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Lindberg O, Li TQ, Lind C, Vestberg S, Almkvist O, Stiernstedt M, Ericson A, Bogdanovic N, Hansson O, Harper L, Westman E, Graff C, Tsevis T, Mannfolk P, Fischer H, Nilsonne G, Petrovic P, Nyberg L, Wahlund LO, Santillo AF. Altered empathy processing in frontotemporal dementia A task-based fMRI study. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.21.586051. [PMID: 38585830 PMCID: PMC10996471 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.21.586051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
A lack of empathy, and particularly its affective components, is a core symptom of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Visual exposure to images of a needle pricking a hand (pain condition) and Q-tips touching a hand (control condition) is an established functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm used to investigate empathy for pain (EFP; pain condition minus control condition). EFP has been associated with increased blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal in regions known to become atrophic in the early stages in bvFTD, including the anterior insula and the anterior cingulate. We therefore hypothesized that patients with bvFTD would display altered empathy processing in the EFP paradigm. Here we examined empathy processing using the EFP paradigm in 28 patients with bvFTD and 28 sex and age matched controls. Participants underwent structural MRI, task-based and resting-state fMRI. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) was used as a measure of different facets of empathic function outside the scanner. The EFP paradigm was analysed at a whole brain level and using two regions-of-interest approaches, one based on a metanalysis of affective perceptual empathy versus cognitive evaluative empathy and one based on the controĺs activation pattern. In controls, EFP was linked to an expected increase of BOLD signal that displayed an overlap with the pattern of atrophy in the bvFTD patients (insula and anterior cingulate). Additional regions with increased signal were the supramarginal gyrus and the occipital cortex. These latter regions were the only ones that displayed increased BOLD signal in bvFTD patients. BOLD signal increase under the affective perceptual empathy but not the cognitive evaluative empathy region of interest was significantly greater in controls than in bvFTD patients. The controĺs rating on their empathic concern subscale of the IRI was significantly correlated with the BOLD signal in the EFP paradigm, as were an informantś ratings of the patientś empathic concern subscale. This correlation was not observed on other subscales of the IRI or when using the patient's self-ratings. Finally, controls and patients showed different connectivity patterns in empathy related networks during resting-state fMRI, mainly in nodes overlapping the ventral attention network. Our results indicate that reduced neural activity in regions typically affected by pathology in bvFTD is associated with reduced empathy processing, and a predictor of patientś capacity to experience affective empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olof Lindberg
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Tie-Qiang Li
- Department of Clinical Science, Intervention, and Technology, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Department of Medical Radiation and Nuclear Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden
| | - Cecilia Lind
- Department of community medicine and rehabilitation, geriatrics Umeå university, Umeå university, Sweden
| | | | - Ove Almkvist
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mikael Stiernstedt
- Umeå center for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI), Umeå University, Sweden
| | - Anita Ericson
- Department of community medicine and rehabilitation, geriatrics Umeå university, Umeå university, Sweden
| | - Nenad Bogdanovic
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Oskar Hansson
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Memory Clinic, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
| | - Luke Harper
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Eric Westman
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Caroline Graff
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
- Karolinska university hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Neurogeriatrics, Center for Alzheimer Research, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Theofanis Tsevis
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
- Karolinska university hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Peter Mannfolk
- Department of Medical Imaging and Physiology, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
| | - Håkan Fischer
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm, Sweden
- Stockholm University Brain Imaging Centre (SUBIC), Stockholm, Sweden
- Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gustav Nilsonne
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm, Sweden
- Center for Psychiatric Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
| | - Predrag Petrovic
- Center for Psychiatric Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
| | - Lars Nyberg
- Umeå center for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI), Umeå University, Sweden
- Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Medical and Translational Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Lars-Olof Wahlund
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Alexander F Santillo
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Landmann E, Krahmer A, Böckler A. Social Understanding beyond the Familiar: Disparity in Visual Abilities Does Not Impede Empathy and Theory of Mind. J Intell 2023; 12:2. [PMID: 38248900 PMCID: PMC10816830 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence12010002] [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: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Feeling with our conspecifics and understanding their sentiments and intentions is a crucial part of our lives. What is the basis for these forms of social understanding? If individuals ground their understanding of others' thoughts and feelings in their own perceptual and factual experiences, it could present a challenge to empathize and mentalize with those whose reality of life is significantly different. This preregistered study compared two groups of participants who differed in a central perceptual feature, their visual abilities (visually impaired vs. unimpaired; total N = 56), concerning their social understanding of others who were themselves either visually impaired or unimpaired. Employing an adjusted version of the EmpaToM task, participants heard short, autobiographic narrations by visually impaired or unimpaired individuals, and we assessed their empathic responding and mentalizing performance. Our findings did not reveal heightened empathy and mentalizing proclivities when the narrator's visual abilities aligned with those of the participant. However, in some circumstances, cognitive understanding of others' narrations benefitted from familiarity with the situation. Overall, our findings suggest that social understanding does not mainly rely on perceptual familiarity with concrete situations but is likely grounded in sharing emotions and experiences on a more fundamental level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Landmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, Germany (A.B.)
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3
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Winters DE, Leopold DR, Carter RM, Sakai JT. Resting-state connectivity underlying cognitive control's association with perspective taking in callous-unemotional traits. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2023; 331:111615. [PMID: 36924739 PMCID: PMC10133184 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2023.111615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Callous-Unemotional (CU) traits are often associated with impairments in perspective taking and cognitive control (regulating goal directed behavior); and adolescents with CU traits demonstrate aberrant brain activation/connectivity in areas underlying these processes. Together cognitive control and perspective taking are thought to link mechanistically to explain CU traits. Because increased cognitive control demands modulate perspective taking ability among both typically developing samples and individuals with elevated CU traits, understanding the neurophysiological substrates of these constructs could inform efforts to alleviate societal costs of antisocial behavior. The present study uses GIMME to examine the heterogenous functional brain properties (i.e., connection density, node centrality) underlying cognitive control's influence on perspective taking among adolescents on a CU trait continuum. Results reveal that cognitive control had a negative indirect association with CU traits via perspective taking; and brain connectivity indirectly associated with lower CU traits - specifically the social network via perspective taking and conflict network via cognitive control. Additionally, less negative connection density between the social and conflict networks was directly associated with higher CU traits. Our results support the growing literature on cognitive control's influence on socio-cognitive functioning in CU traits and extends that work by identifying underlying functional brain properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drew E Winters
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, CO, USA.
