1
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Lee Y, Shin H, Gil YH. Measurement of Empathy in Virtual Reality with Head-Mounted Displays: A Systematic Review. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VISUALIZATION AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS 2024; 30:2485-2495. [PMID: 38437085 DOI: 10.1109/tvcg.2024.3372076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2024]
Abstract
We present a systematic review of 111 papers that measure the impact of virtual experiences created through head-mounted displays (HMDs) on empathy. Our goal was to analyze the conditions and the extent to which virtual reality (VR) enhances empathy. To achieve this, we categorized the relevant literature according to measurement methods, correlated human factors, viewing experiences, topics, and participants. Meta-analysis was performed based on categorized themes, and under specified conditions, we found that VR can improve empathy. Emotional empathy increased temporarily after the VR experience and returned to its original level over time, whereas cognitive empathy remained enhanced. Furthermore, while VR did not surpass 2D video in improving emotional empathy, it did enhance cognitive empathy, which is associated with embodiment. Our results are consistent with existing research suggesting differentiation between cognitive empathy (influenced by environmental factors and learnable) and emotional empathy (highly heritable and less variable). Interactivity, target of empathy, and point of view were not found to significantly affect empathy, but participants' age and nationality were found to influence empathy levels. It can be concluded that VR enhances cognitive empathy by immersing individuals in the perspective of others and that storytelling and personal characteristics are more important than the composition of the VR scene. Our findings provide guiding information for creating empathy content in VR and designing experiments to measure empathy.
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2
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Bulgarelli C, Pinti P, Aburumman N, Jones EJH. Combining wearable fNIRS and immersive virtual reality to study preschoolers' social development: a proof-of-principle study on preschoolers' social preference. OXFORD OPEN NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 2:kvad012. [PMID: 38596237 PMCID: PMC10913823 DOI: 10.1093/oons/kvad012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
A child's social world is complex and rich, but has traditionally been assessed with conventional experiments where children are presented with repeated stimuli on a screen. These assessments are impoverished relative to the dynamics of social interactions in real life, and can be challenging to implement with preschoolers, who struggle to comply with strict lab rules. The current work meets the need to develop new platforms to assess preschoolers' social development, by presenting a unique virtual-reality set-up combined with wearable functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). As a proof-of-principle, we validated this platform by measuring brain activity during self-guided social interaction in 3-to-5-year-olds, which is under-investigated, yet crucial to understand the basis of social interactions in preschoolers. 37 preschoolers chose an interaction partner from one of 4 human-like avatars of different gender and age. We recorded spontaneous brain fluctuations from the frontal and temporoparietal regions (notably engaged in social-categorization and preference) while children played a bubble-popping game with a preferred and an assigned avatar. 60% of the participants chose to play with the same-gender and same-age avatar. However, this result was driven by females (>80% vs. 50% in males). Different fronto-temporoparietal connectivity patterns when playing with the two avatars were observed, especially in females. We showed the feasibility of using a novel set-up to naturalistically assess social preference in preschoolers, which was assessed at the behavioural and functional connectivity level. This work provides a first proof-of-principle for using cutting-edge technologies and naturalistic experiments to study social development, opening new avenues of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Bulgarelli
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet St, London, WC1E 7HX, UK
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Paola Pinti
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet St, London, WC1E 7HX, UK
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Nadine Aburumman
- Department of Computer Science, St John's Building, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, UK
| | - Emily J H Jones
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet St, London, WC1E 7HX, UK
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3
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Treal T, Jackson PL, Meugnot A. Biological postural oscillations during facial expression of pain in virtual characters modulate early and late ERP components associated with empathy: A pilot study. Heliyon 2023; 9:e18161. [PMID: 37560681 PMCID: PMC10407205 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023] Open
Abstract
There is a surge in the use of virtual characters in cognitive sciences. However, their behavioural realism remains to be perfected in order to trigger more spontaneous and socially expected reactions in users. It was recently shown that biological postural oscillations (idle motion) were a key ingredient to enhance the empathic response to its facial pain expression. The objective of this study was to examine, using electroencephalography, whether idle motion would modulate the neural response associated with empathy when viewing a pain-expressing virtual character. Twenty healthy young adults were shown video clips of a virtual character displaying a facial expression of pain while its body was either static (Still condition) or animated with pre-recorded human postural oscillations (Idle condition). Participants rated the virtual human's facial expression of pain as significantly more intense in the Idle condition compared to the Still condition. Both the early (N2-N3) and the late (rLPP) event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with distinct dimensions of empathy, affective resonance and perspective-taking, respectively, were greater in the Idle condition compared to the Still condition. These findings confirm the potential of idle motion to increase empathy for pain expressed by virtual characters. They are discussed in line with contemporary empathy models in relation to human-machine interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Treal
- Université Paris-Saclay CIAMS, 91405, Orsay, France
- CIAMS, Université d'Orléans, 45067, Orléans, France
| | - Philip L. Jackson
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale (CIRRIS), Québec, Canada
- CERVO Research Center, Québec, Canada
| | - Aurore Meugnot
- Université Paris-Saclay CIAMS, 91405, Orsay, France
- CIAMS, Université d'Orléans, 45067, Orléans, France
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4
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Wang Y, Harris PL, Pei M, Su Y. Do Bad People Deserve Empathy? Selective Empathy Based on Targets' Moral Characteristics. AFFECTIVE SCIENCE 2023; 4:413-428. [PMID: 37304566 PMCID: PMC10247634 DOI: 10.1007/s42761-022-00165-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The relation between empathy and morality is a widely discussed topic. However, previous discussions mainly focused on whether and how empathy influences moral cognition and moral behaviors, with limited attention to the reverse influence of morality on empathy. This review summarized how morality influences empathy by drawing together a number of hitherto scattered studies illustrating the influence of targets' moral characteristics on empathy. To explain why empathy is morally selective, we discuss its ultimate cause, to increase survival rates, and five proximate causes based on similarity, affective bonds, the appraisal of deservingness, dehumanization, and potential group membership. To explain how empathy becomes morally selective, we consider three different pathways (automatic, regulative, and mixed) based on previous findings. Finally, we discuss future directions, including the reverse influence of selective empathy on moral cognition, the moral selectivity of positive empathy, and the role of selective empathy in selective helping and third-party punishment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyi Wang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, 100871 Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Paul L. Harris
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA USA
| | - Meng Pei
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, 100871 Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanjie Su
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, 100871 Beijing, People’s Republic of China
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5
