Linking Social Cognition to Learning and Memory

A cross-sectional study of the major risk factor at different levels of cognitive performance within Chinese-origin middle-aged and elderly individuals

OBJECTIVE

Senior citizens suffering from cognitive impairment (CI) are on the East Asia rise. Multiple variables could lead to inter-/intra-individual cognition effectiveness variations, though previous research efforts did not consider weighting issues.

METHODS

This study scrutinized 5639 participants meeting required inclusion criteria by the CHARLS. Cognitive capacity was evaluated through Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Considering that MMSE scorings were not following normal distribution, a non-parametric test and multiple linear regression were performed to screen candidate variables linked to cognitive capacity. Such applicability of candidate factors in the cumulative effect and the weighting of the impact on cognitive performance were evaluated by random forest (RF) algorithm.

RESULTS

Age, gender, education, marital status, residence, the type of residence, exercise, socialization level and drinking were correlated to MMSE scorings (p < 0.05). Among them, age, education, gender and sociality were correlated to individual MMSE items (p < 0.05). Regardless of MMSE scores and several MMSE items, age is always a prime factor. However, in the attention and computation item, education is better than age and ranks first.

CONCLUSIONS

This preliminary study prompted age, education, gender, and sociality with varying weightings to be linked to cognitive capacity within a Chinese cohort by differing cognitive aspects. At different levels of cognitive performance, the main risk factors are basically similar, but there are still some differences.

Single exposure to anesthesia/surgery in neonatal mice induces cognitive impairment in young adult mice

BACKGROUND

The effects of a solitary neonatal exposure to anesthesia plus surgery (anesthesia/surgery) on cognitive function and the underlying mechanism in developing brains remains largely undetermined. We, therefore, set out to investigate the impact of single exposure to anesthesia/surgery in neonatal mice.

METHODS

Six-day-old male and female mice received abdominal surgery under 3% sevoflurane plus 50% oxygen for 2 h. The new object recognition (NOR) and Morris water maze (MWM) were used to evaluate cognitive function in young adult mice. Western blot, ELISA and RT-PCR were used to measure levels of NR2B and IL-6 in medial prefrontal cortex and IL-6 in blood of the mice. We employed NR2B siRNA and IL-6 antibody in the interaction studies.

RESULTS

The anesthesia/surgery decreased the ratio of novel time to novel plus familiar time in NOR and the number of platform crossings, but not escape latency, in MWM compared to sham condition. The mice in anesthesia/surgery group had increased NR2B expression in medial prefrontal cortex, and IL-6 amounts in blood and medial prefrontal cortex. Local injection of NR2B siRNA in medial prefrontal cortex alleviated the anesthesia/surgery-induced cognitive impairment. IL-6 antibody mitigated the anesthesia/surgery-induced upregulation of NR2B and cognitive impairment in young adult mice.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that a single neonatal exposure to anesthesia/surgery causes impairment of memory, but not learning, in young adult mice through IL-6-regulated increases in NR2B concentrations in medial prefrontal cortex, highlighting the need for further research on the underlying mechanisms of anesthesia/surgery's impact on cognitive function in developing brains.

From synapses to circuits: What mouse models have taught us about how autism spectrum disorder impacts hippocampal function

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts a variety of cognitive and behavioral domains. While a genetic component of ASD has been well-established, none of the numerous syndromic genes identified in humans accounts for more than 1% of the clinical patients. Due to this large number of target genes, numerous mouse models of the disorder have been generated. However, the focus on distinct brain circuits, behavioral phenotypes and diverse experimental approaches has made it difficult to synthesize the overwhelming number of model animal studies into concrete throughlines that connect the data across levels of investigation. Here we chose to focus on one circuit, the hippocampus, and one hypothesis, a shift in excitatory/inhibitory balance, to examine, from the level of the tripartite synapse up to the level of in vivo circuit activity, the key commonalities across disparate models that can illustrate a path towards a better mechanistic understanding of ASD's impact on hippocampal circuit function.

