Is there a core neural network in empathy? An fMRI based quantitative meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Social Neuroscience

Background:

• Empathy research has identified various brain regions but lacks clarity on activation consistency and specific roles.
• Understanding the neural underpinnings of empathy is crucial for both basic science and clinical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To perform a quantitative meta-analysis of fMRI studies on empathy to identify consistently activated brain regions.
• To differentiate the neural activation patterns associated with affective-perceptual and cognitive-evaluative forms of empathy.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Multilevel Kernel Density Analysis (MKDA), a whole-brain based quantitative meta-analysis.
• Analyzed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from recent empathy studies.
• Compared neural activations between affective-perceptual and cognitive-evaluative empathy tasks.

Main Results:

• Identified the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex-anterior midcingulate cortex-supplementary motor area (dACC-aMCC-SMA) and bilateral anterior insula as consistently activated in empathy.
• The dorsal aMCC was more frequently recruited in cognitive-evaluative empathy.
• The right anterior insula was specific to affective-perceptual empathy, while the left anterior insula was active in both forms.

Conclusions:

• The dACC-aMCC-SMA and bilateral insula form a core neural network for empathy.
• Affective-perceptual and cognitive-evaluative empathy can be distinguished based on distinct regional activation patterns within this network.