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Boutet I, Goulet-Pelletier JC, Maslouhi S, Fiset D, Blais C. Criminality labelling influences reactions to others' pain. Heliyon 2022; 8:e12068. [PMID: 36568678 PMCID: PMC9768305 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Disparities in healthcare for underrepresented and stigmatized groups are well documented. Current understanding is that these inequalities arise, at least in part, from psychosocial factors such as stereotypes and in-group/out-group categorization. Pain management, perhaps because of the subjective nature of pain, is one area of research that has spearheaded these efforts. We investigated how observers react to the pain of individuals labelled as criminals. Face models expressing pain of different levels of intensity were portrayed as having committed a crime or not (control group). A sample of n = 327 college students were asked to estimate the intensity of the pain expressed by face models as well as their willingness to help them. Trait empathy was also measured. Data was analyzed using regression, mediation and moderation analyses. We show for the first time that observers were less willing to help individuals with a criminal history. Moreover, a moderation effect was observed whereby empathic participants were more willing to help control face models compared to less empathic participants. However, criminality history did not influence participant's pain estimation. We conclude that negative stereotypes associated with criminality can reduce willingness to help individuals in pain even when pain signals are accurately perceived.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Daniel Fiset
- Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, Canada
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6
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Wu YE, Hong W. Neural basis of prosocial behavior. Trends Neurosci 2022; 45:749-762. [PMID: 35853793 PMCID: PMC10039809 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The ability to behave in ways that benefit other individuals' well-being is among the most celebrated human characteristics crucial for social cohesiveness. Across mammalian species, animals display various forms of prosocial behaviors - comforting, helping, and resource sharing - to support others' emotions, goals, and/or material needs. In this review, we provide a cross-species view of the behavioral manifestations, proximate and ultimate drives, and neural mechanisms of prosocial behaviors. We summarize key findings from recent studies in humans and rodents that have shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying different processes essential for prosocial interactions, from perception and empathic sharing of others' states to prosocial decisions and actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye Emily Wu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Weizhe Hong
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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7
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Harjunen VJ, Sjö P, Ahmed I, Saarinen A, Farmer H, Salminen M, Järvelä S, Ruonala A, Jacucci G, Ravaja N. Increasing Self-Other Similarity Modulates Ethnic Bias in Sensorimotor Resonance to Others' Pain. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 17:673-682. [PMID: 34669949 PMCID: PMC9250302 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The tendency to simulate the pain of others within our own sensorimotor systems is a vital component of empathy. However, this sensorimotor resonance is modulated by a multitude of social factors including similarity in bodily appearance, e.g. skin colour. The current study investigated whether increasing self-other similarity via virtual transfer to another colour body reduced ingroup bias in sensorimotor resonance. A sample of 58 white participants was momentarily transferred to either a black or a white body using virtual reality technology. We then employed electroencephalography (EEG) to examine event-related desynchronization (ERD) in the sensorimotor beta (13-23 Hz) oscillations while they viewed black, white, and violet photorealistic virtual agents being touched with a noxious or soft object. While the noxious treatment of a violet agent did not increase beta ERD, amplified beta ERD in response to black agent's noxious vs. soft treatment was found in perceivers transferred to black body. Transfer to the white body dismissed the effect. Further exploratory analysis implied that the pain-related beta ERD occurred only when the agent and the participant were of the same colour. The results suggest that even short-lasting changes in bodily resemblance can modulate sensorimotor resonance to others' perceived pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ville Johannes Harjunen
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Petja Sjö
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Imtiaj Ahmed
- Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Aino Saarinen
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Harry Farmer
- School of Human Sciences, University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom.,Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mikko Salminen
- Gamification Group, Faculty of Information Technology and Communications, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Simo Järvelä
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Gamification Group, Faculty of Information Technology and Communications, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Antti Ruonala
- Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Giulio Jacucci
- Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Niklas Ravaja
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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8
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Molapour T, Hagan CC, Silston B, Wu H, Ramstead M, Friston K, Mobbs D. Seven computations of the social brain. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:745-760. [PMID: 33629102 PMCID: PMC8343565 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab024] [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: 10/05/2019] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The social environment presents the human brain with the most complex information processing demands. The computations that the brain must perform occur in parallel, combine social and nonsocial cues, produce verbal and nonverbal signals and involve multiple cognitive systems, including memory, attention, emotion and learning. This occurs dynamically and at timescales ranging from milliseconds to years. Here, we propose that during social interactions, seven core operations interact to underwrite coherent social functioning; these operations accumulate evidence efficiently-from multiple modalities-when inferring what to do next. We deconstruct the social brain and outline the key components entailed for successful human-social interaction. These include (i) social perception; (ii) social inferences, such as mentalizing; (iii) social learning; (iv) social signaling through verbal and nonverbal cues; (v) social drives (e.g. how to increase one's status); (vi) determining the social identity of agents, including oneself and (vii) minimizing uncertainty within the current social context by integrating sensory signals and inferences. We argue that while it is important to examine these distinct aspects of social inference, to understand the true nature of the human social brain, we must also explain how the brain integrates information from the social world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanaz Molapour
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Cindy C Hagan
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Brian Silston
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Haiyan Wu
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 10010, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 10010 China
| | - Maxwell Ramstead
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A2, Canada
- Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A2, Canada
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Dean Mobbs
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- Computation and Neural Systems Program, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
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9