Cognitive dissonance and mindset perturbations during crisis: "eco-socio-psycho-somatic" perspectives

Mandatory and restrictive health regulations during the corona pandemic caused psychic disorders in many people, which even led to clinically relevant mental disorders. At the same time, there was gradually a polarization of opinions among the population. In order to improve future pandemic management, an integrative understanding of these psychosocial processes therefore seems useful. Here we start theoretically with the mental effects of inconsistencies of the information environment by referring to concepts such as the theory of cognitive dissonance. In a next step, we use the psychodynamic theory to understand the affective-motivational defense mechanisms underlying these cognitive states and processes. However, a broader theoretical framework of psychoanalysis seems to make sense, because self-referential processing also influences the style of thinking. For this reason, we use a more comprehensive psychological systems theoretical framework model to integrate these different perspectives. This integrative view refers in part to basic knowledge of health psychology regarding the resistance of unhealthy ways of thinking and behaviors and the possibilities for interventions for change. We then extend this model to a broader picture that also covers the relationship between men and their environment. This results in the perspective of a multidimensional socioecological theoretical framework, which as a heuristic reference model and related to other ecological approaches could also be helpful for various theoretical questions for public health, and could provide a better public understanding of health issues. In line with this perspective, we hypothesize that with regard to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the acceptance of public health narratives could be increased if a more consistent picture of the scientific descriptions and explanations of the pandemic - similar to the model proposed - could be provided, which would enable the understanding of the origin, course and countermeasures, and thus could have positive collective psycho-hygienic effects.

Hippocampal volume mediates the relationship of parental rejection in childhood with social cognition in healthy adults

Childhood abuse reduces hippocampal and amygdala volumes and impairs social cognition, including the ability to recognize facial expressions. However, these associations have been studied primarily in individuals with a history of severe abuse and psychiatric symptoms; researchers have not determined whether these associations can also be observed in healthy adults. In the present study, we analyzed data from 400 healthy adults (208 men and 192 women) at Tamagawa University. Parental rejection reflecting childhood abuse was assessed using the short form of Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran, while social cognition was assessed using the "Fake Smile Detection Task." Hippocampal and amygdala volumes were extracted from T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging data using FreeSurfer. We found that greater parental rejection resulted in smaller hippocampal and amygdala volumes and poorer performance in the Fake Smile Detection Task. Structural equation modeling analysis supported the model that hippocampal volume mediates maternal rejection effect on performance on the Fake Smile Detection Task, with involvement of the amygdala. These findings are in line with the structural and functional connectivity found between the hippocampus and amygdala and their joint involvement in social cognition. Therefore, parental rejection may affect hippocampal and amygdala volumes and social cognitive function even in symptom-free adults.

Impaired microglia-mediated synaptic pruning in the nucleus accumbens during adolescence results in persistent dysregulation of familiar, but not novel social interactions in sex-specific ways

Evolutionarily conserved, peer-directed social behaviors are essential to participate in many aspects of human society. These behaviors directly impact psychological, physiological, and behavioral maturation. Adolescence is an evolutionarily conserved period during which reward-related behaviors, including social behaviors, develop via developmental plasticity in the mesolimbic dopaminergic 'reward' circuitry of the brain. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is an intermediate reward relay center that develops during adolescence and mediates both social behaviors and dopaminergic signaling. In several developing brain regions, synaptic pruning mediated by microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, is important for normal behavioral development. In rats, we previously demonstrated that microglial synaptic pruning also mediates NAc and social development during sex-specific adolescent periods and via sex-specific synaptic pruning targets. In this report, we demonstrate that interrupting microglial pruning in NAc during adolescence persistently dysregulates social behavior towards a familiar, but not novel social partner in both sexes, via sex-specific behavioral expression. This leads us to infer that naturally occurring NAc pruning serves to reduce social behaviors primarily directed toward a familiar conspecific in both sexes, but in sex-specific ways.

Neural circuits regulating prosocial behaviors

Positive, prosocial interactions are essential for survival, development, and well-being. These intricate and complex behaviors are mediated by an amalgamation of neural circuit mechanisms working in concert. Impairments in prosocial behaviors, which occur in a large number of neuropsychiatric disorders, result from disruption of the coordinated activity of these neural circuits. In this review, we focus our discussion on recent findings that utilize modern approaches in rodents to map, monitor, and manipulate neural circuits implicated in a variety of prosocial behaviors. We highlight how modulation by oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission in specific brain regions is critical for regulation of adaptive prosocial interactions. We then describe how recent findings have helped elucidate pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the social deficits that accompany neuropsychiatric disorders. We conclude by discussing approaches for the development of more efficacious and targeted therapeutic interventions to ameliorate aberrant prosocial behaviors.

