If philosophers
and scientists agree on one thing, it is that humans are exceptionally different
from other animals. Traits including language and communication,
self-awareness, and particularly, our capability to empathize. In the course, Behavioral
and Cognitive Neuroscience (PSYC 382), we learnt that empathy could possibly originate
from imitation. Similar to the Singer et al. study that we
studied in class, as explained in Science Daily, Decety et al., executed a
really similar study except on subjects with diagnosed psychopathy.
The method for
these studies used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on the
participants. The subjects used in Decety et al. were inmates of a medium security
correctional facility. Participants were shown scenarios depicting pain, for
example, a finger stuck between a door or a toe being stubbed on the corner of
a table. They were instructed to first imagine the painful experience happening
to themselves, and then to another. The inmates were also assessed for
any level of psychopathy using the PCL-R tool. As per the fMRIs, subjects that
received a high score on the psychopathy assessment tool showed a normal neural
response when instructed to imagine themselves in pain. Specifically, the
anterior insula, somatosensory cortex, anterior, midcingulate, and right amygdala
were activated. However, when the same participants imagined pain to somebody else,
these regions failed to activate, and rather the ventral striatum, an area
thought to be linked with pleasure was activated. This study shows that the
ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) along with the amygdala are critical in the expression
of empathy and well-being of others. Another study that shows the importance of
the vmPFC and the amygdala, but in the regulation of mood, was showcased in
class when Michael Koenigs spoke.
Koenigs explained
that the techniques used in the study, Ventromedial
Prefrontal Cortex Is Critical for the Regulation of Amygdala Activity in Humans,
included the use of event-related fMRI tasks. Each participant was exposed to
aversive and neutral pictures in normal comparison subjects and subjects with vmPFC
lesions. Results show that both groups rated aversive pictures as more negative
than neutral ones. However, vmPFC lesion patients displayed greater right
amygdala activation to aversive pictures than the normal comparison subjects. This
suggests that lesions to the vmPFC triggers the activation of the amygdala and
that these findings are pertinent to exploring the neural models of emotion
regulation in psychopathology.
Both, Decety et
al. and Motzkin et al., show that the vmPFC and the amygdala are crucial for
emotion and affect regulation. Combining the goals, findings, and resources of
the two studies can help further the understanding of psychopathy and how the neural
functioning of those beings differ from the humans that experience empathy.
There are varying levels of how empathy is received cognitively, and how it is
expressed behaviorally, but it is chilling to know that there are individuals
who are incapable of even thinking about how another may feel.
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