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Chang SAA, Tillem S, Benson-Williams C, Baskin-Sommers A. Cognitive Empathy in Subtypes of Antisocial Individuals. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:677975. [PMID: 34290630 PMCID: PMC8287099 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.677975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive empathy allows individuals to recognize and infer how others think and feel in social situations and provides a foundation for the formation and maintenance of mutually constructive relationships. It may seem intuitive to assume that individuals who engage in antisocial behavior, who disregard the rights of others, might have problems with cognitive empathy. However, careful examination of the literature suggests that any dysfunction in cognitive empathy associated with antisociality varies by subtype of antisocial individual and is specific to subcomponents of cognitive empathy. In this review, we (1) briefly define subtypes of antisocial individuals ("psychopathic" vs. "antisocial-only"), (2) summarize specific components of cognitive empathy; (3) review existing literature examining cognitive empathy through questionnaires, behavioral tasks, and neuroimaging within different antisocial subtypes; and (4) discuss the limitations of the current research and potential future directions. Individuals in the psychopathic subtype fail to implicitly engage in cognitive empathy, and potentially lack insight into this issue reflected in no self-reported problems with cognitive empathy, but show an ability to engage in cognitive empathy when explicitly required. Individuals in the antisocial-only subtype appear able to engage in cognitive empathy, showing no differences on questionnaire or behavioral tasks that tap explicit cognitive empathy, but may display subtle difficulties accurately inferring (affective theory of mind) the emotions of others. We end the review by noting areas for future research, including the need to: (1) document the patterns of equifinality that exist across levels of analysis for these antisocial subtypes; (2) examine the temporality of empathy and antisociality development; (3) carefully consider and label subcomponents of cognitive empathy in research on antisocial behavior; and (4) investigate the intersection among environmental experiences, cognitive empathy, and antisocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shou-An A. Chang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Scott Tillem
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
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10
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Stevens F, Taber K. The neuroscience of empathy and compassion in pro-social behavior. Neuropsychologia 2021; 159:107925. [PMID: 34186105 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Research in the scientific literature increasingly demonstrates that empathy consists of multiple dimensions, and that defining empathy as a single encompassing term may be imprecise. Recent calls have been made for increasing empathy as means to increase pro-social behavior. However, contradictory evidence exists that empathy may reduce pro-social behavior. This debate has sparked confusion around what is empathy, along with the value of empathy in promoting pro-social behavior. This paper will examine recent advances in affective neuroscience to better understand the construct of empathy and its relationship to pro-social behavior. Individuals' responses to affective empathy, seeing the suffering of others can result in personal distress or empathic concern, which may then subsequently affect motivation for pro-social behavior. Current research in affective neuroscience suggests that combining compassion interventions in conjunction with both affective and cognitive empathy offers the most optimal likelihood that individuals will engage in pro-social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Katherine Taber
- Veterans Affairs Mid Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, USA; W.G. "Bill" Hefner VA Medical Center, USA; Division of Biomedical Sciences at College of Osteopathic Medicine, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine, USA
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11
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Wang G, Wang P, Chen Y. Doctors inhibit social threat empathy in the later stage of cognitive processing: Electrophysiological evidence. Conscious Cogn 2021; 92:103130. [PMID: 34023646 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Revised: 03/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have found that repeatedly exposed to a threatening situation may reduce doctors' level of empathy, reducing psychological stress and avoiding burnout and compassion fatigue. However, many essential studies found that it does not seem universal but rather modulated by group membership. In this study, we recorded event-related potentials (ERP) when doctors and controls watched visual stimuli describing patients attacking doctors (Threat events) or shaking hands with doctors (Neutral events). The present study showed an early N190 and a later centro-parietal P3 differential amplitude between threat stimuli and neutral stimuli were observed in the controls. For the doctors, there was such ERP differentiation in early N190. However, later stage P3 differential amplitude was not observed. The current research suggests that doctors could regulate empathy and avoid allocating more attention resources when processing social threats to ensure treatment efficiency and avoid burnout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guan Wang
- School of Education Science, Huaiyin Normal University, 111, West Changjiang Road, Huaiyin District, Huaian 223001, China; Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
| | - Pei Wang
- Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China; Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, 3663, Zhongshan North Road, Putuo District, Shanghai 200062, China.
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12
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Herberman Mash HB. Empathy: Understanding Its Distinct Conceptual Components and Clinical Applications. Psychiatry 2021; 84:242-249. [PMID: 34694969 DOI: 10.1080/00332747.2021.1958583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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13
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Griffin AS, Callen A, Klop-Toker K, Scanlon RJ, Hayward MW. Compassionate Conservation Clashes With Conservation Biology: Should Empathy, Compassion, and Deontological Moral Principles Drive Conservation Practice? Front Psychol 2020; 11:1139. [PMID: 32536896 PMCID: PMC7269110 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
“Compassionate Conservation” is an emerging movement within conservation science that is gaining attention through its promotion of “ethical” conservation practices that place empathy and compassion and the moral principles of “first, do no harm” and “individuals matter” at the forefront of conservation practice. We have articulated elsewhere how Compassionate Conservation, if adopted, could be more harmful for native biodiversity than any other conservation action implemented thus far, while also causing more net harm to individuals than it aims to stop. Here, we examine whether empathy, compassion and inflexible adherence to moral principles form a solid basis upon which to meet the goals of conservation biology as specified by pioneers in the discipline. Specifically, we examine a large empirical literature demonstrating that empathy is subject to significant biases and that inflexible adherence to moral rules can result in a “do nothing” approach. In light of this literature, we argue that our emotional systems have not evolved to provide a reliable basis for making decisions as to how best to ensure the long-term persistence of our planet. Consequently, in its most radical form, the Compassionate Conservation philosophy should not be enshrined as a legalized guiding principle for conservation action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea S Griffin
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition Lab, School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.,Conservation Biology Research Group, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
| | - Alex Callen
- Conservation Biology Research Group, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
| | - Kaya Klop-Toker
- Conservation Biology Research Group, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
| | - Robert J Scanlon
- Conservation Biology Research Group, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
| | - Matt W Hayward
- Conservation Biology Research Group, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
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14
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Lübke KT, Sachse C, Hoenen M, Pause BM. Mu-Suppression as an Indicator of Empathic Processes in Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adults. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2020; 49:635-644. [PMID: 31602582 PMCID: PMC7031183 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-019-01491-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2018] [Revised: 05/02/2019] [Accepted: 06/07/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Self-reported empathy differs with gender and sexual orientation. The current study investigated whether mu-suppression, reflecting brain activity especially related to state empathy, also is modulated by gender and sexual orientation. Pictures of painful and non-painful actions were presented to 20 lesbians, 20 gay men, 20 heterosexual men and 20 heterosexual women, while EEG was recorded. Individual peak frequencies of mu-activity (electrodes C3, C4) were detected within the 6-11 Hz band for each participant, and mu-suppression indices were calculated. Further, verbal indicators of state empathy (pain ratings) and compassion were assessed. Only heterosexual individuals showed the typical pattern of enhanced mu-suppression in response to painful relative to non-painful pictures. Lesbian women and gay men did not show a differential mu-response. Moreover, they felt less compassion compared to heterosexual individuals. In line with this finding, the more compassion the participants reported, the stronger the mu-suppression in response to painful relative to non-painful pictures was. Pain ratings did not vary with sexual orientation. The lesser compassion reported by lesbian women and gay men is discussed as a mediator of their non-differential mu-suppression response. It is hypothesized that this pattern might relate to gay men and lesbian women tending to perceive the anonymous depicted actors as outgroup members, hence showing less compassion and reduced mu-suppression. As empathy is often related to negative feelings (empathic stress), a clear distinction between individuals to empathize with versus individuals not to emphasize with may well be an adaptive feature in same-sex oriented individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrin T Lübke