High Morphine Use Disorder Susceptibility Is Predicted by Impaired Learning Ability in Mice

An obvious reason for substance uses disorders (SUDs) is drug craving and seeking behavior induced by conditioned context, which is an abnormal solid context memory. The relationship between susceptibility to SUD and learning ability remains unclear in humans and animal models. In this study, we found that susceptibility to morphine use disorder (MUD) was negatively correlated with learning ability in conditioned place preference (CPP) in C57 mice. By using behavioral tests, we identified the FVB mouse as learning impaired. In addition, we discovered that learning-relevant proteins, such as the glutamate receptor subunits GluA1, NR1, and NR2A, were decreased in FVB mice. Finally, we assessed the context learning ability of FVB mice using the CPP test and priming. We found that FVB mice had lower learning performance with respect to normal memory but higher performance of morphine-reinstatement memory. Compared to C57 mice, FVB mice are highly sensitive to MUDs. Our results suggest that SUD susceptibility is predicted by impaired learning ability in mice; therefore, learning ability can play a simple and practical role in identifying high-risk SUD groups.

Miconazole Promotes Cooperative Ability of a Mouse Model of Alzheimer Disease

BACKGROUND

Cooperative defect is 1 of the earliest manifestations of disease patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) exhibit, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear.

METHODS

We evaluated the cooperative function of APP/PS1 transgenic AD model mice at ages 2, 5, and 8 months by using a cooperative drinking task. We examined neuropathologic changes in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Another experiment was designed to observe whether miconazole, which has a repairing effect on myelin sheath, could promote the cooperative ability of APP/PS1 mice in the early AD-like stage. We also investigated the protective effects of miconazole on cultured mouse cortical oligodendrocytes exposed to human amyloid β peptide (Aβ1-42).

RESULTS

We observed an age-dependent impairment of cooperative water drinking behavior in APP/PS1 mice. The AD mice with cooperative dysfunction showed decreases in myelin sheath thickness, oligodendrocyte nuclear heterochromatin percentage, and myelin basic protein expression levels in the mPFC. The cooperative ability was significantly improved in APP/PS1 mice treated with miconazole. Miconazole treatment increased oligodendrocyte maturation and myelin sheath thickness without reducing Aβ plaque deposition, reactive gliosis, and inflammatory factor levels in the mPFC. Miconazole also protected cultured oligodendrocytes from the toxicity of Aβ1-42.

CONCLUSIONS

These results demonstrate that mPFC hypomyelination is involved in the cooperative deficits of APP/PS1 mice. Improving myelination through miconazole therapy may offer a potential therapeutic approach for early intervention in AD.

Effects of the social environment on vertebrate fitness and health in nature: Moving beyond the stress axis

Social interactions are a ubiquitous feature of the lives of vertebrate species. These may be cooperative or competitive, and shape the dynamics of social systems, with profound effects on individual behavior, physiology, fitness, and health. On one hand, a wealth of studies on humans, laboratory animal models, and captive species have focused on understanding the relationships between social interactions and individual health within the context of disease and pathology. On the other, ecological studies are attempting an understanding of how social interactions shape individual phenotypes in the wild, and the consequences this entails in terms of adaptation. Whereas numerous studies in wild vertebrates have focused on the relationships between social environments and the stress axis, much remains to be done in understanding how socially-related activation of the stress axis coordinates other key physiological functions related to health. Here, we review the state of our current knowledge on the effects that social interactions may have on other markers of vertebrate fitness and health. Building upon complementary findings from the biomedical and ecological fields, we identify 6 key physiological functions (cellular metabolism, oxidative stress, cellular senescence, immunity, brain function, and the regulation of biological rhythms) which are intimately related to the stress axis, and likely directly affected by social interactions. Our goal is a holistic understanding of how social environments affect vertebrate fitness and health in the wild. Whereas both social interactions and social environments are recognized as important sources of phenotypic variation, their consequences on vertebrate fitness, and the adaptive nature of social-stress-induced phenotypes, remain unclear. Social flexibility, or the ability of an animal to change its social behavior with resulting changes in social systems in response to fluctuating environments, has emerged as a critical underlying factor that may buffer the beneficial and detrimental effects of social environments on vertebrate fitness and health.