| | - Daniel R Leopold
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, CO, USA; Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - R McKell Carter
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA; Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA, Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Joseph T Sakai
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, CO, USA
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4
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Zeng Y, Xu Z, Chen L, Huang Y. Exploring the mechanism of empathy on lens language and linguistic landscape on movie-induced tourism: The moderating effect of cultural differences. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1109328. [PMID: 36818078 PMCID: PMC9932905 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1109328] [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: 11/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the development of film-induced tourism, scholars have increasingly shifted their attention to examining film-induced tourism from different perspectives. However, little research has been devoted to the underlying mechanisms by which audiences empathize with movie scenes. Current research believes that the lens language of movies is helpful for the communication between the movie and the audience. It not only helps the audience to shape the imagination of the movie scene, but also contributes to the construction of a virtual language landscape, and promotes the audience's cognition of the movie scene. Bringing their emotions and self-expression into the story ultimately enhances the audience's perception of where it was filmed. In exploring the framework of the transformation of empathy in lens language to landscape language, cultural differences are also proposed as the boundary conditions for the relationship between lens language and empathy. Structural equation modeling with PLS-SEM was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings suggest that lens language positively predicts language landscape and empathy positively mediates the aforementioned relationship. Furthermore, the interaction term of cultural differences amplifies the relationship between lens language and empathy. Finally, we discuss theoretical and practical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanqin Zeng
- Jiangxi Institute of Fashion Technology Media Art Research Center, Nanchang, China,Department of Art Integration, Daejin University, Pocheon, Republic of Korea
| | - Ziqi Xu
- School of Economics and Management, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang, China
| | - Liang Chen
- Department of Film, Cartoon, and Animation, Cheongju University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea,*Correspondence: Liang Chen, ✉
| | - Yunxi Huang
- School of Economics and Management, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang, China
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Tikkanen L, Anttila H, Pyhältö K, Soini T, Pietarinen J. The role of empathy between peers in upper secondary students’ study engagement and burnout. Front Psychol 2022; 13:978546. [PMID: 36248570 PMCID: PMC9561899 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.978546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Having the ability to understand emotionally how other people feel and see things is an essential fabric for building and sustaining functional interpersonal relationships. Without such an ability, social interaction crumbles, engagement fails, and learning is eroded. Yet, empirical evidence on the relationship between study burnout and study engagement, and empathy between upper secondary school students is limited. We are tackling the challenge by exploring the association between empathy between peers and study engagement and study burnout among upper secondary school students. Two hundred and eighty upper secondary education students took part in our cross-sectional study. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the association between empathy (i.e., cognitive and affective empathy), and study burnout and study engagement. The results showed that cognitive empathy contributed to affective empathy, which was further related to increased levels of study engagement, and decreased levels of cynicism, and sense of inadequacy. The role of cognitive empathy seemed to be more complicated: while cognitive empathy contributed directly to increased levels of cynicism, and inadequacy and decrease in study engagement, the indirect effects of cognitive empathy (through affective empathy) on cynicism and inadequacy were negative, and positive on study engagement. Neither of the empathy dimensions explained students’ emotional exhaustion. The results indicate that merely teaching students to recognize and identify their peers’ emotions is not sufficient to enhance study wellbeing, but they need to learn to share emotions and to tune into each other’s emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lotta Tikkanen
- School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
- Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- *Correspondence: Lotta Tikkanen,
| | - Henrika Anttila
- Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kirsi Pyhältö
- Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Centre for Higher and Adult Education, Faculty of Education, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Tiina Soini
- Faculty of Education and Culture, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Janne Pietarinen
- Philosophical Faculty, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
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6
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Israelstam K. Neuroscience and a Countertransference Impasse in a Neurotypical‐Neurodiverse Analytic Couples Therapy. BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/bjp.12775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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7
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Lin JFL, Imada T, Meltzoff AN, Hiraishi H, Ikeda T, Takahashi T, Hasegawa C, Yoshimura Y, Kikuchi M, Hirata M, Minabe Y, Asada M, Kuhl PK. Dual-MEG interbrain synchronization during turn-taking verbal interactions between mothers and children. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:4116-4134. [PMID: 36130088 PMCID: PMC10068303 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Verbal interaction and imitation are essential for language learning and development in young children. However, it is unclear how mother-child dyads synchronize oscillatory neural activity at the cortical level in turn-based speech interactions. Our study investigated interbrain synchrony in mother-child pairs during a turn-taking paradigm of verbal imitation. A dual-MEG (magnetoencephalography) setup was used to measure brain activity from interactive mother-child pairs simultaneously. Interpersonal neural synchronization was compared between socially interactive and noninteractive tasks (passive listening to pure tones). Interbrain networks showed increased synchronization during the socially interactive compared to noninteractive conditions in the theta and alpha bands. Enhanced interpersonal brain synchrony was observed in the right angular gyrus, right triangular, and left opercular parts of the inferior frontal gyrus. Moreover, these parietal and frontal regions appear to be the cortical hubs exhibiting a high number of interbrain connections. These cortical areas could serve as a neural marker for the interactive component in verbal social communication. The present study is the first to investigate mother-child interbrain neural synchronization during verbal social interactions using a dual-MEG setup. Our results advance our understanding of turn-taking during verbal interaction between mother-child dyads and suggest a role for social "gating" in language learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jo-Fu Lotus Lin
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS), University of Washington, Portage Bay Building, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.,Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan.,Institute of Linguistics, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan
| | - Toshiaki Imada
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS), University of Washington, Portage Bay Building, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.,Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan
| | - Andrew N Meltzoff
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS), University of Washington, Portage Bay Building, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
| | - Hirotoshi Hiraishi
- Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1 Chome-20-1 Handayama, Higashi Ward, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192, Japan
| | - Takashi Ikeda
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan
| | | | - Chiaki Hasegawa
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan
| | - Yuko Yoshimura
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan
| | - Mitsuru Kikuchi
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan
| | - Masayuki Hirata
- Department of Neurosurgery, Osaka University Medical School, 2 Chome-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yoshio Minabe
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan
| | - Minoru Asada
- Department of Adaptive Machine Systems, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Patricia K Kuhl
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS), University of Washington, Portage Bay Building, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
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Chen C, Chen YH, Cheng Y. Meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging and dispositional variables for clinical empathy. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104874. [PMID: 36116577 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Clinical empathy refers to the ability of healthcare providers (HP) to recognize and understand what patients feel. While neuroimaging investigations have identified a neural network of empathy, activation consistency of brain regions and their specific functions in clinical empathy remains unclear. Herein, we conducted meta-analyses of dispositional assessments using random-effects models and functional neuroimaging using Seed-based d Mapping with Permutation of Subject Images to ascertain the shared neural processes consistently identified as relevant to clinical empathy. The dispositional meta-analysis (n = 15) revealed that HP exhibited higher scores on empathic concern and perspective taking. The HP neuroimaging meta-analysis (n = 11) identified consistent activation of the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, anterior insula, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) while HP vs. controls comparison (n = 9) did not yield robust alterations. The vlPFC mediated positive and negative functional connectivity of the insula. We revisited the framework of emotion regulation in clinical empathy. The empathetic agent flexibly shifts between affective regulatory strategies to meet contextual demands, with vlPFC figuring as the key region where this neural mechanism takes place.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenyi Chen
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hospital, Yilan, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Research Center of Brain and Consciousness, Shuang-Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain and Consciousness, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Psychiatric Research Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Yu-Hsin Chen
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hospital, Yilan, Taiwan; Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Yawei Cheng
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hospital, Yilan, Taiwan; Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Rodríguez-Nieto G, Mercadillo RE, Pasaye EH, Barrios FA. Affective and cognitive brain-networks are differently integrated in women and men while experiencing compassion. Front Psychol 2022; 13:992935. [PMID: 36176793 PMCID: PMC9513369 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.992935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Different theoretical models have proposed cognitive and affective components in empathy and moral judgments encompassing compassion. Furthermore, gender differences in psychological and neural functions involving empathic and moral processing, as well as compassionate experiences, have been reported. However, the neurobiological function regarding affective and cognitive integration underlying compassion and gender-associated differences has not been investigated. In this study, we aimed to examine the interaction between cognitive and emotional components through functional connectivity analyzes and to explore gender differences for the recruitment and interaction of these components. Thirty-six healthy participants (21–56 years; 21 women) were exposed to social images in an fMRI session to judge whether the stimuli elicited compassion. The results showed a different connectivity pattern for women and men of the insular cortex, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the cingulate cortex. The integration of affective and cognitive components follows a complex functional connectivity pattern that is different for both genders. These differences may indicate that men largely make compassionate judgments based on contextual information, while women tend to notably take internal and introspective processes into account. Women and men can use different affective and cognitive routes that could converge in similar learning of moral values, empathic experiences and compassionate acts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geraldine Rodríguez-Nieto
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Biomedical Sciences Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Roberto E. Mercadillo
- Unidad Iztapalapa, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, México City, Mexico
- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, México City, Mexico
- *Correspondence: Roberto E. Mercadillo, ,
| | - Erick H. Pasaye
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Queretaro, Mexico
| | - Fernando A. Barrios
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Queretaro, Mexico
- Fernando A. Barrios,
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Isagulyan ED, Makashova ES, Myasnikova LK, Sergeenko EV, Aslakhanova KS, Tomskiy AA, Voloshin AG, Kashcheev AA. Psychogenic (nociplastic) pain: Current state of diagnosis, treatment options, and potentials of neurosurgical management. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2022; 272:105-123. [PMID: 35667797 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2022.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Classification of pain syndromes is quite multifaceted. However, pathogenetic classification by which chronic pain syndromes are usually divided into nociceptive, neuropathic and psychogenic, is crucial in choosing treatment tactics. In modern classifications, psychogenic pain is distinguished from nociceptive pain (associated with direct tissue injury or damage) and neuropathic pain (in which lesion can only be determined morphologically). Mental disorders play a leading role in psychogenic pain. Here, somatic/neurological disorders, if any, are of no pathogenetic significance in the dynamics of pain syndrome. There are certain algorithms (though not yet fully developed) and even guidelines for diagnosing and treating nociceptive and neuropathic pain, whereas psychogenic pain has been and still is almost out of sight for a long time. Despite its considerable prevalence, attitude towards it is still uncertain. Until now, it has no single classification, nor any strategy with regards to diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emil D Isagulyan
- Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Burdenko National Medical Research Center of Neurosurgery, Moscow, Russian Federation.
