Getting in touch with ourselves: Self-Compassion is associated with subcortical brain structures.
Gina Sophie Scheiwe1, Philine König1, Esther Zwiky2
1Department of Psychology, University of Halle, Germany.
Brain Research Bulletin
|May 7, 2026
Summary
Self-compassion and a compassionate attitude are linked to reduced gray matter volume in the amygdala, a brain region crucial for emotion processing. This suggests a neural basis for self-compassion in emotional regulation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Brain Imaging
Background:
- Self-compassion is increasingly important in research and psychotherapy.
- Neural correlates of self-compassion remain largely unexplored.
- Related constructs like empathy and emotion regulation involve subcortical brain structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between self-compassion and brain structure.
- To examine gray matter volume (GMV) in specific subcortical regions.
Main Methods:
- Structural MRI data from 301 healthy participants were analyzed.
- Voxel-wise multiple regression analyses correlated Self-Compassion Scale scores with GMV.
- Regions of interest included the amygdala, hippocampus, and insula; TFCE correction was applied.
Main Results:
- A significant negative association was found between self-compassion and GMV in the left amygdala.
- A negative association was also observed between a self-compassionate attitude and GMV in the bilateral amygdala.
- No significant associations were found with the hippocampus or insula.
Conclusions:
- Self-compassion and a self-compassionate attitude are associated with subcortical brain structures involved in emotion processing.
- Findings suggest a relevance of self-compassion for emotional encoding and appraisal.
- This study provides initial evidence for the neural correlates of self-compassion.
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