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Charlotte Sachse
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Matthias Hoenen
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Bettina M Pause
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
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15
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Luo S, Zhang T, Li W, Yu M, Hein G, Han S. Interactions between oxytocin receptor gene and intergroup relationship on empathic neural responses to others' pain. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 14:505-517. [PMID: 31070227 PMCID: PMC6545534 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsz029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Revised: 03/10/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathic neural responses to others' suffering are subject to both social and biological influences. The present study tested the hypothesis that empathic neural responses to others' pain are more flexible in an intergroup context in G/G than A/A carriers of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) (rs53576). We recorded event-related brain potentials to painful vs neutral expressions of Asian and Caucasian faces that were assigned to a fellow team or an opponent team in Chinese carriers of G/G or A/A allele of OXTR. We found that G/G carriers showed greater neural responses at 136-176 ms (P2) over the frontal/central region to painful vs neutral expressions of faces with shared either racial or mini group identity. In contrast, A/A carriers showed significant empathic neural responses in the P2 time window only to the faces with both shared racial and mini group identity. Moreover, the racial in-group bias in empathic neural responses varied across individuals' empathy traits and ethnic identity for G/G but not A/A carriers. Our findings provide electrophysiological evidence for greater flexibility of empathic neural responses in intergroup contexts in G/G (vs A/A) carriers of OXTR and suggest interactions between OXTR and intergroup relationships on empathy for others' suffering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyang Luo
- Department of Psychology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Guangdong Provincial Key, Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ting Zhang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Wenxin Li
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Meihua Yu
- Department of Psychology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Guangdong Provincial Key, Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Grit Hein
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Shihui Han
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
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16
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Heart Rate Variability reveals the fight between racially biased and politically correct behaviour. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11532. [PMID: 31395895 PMCID: PMC6687825 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47888-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, we explored vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) responses, a psychophysiological index of cognitive self-regulatory control, to map the dynamics associated with empathic responses for pain towards an out-group member. Accordingly, Caucasian participants were asked to judge the experience of African and Caucasian actors touched with either a neutral or a harmful stimulus. Results showed that (1) explicit judgment of pain intensity in African actors yielded higher rating score and (2) took longer time compared to Caucasian actors, (3) these behavioural outcomes were associated with a significant increment of RMSSD, Log-HF-HRV and HF-HRV n.u., (4) resting HF-HRV n.u. predicted the participants’ lag-time to judge painful stimulations delivered to African actors. Interestingly, these dynamics were associated with a measure of implicit racial attitudes and were, in part, abolished when participants performed a concurrent task during videos presentation. Taken together our results support the idea that a cognitive effort is needed to self-regulate our implicit attitude as predicted by the ‘Contrasting Forces Model’.
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17
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Krautheim JT, Dannlowski U, Steines M, Neziroğlu G, Acosta H, Sommer J, Straube B, Kircher T. Intergroup empathy: Enhanced neural resonance for ingroup facial emotion in a shared neural production-perception network. Neuroimage 2019; 194:182-190. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.03.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2019] [Revised: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
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18
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Cao Y, Yusri NM, Powell T, Cunnington R. Neural and behavioral markers of observed pain of older adults. Neuropsychologia 2019; 131:84-90. [PMID: 31026475 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.04.012] [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: 01/07/2019] [Revised: 04/14/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
To contribute to better understanding of empathy of younger adults for the pain of older adults, this study examined whether brain responses and behavioral ratings of young adult participants to the observed physical pain of older people differed from that to younger people. fMRI was used to measure participants' brain responses to seeing younger and older people receiving a painful compared with non-painful touch, while they rated both the level of perceived pain observed and their own level of personal discomfort from observing the painful touch. The young participants showed greater brain activation when observing younger versus older people receiving painful stimuli, and they rated the needle-touch to the younger people to appear more painful and more personally distressing. Furthermore, those participants reporting a greater level of contact with older adults at work showed less brain activation in the left insula cortex, a typical neural marker for observed pain, when observing painful touch to the older people. These have implications for understanding both the emotional responses and perception of pain of young adults when observing pain in the elderly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Cao
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Nurain Md Yusri
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Tamara Powell
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Ross Cunnington
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
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19
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Reducing Racial Inequities in Health: Using What We Already Know to Take Action. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:ijerph16040606. [PMID: 30791452 PMCID: PMC6406315 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16040606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 231] [Impact Index Per Article: 46.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2019] [Revised: 02/11/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the scientific evidence pointing to critically needed steps to reduce racial inequities in health. First, it argues that communities of opportunity should be developed to minimize some of the adverse impacts of systemic racism. These are communities that provide early childhood development resources, implement policies to reduce childhood poverty, provide work and income support opportunities for adults, and ensure healthy housing and neighborhood conditions. Second, the healthcare system needs new emphases on ensuring access to high quality care for all, strengthening preventive health care approaches, addressing patients’ social needs as part of healthcare delivery, and diversifying the healthcare work force to more closely reflect the demographic composition of the patient population. Finally, new research is needed to identify the optimal strategies to build political will and support to address social inequities in health. This will include initiatives to raise awareness levels of the pervasiveness of inequities in health, build empathy and support for addressing inequities, enhance the capacity of individuals and communities to actively participate in intervention efforts and implement large scale efforts to reduce racial prejudice, ideologies, and stereotypes in the larger culture that undergird policy preferences that initiate and sustain inequities.