| | - Elizaveta S Makashova
- Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Burdenko National Medical Research Center of Neurosurgery, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | | | - Elizaveta V Sergeenko
- Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Burdenko National Medical Research Center of Neurosurgery, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Karina S Aslakhanova
- Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Burdenko National Medical Research Center of Neurosurgery, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Alexey A Tomskiy
- Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Burdenko National Medical Research Center of Neurosurgery, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Alexey G Voloshin
- Pain Clinic, Center of Endosurgery and Lithotripsy, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Alexey A Kashcheev
- Department of Neurosurgery, Research Center of Neurology, Moscow, Russian Federation
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11
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Lampert K. Caring as the Default of Empathic Direct Perception. EMOTION REVIEW 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/17540739221104804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The phenomenological understanding of empathy as the direct experiencing of the mental states (feelings, intentions, moods) of others eschews the identification of empathy with caring. At the same time, it leaves open the possibility of sadistic pleasure, indifference, or malice as consequences of empathic experience. In this paper, I intend to defend the place of caring as an inseparable part of the empathic experience, specifically when understood as direct perception. My defense relies on (a) conceiving of attentive concern as a perceptual predisposition, and (b) understanding the caring responsiveness of the empathizer as embedded in her direct perception of the empathee's mental states. My claim proceeds by three steps. Firstly, I will present the need to include caring within empathy through the problem that arises from excluding it. Secondly, I will argue for the presence of active responsiveness, inherent in the phenomenological concept of perception and expressed more explicitly in its Gibsonian understanding. Thirdly, I will propose my understanding of attentive concern as a predisposition, which together with the intentionality attributed to the other (itself also a disposition) forms the pre-perceptual basis for identifying empathy with caring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khen Lampert
- School of Behavioral Sciences, The Academic College of Tel-Aviv Yaffo, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- Khen Lampert, School of Behavioral Sciences, The Academic College of Tel-Aviv Yaffo, Tel-Aviv, Israel
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Gan Q, Ding N, Bi G, Liu R, Zhao X, Zhong J, Wu S, Zeng Y, Cui L, Wu K, Fu Y, Chen Z. Enhanced Resting-State Functional Connectivity With Decreased Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations of the Salience Network in Mindfulness Novices. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:838123. [PMID: 35308619 PMCID: PMC8927720 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.838123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mindfulness and accordant interventions are often used as complementary treatments to psychological or psychosomatic problems. This has also been gradually integrated into daily lives for the promotion of psychological well-being in non-clinical populations. The experience of mindful acceptance in a non-judgmental way brought about the state, which was less interfered by a negative effect. Mindfulness practice often begins with focused attention (FA) meditation restricted to an inner experience. We postulate that the brain areas related to an interoceptive function would demonstrate an intrinsic functional change after mindfulness training for the mindful novices along with paying more attention to internal processes. To further explore the influence of mindfulness on the organization of the brain regions, both functional connectivity (FC) in the voxel and the region of interest (ROI) level were calculated. In the current study, 32 healthy volunteers, without any meditation experiences, were enrolled and randomly assigned to a mindfulness-based stress reduction group (MBSR) or control group (CON). Participants in the MBSR group completed 8 weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and rated their mindfulness skills before and after MBSR. All subjects were evaluated via resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) in both baselines and after 8 weeks. They also completed a self-report measure of their state and trait anxiety as well as a positive and negative affect. Pre- and post-MBSR assessments revealed a decreased amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) in the right anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC.R), left anterior and posterior insula (aIC.L, pIC.L), as well as left superior medial frontal gyrus (SFGmed.L) in MBSR practitioners. Strengthened FC between right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC.R) and aIC.R was observed. The mean ALFF values of those regions were inversely and positively linked to newly acquired mindful abilities. Along with a decreased negative affect score, our results suggest that the brain regions related to attention and interoceptive function were involved at the beginning of mindfulness. This study provides new clues in elucidating the time of evaluating the brain mechanisms of mindfulness novices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quan Gan
- Medical Faculty, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
| | - Ning Ding
- Medical Faculty, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
| | - Guoli Bi
- Medical Faculty, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, China
| | - Ruixiang Liu
- Department of Clinical Psychology, The Second People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, China
| | - Xingrong Zhao
- Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
| | - Jingmei Zhong
- Department of Clinical Psychology, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, China
| | - Shaoyuan Wu
- Department of Clinical Psychology, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, China
| | - Yong Zeng
- Department of Clinical Psychology, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Yuxi, China
| | - Liqian Cui
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Kunhua Wu
- Medical Faculty, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, China
| | - Yunfa Fu
- School of Information Engineering and Automation, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
| | - Zhuangfei Chen
- Medical Faculty, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
- *Correspondence: Zhuangfei Chen,
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Plank IS, Hindi Attar C, Kunas SL, Dziobek I, Bermpohl F. Increased activation in the bilateral anterior insulae in response to others in pain in mothers compared to non-mothers. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22757. [PMID: 34815443 PMCID: PMC8610985 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02162-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy allows us to share emotions and encourages us to help others. It is especially important in the context of parenting where children's wellbeing is dependent on their parents' understanding and fulfilment of their needs. To date, little is known about differences in empathy responses of parents and non-parents. Using stimuli depicting adults and children in pain, this study focuses on the interaction of motherhood and neural responses in areas associated with empathy. Mothers showed higher activation to both adults and children in pain in the bilateral anterior insulae, key regions of empathy for pain. Additionally, mothers more strongly activated the inferior frontal, superior temporal and the medial superior frontal gyrus. Differences between adult and child stimuli were only found in occipital areas in both mothers and non-mothers. Our results suggest a stronger neural response to others in pain in mothers than non-mothers regardless of whether the person is a child or an adult. This could indicate a possible influence of motherhood on overall neural responses to others in pain rather than motherhood specifically shaping child-related responses. Alternatively, stronger responses to others in pain could increase the likelihood for women to be in a relationship and subsequently to have a child.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Sophia Plank
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences | CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Catherine Hindi Attar
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences | CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefanie L Kunas
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences | CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Isabel Dziobek
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix Bermpohl
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences | CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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14
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Xu Y, Chen S, Kong Q, Luo S. The residential stability mindset increases racial in-group bias in empathy. Biol Psychol 2021; 165:108194. [PMID: 34560174 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
With the deepening of internationalization, the population's mobility has greatly increased, which can impact people's intergroup relationships. The current research examined the hypothesis that residential mobility plays a crucial role in racial in-group bias in empathy (RIBE) with three studies. By manipulating the residential mobility/stability mindset and measuring subjective pain intensity ratings (Study 1) and event-related potentials (ERPs, Study 2) of Chinese adults on painful and neutral expressions of Asian and Caucasian faces, we found that the RIBE in subjective ratings and N1 amplitudes increased and P3 amplitudes decreased in the stability group. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) manipulation in Study 3 further found that anodal stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) increased the RIBE of participants with residential stability experience but had no effect on those with residential mobility experience. As residential mobility continues to increase worldwide, we may observe concomitant changes in racial intergroup relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Xu
- Department of Psychology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Shangyi Chen
- Department of Psychology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Qianting Kong
- Department of Psychology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Siyang Luo
- Department of Psychology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
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15
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Zhao Y, Zhang L, Rütgen M, Sladky R, Lamm C. Neural dynamics between anterior insular cortex and right supramarginal gyrus dissociate genuine affect sharing from perceptual saliency of pretended pain. eLife 2021; 10:e69994. [PMID: 34409940 PMCID: PMC8443248 DOI: 10.7554/elife.69994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy for pain engages both shared affective responses and self-other distinction. In this study, we addressed the highly debated question of whether neural responses previously linked to affect sharing could result from the perception of salient affective displays. Moreover, we investigated how the brain network involved in affect sharing and self-other distinction underpinned our response to a pain that is either perceived as genuine or pretended (while in fact both were acted for reasons of experimental control). We found stronger activations in regions associated with affect sharing (anterior insula [aIns] and anterior mid-cingulate cortex) as well as with affective self-other distinction (right supramarginal gyrus [rSMG]), in participants watching video clips of genuine vs. pretended facial expressions of pain. Using dynamic causal modeling, we then assessed the neural dynamics between the right aIns and rSMG in these two conditions. This revealed a reduced inhibitory effect on the aIns to rSMG connection for genuine pain compared to pretended pain. For genuine pain only, brain-to-behavior regression analyses highlighted a linkage between this inhibitory effect on the one hand, and pain ratings as well as empathic traits on the other. These findings imply that if the pain of others is genuine and thus calls for an appropriate empathic response, neural responses in the aIns indeed seem related to affect sharing and self-other distinction is engaged to avoid empathic over-arousal. In contrast, if others merely pretend to be in pain, the perceptual salience of their painful expression results in neural responses that are down-regulated to avoid inappropriate affect sharing and social support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yili Zhao
