, and showing different levels of pain as a result. The volunteers could decide to reduce the amount of pain the person received by donating money they could have taken home. The more pain the participants thought the victim was in, the more money they gave up to lessen it. During the study, the activity in the brain region that processes pain in the hand was also measured in the participants. The more active this region was, the more money people donated to help. Then, Gallo et al. used techniques that interfered with the activity of the brain area involved in perceiving sensations from the hand. This interference changed how accurately participants assessed the victim's pain. It also disrupted the link between donations and the victim's perceived pain: the amount of money people gave no longer matched the level of pain they had witnessed. This suggests that the brain areas that perceive sensations of pain in the self, which evolved primarily to experience our own sensations, also have a social function. They transform the sight of bodily harm into an accurate feeling for how much pain the victim experiences. The findings also show that we need this feeling so we can adapt our help to the needs of others. In the current debate about the role of empathy in helping behaviors, this study demonstrates that empathy-related brain activity indeed promotes helping by allowing us to detect those that need our assistance. Understanding the relationship between helping behavior and the activity of the brain may further lead to treatments for individuals with antisocial behavior and for children with callous and unemotional traits, a disorder that is associated with a lack of empathy and a general disregard for others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selene Gallo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Riccardo Paracampo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Department of Psychology, Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Müller-Pinzler
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Social Neuroscience Lab, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Mario Carlo Severo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Laila Blömer
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Carolina Fernandes-Henriques
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Anna Henschel
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Balint Kalista Lammes
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Tatjana Maskaljunas
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Judith Suttrup
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Department of Psychology, Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Christian Keysers
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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28
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Sonne JWH, Gash DM. Psychopathy to Altruism: Neurobiology of the Selfish-Selfless Spectrum. Front Psychol 2018; 9:575. [PMID: 29725317 PMCID: PMC5917043 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The age-old philosophical, biological, and social debate over the basic nature of humans as being “universally selfish” or “universally good” continues today highlighting sharply divergent views of natural social order. Here we analyze advances in biology, genetics and neuroscience increasing our understanding of the evolution, features and neurocircuitry of the human brain underlying behavior in the selfish–selfless spectrum. First, we examine evolutionary pressures for selection of altruistic traits in species with protracted periods of dependence on parents and communities for subsistence and acquisition of learned behaviors. Evidence supporting the concept that altruistic potential is a common feature in human populations is developed. To go into greater depth in assessing critical features of the social brain, the two extremes of selfish–selfless behavior, callous unemotional psychopaths and zealous altruists who take extreme measures to help others, are compared on behavioral traits, structural/functional neural features, and the relative contributions of genetic inheritance versus acquired cognitive learning to their mindsets. Evidence from population groups ranging from newborns, adopted children, incarcerated juveniles, twins and mindfulness meditators point to the important role of neuroplasticity and the dopaminergic reward systems in forming and reforming neural circuitry in response to personal experience and cultural influences in determining behavior in the selfish–selfless spectrum. The underlying neural circuitry differs between psychopaths and altruists with emotional processing being profoundly muted in psychopaths and significantly enhanced in altruists. But both groups are characterized by the reward system of the brain shaping behavior. Instead of rigid assignment of human nature as being “universally selfish” or “universally good,” both characterizations are partial truths based on the segments of the selfish–selfless spectrum being examined. In addition, individuals and populations can shift in the behavioral spectrum in response to cognitive therapy and social and cultural experience, and approaches such as mindfulness training for introspection and reward-activating compassion are entering the mainstream of clinical care for managing pain, depression, and stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W H Sonne
- Department of Health Professions, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States
| | - Don M Gash
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
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29
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Wallmark Z, Deblieck C, Iacoboni M. Neurophysiological Effects of Trait Empathy in Music Listening. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:66. [PMID: 29681804 PMCID: PMC5897436 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2017] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The social cognitive basis of music processing has long been noted, and recent research has shown that trait empathy is linked to musical preferences and listening style. Does empathy modulate neural responses to musical sounds? We designed two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments to address this question. In Experiment 1, subjects listened to brief isolated musical timbres while being scanned. In Experiment 2, subjects listened to excerpts of music in four conditions (familiar liked (FL)/disliked and unfamiliar liked (UL)/disliked). For both types of musical stimuli, emotional and cognitive forms of trait empathy modulated activity in sensorimotor and cognitive areas: in the first experiment, empathy was primarily correlated with activity in supplementary motor area (SMA), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and insula; in Experiment 2, empathy was mainly correlated with activity in prefrontal, temporo-parietal and reward areas. Taken together, these findings reveal the interactions between bottom-up and top-down mechanisms of empathy in response to musical sounds, in line with recent findings from other cognitive domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary Wallmark
- Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, United States.,Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Choi Deblieck
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Academic Center for ECT and Neuromodulation, University Psychiatric Center, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Marco Iacoboni
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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30
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Jeon H, Lee SH. From Neurons to Social Beings: Short Review of the Mirror Neuron System Research and Its Socio-Psychological and Psychiatric Implications. CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE 2018; 16:18-31. [PMID: 29397663 PMCID: PMC5810456 DOI: 10.9758/cpn.2018.16.1.18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Revised: 11/22/2017] [Accepted: 12/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
The mirror neuron system (MNS) is a brain network activated when we move our body parts and when we observe the actions of other agent. Since the mirror neuron’s discovery in research on monkeys, several studies have examined its network and properties in both animals and humans. This review discusses MNS studies of animals and human MNS studies related to high-order social cognitions such as emotion and empathy, as well as relations between MNS dysfunction and mental disorders. Finally, these evidences are understood from an evolutionary perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyeonjin Jeon
- Clinical Emotion and Cognition Research Laboratory, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea
| | - Seung-Hwan Lee
- Clinical Emotion and Cognition Research Laboratory, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea.,Department of Psychiatry, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea
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31
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Oliver LD, Vieira JB, Neufeld RWJ, Dziobek I, Mitchell DGV. Greater involvement of action simulation mechanisms in emotional vs cognitive empathy. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 13:367-380. [PMID: 29462481 PMCID: PMC5928409 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2017] [Revised: 01/10/2018] [Accepted: 02/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy is crucial for successful interpersonal interactions, and it is impaired in many psychiatric and neurological disorders. Action-perception matching, or action simulation mechanisms, has been suggested to facilitate empathy by supporting the simulation of perceived experience in others. However, this remains unclear, and the involvement of the action simulation circuit in cognitive empathy (the ability to adopt another's perspective) vs emotional empathy (the capacity to share and react affectively to another's emotional experience) has not been quantitatively compared. Presently, healthy adults completed a classic cognitive empathy task (false belief), an emotional empathy task and an action simulation button-pressing task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Conjunction analyses revealed common recruitment of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), thought to be critical for action-perception matching, during both action simulation and emotional, but not cognitive, empathy. Furthermore, activation was significantly greater in action simulation regions in the left IFG during emotional vs cognitive empathy, and activity in this region was positively correlated with mean feeling ratings during the emotional empathy task. These findings provide evidence for greater involvement of action simulation mechanisms in emotional than cognitive empathy. Thus, the action simulation circuit may be an important target for delineating the pathophysiology of disorders featuring emotional empathy impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay D Oliver
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry.,The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada.,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
| | - Joana B Vieira
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Richard W J Neufeld
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry.,Department of Psychiatry.,Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Isabel Dziobek
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Derek G V Mitchell
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry.,The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry.,Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
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32
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Gross J, Emmerling F, Vostroknutov A, Sack AT. Manipulation of Pro-Sociality and Rule-Following with Non-invasive Brain Stimulation. Sci Rep 2018; 8:1827. [PMID: 29379072 PMCID: PMC5789006 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-19997-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Decisions are often governed by rules on adequate social behaviour. Recent research suggests that the right lateral prefrontal cortex (rLPFC) is involved in the implementation of internal fairness rules (norms), by controlling the impulse to act selfishly. A drawback of these studies is that the assumed norms and impulses have to be deduced from behaviour and that norm-following and pro-sociality are indistinguishable. Here, we directly confronted participants with a rule that demanded to make advantageous or disadvantageous monetary allocations for themselves or another person. To disentangle its functional role in rule-following and pro-sociality, we divergently manipulated the rLPFC by applying cathodal or anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Cathodal tDCS increased participants’ rule-following, even of rules that demanded to lose money or hurt another person financially. In contrast, anodal tDCS led participants to specifically violate more often those rules that were at odds with what participants chose freely. Brain stimulation over the rLPFC thus did not simply increase or decrease selfishness. Instead, by disentangling rule-following and pro-sociality, our results point to a broader role of the rLPFC in integrating the costs and benefits of rules in order to align decisions with internal goals, ultimately enabling to flexibly adapt social behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jörg Gross
