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Biological Correlates of Empathy

Year 2010, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 15 - 25, 01.03.2010

Abstract

Empathy can be defined as the capacity to know emotionally what another is experiencing from within the frame of reference of that other person and the capacity to sample the feelings of another or it can be metaphorized as to put oneself in another's shoes. Although the concept of empathy was firstly described in psychological theories, researches studying the biological correlates of psychological theories have been increasing recently. Not suprisingly, dinamically oriented psychotherapists Freud, Kohut, Basch and Fenichel had suggested theories about the biological correlates of empathy concept and established the basis of this modality decades ago. Some other theorists emphasized the importance of empathy in the early years of lifetime regarding mother-child attachment in terms of developmental psychology and investigated its role in explanation of psychopathology. The data coming from some of the recent brain imaging and animal model studies also seem to support these theories. Although increased activity in different brain regions was shown in many of the brain imaging studies, the role of cingulate cortex for understanding mother-child relationship was constantly emphasized in nearly all of the studies. In addition to these studies, a group of Italian scientists has defined a group of neurons as "mirror neurons" in their studies observing rhesus macaque monkeys. Later, they also defined mirror neurons in human studies, and suggested them as "empathy neurons". After the discovery of mirror neurons, the hopes of finding the missing part of the puzzle for understanding the biological correlates of empathy raised again. Although the roles of different biological parameters such as skin conductance and pupil diameter for defining empathy have not been certain yet, they are going to give us the opportunity to revise the inconsistent basis of structural validity in psychiatry and to stabilize descriptive validity. In this review, the possible neurobiological background of empathy will be discussed in the light of the recent brain imaging and animal studies.