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20
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Krautheim JT, Straube B, Dannlowski U, Pyka M, Schneider-Hassloff H, Drexler R, Krug A, Sommer J, Rietschel M, Witt SH, Kircher T. Outgroup emotion processing in the vACC is modulated by childhood trauma and CACNA1C risk variant. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 13:341-348. [PMID: 29385621 PMCID: PMC5836282 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2016] [Accepted: 01/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
A high frequency of outgroup contact—as experienced by urban dwellers and migrants—possibly increases schizophrenia risk. This risk might be further amplified by genetic and environmental risk factors, such as the A-allele of rs1006737 within the calcium voltage-gated channel subunit alpha1 C gene and childhood interpersonal trauma (CIT). Both have been related to ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC) functioning. We investigated vACC functioning, during ingroup and outgroup emotion perception in relation to rs1006737 and CIT. Group membership was manipulated through a minimal group paradigm. Thus, in our functional magnetic resonance imaging study, a group of healthy Caucasian participants (n = 178) viewed video-recorded facial emotions (happy vs angry) of actors artificially assigned to represent the ingroup or the outgroup. Rs1006737 and CIT were related to brain activation for group and emotion specific processing. The group–emotion interaction in the vACC showed reduced sensitivity to emotional valence for outgroup member processing. Specifically for the angry outgroup condition, we found a gene by environment interaction in vACC activity. We speculate that the increased schizophrenia risk in migrants and urban dwellers could therefore be facilitated via this pathophysiological pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes T Krautheim
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany
| | - Benjamin Straube
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany
| | - Udo Dannlowski
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Martin Pyka
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany
| | | | - Rebecca Drexler
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany
| | - Axel Krug
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany
| | - Jens Sommer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany
| | - Marcella Rietschel
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Stephanie H Witt
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Tilo Kircher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany
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21
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Molenberghs P, Louis WR. Insights From fMRI Studies Into Ingroup Bias. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1868. [PMID: 30327636 PMCID: PMC6174241 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Intergroup biases can manifest themselves between a wide variety of different groups such as people from different races, nations, ethnicities, political or religious beliefs, opposing sport teams or even arbitrary groups. In this review we provide a neuroscientific overview of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies that have revealed how group dynamics impact on various cognitive and emotional systems at different levels of information processing. We first describe how people can perceive the faces, words and actions of ingroup and outgroup members in a biased way. Second, we focus on how activity in brain areas involved in empathizing with the pain of others, such as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula (AI), are influenced by group membership. Third, we describe how group membership influences activity in brain areas involved in mentalizing such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and temporoparietal junction (TPJ). Fourth, we discuss the involvement of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) in increased moral sensitivity for outgroup threats. Finally, we discuss how brain areas involved in the reward system such as the striatum and medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC), are more active when experiencing schadenfreude for outgroup harm and when rewarding ingroup (versus outgroup) members. The value of these neuroscientific insights to better understand ingroup bias are discussed, as well as limitations and future research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Molenberghs
- School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Winnifred R. Louis
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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22
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Fabi S, Leuthold H. Racial bias in empathy: Do we process dark- and fair-colored hands in pain differently? An EEG study. Neuropsychologia 2018; 114:143-157. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.04.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2017] [Revised: 03/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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23
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Han S. Neurocognitive Basis of Racial Ingroup Bias in Empathy. Trends Cogn Sci 2018; 22:400-421. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2017] [Revised: 02/21/2018] [Accepted: 02/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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24
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Bertrand P, Guegan J, Robieux L, McCall CA, Zenasni F. Learning Empathy Through Virtual Reality: Multiple Strategies for Training Empathy-Related Abilities Using Body Ownership Illusions in Embodied Virtual Reality. Front Robot AI 2018; 5:26. [PMID: 33500913 PMCID: PMC7805971 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2018.00026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 03/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Several disciplines have investigated the interconnected empathic abilities behind the proverb "to walk a mile in someone else's shoes" to determine how the presence, and absence, of empathy-related phenomena affect prosocial behavior and intergroup relations. Empathy enables us to learn from others' pain and to know when to offer support. Similarly, virtual reality (VR) appears to allow individuals to step into someone else's shoes, through a perceptual illusion called embodiment, or the body ownership illusion. Considering these perspectives, we propose a theoretical analysis of different mechanisms of empathic practices in order to define a possible framework for the design of empathic training in VR. This is not intended to be an extensive review of all types of practices, but an exploration of empathy and empathy-related phenomena. Empathy-related training practices are analyzed and categorized. We also identify different variables used by pioneer studies in VR to promote empathy-related responses. Finally, we propose strategies for using embodied VR technology to train specific empathy-related abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Bertrand
- Frontiers VR Laboratory (CRI Labs), Institut Innovant de Formation par la Recherche, USPC, Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires, Paris, France
- Laboratoire Adaptations Travail-Individu, Université Paris Descartes – Sorbonne Paris Cité, Institut de psychologie, Paris, France
- BeAnotherLab Research, BeAnotherLab Association, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jérôme Guegan
- Laboratoire Adaptations Travail-Individu, Université Paris Descartes – Sorbonne Paris Cité, Institut de psychologie, Paris, France
| | - Léonore Robieux
- Laboratoire Adaptations Travail-Individu, Université Paris Descartes – Sorbonne Paris Cité, Institut de psychologie, Paris, France
| | | | - Franck Zenasni
- Laboratoire Adaptations Travail-Individu, Université Paris Descartes – Sorbonne Paris Cité, Institut de psychologie, Paris, France
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25
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Duarte IC, Afonso S, Jorge H, Cayolla R, Ferreira C, Castelo-Branco M. Tribal love: the neural correlates of passionate engagement in football fans. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 12:718-728. [PMID: 28338882 PMCID: PMC5460049 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsx003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2016] [Accepted: 01/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The tribal character of the affective link between football fans and their teams is a well-recognized phenomenon. Other forms of love such as romantic or maternal attachment have previously been studied from a neuroimaging point of view. Here we aimed to investigate the neural basis of this tribal form of love, which implies both the feeling of belongingness and rivalry against opposing teams. A pool of 56 participants was submitted to an fMRI experimental design involving the presentation of winning and losing football moments of their loved, rival or neutral teams. We found recruitment of amygdala and reward regions, including the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra (SN), as well as other limbic regions involved in emotional cognition, for ‘positive vs neutral’ and ‘positive vs negative’ conditions. The latter contrast was correlated with neuropsychological scores of fanaticism in the amygdala and regions within the reward system, as the VTA and SN. The observation of increased response patterns in critical components of the reward system, in particular for positive content related to the loved team, suggests that this kind of non-romantic love reflects a specific arousal and motivational state, which is biased for emotional learning of positive outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel C Duarte
