Functional Neural Plasticity and Associated Changes in Positive Affect After Compassion Training
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences · University of Zurich · +3 more institutions
Abstract
The development of social emotions such as compassion is crucial for successful social interactions as well as for the maintenance of mental and physical health, especially when confronted with distressing life events. Yet, the neural mechanisms supporting the training of these emotions are poorly understood. To study affective plasticity in healthy adults, we measured functional neural and subjective responses to witnessing the distress of others in a newly developed task (Socio-affective Video Task). Participants' initial empathic responses to the task were accompanied by negative affect and activations in the anterior insula and anterior medial cingulate cortex--a core neural network underlying empathy for…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 36.69
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 58
Authors
4- OKOlga KlimeckiCorresponding
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
- SLSusanne Leiberg
University of Zurich, Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research
- CLClaus Lamm
University of Vienna
- TSTania Singer
Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, Max Planck Society, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Zurich
Topics & keywords
- Psychology
- Affect (linguistics)
- Empathy
- Anterior cingulate cortex
- Insula
- Neural correlates of consciousness
- Distress
- Cingulate cortex
- Reduced inequalities
Funding
- NSNational Science FoundationAward: FP7/2007-2013
- MAMind and Life Institute
- SNSchweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen ForschungAward: FP7/2007-2013
- UZUniversität Zürich
- NCNational Center of Competence in Research Affective Sciences - Emotions in Individual Behaviour and Social Processes
- NCNeuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich