Distinct neural networks underlying empathy for pleasant and unpleasant touch

Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior
Claus LammTania Singer

Abstract

In spite of considerable progress in the understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying the experience of empathy, the majority of previous investigations have focused on how we share negative affective states (and in particular pain) of others, whereas only few studies have targeted empathy for positive emotions. This bias has precluded addressing one of the central tenets of the shared representations account of empathy, which is that different networks should be engaged when empathizing with emotions that are represented on different neural levels. The aim of the present study was to overcome this limitation and to test whether empathy for pleasant and unpleasant affective touch is underpinned by different neural networks. To this end we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), with two independent replication experiments (N = 18, N = 32), and a novel paradigm enabling the joint investigation of first-hand and vicarious responses to pleasant and unpleasant affect induced via visuo-tactile stimulation. This revealed that empathy is subserved by distinct neural networks, with those regions recruited in the first-hand experience of positive or negative affective states also being specifically recruited when empathi...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 16, 2016·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Viviana Betti, Salvatore Maria Aglioti
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Sep 3, 2021·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·S G Shamay-Tsoory, N I Eisenberger

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