scholarly journals Human Empathy Through the Lens of Social Neuroscience

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1146-1163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Decety ◽  
Claus Lamm
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Social Neuroscience ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
The Self ◽  
Neural Systems

Empathy is the ability to experience and understand what others feel without confusion between oneself and others. Knowing what someone else is feeling plays a fundamental role in interpersonal interactions. In this paper, we articulate evidence from social psychology and cognitive neuroscience, and argue that empathy involves both emotion sharing (bottom-up information processing) and executive control to regulate and modulate this experience (top-down information processing), underpinned by specific and interacting neural systems. Furthermore, awareness of a distinction between the experiences of the self and others constitutes a crucial aspect of empathy. We discuss data from recent behavioral and functional neuroimaging studies with an emphasis on the perception of pain in others, and highlight the role of different neural mechanisms that underpin the experience of empathy, including emotion sharing, perspective taking, and emotion regulation.

Autobiographical Memory and the Self-Concept

2020 ◽  
pp. 189-212
Author(s):  
Matthew D. Grilli ◽  
Lee Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Core Self ◽  
Insight Into

Autobiographical memory plays a central role in one’s conceptualization of the self. It does so not only by storing the content of one’s life history, but also by providing the memories that are used to construct who we are and what we hope to become. Based on theories and evidence from cognitive neuroscience, the authors of this chapter discuss the contents and organization of autobiographical memory and the neural mechanisms that support the retrieval of autobiographical memories. They also cover core self-related functions served by this type of memory. The chapter closes by considering how the cognitive neuroscience of autobiographical memory and its self-related functions can provide insight into mechanisms of enduring change.

scholarly journals Machine Learning of Schizophrenia Detection with Structural and Functional Neuroimaging

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Dafa Shi ◽  
Yanfei Li ◽  
Haoran Zhang ◽  
Xiang Yao ◽  
Siyuan Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Multimodal Imaging ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Structural Mri ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Global Signal ◽  
Structural Abnormalities ◽  
Brain Data

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe psychiatric illness, and it affects around 1% of the general population; however, its reliable diagnosis is challenging. Functional MRI (fMRI) and structural MRI (sMRI) are useful techniques for investigating the functional and structural abnormalities of the human brain, and a growing number of studies have reported that multimodal brain data can improve diagnostic accuracy. Machine learning (ML) is widely used in the diagnosis of neuroscience and neuropsychiatry diseases, and it can obtain high accuracy. However, the conventional ML which concatenated the features into a longer feature vector could not be sufficiently effective to combine different features from different modalities. There are considerable controversies over the use of global signal regression (GSR), and few studies have explored the role of GSR in ML in diagnosing neurological diseases. The current study utilized fMRI and sMRI data to implement a new method named multimodal imaging and multilevel characterization with multiclassifier (M3) to classify SZs and healthy controls (HCs) and investigate the influence of GSR in SZ classification. We found that when we used Brainnetome 246 atlas and without performed GSR, our method obtained a classification accuracy of 83.49%, with a sensitivity of 68.69%, a specificity of 93.75%, and an AUC of 0.8491, respectively. We also got great classification performances with different processing methods (with/without GSR and different brain parcellation schemes). We found that the accuracy and specificity of the models without GSR were higher than that of the models with GSR. Our findings indicate that the M3 method is an effective tool to distinguish SZs from HCs, and it can identify discriminative regions to detect SZ to explore the neural mechanisms underlying SZ. The global signal may contain important neuronal information; it can improve the accuracy and specificity of SZ detection.

Experiencing organ failure in virtual reality: Effects of self- versus other-embodied perspective taking on empathy and prosocial outcomes

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 2144-2166
Author(s):  
Benjamin J Li ◽  
Hye Kyung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Organ Failure ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Prosocial Behaviors ◽  
Kidney Donation ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Unique Capability

This study capitalizes on the unique capability of virtual reality (VR) to examine the efficacy of self- versus other-embodied perspective taking in promoting kidney donation in Singapore. The study used a 2 (self- vs other-embodied) × 2 (mirror vs photo presentation) between-subjects VR experiment ( N = 128), wherein participants played the role of a patient needing a kidney donation, either as themselves or as a typical organ-failure patient. Our findings showed that self-embodied perspective taking triggered self-oriented emotions (i.e. personal distress) and subsequently egoistic motivations that resulted in alternative prosocial behaviors (e.g. monetary donation, volunteering) than kidney donation. We found that embodying the other, rather than the self, had the practical benefit of inducing other-oriented emotions (i.e. empathy) and hence altruistic motivations that promoted kidney donation. This study clarified the conditions under which embodied perspective taking promoted different prosocial outcomes, and the specific mechanisms through which it achieved those outcomes.