References

  • Sharma RM. Empathy: A retrospective on its development in psychotherapy. Austr NZJ Psychiatry 1992; 26:377-390.
  • Gülseren Ş. Eşduyum (Empati): Tanımı ve kullanımı üzerine bir gözden geçirme. Türk Psikiyatri Derg 2001; 12:133-145.
  • Arkonaç O. Psikiyatri Sözlüğü. İstanbul, Nobel Tıp Kitabevleri, 1999, s.188.
  • Freud S. Project for a Scientific Psychology (1950(1895)) in Complete Psychological Works, Standard Ed. vol 1. London, Hogarch Press, 1966; pp.283-294.
  • Kohut H. The Analysis of the Self: A Systematic Approach to the Psychoanalytic Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorders, New York, International Universities Press, 1971.
  • Starcevic V, Piontek MC Empathic understanding revisited: Conceptualization, controversies, and limitations. Am J Psychother 1997; 51:317-328.
  • Basch MF. Empathic understanding: A review of the concept and some theoretical considerations. J Am Psychoanal Assoc 1983; 31:101-126.
  • Fenichel O. Nevrozların Psikoanalitik Teorisi. (Çev. S Tuncer) Ege Üniversitesi Matbaa- sı, İzmir, 1974.
  • Lorberbaum JP, Newman JD, Dubno JR, Horwitz AR, Nahas Z, Teneback CC, et al. Feasibility of using fMRI to study mothers responding to infant cries. Depr Anxiety 1999; 10:99–104.
  • Swain JE, Lorberbaum JP, Kose S, Strathearn L. Brain basis of early parent–infant interactions: psychology, physiology, and in vivo functional neuroimaging studies. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2007; 48:262–287.
  • MacLean PD. Brain evolution relating to family, play, and the separation call. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1985; 42:405-417.
  • Insel TR. A neurobiological basis of social attachment. Am J Psychiatry 1997; 154:726–735.
  • Panksepp J, Nelson E, Siviy S. Brain opioids and mother-infant social motivation. Acta Paediatr Suppl 1994; 397:40–46.
  • Aulsebrook LH, Holland RC. Central regulation of oxytocin release with and without vasopressin release. Am J Physiol 1969; 216:818–829.
  • Beyer CF, Anguiano GL, Mena FJ. Oxytocin release in response to stimulation of cingulate gyrus. Am J Physiol 1961; 200:625–627.
  • Brothers L. A biological perspective on empathy. Am J Psychiatry. 1989; 146:10-19.
  • O’Connell SM. Empathy in chimpanzees: Evidence for theory of mind? Primates 1995; 36:397–410.
  • Joly-Mascheroni RM, Senju A, Shepherd AJ. Dogs catch human yawns. Biol Lett 2008; 4:446-448.
  • Gallese V, Fadiga L, Fogassi L, Rizzolatti G. Action recognition in the premotor cortex. Brain 1996; 119:593–609.
  • Rizzolatti G, Fadiga L, Gallese V, Fogassi L. Premotor cortex and the recognition of motor actions. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res 1996; 3:131–141.
  • Ferrari PF, Gallese V, Rizzolatti G, Fogassi L. Mirror neurons responding to the observation of ingestive and communicative mouth actions in the monkey ventral premotor cortex. Eur J Neurosci 2003; 17:1703–1714.
  • Rizzolatti G. Fogassi L. Gallese V. Mirrors in the mind. Sci Am. 2006; 295: 54-61.
  • Wicker B, Keysers C, Plailly J, Royet JP, Gallese V, Rizzolatti G. Both of us disgusted in my insula: The common neural basis of seeing and feeling disgust. Neuron 2003; 40:655-664.
  • Jabbi M, Swart M, Keysersa C. Empathy for positive and negative emotions in the gustatory cortex. Neuroimage 2007; 34:1744–1753.
  • Jarvelainen J, Schürmann CAM, Avikainen S, Hari R. Stronger reactivity of the human primary motor cortex during observation of live rather than video motor acts. Neuroreport 2001; 12:3493-3495.
  • Singer T, Seymour B, O’Doherty JP, Kaube H, Dolan RJ, Frith DC et al. Empathy for pain involves the affective but not sensory components of pain, Science 2004; 303:1157–1162.
  • Singer T, Seymour B, O’Doherty JP, Stephan KE, Dolan RJ, Frith DC. Empathic neural responses are modulated by the perceived fairness of others, Nature 2006; 439 :466– 469.
  • Avenanti A, Minio-Paluello I, Bufalari I, Aglioti SM. Stimulus-driven modulation of motor-evoked potentials during observation of others’ pain, Neuroimage 2006; 32: 316–324.
  • Decety J, Jackson PL. The functional architecture of human empathy. Behav Cogn Neurosci Rev 2004; 3:71-100.
  • Moriguchi Y, Decety J, Ohnishi T, Maeda M, Mori T, Nemoto K et al. Empathy and judging other’s pain: An fMRI study of alexithymia. Cereb Cortex 2007; 17:2223-2234.
  • Eslinger PJ. Neurological and neuropsychological bases of empathy. Eur Neurol 1998; 39:193-199.
  • Seger CA, Stone M, Keenan JP. Cortical activations during judgments about the self and an other person. Neuropsychologia 2004; 42:614-624.
  • Price BH, Daffner KR, Stowe RM, Mesulam M. The compartmental learning disabilities of early frontal lobe damage. Brain 1990; 113:1383-1393.
  • Anderson SW, Bechara A, Damasio H, Tranel D, Damasio AR. Impairment of social and moral behavior related to early damage in human prefrontal cortex. Nature Neurosci 1999; 2:1032-1037.
  • Marangoni C, Garcia S, Ickes W, Teng G. Empathic accuracy in a clinically relevant setting. J Pers Soc Psychol 1995; 68:854–869.
  • Ickes W, Buysse A, Pham H, Rivers K, Erickson JR, Hancock M et al. On the difficulty of distinguishing “good” and “poor” perceivers: A social relations analysis of empathic accuracy data. Pers Relatsh 2000; 7:219–234.
  • Baron-Cohen, S. The extreme male brain theory of autism. Trends Cogn Sci 2002; 6:248–254.
  • Preston SD, deWaal FBM. Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. Behav Brain Sci, 2002; 25:1-72.
  • Buccino G, Vogt S, Ritzl A, Fink GR, Zilles K, Freund HJ et al. Neural circuits underlying imitation learning of hand actions: An event-related fMRI study. Neuron 2004; 42:323–334.
  • Harrison NA, Wilson CE, Critchley HD. Processing of observed pupil size modulates perception of sadness and predicts empathy. Emotion 2007; 7:724–729.
  • Marci C, Ham J, Moran E, Orr S. Physiologic correlates of perceived therapist empathy and social-emotional process during psychotherapy. J Nerv Ment Dis 2007; 195:103-111.
  • Pfeifer JH, Dapretto M. “Mirror, Mirror, in My Mind”: Empathy, Interpersonal Competence and the Mirror Neuron System. In: The Social Neuroscience of Empathy. (Eds J Decety, W Ickes) MIT press, London, 2009; pp.196-210.

Empatinin Biyolojik Yönleri

Year 2010, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 15 - 25, 01.03.2010

