Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 18, 2025
10:39
3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
18.6K
Brain imaging evidence for why we are numbed by numbers
Zheng Ye1,2, Marcus Heldmann3,4, Paul Slovic5,6
1Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China. yez@ion.ac.cn.
Scientific Reports
|June 11, 2020
Summary
Humans show limited empathy for large groups due to brain network constraints. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), crucial for empathy, activates more for single victims than many, explaining indifference to mass suffering.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Human empathy is inconsistent, often diminishing as victim numbers rise.
- This phenomenon, known as psychophysical numbing, impacts altruistic behavior and aid.
- Understanding the neural basis of this empathy gap is critical.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying inconsistent empathy towards varying numbers of victims.
- To identify brain regions involved in perspective-taking and their differential activation patterns.
- To explore the neurological basis for indifference towards large-scale suffering.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to measure brain activity.
- Participants viewed scenarios involving single versus multiple individuals experiencing events.
- Neural responses within the core empathy network were analyzed.
Main Results:
- The core empathy network, including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), showed greater activation for single-person events compared to many-person events.
- This differential activation persisted regardless of event emotional valence (neutral or negative).
- The mPFC exhibited more extensive and pronounced activation for single-victim scenarios.
Conclusions:
- The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) may serve as a neural marker for empathy limitations.
- Findings suggest a neural basis for why individuals feel less empathy for large-scale suffering.
- This research provides insights into the neurological underpinnings of humanitarian aid disparities.