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Lei Zhang
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Markus Rütgen
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Ronald Sladky
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
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16
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Yaghoubi Jami P, Han H, Thoma SJ, Mansouri B, Houser R. Do Histories of Painful Life Experiences Affect the Expression of Empathy Among Young Adults? An Electroencephalography Study. Front Psychol 2021; 12:689304. [PMID: 34335406 PMCID: PMC8322231 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.689304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research suggests that prior experience of pain affects the expression of empathy. However, most of these studies attended to physical pain despite evidence indicating that other forms of pain may also affect brain activity and emotional states in similar ways. To address this limitation, we compared empathic responses of 33 participants, some of whom had experienced a personal loss, across three conditions: observing strangers in physical pain, psychological pain, and a non-painful condition. We also examined the effect of presence of prior painful experience on empathic reactions. In addition, we examined the stimulation type, prior experience, and ERPs in the early Late Positive Potential (300-550 ms), late Late Positive Potential (550-800 ms), and very late Late Positive Potential (VLLPP; 800-1,050 ms) time windows. Behavioral data indicated that participants who had personally experienced a loss scored significantly higher on perspective taking in the psychological-pain condition. ERP results also indicated significantly lower intensity in Fp2, an electrode in the prefrontal region, within VLLPP time window for participants experiencing a loss in the psychological-pain condition. The results of both behavioral and ERP analysis indicated that prior experience of psychological pain is related to cognitive empathy, but not affective empathy. The implication of these findings for research on empathy, for the study of psychological pain, and the moderating influence of prior painful experiences are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hyemin Han
- Educational Psychology Program, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
| | - Stephen J Thoma
- Educational Psychology Program, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
| | - Behzad Mansouri
- Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
| | - Rick Houser
- Counselor Education Program, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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17
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Young adults’ empathic responses to others in psychological pain as compared to physical pain: does prior experience of pain matter? CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-01852-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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18
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Malinowska JK. Can I Feel Your Pain? The Biological and Socio-Cognitive Factors Shaping People’s Empathy with Social Robots. Int J Soc Robot 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12369-021-00787-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
AbstractThis paper discuss the phenomenon of empathy in social robotics and is divided into three main parts. Initially, I analyse whether it is correct to use this concept to study and describe people’s reactions to robots. I present arguments in favour of the position that people actually do empathise with robots. I also consider what circumstances shape human empathy with these entities. I propose that two basic classes of such factors be distinguished: biological and socio-cognitive. In my opinion, one of the most important among them is a sense of group membership with robots, as it modulates the empathic responses to representatives of our- and other- groups. The sense of group membership with robots may be co-shaped by socio-cognitive factors such as one’s experience, familiarity with the robot and its history, motivation, accepted ontology, stereotypes or language. Finally, I argue in favour of the formulation of a pragmatic and normative framework for manipulations in the level of empathy in human–robot interactions.
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19
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Trait Empathy Shapes Neural Responses Toward Sad Music. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 21:231-241. [PMID: 33474716 PMCID: PMC7994216 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00861-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Individuals with a predisposition to empathize engage with sad music in a compelling way, experiencing overall more pleasurable emotions. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these music-related experiences in empathic individuals are unknown. The present study tested whether dispositional empathy modulates neural responses to sad compared with happy music. Twenty-four participants underwent fMRI while listening to 4-min blocks of music evoking sadness or happiness. Using voxel-wise regression, we found a positive correlation between trait empathy (with scores assessed by the Interpersonal Reactivity Index) and eigenvector centrality values in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), including the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC). We then performed a functional connectivity (FC) analysis to detect network nodes showing stronger FC with the vmPFC/mOFC during the presentation of sad versus happy music. By doing so, we identified a "music-empathy" network (vmPFC/mOFC, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, primary visual cortex, bilateral claustrum and putamen, and cerebellum) that is spontaneously recruited while listening to sad music and includes brain regions that support the coding of compassion, mentalizing, and visual mental imagery. Importantly, our findings extend the current understanding of empathic behaviors to the musical domain and pinpoint sad music as an effective stimulus to be employed in social neuroscience research.
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20
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Shin WG, Woo CW, Jung WH, Kim H, Lee TY, Decety J, Kwon JS. The Neurobehavioral Mechanisms Underlying Attitudes Toward People With Mental or Physical Illness. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:571225. [PMID: 33281570 PMCID: PMC7689019 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.571225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Social factors play a significant role in the health outcomes of those struggling with mental or physical health issues. People with mental illness experience more social stigmatization and receive less concern for their welfare than do those with physical illness. However, the cognitive and neural mechanisms by which such a bias in attitude arises remain unclear. This functional MRI study examined whether a lack of self-other similarity during mental state attribution affects perceivers' theory of mind and, subsequently, how they value a patient's welfare. During scanning, participants were asked to respond to an expression of caring and sympathetic concern from either their own perspective or while adopting the perspective of patients labeled physically ill or mentally ill. Participants reported that physically ill patients would share their affective responses to the situations, but mentally ill patients would not. Furthermore, mentalizing about physically ill patients was associated with increased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), a critical region for empathic concern and value-based decisions. In contrast, mentalizing about mentally ill patients preferentially engaged the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula, regions previously implicated in empathic distress, in which activity correlated with individual differences in prejudice control. The findings indicate that a lack of perceived self-other similarity poses a challenge to the theory of mind and thus requires greater cognitive resources and neural computations. This might give rise to stereotyped beliefs about and prejudice against the mentally ill and failure to respond with appropriate empathy and care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Won-Gyo Shin
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
- Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Choong-Wan Woo
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic Science, Suwon, South Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
| | - Wi Hoon Jung
- Department of Psychology, Daegu University, Gyeongsan, South Korea
| | - Hackjin Kim
- Department of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Tae Young Lee
- Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Jun Soo Kwon
- Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
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21
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Ionta S, Costantini M, Ferretti A, Galati G, Romani GL, Aglioti SM. Visual similarity and psychological closeness are neurally dissociable in the brain response to vicarious pain. Cortex 2020; 133:295-308. [PMID: 33160159 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Personal and vicarious experience of pain activate partially overlapping brain networks. This brain activity is further modulated by low- and high-order factors, e.g., the perceived intensity of the model's pain and the model's similarity with the onlooker, respectively. We investigated which specific aspect of similarity modulates such empathic reactivity, focusing on the potential differentiation between visual similarity and psychological closeness between the onlooker and different types of models. To this aim, we recorded fMRI data in neurotypical participants who observed painful and tactile stimuli delivered to an adult human hand, a baby human hand, a puppy dog paw, and an anthropomorphic robotic hand. The interaction between type of vicarious experience (pain, touch) and nature of model (adult, baby, dog, robot) showed that the right supramarginal gyrus (rSMG) was selectively active for visual similarity (more active during vicarious pain for the adult and baby models), while the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was more sensitive to psychological closeness (specifically linked to vicarious pain for the baby model). These findings indicate that visual similarity and psychological closeness between onlooker and model differentially affect the activity of brain regions specifically implied in encoding interindividual sharing of sensorimotor and affective aspects of vicarious pain, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvio Ionta
- Sensory-Motor Lab (SeMoLa), Department of Ophthalmology-University of Lausanne, Jules Gonin Eye Hospital-Fondation Asile des Aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Science, University G. D'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, University G. D'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy; CNLS@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
| | - Marcello Costantini
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University G. D'Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
| | - Antonio Ferretti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Science, University G. D'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, University G. D'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy
| | - Gaspare Galati
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Italy; IRCCS "Fondazione Santa Lucia", Rome, Italy
| | - Gian Luca Romani
- Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, University G. D'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy
| | - Salvatore M Aglioti
- CNLS@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; IRCCS "Fondazione Santa Lucia", Rome, Italy.