Modeling the early stages of Alzheimer's disease by administering intracerebroventricular injections of human native Aβ oligomers to rats

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disease characterized by the accumulation of aggregated amyloid beta (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau along with a slow decline in cognitive functions. Unlike advanced AD, the initial steps of AD pathophysiology have been poorly investigated, partially due to limited availability of animal models focused on the early, plaque-free stages of the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the early behavioral, anatomical and molecular alterations in wild-type rats following intracerebroventricular injections of human Aβ oligomers (AβOs). Bioactive human AD and nondemented control brain tissue extracts were characterized using ELISA and proteomics approaches. Following a bilateral infusion, rats underwent behavioral testing, including the elevated plus maze, social recognition test, Morris water maze and Y-maze within 6 weeks postinjection. An analysis of brain structure was performed with manganese-enhanced MRI. Collected brain tissues were analyzed using stereology, immunohistochemistry, ELISA and qPCR. No sensorimotor deficits affecting motor performance on different maze tasks were observed, nor was spatial memory disturbed in AD rats. In contrast, a significant impairment of social memory became evident at 21 days postinjection. This deficit was associated with a significantly decreased volume of the lateral entorhinal cortex and a tendency toward a decrease in the total brain volume. Significant increase of cleaved caspase-3-positive cells, microglial activation and proinflammatory responses accompanied by altered expression of synaptic markers were observed in the hippocampus of AD rats with immunohistochemical and qPCR approaches at 6 weeks postinjection. Our data suggest that the social memory impairment observed in AβO-injected rats might be determined by neuroinflammatory responses and synaptopathy. An infusion of native oligomeric Aβ in the rat brain represents a feasible tool to model early plaque-free events associated with AD.

The Influence of Social Isolation on Social Orientation, Sociability, Social Novelty Preference, and Hippocampal Parvalbumin-Expressing Interneurons in Peripubertal Rats – Understanding the Importance of Meeting Social Needs in Adolescence

The fulfillment of belonging needs underlies a variety of behaviors. In order to understand how social needs unmet during maturation shape everyday life, we examined social motivation and cognition in peripubertal rats, as a rodent model of adolescence, subjected to social isolation (SI) during early and early-to-mid adolescence. The behavioral correlates of social orientation (social space preference), sociability (preference for social over non-social novelty), and social novelty preference (SNP) were examined in group-housed (GH) and single-housed (SH) rats in a 3-chamber test. The response to social odors was examined to gain insights into the developmental role of social odors in motivated social behavior. Differentiation between appetitive (number of visits/approaches) and consummatory (exploratory time) aspects of motivated social behavior was done to determine which facet of social motivation characterizes maturation when social needs are met and which aspect dominates when social needs are unsatisfied. The SI-sensitive parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (PVI) in the hippocampus were examined using immunohistochemistry. The main findings are the following: (1) in GH rats, the preference for social space is not evident regardless of animals’ age, while sociability becomes apparent in mid-adolescence strictly through consummatory behavior, along with complete SNP (appetitive, consummatory); (2) SH promotes staying in a social chamber/space regardless of animals’ age and produces an appetitive preference for it only in early-adolescent animals; (3) SH promotes sociability (appetitive, consummatory) regardless of the animals’ age and prevents the SNP; (4) the preference for a social odor is displayed in all the groups through consummatory behavior, while appetitive behavior is evident only in SH rats; (5) the response to social odors does not commensurate directly to the response to conspecifics; (6) SH does not influence PVI in the hippocampus, except in the case of early-adolescence when a transient decrease in the dentate gyrus is observed. These results accentuate the developmental complexity of social motivation and cognition, and the power of SI in adolescence to infringe social maturation at different functional levels, promoting appetitive behavior toward peers overall but harming the interest for social novelty. The findings emphasize the importance of the fulfillment of basic social needs in the navigation through the social world.

