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The Dialectic Between Empathy and Violence: An Opportunity for Intervention?
Doriana Chialant1, Judith Edersheim1, Bruce H Price1
1From the Depts. of Psychiatry (DC, JE) and Neurology (BHP), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; the Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior (DC, JE, BHP) and the Law & Psychiatry Service (JE), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; and the Dept. of Neurology, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA (BHP).
The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
|February 23, 2016
Summary
The neurobiology of empathy and psychopathic violence share brain regions, suggesting an inverse relationship. Damage to these areas may cause aggression but not empathy deficits, impacting interventions.
Area of Science:
- Neurobiology
- Psychology
- Forensic Psychiatry
Background:
- Empathy is crucial for social interaction.
- Psychopathy is characterized by a profound lack of empathy and increased aggression.
- Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of empathy and its deficit in psychopathy is critical.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the neurobiology of empathy.
- To compare empathy neurobiology with that of psychopathic predatory violence.
- To explore the implications for interventions.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review.
- Neurobiological analysis of empathy and psychopathy.
- Examination of brain regions like the prefrontal cortex and limbic system.
Main Results:
- Shared neurobiological substrates for empathy and aggression in the prefrontal cortex and limbic system.
- Evidence suggests an inverse structural relationship: damage may lead to aggression but not empathy deficits.
- A dialectic between empathy and predatory violence is proposed.
Conclusions:
- The neurobiology of empathy and psychopathic violence are intertwined.
- Early empathy training may be a viable intervention for treatment-resistant psychopathy.
- Further research into the inverse relationship could inform therapeutic strategies.
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