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Empathy and the Brain

Simon Baron-Cohen's Empathy Circuit The medial prefrontal cortex compares our own perspective to others' (the dorsal understands others' perspectives, and the ventral understands our own perspective). anterior ventral cingulate medial The amygdala controls the basic emotions of fear and anger. дyrus prefrontal cortex right temporoparietal junction dorsal The anterior cingulate gyrus experiences our own and others' pain. medial BACK OF SKULL prefrontal cortex The anterior insula allows physical self-awareness, and identification with others and translates sensations into feelings. The right temporoparietal junction judges others' intentions and beliefs and watches the self and others. The superior temporal sulcus sees biological motion and eye gaze. The orbitofrontal cortex watches social norms and judges whether something is painful. Von Economo Neurons Von Economo FRONT OF SKULL These detect social breakdowns, an example of which is someone harming another, and changes in emotion. The frontal operculum is like the area in a monkey brain that judges others' intentions. Neuron The inferior parietal sulcus and inferior parietal lobule contain mirror neurons, which fire both when we act and when we watch someone else act. FRONT OF SKULL corpus callosum The somatosensory cortex, which controls the sense of touch, reacts when someone is in pain. thalamus superior longitudinal fasciculus anterior inferior thalamic frontal radiation lacoboni's Imitation Network Our ability to imitate others is a key to empathy. gyrus frontal lobe First, the inferior frontal gyrus determines the goal of the action to be imitated. orbitofrontal cortex From the inferior frontal gyrus, the brain determines how a certain imitation will right inferior longitudinal fasciculus feel. Then, the superior temporal sulcus matches the visual description of an action and predictions of how an imitation will feel. BACK OF SKULL frontal The visual description of an action goes to the posterior parietal lobe, which then provides more information on the action to be imitated. operculum amygdala This information goes back to the inferior frontal gyrus. anterior insula somatosensory cortex superior temporal Connections gyrus The thicker these structures are, the more empathetic a person usually is. The superior longitudinal fasciculus connects the inferior frontal gyrus and inferior frontooccipital fasciculus connected to anterior insula uncinate inferior the inferior parietal lobule. fasciculus occipital parietal sulcus * lacoboni's imitation network The anterior thalamic radiation connects lobe the thalamus, which acts as a relay station from sense perception to awareness, with the frontal lobe (complex thought and feeling) where Von Economo neurons are found Sources posterior parietal lobe inferior and the orbitofrontal cortex. parietal Allman, J.M., et al. (2010). The von Economo neurons in frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans. Brain Structure and Function, 214(5-6), 495-517.Retrieved from link.springer.com/article. lobule The right inferior longitudinal fasciculus connects the occipital lobe, which allows our sense of vision, with the anterior temporal lobe (social skills and emotional memory), the hippocampus (stores memories), and the amygdala. Augustine, James R.(1996). Circuitry and functional aspects of the insular lobe in primates including humans. Brain Research Reviews 22 (1996) 229-244. Retrieved from www.cs.phs.uoa.gr/ superior temporal sulcus superior temporal Baron-Cohen, Simon (2011). The science of evil: On empathy and the origins of cruelty. New York, NY: Basic Books. gyrus Catani, Marco and M.T. de Schotten (2012). Atlas of human brain connections. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. The uncinate fasciculus connects the amygdala and hippocampus to the orbitofrontal cortex and temporal poles (a part of the anterior temporal lobes that is involved in knowing what others feel). lacoboni, M. (2005). Neural mechanisms of imitation. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 2005(15), 632-637. doi 10.1016/j.conb.2005.10.010. Parkinson, C., & T. Wheatley (2014). Relating anatomical and social connectivity: White matter microstructure predicts emotional empathy. Cerebral Cortex, 24(3), 614-625. Retrieved from sites.google.com/site/ carolynparkinson/publications. The inferior frontooccipital fasciculus connects the occipital lobe to the ventral frontal lobe (contains the orbitofrontal cortex and the inferior frontal gyrus). Empathy and the Brain The corpus callosum connects the left and right halves of the brain, and therefore the two halves of the frontal lobe.

Empathy and the Brain

shared by madelinecoven on Jun 16
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My diagram captures some of the newest findings in the science of empathy.

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