Sense-Making View of Knowledge Management: Theoretical Development and Empirical Validation

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (01) ◽  
pp. 37-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Kyoon Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Interdisciplinary Teams ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Research Model

The dynamics of knowledge management (KM) have evolved from the information-processing view of KM to the sense-making view of KM. The information-processing view of KM has been prevalent in the slow-paced, predicable environment. The sense-making view of KM, on the other hand, emerges in the environment where the fast, unpredictable pace of change is salient. Despite its significant and growing importance, there is a limited and fragmented understanding of the sense-making view of KM. This study addresses the issue of how the sense-making view of KM can be embodied by presenting and testing a research model. Data collected from 208 interdisciplinary teams were used to examine the research model by structural equation modeling. Results indicate that cognitive empowerment has a significant impact on perspective taking. Trust and media richness are critical determinants of cognitive empowerment. This study provides important insights of the role of cognition and behaviour in building the sense-making view of KM.

scholarly journals Dissociable Neural Systems Supporting Knowledge about Human Character and Appearance in Ourselves and Others

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 2222-2230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph M. Moran ◽  
Su Mei Lee ◽  
John D. E. Gabrieli
Keyword(s):  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Neural System ◽  
The Self ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Double Dissociation ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Processing Information ◽  
President Bush

Functional neuroimaging has identified a neural system comprising posterior cingulate (pCC) and medial prefrontal (mPFC) cortices that appears to mediate self-referential thought. It is unclear whether the two components of this system mediate similar or different psychological processes, and how specific this system is for self relative to others. In an fMRI study, we compared brain responses for evaluation of character (e.g., honest) versus appearance (e.g., svelte) for oneself, one's mother (a close other), and President Bush (a distant other). There was a double dissociation between dorsal mPFC, which was more engaged for character than appearance judgments, and pCC, which was more engaged for appearance than character judgments. A ventral region of mPFC was engaged for judgments involving one's own character and appearance, and one's mother's character, but not her appearance. A follow-up behavioral study indicated that participants rate their own character and appearance, and their mother's character, but not her appearance, as important in their self-concept. This suggests that ventral mPFC activation reflects its role in processing information relevant to the self, but not limited to the self. Thus, specific neural systems mediate specific aspects of thinking about character and appearance in oneself and in others.

The Neurobiology of Trust and Social Decision-Making

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan B. Engelmann ◽  
Ernst Fehr
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Neuroscience ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Social Decision ◽  
Social Decisions ◽  
Social Decision Making ◽  
Economic Considerations

There is accumulating evidence suggesting that emotions can have a strong impact on social decision-making. However, the neural mechanisms of emotional influences on choice are less well understood to date. This chapter integrates recent results from two independent but related research streams in social neuroeconomics and social neuroscience, which together identify the neural mechanisms involved in the influences of emotions on social choice. Specifically, research in social neuroeconomics has shown that social decisions, such as trust-taking, involve commonly ignored emotional considerations in addition to economic considerations related to payouts. These results are paralleled by recent findings in social neuroscience that underline the role of emotions in social interactions. Because anticipatory emotions associated with social approval and rejection can have important, but often ignored, influences on social choices the integration of emotions into theories of social decision-making is necessary.

scholarly journals Conscious Perception: Time for an Update?

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moti Salti ◽  
Asaf Harel ◽  
Sébastien Marti
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Dynamic Process ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Conscious Perception ◽  
Neural Correlates Of Consciousness ◽  
Stimulus Saliency ◽  
Perception Time

Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying conscious perception has become a central endeavor in cognitive neuroscience. In theories of conscious perception, a stimulus gaining conscious access is usually considered as a discrete neuronal event to be characterized in time or space, sometimes referred to as a conscious “episode.” Surprisingly, the alternative hypothesis according to which conscious perception is a dynamic process has rarely been considered. Here, we discuss this hypothesis and its implications. We show how it can reconcile inconsistent empirical findings on the timing of the neural correlates of consciousness and make testable predictions. According to this hypothesis, a stimulus is consciously perceived for as long as it is recoded to fit an ongoing stream composed of all other perceived stimuli. We suggest that this “updating” process is governed by at least three factors (1) context, (2) stimulus saliency, and (3) observers' goals. Finally, this framework forces us to reconsider the typical distinction between conscious and unconscious information processing.

