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Feeling Touched: Empathy Is Associated With Performance in a Tactile Acuity Task.
Michael Schaefer1, Marcel Joch1, Nikolas Rother1
1Department Naturwissenschaften, Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|February 26, 2021
Summary
Higher tactile acuity, the ability to discern touch, is linked to greater empathic concern. This suggests a connection between sensory perception and understanding others' emotions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Sensory Perception
Background:
- Empathy involves understanding and relating to others' emotions and intentions.
- Neuroscience research implicates somatosensory cortices in empathy, alongside areas like the insula and ACC.
- The primary somatosensory cortex traditionally processes tactile information from the body surface.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between tactile performance and the personality trait of empathy.
- To determine if tactile acuity is associated with self-reported empathy levels.
Main Methods:
- Assessed tactile acuity using a two-point discrimination threshold task on the index fingers of 95 healthy participants.
- Measured trait empathy via the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), which includes scales for empathic concern, perspective taking, fantasy, and personal distress.
Main Results:
- Regression analyses revealed a significant positive association between the empathic concern subscale of the IRI and performance in the tactile acuity task.
- Individuals with higher empathic concern demonstrated better tactile performance.
Conclusions:
- Tactile performance, specifically acuity, is linked to the empathic trait of empathic concern.
- Findings suggest a potential role for somatosensory processing in empathy.
- Explores the possibility of tactile training as a method to enhance empathy.
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