- ICNAS, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,CNC.IBILI, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Sónia Afonso
- ICNAS, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,CNC.IBILI, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Helena Jorge
- CNC.IBILI, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Ricardo Cayolla
- DEGEIT, Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Carlos Ferreira
- ICNAS, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,CNC.IBILI, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- ICNAS, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,CNC.IBILI, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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26
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Greven IM, Ramsey R. Neural network integration during the perception of in-group and out-group members. Neuropsychologia 2017; 106:225-235. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.09.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2017] [Revised: 09/07/2017] [Accepted: 09/28/2017] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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27
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Domínguez D JF, van Nunspeet F, Gupta A, Eres R, Louis WR, Decety J, Molenberghs P. Lateral orbitofrontal cortex activity is modulated by group membership in situations of justified and unjustified violence. Soc Neurosci 2017; 13:739-755. [DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2017.1392342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Juan F. Domínguez D
- School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Félice van Nunspeet
- Social, Health, and Organizational Psychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Ayushi Gupta
- School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Robert Eres
- School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | | | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Pascal Molenberghs
- School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
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28
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McGeown L, Davis R. Social modeling of eating mediated by mirror neuron activity: A causal model moderated by frontal asymmetry and BMI. Behav Brain Res 2017; 338:66-75. [PMID: 29031545 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2017] [Revised: 09/23/2017] [Accepted: 10/10/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The social modeling of eating effect refers to the consistently demonstrated phenomenon that individuals tend to match their quantity of food intake to their eating companion. The current study sought to explore whether activity within the mirror neuron system (MNS) mediates the social modeling of eating effect as a function of EEG frontal asymmetry and body mass index (BMI). Under the guise of rating empathy, 93 female undergraduates viewed a female video confederate "incidentally" consume either a low or high intake of chips while electroencephalogram (EEG) activity was recorded. Subsequent ad libitum chip consumption was quantified. A first- and second-stage dual moderation model revealed that frontal asymmetry and BMI moderated an indirect effect of model consumption on participants' food consumption as mediated by MNS activity at electrode site C3, a3b3=-0.718, SE=0.365, 95% CI [-1.632, -0.161]. Left frontal asymmetry was associated with greater mu activity and a positive association between model and participant chip consumption, while right frontal asymmetry was associated with less mu activity and a negative association between model and participant consumption. Across all levels of frontal asymmetry, the effect was only significant among those with a BMI at the 50th percentile or lower. Thus, among leaner individuals, the MNS was demonstrated to mediate social modeling of eating, as moderated by frontal asymmetry. These findings are integrated within the normative account of social modeling of eating. It is proposed that the normative framework may benefit from consideration of both conscious and unconscious operation of intake norms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura McGeown
- Department of Psychology, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Rd, Thunder Bay, P7B 5E1, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Ron Davis
- Department of Psychology, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Rd, Thunder Bay, P7B 5E1, Ontario, Canada
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29
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Kesner L, Horáček J. Empathy-Related Responses to Depicted People in Art Works. Front Psychol 2017; 8:228. [PMID: 28286487 PMCID: PMC5323429 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2016] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Existing theories of empathic response to visual art works postulate the primacy of automatic embodied reaction to images based on mirror neuron mechanisms. Arguing for a more inclusive concept of empathy-related response and integrating four distinct bodies of literature, we discuss contextual, and personal factors which modulate empathic response to depicted people. We then present an integrative model of empathy-related responses to depicted people in art works. The model assumes that a response to empathy-eliciting figural artworks engages the dynamic interaction of two mutually interlinked sets of processes: socio-affective/cognitive processing, related to the person perception, and esthetic processing, primarily concerned with esthetic appreciation and judgment and attention to non-social aspects of the image. The model predicts that the specific pattern of interaction between empathy-related and esthetic processing is co-determined by several sets of factors: (i) the viewer's individual characteristics, (ii) the context variables (which include various modes of priming by narratives and other images), (iii) multidimensional features of the image, and (iv) aspects of a viewer's response. Finally we propose that the model is implemented by the interaction of functionally connected brain networks involved in socio-cognitive and esthetic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ladislav Kesner
- Applied Neurosciences and Brain Imaging, National Institute of Mental HealthKlecany, Czechia; Department of Art History, Masaryk University BrnoBrno, Czechia
| | - Jiří Horáček
- Applied Neurosciences and Brain Imaging, National Institute of Mental Health Klecany, Czechia
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30
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31
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32
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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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33
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Pfabigan DM, Holzner MT, Lamm C. Performance monitoring during a minimal group manipulation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2016; 11:1560-8. [PMID: 27217109 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsw071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2015] [Accepted: 05/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The on-going (self-)monitoring of our behaviour is inextricably intertwined with the surrounding social context. In this study, we investigated whether a minimal group paradigm assigning individuals to arbitrary group categories is powerful enough to induce changes in behavioural, psychophysiological and event-related potential correlates of performance monitoring. Following arbitrary group assignment based on ostensible task performance and a group identification task, 22 volunteers performed a flanker-task during both in-group and out-group contexts, while electroencephalography was performed. More errors were committed in the out-group compared with the in-group context. Error-related negativity amplitudes were larger for in-group compared with out-group errors. However, subsequent processing reflected in late Pe amplitudes and stimulus-driven conflict reflected in N2 amplitudes were not affected by the group context. Heart rate deceleration (during both correct and incorrect trials) tended to be more pronounced during the out-group compared with the in-group context. This surprising observation was corroborated by subjective ratings of performance satisfaction, in which participants reported higher satisfaction with their out-group performance. This study identified specific stimulus evaluation processes to be affected by a minimal group manipulation and demonstrated thereby transient top-down effects of a social context manipulation on performance monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela M Pfabigan
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marie-Theres Holzner
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Kinley JL, Reyno SM. Dynamic Relational Group Psychotherapy: A Neurobiologically Informed Model of Change. Int J Group Psychother 2016; 66:161-178. [PMID: 38449176 DOI: 10.1080/00207284.2015.1105708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
In this article, we introduce a preliminary, neurobiologically informed model of group therapy that links the timing and nature of specific group interventions with hypothesized changing neurobiological needs of the group. We suggest that the observed phases of group development reflect an underlying reorganization of neuronal circuitry that occurs as members progress through a hierarchically organized treatment, and that this reorganization involves the integration and homeostatic rebalancing of subcortical and neural networks. Our preliminary Dynamic Relational Model suggests that an understanding of the neurobiological processes involved in group development may help inform and direct effective group-based psychotherapy interventions.