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. .,Center for Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Franziska Emmerling
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Alexander T Sack
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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33
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Christov-Moore L, Conway P, Iacoboni M. Deontological Dilemma Response Tendencies and Sensorimotor Representations of Harm to Others. Front Integr Neurosci 2017; 11:34. [PMID: 29311859 PMCID: PMC5733021 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2017.00034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The dual process model of moral decision-making suggests that decisions to reject causing harm on moral dilemmas (where causing harm saves lives) reflect concern for others. Recently, some theorists have suggested such decisions actually reflect self-focused concern about causing harm, rather than witnessing others suffering. We examined brain activity while participants witnessed needles pierce another person's hand, versus similar non-painful stimuli. More than a month later, participants completed moral dilemmas where causing harm either did or did not maximize outcomes. We employed process dissociation to independently assess harm-rejection (deontological) and outcome-maximization (utilitarian) response tendencies. Activity in the posterior inferior frontal cortex (pIFC) while participants witnessed others in pain predicted deontological, but not utilitarian, response tendencies. Previous brain stimulation studies have shown that the pIFC seems crucial for sensorimotor representations of observed harm. Hence, these findings suggest that deontological response tendencies reflect genuine other-oriented concern grounded in sensorimotor representations of harm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Christov-Moore
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Edie and Lew Wasserman Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Paul Conway
- Psychology Department, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
- Department of Psychology, Social Cognition Center Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Marco Iacoboni
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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34
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Tomova L, Majdandžic J, Hummer A, Windischberger C, Heinrichs M, Lamm C. Increased neural responses to empathy for pain might explain how acute stress increases prosociality. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2017; 12:401-408. [PMID: 27798249 PMCID: PMC5465825 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsw146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2016] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent behavioral investigations suggest that acute stress can increase prosocial behavior. Here, we investigated whether increased empathy represents a potential mechanism for this finding. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we assessed the effects of acute stress on neural responses related to automatic and regulatory components of empathy for pain as well as subsequent prosocial behavior. Stress increased activation in brain areas associated with the automatic sharing of others' pain, such as the anterior insula, the anterior midcingulate cortex, and the primary somatosensory cortex. In addition, we found increased prosocial behavior under stress. Furthermore, activation in the anterior midcingulate cortex mediated the effects of stress on prosocial behavior. However, stressed participants also displayed stronger and inappropriate other-related responses in situations which required them to take the perspective of another person, and to regulate their automatic affective responses. Thus, while acute stress may increase prosocial behavior by intensifying the sharing of others' emotions, this comes at the cost of reduced cognitive appraisal abilities. Depending on the contextual constraints, stress may therefore affect empathy in ways that are either beneficial or detrimental.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Tomova
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - J Majdandžic
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - A Hummer
- MR Center of Excellence, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - C Windischberger
- MR Center of Excellence, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - M Heinrichs
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - C Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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36
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Abstract
Recent research suggests that prosocial outcomes in sharing games arise from prefrontal control of self-maximizing impulses. We used continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) to disrupt the functioning of two prefrontal areas, the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC). We used cTBS in the right MT/V5, as a control area. We then tested subjects' prosocial inclinations with an unsupervised Dictator Game in which they allocated real money anonymously between themselves and low and high socioeconomic status (SES) players. cTBS over the two prefrontal sites made subjects more generous compared to MT/V5. More specifically, cTBS over DLPFC increased offers to high-SES players, while cTBS over DMPFC caused increased offers to low-SES players. These data, the first to demonstrate an effect of disruptive neuromodulation on costly sharing, suggest that DLPFC and MPFC exert inhibitory control over prosocial inclinations during costly sharing, though they may do so in different ways. DLPFC may implement contextual control, while DMPFC may implement a tonic form of control. This study demonstrates that humans' prepotent inclination is toward prosocial outcomes when cognitive control is reduced, even when prosocial decisions carry no strategic benefit and concerns for reputation are minimized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Christov-Moore
- a Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences , David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA , Los Angeles , CA , USA
| | - Taisei Sugiyama
- b Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy , Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California , Los Angeles , CA , USA
| | - Kristina Grigaityte
- c Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Watson School of Biological Sciences , Cold Spring Harbor , NY , USA
| | - Marco Iacoboni
- a Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences , David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA , Los Angeles , CA , USA
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