Individual differences in local gray matter density are associated with differences in affective and cognitive empathy
Individual differences in local gray matter density are associated with differences in affective and cognitive empathy
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DOI：
10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.05.038
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发表时间：
2015-08-15
期刊：
影响因子：
5.7
通讯作者：
Molenberghs, Pascal
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Eres, Robert;Decety, Jean;Molenberghs, Pascal
近年来，从神经科学的角度对同理心的理解发展迅速，大量的功能磁共振研究将不同的大脑区域与同理心的不同组成部分联系起来。最近一项对40项功能磁共振研究的荟萃分析显示，情感共鸣最常与脑岛活动增加有关，而认知共情最常与中扣带皮质和邻近的背内侧前额叶皮质(MCC/dmPFC)的活动有关。然而，到目前为止，还不清楚这些区域大脑形态测量的个体差异是否会导致情感和认知移情的不同倾向。为了验证这一假设，基于体素的形态计量学(VBM)被用来检验灰质密度对已建立的共情测量(认知和情感共情问卷；QCAE)得分的预测程度。176名参与者完成了QCAE，并接受了磁共振成像，以获得高分辨率的三维T1加权结构扫描。对问卷得分的因素分析表明，移情有两个不同的因素，即情感因素和认知因素，证实了QCAE的有效性。VBM结果显示，灰质密度的差异与同理心的不同组成部分有关。情感同理心得分越高，岛叶皮质灰质密度越大，认知同理心得分越高，MCC/dmPFC灰质密度越大。综上所述，这些结果验证了移情是一个多成分的结构，表明情感移情和认知移情在脑形态测量学中有不同的表现，同时也为移情由不同的神经和结构相关因素所代表提供了一致的证据。(C)2015 Elsevier Inc.保留所有权利。
The understanding of empathy from a neuroscientific perspective has recently developed quickly, with numerous functional MRI studies associating different brain regions with different components of empathy. A recent meta-analysis across 40 fMRI studies revealed that affective empathy is most often associated with increased activity in the insula, whereas cognitive empathy is most often associated with activity in the midcingulate cortex and adjacent dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (MCC/dmPFC). To date, however, it remains unclear whether individual differences in brain morphometry in these regions underlie different dispositions in affective and cognitive empathy. In order to test this hypothesis, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to examine the extent to which gray matter density predicts scores from an established empathy measure (Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy; QCAE). One hundred and seventy-six participants completed the QCAE and underwent MRI in order to acquire a high-resolution, three-dimensional T1-weighted structural scans. A factor analysis of the questionnaire scores revealed two distinct factors of empathy, affective and cognitive, which confirmed the validity of the QCAE. VBM results revealed gray matter density differences associated with the distinct components of empathy. Higher scores on affective empathy were associated with greater gray matter density in the insula cortex and higher scores of cognitive empathy were associated with greater gray matter density in the MCC/dmPFC. Taken together, these results provide validation for empathy being a multi-component construct, suggesting that affective and cognitive empathy are differentially represented in brain morphometry as well as providing convergent evidence for empathy being represented by different neural and structural correlates. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.