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22
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Cross-network interactions in social cognition: A review of findings on task related brain activation and connectivity. Cortex 2020; 130:142-157. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2019] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
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23
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Bacha-Trams M, Ryyppö E, Glerean E, Sams M, Jääskeläinen IP. Social perspective-taking shapes brain hemodynamic activity and eye movements during movie viewing. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 15:175-191. [PMID: 32227094 PMCID: PMC7304509 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Putting oneself into the shoes of others is an important aspect of social cognition. We measured brain hemodynamic activity and eye-gaze patterns while participants were viewing a shortened version of the movie 'My Sister's Keeper' from two perspectives: that of a potential organ donor, who violates moral norms by refusing to donate her kidney, and that of a potential organ recipient, who suffers in pain. Inter-subject correlation (ISC) of brain activity was significantly higher during the potential organ donor's perspective in dorsolateral and inferior prefrontal, lateral and inferior occipital, and inferior-anterior temporal areas. In the reverse contrast, stronger ISC was observed in superior temporal, posterior frontal and anterior parietal areas. Eye-gaze analysis showed higher proportion of fixations on the potential organ recipient during both perspectives. Taken together, these results suggest that during social perspective-taking different brain areas can be flexibly recruited depending on the nature of the perspective that is taken.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike Bacha-Trams
- Department As per style, full first names should be in author group. Hence we have inserted the first names from the title page. Kindly check and confirm. of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Brain and Mind Laboratory, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
| | - Elisa Ryyppö
- Department As per style, full first names should be in author group. Hence we have inserted the first names from the title page. Kindly check and confirm. of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Brain and Mind Laboratory, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
| | - Enrico Glerean
- Department As per style, full first names should be in author group. Hence we have inserted the first names from the title page. Kindly check and confirm. of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Brain and Mind Laboratory, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
- International Laboratory for Social Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, 101000 Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Mikko Sams
- Department As per style, full first names should be in author group. Hence we have inserted the first names from the title page. Kindly check and confirm. of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Brain and Mind Laboratory, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
- Department of Computer Science, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
| | - Iiro P Jääskeläinen
- Department As per style, full first names should be in author group. Hence we have inserted the first names from the title page. Kindly check and confirm. of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Brain and Mind Laboratory, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
- International Laboratory for Social Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, 101000 Moscow, Russian Federation
- Advanced Magnetic Imaging (AMI) Centre, Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
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Abstract
AbstractFifteen college students rated the degree of painfulness of six images showing needle injections to different parts of a human hand. The images were rated on a scale ranging from 1 (not painful) to 5 (severely painful). Next, the participants were trained six conditional discriminations with abstract shapes as stimuli and tested for the formation of three 3-member equivalence classes in a one-to-many (OTM) training structure (AB/AC). The test for emergent relations were followed by training a novel set of stimuli (D) to the A stimuli. The needle injection images rated with the highest and lowest perceived degree of painfulness were used as stimulus D1 and D2, respectively. An image where the needle was replaced with a Q tip was used as stimulus D3 and assumed to be perceived as not painful. The DA training was followed by a matching-to-sample (MTS) test for the formation of three 4-member classes, and the participants were asked to choose one out of three identical bottles with water labelled with the B stimuli. Finally, the participants were asked to rate the degree of painfulness of the B stimuli. The main findings were that the B and D stimuli were not rated significantly different, indicating a transfer of function in the ratings from D to B stimuli. In addition, participants avoided choosing bottle B1 over B2 and B3, but they did not differentiate between B2 and B3.
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Fourie MM, Hortensius R, Decety J. Parsing the components of forgiveness: Psychological and neural mechanisms. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 112:437-451. [PMID: 32088347 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.02.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 02/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Forgiveness-a shift in motivation away from retaliation and avoidance towards increased goodwill for the perceived wrongdoer-plays a vital role in restoring social relationships, and positively impacts personal wellbeing and society at large. Parsing the psychological and neurobiological mechanisms of forgiveness contributes theoretical clarity, yet has remained an outstanding challenge because of conceptual and methodological difficulties in the field. Here, we critically examine the neuroscientific evidence in support of a theoretical framework which accounts for the proximate mechanisms underlying forgiveness. Specifically, we integrate empirical evidence from social psychology and neuroscience to propose that forgiveness relies on three distinct and interacting psychological macro-components: cognitive control, perspective taking, and social valuation. The implication of the lateral prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, respectively, is discussed in the brain networks subserving these distinct component processes. Finally, we outline some caveats that limit the translational value of existing social neuroscience research and provide directions for future research to advance the field of forgiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melike M Fourie
- Studies in Historical Trauma and Transformation, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
| | - Ruud Hortensius
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
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26
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27
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Convergence of physiological responses to pain during face-to-face interaction. Sci Rep 2020; 10:450. [PMID: 31949248 PMCID: PMC6965106 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-57375-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 12/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy with another’s pain is an important social glue for maintaining interpersonal relationships. In most previous studies investigating the sharing of pain, a signal conveying a painful experience is presented by a target (“sender”) as a stimulus to a participant (“receiver”), and the emotional/physiological responses of the participant are measured. However, this unilateral “sender-receiver” paradigm does not adequately address the possible bidirectional experience of shared pain accruing from interaction. Our aim was therefore to investigate the bidirectional effects of sharing pain in social settings. Thirty-six unfamiliar pairs were simultaneously and repeatedly exposed to the same pain-provoking (thermal) stimuli, either in a face-to-face or a “shielded” condition where a partition prevented the partner’s responses from being fully observed. We recorded the blood volume pulse of each participant to measure the acute sympathetic response while a pair of participants experienced the stimuli simultaneously. The results revealed that participants with weaker reactions elevated their physiological reactivity to the stimulus in accordance with their partner’s reactions in the face-to-face condition. The pair-level physiological similarity was also higher compared to the shielded condition. Such a low-to-high physiological convergence may underlie the collective elevation of pain expressions, which is often observed in interactive settings.
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Borja Jimenez KC, Abdelgabar AR, De Angelis L, McKay LS, Keysers C, Gazzola V. Changes in brain activity following the voluntary control of empathy. Neuroimage 2020; 216:116529. [PMID: 31931155 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In neuroscience, empathy is often conceived as relatively automatic. The voluntary control that people can exert on brain mechanisms that map the emotions of others onto our own emotions has received comparatively less attention. Here, we therefore measured brain activity while participants watched emotional Hollywood movies under two different instructions: to rate the main characters' emotions by empathizing with them, or to do so while keeping a detached perspective. We found that participants yielded highly consistent and similar ratings of emotions under both conditions. Using intersubject correlation-based analyses we found that, when encouraged to empathize, participants' brain activity in limbic (including cingulate and putamen) and somatomotor regions (including premotor, SI and SII) synchronized more during the movie than when encouraged to detach. Using intersubject functional connectivity we found that comparing the empathic and detached perspectives revealed widespread increases in functional connectivity between large scale networks. Our findings contribute to the increasing awareness that we have voluntary control over the neural mechanisms through which we process the emotions of others.
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Affiliation(s)
- K C Borja Jimenez
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - A R Abdelgabar
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - L De Angelis
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - L S McKay
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Current Address: Division of Psychology, School of Education & Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, High Street, Paisley, PA1 2BE, UK
| | - C Keysers
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018, WV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - V Gazzola
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018, WV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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29
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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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30
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Watanabe R, Katsuyama N, Usui N, Taira M. Effects of pseudoexperience on the understanding of hemiplegic movements in physical therapists: An fMRI study. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 23:101845. [PMID: 31075556 PMCID: PMC6510960 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Revised: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Physical therapists (PTs) are required to obtain an accurate understanding of the physical and mental states of their patients through observational assessment. To perform comprehensive observational assessments of patients' movements, PTs likely need to engage their own neural systems involved in action understanding and theory of mind, such as the action observation network (AON) and the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ). Both systems are modulated by the observer's actual experience with the observed movements. Although, most PTs do not have physical experience with neurological disabilities, they routinely examine hemiplegic movements in stroke patients, and are thus considered to have acquired pseudoexperience with hemiplegia. We hypothesized that the PTs' pseudoexperience with hemiplegia would modulate the neural system associated with the understanding of others to elaborately comprehend the physical and mental states associated with hemiplegia. To investigate our hypothesis, we recruited 19 PTs and 19 naïve participants (NPs) to undergo functional MRI (fMRI) for cortical activity measurement while viewing videos of hemiplegic (HHM) and non-hemiplegic (non-HHM) hand movements. The participants subsequently viewed the same videos again outside the MRI scanner, and evaluated the observed hand movements via a questionnaire. Compared to the NPs, the PTs showed greater activation in the AON and rTPJ while observing HHMs. Psychophysiological interaction analyses revealed increased connectivity between the rTPJ and AON when the PTs viewed the HHMs. Behavioral analyses further indicated that the PTs more accurately assessed feeling states associated with HHMs than did NPs. These findings suggest that the PTs' pseudoexperience modulates the AON and rTPJ, enabling them to better understand hemiplegia-associated feeling states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Watanabe
- Department of Cognitive Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 MD Tower 7F Yusima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan.