The Novel Analogue of Modafinil CE-158 Protects Social Memory against Interference and Triggers the Release of Dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens of Mice

Previous studies have shown that atypical dopamine-transporter-inhibitors such as modafinil and its analogues modify behavioral and cognitive functions in rodents. Here, we tested potential promnestic effects of the novel, more dopamine-transporter selective modafinil analogue CE-158 in the social discrimination memory task in male mice. Systemic administration of CE-158 1 h before the social learning event prevented the impairment of social-recognition memory following retroactive interference 3 h after the learning session of a juvenile conspecific. This effect was dose-dependent, as mice treated with 10 mg/kg, but not with 1 mg/kg CE-158, were able to discriminate between the novel and familiar conspecific despite the presentation of an interference stimulus, both 3 h and 6 h post learning. However, when 10 mg/kg of the drug was administered after learning, CE-158 failed to prevent social memory from interference. Paralleling these behavioral effects, the systemic administration of 10 mg/kg CE-158 caused a rapid and sustained elevation of extracellular dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, a brain area where dopaminergic signaling plays a key role in learning and memory function, of freely moving mice, while 1 mg/kg was not sufficient for altering dopamine levels. Taken together, our findings suggest promnestic effects of the novel dopamine-transporter-inhibitor CE-158 in a social recognition memory test that may be in part mediated via increased dopamine-neurotransmission in the nucleus accumbens. Thus, selective-dopamine-transporter-inhibitors such as CE-158 may represent interesting drug candidates for the treatment of memory complaints observed in humans with cognitive impairments and dementia.

Experience-Regulated Neuronal Signaling in Maternal Behavior

Maternal behavior is shaped and challenged by the changing developmental needs of offspring and a broad range of environmental factors, with evidence indicating that the maternal brain exhibits a high degree of plasticity. This plasticity is displayed within cellular and molecular systems, including both intra- and intercellular signaling processes as well as transcriptional profiles. This experience-associated plasticity may have significant overlap with the mechanisms controlling memory processes, in particular those that are activity-dependent. While a significant body of work has identified various molecules and intracellular processes regulating maternal care, the role of activity- and experience-dependent processes remains unclear. We discuss recent progress in studying activity-dependent changes occurring at the synapse, in the nucleus, and during the transport between these two structures in relation to maternal behavior. Several pre- and postsynaptic molecules as well as transcription factors have been found to be critical in these processes. This role reflects the principal importance of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of memory formation to maternal and other behavioral adaptations.

Transforming Social Perspectives with Cognitive Maps

Growing evidence suggests that cognitive maps represent relations between social knowledge similar to how spatial locations are represented in an environment. Notably, the extant human medial temporal lobe literature assumes associations between social stimuli follow a linear associative mapping from an egocentric viewpoint to a cognitive map. Yet, this form of associative social memory doesn't account for a core phenomenon of social interactions in which social knowledge learned via comparisons to the self, other individuals, or social networks are assimilated within a single frame of reference. We argue that hippocampal-entorhinal coordinate transformations, known to integrate egocentric and allocentric spatial cues, inform social perspective switching between the self and others. We present evidence that the hippocampal formation helps inform social interactions by relating self versus other social attribute comparisons to society in general, which can afford rapid and flexible assimilation of knowledge about the relationship between the self and social networks of varying proximities. We conclude by discussing the ramifications of cognitive maps in aiding this social perspective transformation process in states of health and disease.

The prefrontal cortex, pathological anxiety, and anxiety disorders

Anxiety is experienced in response to threats that are distal or uncertain, involving changes in one's subjective state, autonomic responses, and behavior. Defensive and physiologic responses to threats that involve the amygdala and brainstem are conserved across species. While anxiety responses typically serve an adaptive purpose, when excessive, unregulated, and generalized, they can become maladaptive, leading to distress and avoidance of potentially threatening situations. In primates, anxiety can be regulated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which has expanded in evolution. This prefrontal expansion is thought to underlie primates' increased capacity to engage high-level regulatory strategies aimed at coping with and modifying the experience of anxiety. The specialized primate lateral, medial, and orbital PFC sectors are connected with association and limbic cortices, the latter of which are connected with the amygdala and brainstem autonomic structures that underlie emotional and physiological arousal. PFC pathways that interface with distinct inhibitory systems within the cortex, the amygdala, or the thalamus can regulate responses by modulating neuronal output. Within the PFC, pathways connecting cortical regions are poised to reduce noise and enhance signals for cognitive operations that regulate anxiety processing and autonomic drive. Specialized PFC pathways to the inhibitory thalamic reticular nucleus suggest a mechanism to allow passage of relevant signals from thalamus to cortex, and in the amygdala to modulate the output to autonomic structures. Disruption of specific nodes within the PFC that interface with inhibitory systems can affect the negative bias, failure to regulate autonomic arousal, and avoidance that characterize anxiety disorders.