scholarly journals Oscillatory Networks of High-Level Mental Alignment: A Perspective-Taking MEG Study

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.A Seymour, ◽  
H. Wang, ◽  
G. Rippon, ◽  
K. Kessler,
Keyword(s):  
Executive Control ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Body Schema ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
The Self ◽  
Theta Band ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
The Right ◽  
High Level

AbstractMentally imagining another’s perspective is a high-level social process, reliant on manipulating internal representations of the self in an embodied manner. Recently Wang et al., (1) showed that theta-band (3-7Hz) brain oscillations within the right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ) and brain regions coding for motor/body schema contribute to the process of perspective-taking. Using a task requiring participants to engage in embodied perspective-taking, we set out to unravel the extended functional brain network and its connections in detail. We found that increasing the angle of disparity between self and other perspective was accompanied by longer reaction times and increases in theta power within rTPJ, right lateral pre-frontal cortex (PFC) and right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Using nonparametric Granger-causality, we showed that during later stages of perspective-taking, the lateral PFC and ACC exert top-down influences over rTPJ, indicative of executive control processes required for managing conflicts between self and other perspectives. Finally, we quantified patterns of whole-brain phase coupling (imaginary coherence) in relation to rTPJ during high-level perspective taking. Results suggest that rTPJ increases its theta-band phase synchrony with brain regions involved in mentalizing and regions coding for motor/body schema; whilst decreasing its synchrony to visual regions. Implications for neurocognitive models are discussed, and it is proposed that rTPJ acts as a ‘hub’ to route bottom-up visual information to internal representations of the self during perspective-taking, co-ordinated by theta-band oscillations. The self is then projected onto the other’s perspective via embodied motor/body schema transformations, regulated by top-down cingulo-frontal activity.Significance StatementHigh-level social processing, such as the ability to imagine another’s visuospatial experience of the world (perspective taking), is a core part of what makes us human. Building on a substantial body of converging previous evidence, our study reveals how concerted activity across the cortex in low frequencies (theta: 3-7 Hz) implements this crucial human process. We found that oscillatory power and connectivity (imaginary coherence, nonparametric Granger causality) at theta frequency linked functional sub-networks of executive control, mentalizing, and sensorimotor/body schema via a main hub located in the right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ). Our findings inform neurocognitive models of social cognition by describing the co-ordinated changes in brain network connectivity, mediated by theta oscillations, during perspective-taking.

scholarly journals The brain-bases of responsiveness variability under moderate anaesthesia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Deng ◽  
Nicola Taylor ◽  
Adrian M. Owen ◽  
Rhodri Cusack ◽  
Lorina Naci
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Grey Matter Volume ◽  
Clinical Anaesthesia ◽  
Powerful Approach ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Brain

AbstractAnaesthesia combined with functional neuroimaging provides a powerful approach for understanding the brain mechanisms that change as consciousness fades. Although propofol is used ubiquitously in clinical interventions that reversibly suppress consciousness, its effect varies substantially between individuals, and the brain bases of this variability remain poorly understood. We asked whether three networks that are primary sites of propofol-induced sedation and key to conscious cognition — the dorsal attention (DAN), executive control (ECN), and default mode (DMN) network — underlie responsiveness variability under anaesthesia. Healthy participants (N=17) underwent propofol sedation inside the fMRI scanner at dosages of ‘moderate’ anaesthesia, and behavioural responsiveness was measured with a target detection task. To assess information processing, participants were scanned during an active engagement condition comprised of a suspenseful auditory narrative, in addition to the resting state. A behavioural investigation in a second group of non-anesthetized participants (N=25) qualified the attention demands of narrative understanding, which we then related to the brain activity of participants who underwent sedation. 30% of participants showed no delay in reaction times relative to wakefulness, whereas the others, showed significantly delayed and fragmented responses, or full omission of responses. These responsiveness differences did not relate to information processing differences. Rather, only the functional connectivity within the ECN during wakefulness differentiated the participants’ responsiveness level, with significantly stronger connectivity in the fast relative to slow responders. Consistent with this finding, fast responders had significantly higher grey matter volume in the frontal cortex aspect of the ECN. For the first time, these results show that responsiveness variability during propofol anaesthesia relates to inherent differences in brain function and structure within the executive control network, which can be predicted prior to sedation. These results shed light on the brain bases of responsiveness differences and highlight novel markers that may help to improve the accuracy of awareness monitoring during clinical anaesthesia.

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