Abstract

Empati ötekinin neler deneyimlediğini, o kişinin düşünce çerçevesi içinde değerlendirerek duygusal olarak anlama ve ötekinin duygularını özümseyebilme yeteneği olarak tanımlanabilir veya empati için ötekinin ayakkabısını giymek benzetmesi yapılabilir. Empati kavramı ilk olarak psikolojik kuramlar içerisinde tanımlanmakla birlikte; son yıllarda psikolojik kuramların biyolojik yansımalarına ilişkin araştırmalar yoğunluk kazanmaktadır. Nitekim yıllar önce Freud, Kohut, Basch ve Fenichel gibi dinamik yönelimli psikoterapistler empati kavramının biyolojik yönlerine ilişkin önermelerde bulunmuşlar ve bu yaklaşımın köklerini onlarca yıl öncesinde atmışlardır. Diğer bazı kuramcılar, gelişimsel psikoloji açısından da anne-bebek bağlanmasında yaşamın ilk yıllarında empatinin önemini vurgulamış ve psikopatolojiyi açıklamadaki yerini sorgulamışlardır. Son yıllarda yapılmış bazı beyin görüntüleme çalışmalarından ve hayvan deneylerinden elde edilen bilgiler bu önermeleri destekler niteliktedir. Her ne kadar pek çok beyin görüntüleme çalışmasında beynin farklı bölümlerinde aktivite artışları gözlense de, anne-bebek ilişkisini anlamada singulat korteksin rolü neredeyse tüm çalışmalarda sürekli olarak vurgulanmıştır. Bunlara ek olarak bir grup İtalyan bilim adamı, makak maymunlarında ve daha sonra insanlarda yapmış oldukları çalışmalarda "ayna nöronlar" olarak tanımladıkları bir grup sinir hücresini "empati nöronları" olarak önermişlerdir. Ayna nöronların keşfiyle birlikte empatinin biyolojik yansımalarına ilişkin eksik yap-boz parçasının bulunması yönündeki umutlar yeniden artmıştır. Bununla birlikte pupil boyutu, deri iletkenliğindeki değişiklikler gibi farklı biyolojik değişkenlerin empatiyi tanımlamadaki yerleri henüz netleşmese de; psikiyatrideki yapısal geçerliğin tutarsız temellerinin düzeltilmesine ve tanısal geçerliğin sağlamlaştırılmasına olanak sağlayacaktır. Bu gözden geçirme yazısında, güncel beyin görüntüleme ve hayvan çalışmaları ışığında empatinin olası nörobiyolojik arka planı tartışılacaktır.