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35
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Wang L, Zheng J, Meng L, Lu Q, Ma Q. Ingroup favoritism or the black sheep effect: Perceived intentions modulate subjective responses to aggressive interactions. Neurosci Res 2016; 108:46-54. [PMID: 26851770 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2016.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2015] [Revised: 01/22/2016] [Accepted: 01/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Social categorization plays an important role in provoking the victim's responses to aggressive interactions. Pioneering studies suggested that uncertainty in the perpetrator's hostile intention influences whether ingroup favoritism or the black sheep effect (ingroup strictness) will be manifested to a greater extent. However, when the hostile intention is ambiguous, subjective perception of the perpetrator's intention may still be quite different due to the inherent information gap between participants, and this discrepancy in perceived intentions may further modulate subjective responses to social aggression. In the present study, subjects played as responders of the Ultimatum Game, and received varied offers proposed by either ingroup or outgroup members. Electrophysiological results showed that, when proposers were perceived to be intentional, unfair offers from ingroups elicited significantly larger Feedback-related Negativity (FRN) than those from outgroups, potentially providing neural evidence for the black sheep effect. The opposite FRN pattern was observed when proposers were perceived to be unintentional, which might suggest ingroup favoritism. Interestingly, despite contrary neural patterns, perceived intentions did not modulate behavioral response to aggressive interactions. Thus, converging results suggested that, when the perpetrator's hostile intention remained ambiguous, perceived intentions modulated the victim's electrophysiological response while not the rational behavioral response to aggressive interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Wang
- School of Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Neuromanagement Lab, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiehui Zheng
- School of Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Neuromanagement Lab, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Liang Meng
- School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Qiang Lu
- School of Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qingguo Ma
- Neuromanagement Lab, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
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36
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37
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Sessa P, Meconi F. Perceived trustworthiness shapes neural empathic responses toward others' pain. Neuropsychologia 2015; 79:97-105. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.10.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2015] [Revised: 10/19/2015] [Accepted: 10/23/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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38
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Zheng L, Wang Q, Cheng X, Li L, Yang G, Sun L, Ling X, Guo X. Perceived reputation of others modulates empathic neural responses. Exp Brain Res 2015; 234:125-32. [PMID: 26403292 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-015-4434-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2015] [Accepted: 08/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Empathy enables us to understand and share the emotional and affective states of another person and plays a key role in social behaviors. The current study investigated whether and how empathic neural responses to pain were modulated by the perceived reputation of others. Action histories reflecting individuals' past cooperation or betrayal actions in the repeated prisoner's dilemma game were introduced as an index of reputation. We assessed brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging while the participants observed individuals with a good or bad reputation receiving or not receiving pain. The results indicated that the participants exhibited reduced empathic responses in AI and dACC to the individual who had a bad reputation relative to the one who had a good reputation, suggesting that their empathy for pain was modulated by the perceived reputation of others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Qianfeng Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China.,Department of Physics, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Xuemei Cheng
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China.,Department of Physics, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Lin Li
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Guang Yang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China. .,Department of Physics, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China.
| | - Lining Sun
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Xiaoli Ling
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Xiuyan Guo
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China. .,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China. .,School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai, 200062, China.
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39
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Roerig S, van Wesel F, Evers SJTM, Krabbendam L. Researching children's individual empathic abilities in the context of their daily lives: the importance of mixed methods. Front Neurosci 2015; 9:261. [PMID: 26283901 PMCID: PMC4516888 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2015] [Accepted: 07/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
In social neuroscience, empathy is often approached as an individual ability, whereas researchers in anthropology focus on empathy as a dialectic process between agents. In this perspective paper, we argue that to further elucidate the mechanisms underlying the development of empathy, social neuroscience research should draw on insights and methods from anthropology. First, we discuss neuropsychological studies that investigate empathy in inter-relational contexts. Second, we highlight differences between the social neuroscience and anthropological conceptualizations of empathy. Third, we introduce a new study design based on a mixed method approach, and present initial results from one classroom that was part of a larger study and included 28 children (m = 13, f = 15). Participants (aged 9–11) were administered behavioral tasks and a social network questionnaire; in addition an observational study was also conducted over a period of 3 months. Initial results showed how children's expressions of their empathic abilities were influenced by situational cues in classroom processes. This effect was further explained by children's positions within classroom networks. Our results emphasize the value of interdisciplinary research in the study of empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Roerig
- Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Floryt van Wesel
- Department of Methodology and Statistics, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Sandra J T M Evers
- Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Lydia Krabbendam
- Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
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40
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Cikara M, Van Bavel JJ. The Neuroscience of Intergroup Relations: An Integrative Review. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2015; 9:245-74. [PMID: 26173262 DOI: 10.1177/1745691614527464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
We review emerging research on the psychological and biological factors that underlie social group formation, cooperation, and conflict in humans. Our aim is to integrate the intergroup neuroscience literature with classic theories of group processes and intergroup relations in an effort to move beyond merely describing the effects of specific social out-groups on the brain and behavior. Instead, we emphasize the underlying psychological processes that govern intergroup interactions more generally: forming and updating our representations of "us" and "them" via social identification and functional relations between groups. This approach highlights the dynamic nature of social identity and the context-dependent nature of intergroup relations. We argue that this theoretical integration can help reconcile seemingly discrepant findings in the literature, provide organizational principles for understanding the core elements of intergroup dynamics, and highlight several exciting directions for future research at the interface of intergroup relations and neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mina Cikara
- Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
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41
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Kinley JL, Reyno SM. Dynamic Relational Group Psychotherapy: A Neurobiologically Informed Model of Change. Int J Group Psychother 2015:1-18. [PMID: 26167740 DOI: 10.1521/ijgp_2015_65_001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
In this article we introduce a preliminary, neurobiologically informed model of group therapy that links the timing and nature of specific group interventions with hypothesized changing neurobiological needs of the group. We suggest that the observed phases of group development reflect an underlying reorganization of neuronal circuitry that occurs as members progress through a hierarchically organized treatment, and that this reorganization involves the integration and homeostatic rebalancing of subcortical and neural networks. Our preliminary Dynamic Relational model suggests that an understanding of the neurobiological processes involved in group development may help inform and direct effective group-based psychotherapy interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sandra M Reyno
- Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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42
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Oxytocin receptor gene and racial ingroup bias in empathy-related brain activity. Neuroimage 2015; 110:22-31. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.01.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2014] [Revised: 12/11/2014] [Accepted: 01/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
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43
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Molenberghs P, Ogilvie C, Louis WR, Decety J, Bagnall J, Bain PG. The neural correlates of justified and unjustified killing: an fMRI study. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2015; 10:1397-404. [PMID: 25752904 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2014] [Accepted: 03/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite moral prohibitions on hurting other humans, some social contexts allow for harmful actions such as killing of others. One example is warfare, where killing enemy soldiers is seen as morally justified. Yet, the neural underpinnings distinguishing between justified and unjustified killing are largely unknown. To improve understanding of the neural processes involved in justified and unjustified killing, participants had to imagine being the perpetrator whilst watching 'first-person perspective' animated videos where they shot enemy soldiers ('justified violence') and innocent civilians ('unjustified violence'). When participants imagined themselves shooting civilians compared with soldiers, greater activation was found in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Regression analysis revealed that the more guilt participants felt about shooting civilians, the greater the response in the lateral OFC. Effective connectivity analyses further revealed an increased coupling between lateral OFC and the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) when shooting civilians. The results show that the neural mechanisms typically implicated with harming others, such as the OFC, become less active when the violence against a particular group is seen as justified. This study therefore provides unique insight into how normal individuals can become aggressors in specific situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Molenberghs
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia,
| | - Claudette Ogilvie
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Winnifred R Louis
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, IL, USA, and
| | - Jessica Bagnall
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Paul G Bain
- School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
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44
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Contreras-Huerta LS, Hielscher E, Sherwell CS, Rens N, Cunnington R. Intergroup relationships do not reduce racial bias in empathic neural responses to pain. Neuropsychologia 2014; 64:263-70. [PMID: 25281885 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.09.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2014] [Revised: 09/06/2014] [Accepted: 09/24/2014] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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45
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Molenberghs P, Gapp J, Wang B, Louis WR, Decety J. Increased Moral Sensitivity for Outgroup Perpetrators Harming Ingroup Members. Cereb Cortex 2014; 26:225-33. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhu195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
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46
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Abstract
Recent studies on empathy toward other-race individuals demonstrate a preferential neural response to own-race members' pain. Based on the observation that existing studies, using different techniques, did not provide a convergent scenario on how implicit racial prejudice relate to empathy in cross-racial contexts, in the current commentary we claim that future efforts in this domain should distinguish between processes of racial prejudice and racial stereotypes. These concepts have been differentiated in social psychology, and two independent measures have been provided to assess them. We propose that these aspects should be taken into further consideration in future studies to fully understand the social neuroscience of empathy in cross-racial contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Meconi
- a Department of Developmental and Social Psychology , University of Padova , Padova , Italy
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47
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Fitzgibbon BM, Ward J, Enticott PG. The neural underpinnings of vicarious experience. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:384. [PMID: 24917806 PMCID: PMC4042163 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2014] [Accepted: 05/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Bernadette M Fitzgibbon
- Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Center, Central Clinical School, Monash University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Jamie Ward
- Department of Psychology, University of Sussex Brighton, UK
| | - Peter G Enticott
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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48
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49
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Molenberghs P, Bosworth R, Nott Z, Louis WR, Smith JR, Amiot CE, Vohs KD, Decety J. The influence of group membership and individual differences in psychopathy and perspective taking on neural responses when punishing and rewarding others. Hum Brain Mapp 2014; 35:4989-99. [PMID: 24753026 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2013] [Revised: 01/08/2014] [Accepted: 03/27/2014] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how neural processes involved in punishing and rewarding others are altered by group membership and personality traits is critical in order to gain a better understanding of how socially important phenomena such as racial and group biases develop. Participants in an fMRI study (n = 48) gave rewards (money) or punishments (electroshocks) to in-group or out-group members. The results show that when participants rewarded others, greater activation was found in regions typically associated with receiving rewards such as the striatum and medial orbitofrontal cortex, bilaterally. Activation in those regions increased when participants rewarded in-group compared to out-group members. Punishment led to increased activation in regions typically associated with Theory of Mind including the medial prefrontal cortex and posterior superior temporal sulcus, as well as regions typically associated with perceiving others in pain such as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula and lateral orbitofrontal cortex. Interestingly, in contrast to the findings regarding reward, activity in these regions was not moderated by whether the target of the punishment was an in- or out-group member. Additional regression analysis revealed that participants who have low perspective taking skills and higher levels of psychopathy showed less activation in the brain regions identified when punishing others, especially when they were out-group members. In sum, when an individual is personally responsible for delivering rewards and punishments to others, in-group bias is stronger for reward allocation than punishments, marking the first neuroscientific evidence of this dissociation.
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50
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Weighing the stigma of weight: An fMRI study of neural reactivity to the pain of obese individuals. Neuroimage 2013; 91:109-19. [PMID: 24287441 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.11.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2013] [Revised: 09/23/2013] [Accepted: 11/18/2013] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Explicit negative attitudes and blameful beliefs (e.g. poor diet, laziness) towards obese individuals are well documented and are pervasive even among health professionals. Here we sought to determine whether obesity stigma is reflected in a fundamental feature of intersubjectivity namely the automatic neural resonance with others' affective experiences. During fMRI, normal-weight female participants observed short clips depicting normal-weight (NW) and obese (Ob) models experiencing pain. Importantly, participants believed that half of the Ob were overweight due to a hormonal disorder (HormOb) and ignored the cause of obesity of the remaining models (Unknown obese models; UnkOb). Analyses of hemodynamic responses showed reduced activity to the pain of Ob compared to that of NW in areas associated with pain processing and early visual processing. The comparison between the two Ob conditions revealed a further decrease of activity to HormOb's pain compared to UnkOb's (and NW) pain in the right inferior frontal gyrus, an area associated with emotional resonance. Our study demonstrates that stigma for obese individuals can be observed at implicit levels, and that it is modulated by knowledge concerning the etiology of obesity, with the seemingly surprising result that obesity due to disease may result in greater stigmatization. Moreover, the perceived similarity with the models and the ambivalent emotion of pity may index biased brain responses to obese individuals' pain. The study highlights a possibly important neural link between resonance with the pain of others and obesity stigma.
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