Functional connectivity patterns of trait empathy are associated with age
Marie-Pier B Tremblay1, Isabelle Deschamps2, Béatrice Tousignant3
1École de psychologie, Université Laval, 2325, rue des Bibliothèques, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada; Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale (CIRRIS), 525, boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel, Québec, Québec G1M 2S8, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO, 2601, rue de la Canardière, Québec, Québec G1J 2G3, Canada.
Brain and Cognition
|March 19, 2022
Summary
Adolescents show differences in brain connectivity related to cognitive empathy compared to adults. These findings link self-reported empathy levels to functional connectivity patterns in key brain regions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Empathy involves affective and cognitive components, with imbalances potentially causing deficits.
- The anterior insula (AI) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) are crucial for empathy.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate functional connectivity of AI and dmPFC in relation to empathy subscales.
- Examine age and sex differences in empathy-related brain connectivity.
Main Methods:
- Seed-based functional connectivity analysis on 33 healthy participants (adolescents and adults, men and women).
- Used Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) for affective and cognitive empathy assessment.
Main Results:
- Adolescents reported lower cognitive empathy; men reported lower affective empathy than women.
- dmPFC-cognitive empathy connectivity differed between adolescents and adults.
- AI-affective empathy connectivity differed between adolescents and adults.
- Connectivity patterns were similar between sexes.
- Adolescents exhibited negative covariations between regions of interest and default-mode/salience networks.
Conclusions:
- Age-related differences in empathy are reflected in AI and dmPFC functional connectivity.
- Lower self-reported empathy in adolescents may correlate with specific brain connectivity patterns.
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