References

  • Sharma RM. Empathy: A retrospective on its development in psychotherapy. Austr NZJ Psychiatry 1992; 26:377-390.
  • Gülseren Ş. Eşduyum (Empati): Tanımı ve kullanımı üzerine bir gözden geçirme. Türk Psikiyatri Derg 2001; 12:133-145.
  • Arkonaç O. Psikiyatri Sözlüğü. İstanbul, Nobel Tıp Kitabevleri, 1999, s.188.
  • Freud S. Project for a Scientific Psychology (1950(1895)) in Complete Psychological Works, Standard Ed. vol 1. London, Hogarch Press, 1966; pp.283-294.
  • Kohut H. The Analysis of the Self: A Systematic Approach to the Psychoanalytic Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorders, New York, International Universities Press, 1971.
  • Starcevic V, Piontek MC Empathic understanding revisited: Conceptualization, controversies, and limitations. Am J Psychother 1997; 51:317-328.
  • Basch MF. Empathic understanding: A review of the concept and some theoretical considerations. J Am Psychoanal Assoc 1983; 31:101-126.
  • Fenichel O. Nevrozların Psikoanalitik Teorisi. (Çev. S Tuncer) Ege Üniversitesi Matbaa- sı, İzmir, 1974.
  • Lorberbaum JP, Newman JD, Dubno JR, Horwitz AR, Nahas Z, Teneback CC, et al. Feasibility of using fMRI to study mothers responding to infant cries. Depr Anxiety 1999; 10:99–104.
  • Swain JE, Lorberbaum JP, Kose S, Strathearn L. Brain basis of early parent–infant interactions: psychology, physiology, and in vivo functional neuroimaging studies. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2007; 48:262–287.
  • MacLean PD. Brain evolution relating to family, play, and the separation call. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1985; 42:405-417.
  • Insel TR. A neurobiological basis of social attachment. Am J Psychiatry 1997; 154:726–735.
  • Panksepp J, Nelson E, Siviy S. Brain opioids and mother-infant social motivation. Acta Paediatr Suppl 1994; 397:40–46.
  • Aulsebrook LH, Holland RC. Central regulation of oxytocin release with and without vasopressin release. Am J Physiol 1969; 216:818–829.
  • Beyer CF, Anguiano GL, Mena FJ. Oxytocin release in response to stimulation of cingulate gyrus. Am J Physiol 1961; 200:625–627.
  • Brothers L. A biological perspective on empathy. Am J Psychiatry. 1989; 146:10-19.
  • O’Connell SM. Empathy in chimpanzees: Evidence for theory of mind? Primates 1995; 36:397–410.
  • Joly-Mascheroni RM, Senju A, Shepherd AJ. Dogs catch human yawns. Biol Lett 2008; 4:446-448.
  • Gallese V, Fadiga L, Fogassi L, Rizzolatti G. Action recognition in the premotor cortex. Brain 1996; 119:593–609.
  • Rizzolatti G, Fadiga L, Gallese V, Fogassi L. Premotor cortex and the recognition of motor actions. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res 1996; 3:131–141.
  • Ferrari PF, Gallese V, Rizzolatti G, Fogassi L. Mirror neurons responding to the observation of ingestive and communicative mouth actions in the monkey ventral premotor cortex. Eur J Neurosci 2003; 17:1703–1714.
  • Rizzolatti G. Fogassi L. Gallese V. Mirrors in the mind. Sci Am. 2006; 295: 54-61.
  • Wicker B, Keysers C, Plailly J, Royet JP, Gallese V, Rizzolatti G. Both of us disgusted in my insula: The common neural basis of seeing and feeling disgust. Neuron 2003; 40:655-664.
  • Jabbi M, Swart M, Keysersa C. Empathy for positive and negative emotions in the gustatory cortex. Neuroimage 2007; 34:1744–1753.
  • Jarvelainen J, Schürmann CAM, Avikainen S, Hari R. Stronger reactivity of the human primary motor cortex during observation of live rather than video motor acts. Neuroreport 2001; 12:3493-3495.
  • Singer T, Seymour B, O’Doherty JP, Kaube H, Dolan RJ, Frith DC et al. Empathy for pain involves the affective but not sensory components of pain, Science 2004; 303:1157–1162.
  • Singer T, Seymour B, O’Doherty JP, Stephan KE, Dolan RJ, Frith DC. Empathic neural responses are modulated by the perceived fairness of others, Nature 2006; 439 :466– 469.
  • Avenanti A, Minio-Paluello I, Bufalari I, Aglioti SM. Stimulus-driven modulation of motor-evoked potentials during observation of others’ pain, Neuroimage 2006; 32: 316–324.
  • Decety J, Jackson PL. The functional architecture of human empathy. Behav Cogn Neurosci Rev 2004; 3:71-100.
  • Moriguchi Y, Decety J, Ohnishi T, Maeda M, Mori T, Nemoto K et al. Empathy and judging other’s pain: An fMRI study of alexithymia. Cereb Cortex 2007; 17:2223-2234.
  • Eslinger PJ. Neurological and neuropsychological bases of empathy. Eur Neurol 1998; 39:193-199.
  • Seger CA, Stone M, Keenan JP. Cortical activations during judgments about the self and an other person. Neuropsychologia 2004; 42:614-624.
  • Price BH, Daffner KR, Stowe RM, Mesulam M. The compartmental learning disabilities of early frontal lobe damage. Brain 1990; 113:1383-1393.
  • Anderson SW, Bechara A, Damasio H, Tranel D, Damasio AR. Impairment of social and moral behavior related to early damage in human prefrontal cortex. Nature Neurosci 1999; 2:1032-1037.
  • Marangoni C, Garcia S, Ickes W, Teng G. Empathic accuracy in a clinically relevant setting. J Pers Soc Psychol 1995; 68:854–869.
  • Ickes W, Buysse A, Pham H, Rivers K, Erickson JR, Hancock M et al. On the difficulty of distinguishing “good” and “poor” perceivers: A social relations analysis of empathic accuracy data. Pers Relatsh 2000; 7:219–234.
  • Baron-Cohen, S. The extreme male brain theory of autism. Trends Cogn Sci 2002; 6:248–254.
  • Preston SD, deWaal FBM. Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. Behav Brain Sci, 2002; 25:1-72.
  • Buccino G, Vogt S, Ritzl A, Fink GR, Zilles K, Freund HJ et al. Neural circuits underlying imitation learning of hand actions: An event-related fMRI study. Neuron 2004; 42:323–334.
  • Harrison NA, Wilson CE, Critchley HD. Processing of observed pupil size modulates perception of sadness and predicts empathy. Emotion 2007; 7:724–729.
  • Marci C, Ham J, Moran E, Orr S. Physiologic correlates of perceived therapist empathy and social-emotional process during psychotherapy. J Nerv Ment Dis 2007; 195:103-111.
  • Pfeifer JH, Dapretto M. “Mirror, Mirror, in My Mind”: Empathy, Interpersonal Competence and the Mirror Neuron System. In: The Social Neuroscience of Empathy. (Eds J Decety, W Ickes) MIT press, London, 2009; pp.196-210.
There are 42 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Journal Section Review
Authors

Kürşat Altınbaş This is me

Sinan Gülöksüz This is me

Serap Özçetinkaya This is me

E.Timuçin Oral This is me

Publication Date March 1, 2010
Published in Issue Year 2010 Volume: 2 Issue: 1

Cite

AMA Altınbaş K, Gülöksüz S, Özçetinkaya S, Oral E. Empatinin Biyolojik Yönleri. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry. March 2010;2(1):15-25.

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