| | - Narumi Katsuyama
- Department of Cognitive Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 MD Tower 7F Yusima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan
| | - Nobuo Usui
- Department of Cognitive Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 MD Tower 7F Yusima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan
| | - Masato Taira
- Department of Cognitive Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 MD Tower 7F Yusima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan
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31
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Morris
- Philosophy, College of Staten Island (CUNY), Staten Island, NY, U.S.A
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32
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Saulin A, Baumgartner T, Gianotti LRR, Hofmann W, Knoch D. Frequency of helping friends and helping strangers is explained by different neural signatures. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2019; 19:177-186. [PMID: 30406306 PMCID: PMC6344399 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-00655-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Acts of helping friends and strangers are part of everyday life. However, people vary significantly with respect to how often they help others and with respect to whom they actually help on a day-to-day basis. Despite everyday helping being so pervasive, these individual differences are poorly understood. Here, we used source-localized resting electroencephalography to measure objective and stable individual differences in neural baseline activation in combination with an ecologically valid method that allows assessment of helping behavior in the field. Results revealed that neural baseline activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) - a brain region associated with self-control and strategic social behavior - predicts the daily frequency of helping friends, whereas the daily frequency of helping strangers was predicted by neural baseline activation in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) - a brain region associated with social cognition processes. These findings offer evidence that distinct neural signatures and associated psychological and cognitive processes may underlie the propensity to help friends and strangers in daily life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Saulin
- Institute of Psychology, Department of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Baumgartner
- Institute of Psychology, Department of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Lorena R R Gianotti
- Institute of Psychology, Department of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Wilhelm Hofmann
- Social Cognition Center, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Daria Knoch
- Institute of Psychology, Department of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
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33
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Stroth S, Paye L, Kamp-Becker I, Wermter AK, Krach S, Paulus FM, Müller-Pinzler L. Empathy in Females With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:428. [PMID: 31275180 PMCID: PMC6591689 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: Despite the fact that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common psychiatric diagnosis, knowledge about the special behavioral and neurobiological female phenotype is still scarce. The present study aimed to investigate neural correlates of empathy for physical and social pain and to assess the impact of egocentric perspective taking on social pain empathy in complex social situations in women and girls with ASD. Methods: Nine female individuals with high functioning ASD were compared to nine matched peers without ASD during two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments, examining empathy for physical and social pain using well-established paradigms. Participants viewed multiple pictorial stimuli depicting a social target in either physically painful or socially unpleasant situations. In the social situations, the participant either shared the social target's knowledge about the inappropriateness of the situation (observed social target is aware about the embarrassment of the situation; e.g., tripping in public) or not (observed social target is unaware about the embarrassment of the situation; e.g., open zipper). Results: Females with ASD did not rate the physical pain stimuli differently from non-clinical controls. Social pain situations, however, posed a greater challenge to females with ASD: For non-shared knowledge situations, females with ASD rated the social target's embarrassment as more intense. Thus, compared to non-clinical controls, females with ASD had a stronger egocentric perspective of the situation rather than sharing the social target's perspective. On the neural systems level, both groups showed activation of areas of the so-called empathy network that was attenuated in females with ASD during empathy for physical and social pain with a particular reduction in insula activation. Conclusion: Females with high functioning ASD are able to share another person's physical or social pain on the neural systems level. However, hypoactivation of the anterior insula in contrast to individuals without ASD suggests that they are less able to rely on their shared representations of emotions along with difficulties to take over a person's perspective and to make a clear distinction between their own and someone else's experience of embarrassment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanna Stroth
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Lena Paye
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Inge Kamp-Becker
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Marburg Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (MCMBB), Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Anne-Kathrin Wermter
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Sören Krach
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Social Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Frieder M Paulus
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Social Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Laura Müller-Pinzler
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Social Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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34
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Ahn JH, Bae YS, Ju J, Oh W. Attention Adjustment, Renewal, and Equilibrium Seeking in Online Search: An Eye-Tracking Approach. J MANAGE INFORM SYST 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/07421222.2018.1523595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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35
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Brethel-Haurwitz KM, Cardinale EM, Vekaria KM, Robertson EL, Walitt B, VanMeter JW, Marsh AA. Extraordinary Altruists Exhibit Enhanced Self-Other Overlap in Neural Responses to Distress. Psychol Sci 2018; 29:1631-1641. [PMID: 30130165 DOI: 10.1177/0956797618779590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Shared neural representations during experienced and observed distress are hypothesized to reflect empathic neural simulation, which may support altruism. But the correspondence between real-world altruism and shared neural representations has not been directly tested, and empathy's role in promoting altruism toward strangers has been questioned. Here, we show that individuals who have performed costly altruism (donating a kidney to a stranger; n = 25) exhibit greater self-other overlap than matched control participants ( n = 27) in neural representations of pain and threat (fearful anticipation) in anterior insula (AI) during an empathic-pain paradigm. Altruists exhibited greater self-other correspondence in pain-related activation in left AI, highlighting that group-level overlap was supported by individual-level associations between empathic pain and firsthand pain. Altruists exhibited enhanced functional coupling of left AI with left midinsula during empathic pain and threat. Results show that heightened neural instantiations of empathy correspond to real-world altruism and highlight limitations of self-report.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Brian Walitt
- 4 National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - John W VanMeter
- 5 Department of Neurology, Georgetown University Medical Center
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36
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Spring VL, Cameron CD, McKee S, Todd AR. Intentional and Unintentional Empathy for Pain Among Physicians and Nonphysicians. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1177/1948550618771890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Empathy can be both beneficial and costly. This trade-off is pertinent for physicians who must care for patients while maintaining emotional distance to avoid burnout. Prior work using self-report and neurophysiological measures has found mixed evidence for differences in empathy between physicians and nonphysicians. We used implicit measurement and multinomial modeling to examine intentional empathy (IE) and unintentional empathy (UE) for pain among physicians and demographically matched nonphysicians. Relative to nonphysicians, physicians displayed greater ability to judge the painfulness of target experiences (i.e., IE). Contrary to some prior work, however, physicians and nonphysicians displayed comparable spontaneous resonance with distracter experiences (i.e., UE). These findings suggest that physicians may be more likely than nonphysicians to empathize with others’ pain when empathy aligns with their overt goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria L. Spring
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - C. Daryl Cameron
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Stephanie McKee
- Psychology Department, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Andrew R. Todd
- Psychology Department, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
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37
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Ciaramidaro A, Toppi J, Casper C, Freitag CM, Siniatchkin M, Astolfi L. Multiple-Brain Connectivity During Third Party Punishment: an EEG Hyperscanning Study. Sci Rep 2018; 8:6822. [PMID: 29717203 PMCID: PMC5931604 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-24416-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2017] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Compassion is a particular form of empathic reaction to harm that befalls others and is accompanied by a desire to alleviate their suffering. This altruistic behavior is often manifested through altruistic punishment, wherein individuals penalize a deprecated human’s actions, even if they are directed toward strangers. By adopting a dual approach, we provide empirical evidence that compassion is a multifaceted prosocial behavior and can predict altruistic punishment. In particular, in this multiple-brain connectivity study in an EEG hyperscanning setting, compassion was examined during real-time social interactions in a third-party punishment (TPP) experiment. We observed that specific connectivity patterns were linked to behavioral and psychological intra- and interpersonal factors. Thus, our results suggest that an ecological approach based on simultaneous dual-scanning and multiple-brain connectivity is suitable for analyzing complex social phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Ciaramidaro
- Department of Computer, Control, and Management Engineering, Univ. of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy, 00185, Italy.,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, Goethe-University, Frankfurt/M, 60528, Germany
| | - J Toppi
- Department of Computer, Control, and Management Engineering, Univ. of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy, 00185, Italy.,Neuroelectrical Imaging and Brain Computer Interface Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Rome, Italy, 00179, Italy
| | - C Casper
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, Goethe-University, Frankfurt/M, 60528, Germany
| | - C M Freitag
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, Goethe-University, Frankfurt/M, 60528, Germany
| | - M Siniatchkin
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, Goethe-University, Frankfurt/M, 60528, Germany.,Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University of Kiel, Kiel, 24113, Germany
| | - L Astolfi
- Department of Computer, Control, and Management Engineering, Univ. of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy, 00185, Italy. .,Neuroelectrical Imaging and Brain Computer Interface Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Rome, Italy, 00179, Italy.