VRT-043198 Ameliorates Surgery-Induced Neurocognitive Disorders by Restoring the NGF and BNDF Expression in Aged Mice

BACKGROUND

Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) are common surgical complications in the elderly. Pyroptosis-associated inflammation has been suggested to participate in a series of neurocognitive diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. Given that VRT-043198 can reportedly inhibit caspase-1-induced pyroptosis, this study sought to determine whether VRT-043198 reduced PND in a mouse model following abdominal exploratory laparotomy.

METHODS

20-month-old male C57/BL mice were used to establish an abdominal exploratory laparotomy (AEL) model of PND. VRT-043198 (1, 10 and 100 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally immediately after surgery. Thirty days post-surgery, the mice were evaluated in the Morris water maze test. Their number of neurons, neurotrophin nerve growth factor (NGF) levels and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were measured. In the hippocampus, A1-type astrocytes and M1-type microglia were assessed using an immunofluorescence assay and Western blot, respectively. Caspase-1 activity, IL-1β, IL-18, and PPAR-γ were also measured 24h after surgery.

RESULTS

VRT-043198 administration increased the time to cross the platform and increased the ratio of distance and time in the targeted quadrant after surgery. Furthermore, it was found that VRT-043198 restored neuronal amount, increased NGF and BDNF and decreased the number of A1-type astrocytes and M1-type microglia. VRT-043198 also attenuated caspase-1 activity, downregulated IL-1β and IL-18, but increased PPAR-γ 24h post-surgery.

CONCLUSION

VRT-043198 improved PND in aged mice after abdominal exploratory laparotomy by restoring the NGF and BNDF expression. These results indicate that VRT-043198 may be a potential therapy for PND.

Social processes and social environment during development

Social behavior involves many processes including cognitive functions. Altered social behaviors associated with many psychiatric disorders might have alterations in the processes. Poor social environment affects development and maturation of cognitive functions that are important for social cognition, possibly introducing social stress as well as vulnerability to the stress into the developing brain. Adolescence and early adulthood have higher sensitivity to social stress, which may be linked to the onset of psychiatric disorders during this time period. Understanding social behavioral processes in detail will be crucial for elucidating mechanisms of emerging the social behavior phenotypes in psychiatric disorders and for devising therapeutic and preventive interventions to introduce the resilience for the onset of psychiatric disorders through modulation of social circuitries.

Macro- and micro-structural cerebellar and cortical characteristics of cognitive empathy towards fictional characters in healthy individuals

Few investigations have analyzed the neuroanatomical substrate of empathic capacities in healthy subjects, and most of them have neglected the potential involvement of cerebellar structures. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the associations between bilateral cerebellar macro- and micro-structural measures and levels of cognitive and affective trait empathy (measured by Interpersonal Reactivity Index, IRI) in a sample of 70 healthy subjects of both sexes. We also estimated morphometric variations of cerebral Gray Matter structures, to ascertain whether the potential empathy-related peculiarities in cerebellar areas were accompanied by structural differences in other cerebral regions. At macro-structural level, the volumetric differences were analyzed by Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM)- and Region of Interest (ROI)-based approaches, and at a micro-structural level, we analyzed Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) data, focusing in particular on Mean Diffusivity and Fractional Anisotropy. Fantasy IRI-subscale was found to be positively associated with volumes in right cerebellar Crus 2 and pars triangularis of inferior frontal gyrus. The here described morphological variations of cerebellar Crus 2 and pars triangularis allow to extend the traditional cortico-centric view of cognitive empathy to the cerebellar regions and indicate that in empathizing with fictional characters the cerebellar and frontal areas are co-recruited.