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Related Experiment Video

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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotion Regulation
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Aging is associated with changes in the neural circuits underlying empathy.

Yao-Chu Chen1, Cheng-Chiang Chen2, Jean Decety3

  • 1Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Neurobiology of Aging
|November 12, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Older adults show reduced emotional empathy linked to brain changes. However, their ability to perceive agency remains intact across the lifespan, suggesting distinct aging trajectories for these social cognition components.

Keywords:
AgencyAgingDynamic causal modelingEffective connectivityEmpathyFunctional MRIGray matter volume

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Empathy neurodevelopment is studied in youth, but lifespan aging perspectives are lacking.
  • Understanding how empathy and agency perception change with age is crucial for social cognition research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate age-related changes in the neural basis of emotional empathy and perceived agency.
  • To examine how different age groups respond to accidental versus intentional harm.

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on 65 healthy adults across three age groups (young, middle-aged, old).
  • Participants viewed visual stimuli of injured body parts (accidental vs. intentional harm).
  • Analysis included behavioral ratings, neural responses (anterior insula, ACC, mPFC, pSTS), and effective connectivity (DCM).

Main Results:

  • Older adults reported lower dispositional emotional empathy and rated intentional harm as more unpleasant.
  • Neural response in the anterior insula and ACC to others' pain (emotional empathy) declined with age.
  • Neural response in medial prefrontal cortex and posterior superior temporal sulcus to perceived agency remained stable across age groups.
  • Effective connectivity between regions was preserved, and hemodynamic response was not linked to gray matter volume.

Conclusions:

  • Emotional empathy shows an age-related decline in neural response.
  • The neural processing of perceived agency is preserved throughout adulthood.
  • These findings highlight distinct aging patterns for empathy and agency perception in social cognition.