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38
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Dien J, Karuzis V, Haarmann HJ. Probing culture in the head: the neural correlates of relational models. Soc Neurosci 2018; 13:648-666. [PMID: 29614912 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2018.1459313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Relational Models Theory or RMT proposes that there are four universal ways in which socio-economic relations can be organized. According to the RMT, each of its four relational models (Communal Sharing, Authority Ranking, Equality Matching, and Market Pricing) is associated with a distinct cognitive representation, with a cumulative pattern in which each relational model is a superset of the next lower model. This report for the first time uses a combination of cognitive and the social neuroscience to put this model to the test. RMT proposes that members of every culture use all four relational models, just in different proportions. It should therefore be possible to study their neural correlates in a mono-cultural sample. In this study, thirty-nine European-American students were imaged in a 3T Siemens Trio with a 24-channel head coil while rating the extent to which each relational model organized relationships with each of thirty-two acquaintances/friend/relatives in a boxcar design. FreeSurfer Functional Analysis Stream (FS-FAST) analyses revealed distinct patterns of activation for each of the relational models. The activations did not follow a cumulative hierarchical pattern, suggestive that this aspect of the RMT model should be revised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Dien
- a Maryland Neuroimaging Center , University of Maryland , College Park , MD , USA
| | - Valerie Karuzis
- b Center for Advanced Study of Language , University of Maryland , College Park , Maryland , USA
| | - Henk J Haarmann
- b Center for Advanced Study of Language , University of Maryland , College Park , Maryland , USA
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39
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Samara Z, Evers EAT, Peeters F, Uylings HBM, Rajkowska G, Ramaekers JG, Stiers P. Orbital and Medial Prefrontal Cortex Functional Connectivity of Major Depression Vulnerability and Disease. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2018; 3:348-357. [PMID: 29628067 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2018.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Revised: 01/12/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pathophysiology models of major depression (MD) center on the dysfunction of various cortical areas within the orbital and medial prefrontal cortex. While independent structural and functional abnormalities in these areas are consistent findings in MD, the complex interactions among them and the rest of the cortex remain largely unexplored. METHODS We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging connectivity to systematically map alterations in the communication between orbital and medial prefrontal cortex fields and the rest of the brain in MD. Functional connectivity (FC) maps from participants with current MD (n = 35), unaffected first-degree relatives (n = 36), and healthy control subjects (n = 38) were subjected to conjunction analyses to distinguish FC markers of MD vulnerability and FC markers of MD disease. RESULTS FC abnormalities in MD vulnerability were found for dorsal medial wall regions and the anterior insula and concerned altered communication of these areas with the inferior parietal cortex and dorsal posterior cingulate, occipital areas and the brainstem. FC aberrations in current MD included the anterior insula, rostral and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and lateral orbitofrontal areas and concerned altered communication with the dorsal striatum, the cerebellum, the precuneus, the anterior prefrontal cortex, somatomotor cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and visual areas in the occipital and inferior temporal lobes. CONCLUSIONS Functionally delineated parcellation maps can be used to identify putative connectivity markers in extended cortical regions such as the orbital and medial prefrontal cortex. The anterior insula and the rostral anterior cingulate cortex play a central role in the pathophysiology of MD, being consistently implicated both in the MD vulnerability and MD disease states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe Samara
- Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
| | - Elisabeth A T Evers
- Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Frenk Peeters
- Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Harry B M Uylings
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Grazyna Rajkowska
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi
| | - Johannes G Ramaekers
- Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Stiers
- Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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40
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Diaconescu AO, Mathys C, Weber LAE, Kasper L, Mauer J, Stephan KE. Hierarchical prediction errors in midbrain and septum during social learning. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 12:618-634. [PMID: 28119508 PMCID: PMC5390746 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsw171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2015] [Accepted: 11/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Social learning is fundamental to human interactions, yet its computational and physiological mechanisms are not well understood. One prominent open question concerns the role of neuromodulatory transmitters. We combined fMRI, computational modelling and genetics to address this question in two separate samples (N = 35, N = 47). Participants played a game requiring inference on an adviser’s intentions whose motivation to help or mislead changed over time. Our analyses suggest that hierarchically structured belief updates about current advice validity and the adviser’s trustworthiness, respectively, depend on different neuromodulatory systems. Low-level prediction errors (PEs) about advice accuracy not only activated regions known to support ‘theory of mind’, but also the dopaminergic midbrain. Furthermore, PE responses in ventral striatum were influenced by the Met/Val polymorphism of the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene. By contrast, high-level PEs (‘expected uncertainty’) about the adviser’s fidelity activated the cholinergic septum. These findings, replicated in both samples, have important implications: They suggest that social learning rests on hierarchically related PEs encoded by midbrain and septum activity, respectively, in the same manner as other forms of learning under volatility. Furthermore, these hierarchical PEs may be broadcast by dopaminergic and cholinergic projections to induce plasticity specifically in cortical areas known to represent beliefs about others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreea O Diaconescu
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Mathys
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, UK.,Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
| | - Lilian A E Weber
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lars Kasper
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jan Mauer
- Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, Cologne, Germany.,Department of Pharmacology, Weill Medical College, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Klaas E Stephan
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, Cologne, Germany.,Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
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41
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Hu Y, Cui Z, Fan M, Pei Y, Wang Z. Effects of Acute Alcohol Intoxication on Empathic Neural Responses for Pain. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 11:640. [PMID: 29354044 PMCID: PMC5758492 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Accepted: 12/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The questions whether and how empathy for pain can be modulated by acute alcohol intoxication in the non-dependent population remain unanswered. To address these questions, a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject study design was adopted in this study, in which healthy social drinkers were asked to complete a pain-judgment task using pictures depicting others' body parts in painful or non-painful situations during fMRI scanning, either under the influence of alcohol intoxication or placebo conditions. Empathic neural activity for pain was reduced by alcohol intoxication only in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). More interestingly, we observed that empathic neural activity for pain in the right anterior insula (rAI) was significantly correlated with trait empathy only after alcohol intoxication, along with impaired functional connectivity between the rAI and the fronto-parietal attention network. Our results reveal that alcohol intoxication not only inhibits empathic neural responses for pain but also leads to trait empathy inflation, possibly via impaired top-down attentional control. These findings help to explain the neural mechanism underlying alcohol-related social problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Hu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhuoya Cui
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Shanghai, China
| | - Mingxia Fan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of MRI, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yilai Pei
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhaoxin Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of MRI, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
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42
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Pay-forward effect of resource allocation in preschoolers: Role of theory of mind and empathy. ACTA PSYCHOLOGICA SINICA 2018. [DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1041.2018.01018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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43
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Stamatopoulou D. Empathy and the aesthetic: Why does art still move us? Cogn Process 2017; 19:169-186. [PMID: 28936641 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-017-0836-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2016] [Accepted: 09/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
In this article I will argue for the affective-motivation (background affective attitude or orientation) hypothesis that incubates the aesthetic experience and sets the deep frame of our engagement with art. For this, I look at these microgenetic-early passages of (a) affective perception as mapped into the early emergence of tertiary qualities that underlie a sensorimotor synchronization-a coupling of action, emotion and perception via mirroring that result in dynamic embodied anticipatory control and a feeling of proximity/connectedness and (b) developmental passages that are characterized by spatiotemporal coordination and proximity of the self-other/interactive object and thus structure intentionality, shape experience, in an engaging world of action potentialities forming a background affective attitude. As I will argue these qualitative emergent layers provide the minimal for the aesthetic and the 'feeling into' empathy, or their phenomenological counterparts enable engaged, embodied perception and imagination underlying expressive symbolic communication in interpersonal settings but also for the possibility of art. These layers have an 'echoing' effect (pre-attentive) when we let ourselves to be 'moved' from within by art. The underlying mechanism could be found in the mirroring interface of the upcoming bottom-up and feeding forward anticipatory/predictive (top-down) function of the 'embodied action' representations that are affective, imitative and grounded in the body-affective matrix-carrying experiential affordances and keeping the intersubjective ties between spectator and beheld/object. Given the asymmetry on action tendency between them that affords the 'subordination of the goal-directed action' into to the means of the action's unfolding, aesthetic experiences can go deeply back reconstructing the first level of emerging consciousness where both the aesthetic and ethic became actualities. This could be by itself deeply rewarding, amplifying the experience to the 'edge'. This is a 'hot' cognition self-restructuring related to morality when facing the sufferings-so there might be something special bout art and negative emotions in relation to empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Despina Stamatopoulou
- Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences, University of Crete, 74100, Rethymnon, Crete, Greece.
