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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Observational Fear as a Model of Affective Empathy in Mice

Observational Fear as a Model of Affective Empathy in Mice

Published on: November 22, 2024

The neural bases for empathy.

Simone G Shamay-Tsoory¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Israel. sshamay@psy.haifa.ac.il

The Neuroscientist : a Review Journal Bringing Neurobiology, Neurology and Psychiatry

|November 13, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Human empathy involves both sharing emotions and understanding others. Research suggests distinct neural networks support emotional and cognitive empathy, though they may interact.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychology
Social Cognition

Background:

Human empathy comprises emotional sharing and cognitive understanding.
Emerging evidence suggests two distinct systems for empathy: emotional and cognitive.
These systems involve specific neural networks and are supported by diverse research methodologies.

Purpose of the Study:

To delineate the neural underpinnings of emotional and cognitive empathy.
To explore the dissociation and potential interaction between these two empathic systems.
To synthesize evidence from neuroimaging, lesion studies, neurochemistry, and developmental research.

Main Methods:

Neuroimaging studies identifying brain regions involved in empathy.
Lesion studies examining the effects of brain damage on empathic abilities.
Neurochemical experiments, including oxytocin administration.
Ethological, psychiatric, and developmental research.

Main Results:

A neural network including the inferior frontal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule is crucial for emotional empathy (emotion recognition, contagion).
Regions like the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction, and medial temporal lobe are vital for cognitive empathy (self-reflection, memory).
Evidence supports the dissociation of emotional and cognitive empathy systems, though they can interact.

Conclusions:

Emotional and cognitive empathy are supported by distinct, yet potentially interacting, neural systems.
Understanding these systems provides insight into the complexities of human social cognition.
Further research can explore the contextual modulation of both empathic components.