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44
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Wortinger LA, Glenne Øie M, Endestad T, Bruun Wyller V. Altered right anterior insular connectivity and loss of associated functions in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0184325. [PMID: 28880891 PMCID: PMC5589232 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0184325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Impairments in cognition, pain intolerance, and physical inactivity characterize adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), yet little is known about its neurobiology. The right dorsal anterior insular (dAI) connectivity of the salience network provides a motivational context to stimuli. In this study, we examined regional functional connectivity (FC) patterns of the right dAI in adolescent CFS patients and healthy participants. Eighteen adolescent patients with CFS and 18 aged-matched healthy adolescent control participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The right dAI region of interest was examined in a seed-to-voxel resting-state FC analysis using SPM and CONN toolbox. Relative to healthy adolescents, CFS patients demonstrated reduced FC of the right dAI to the right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) node of the central executive network. The decreased FC of the right dAI–PPC might indicate impaired cognitive control development in adolescent CFS. Immature FC of the right dAI–PPC in patients also lacked associations with three known functional domains: cognition, pain and physical activity, which were observed in the healthy group. These results suggest a distinct biological signature of adolescent CFS and might represent a fundamental role of the dAI in motivated behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Anne Wortinger
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Health, Akershus University Hospital, Nordbyhagen, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- * E-mail:
| | - Merete Glenne Øie
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Research Department, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Lillehammer, Norway
| | - Tor Endestad
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Vegard Bruun Wyller
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Health, Akershus University Hospital, Nordbyhagen, Norway
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45
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Shen G, Saby JN, Drew AR, Marshall PJ. Exploring potential social influences on brain potentials during anticipation of tactile stimulation. Brain Res 2017; 1659:8-18. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2017.01.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2016] [Revised: 01/13/2017] [Accepted: 01/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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46
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Adolfi F, Couto B, Richter F, Decety J, Lopez J, Sigman M, Manes F, Ibáñez A. Convergence of interoception, emotion, and social cognition: A twofold fMRI meta-analysis and lesion approach. Cortex 2017; 88:124-142. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2016] [Revised: 11/16/2016] [Accepted: 12/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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47
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Hotta J, Saari J, Koskinen M, Hlushchuk Y, Forss N, Hari R. Abnormal Brain Responses to Action Observation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2016; 18:255-265. [PMID: 27847313 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2016.10.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Revised: 08/30/2016] [Accepted: 10/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) display various abnormalities in central motor function, and their pain is intensified when they perform or just observe motor actions. In this study, we examined the abnormalities of brain responses to action observation in CRPS. We analyzed 3-T functional magnetic resonance images from 13 upper limb CRPS patients (all female, ages 31-58 years) and 13 healthy, age- and sex-matched control subjects. The functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired while the subjects viewed brief videos of hand actions shown in the first-person perspective. A pattern-classification analysis was applied to characterize brain areas where the activation pattern differed between CRPS patients and healthy subjects. Brain areas with statistically significant group differences (q < .05, false discovery rate-corrected) included the hand representation area in the sensorimotor cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, secondary somatosensory cortex, inferior parietal lobule, orbitofrontal cortex, and thalamus. Our findings indicate that CRPS impairs action observation by affecting brain areas related to pain processing and motor control. PERSPECTIVE This article shows that in CRPS, the observation of others' motor actions induces abnormal neural activity in brain areas essential for sensorimotor functions and pain. These results build the cerebral basis for action-observation impairments in CRPS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaakko Hotta
- Systems and Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland; Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland; Department of Neurology, Helsinki University Hospital, and Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Jukka Saari
- Systems and Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland
| | - Miika Koskinen
- Systems and Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland; Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Yevhen Hlushchuk
- Systems and Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland; HUS Medical Imaging Center, Radiology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Nina Forss
- Systems and Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland; Department of Neurology, Helsinki University Hospital, and Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Riitta Hari
- Systems and Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland; Department of Art, Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Helsinki, Finland
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48
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Lamm C, Bukowski H, Silani G. From shared to distinct self-other representations in empathy: evidence from neurotypical function and socio-cognitive disorders. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150083. [PMID: 26644601 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroscientific research has identified two fundamental components of empathy: shared emotional representations between self and other, and self-other distinction. The concept of shared representations suggests that during empathy, we co-represent another person's affect by engaging brain and bodily functions underpinning the first-hand experience of the emotion we are empathizing with. This possible grounding of empathy in our own emotional experiences explains the necessity for self-other distinction, which is the capacity to correctly distinguish between our own affective representations and those related to the other. In spite of the importance of these two components in empathy, several aspects still remain controversial. This paper addresses some of them and focuses on (i) the distinction between shared activations versus representations, raising the question what shared representations entail in terms of the underlying neural mechanisms, (ii) the possible mechanisms behind self-other distinction in the cognitive and the affective domains, and whether they have distinct neural underpinnings and (iii) the consequences associated with a selective impairment of one of the two components, thereby addressing their importance in mental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders, psychopathy and alexithymia.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - H Bukowski
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - G Silani
- Department of Applied Psychology: Health, Development, Enhancement and Intervention, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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49
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Lockwood PL. The anatomy of empathy: Vicarious experience and disorders of social cognition. Behav Brain Res 2016; 311:255-266. [PMID: 27235714 PMCID: PMC4942880 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.05.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2016] [Revised: 05/19/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Empathy, the ability to vicariously experience and to understand the affect of other people, is fundamental for successful social-cognitive ability and behaviour. Empathy is thought to be a critical facilitator of prosocial behaviour and is disrupted in a number of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Research has begun to uncover the neural basis of such 'vicarious experience', which has been studied as a proxy measure of empathy. Together, these studies have identified portions of the insula and anterior cingulate cortex as critically involved. A key debate is whether overlapping or non-overlapping brain areas respond to personal and vicarious experience. This review will highlight emerging evidence for both types of brain response. Importantly, animal models have suggested that there are central divisions between the anterior cingulate gyrus and anterior cingulate sulcus that may be crucial for understanding social behaviour. Attention to this specific anatomy of vicarious processing could therefore help shed light on the functional profile of empathy. Studies in individuals with psychopathy and autism spectrum disorders have found that vicarious experience is atypical. However, the precise nature of these atypicalities is mixed. Understanding the mechanisms of vicarious experience can enhance our knowledge of the neural basis of empathy and, ultimately, help those with disorders of social cognition and behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia L Lockwood
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
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50
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Berlingeri M, Gallucci M, Danelli L, Forgiarini M, Sberna M, Paulesu E. Guess who's coming to dinner: Brain signatures of racially biased and politically correct behaviors. Neuroscience 2016; 332:231-41. [PMID: 27378559 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.06.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2015] [Revised: 05/30/2016] [Accepted: 06/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The ability to share feelings with those of someone in pain is affected by the racial difference between the target and the onlooker. A differential empathic activation for race (DEAR effect) in favor of in-group members has been documented in the brain pain matrix. However, we are also capable of unbiased responses that manifest politically correct behaviors toward people of a different race. To address the neurofunctional signatures underlying both the DEAR effect and the manifestation of politically correct behaviors, we scanned with fMRI Caucasian participants while watching African or Caucasian actors touched by either a rubber eraser or a needle. Participants were instructed to empathize with the actors during the video presentation (stimulus phase) and to explicitly judge the pain level experienced by the actors (response phase). During the stimulus phase, we found a typical DEAR effect within the pain-matrix. This effect correlated with the level of implicit racial bias as measured by the IAT. On the other hand, during the response phase a significant out-group specific DEAR effect emerged in the prefrontal cortices. This latter effect was coupled with a revealing behavioral pattern: while the magnitude of the painful experience attributed to Caucasians and Africans was the same, our participants were significantly slower when judging the pain experience of the African actors. We propose a model that logically integrates these two contrasting forces at the neurobiological and behavioral level.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Berlingeri
- Department of Humanistic Studies (DISTUM), University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy; NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Italy.
| | - M Gallucci
- Psychology Department, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy; NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Italy
| | - L Danelli
- Psychology Department, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy; NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Italy
| | - M Forgiarini
- Psychology Department, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - M Sberna
- Neuroradiology Department, Niguarda Cà Granda Hospital, Milano, Italy
| | - E Paulesu
- Psychology Department, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy; IRCCS Galeazzi, fMRI Unit, Milano, Italy.
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