TY - JOUR
T1 - Can we share the joy of others? Empathic neural responses to distress vs joy
AU - Perry, Daniella
AU - Hendler, Talma
AU - Shamay-Tsoory, Simone G.
PY - 2012/11
Y1 - 2012/11
N2 - The neural bases of empathy have been examined mainly in the context of reacting to others' distress, while almost no attention has been paid to the mechanisms by which we share others' joy. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we demonstrated that the same neural network mediates judgment of the emotional state of the other in response to both negative and positive events through empathy-related structures, such as the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), the insula, the superior temporal sulcus (STS) and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). However, the responses of the MPFC, bilateral insula and the right IFG to negative experiences occurring to the other (but not to the self) were found to be much more intense than the responses to positive experiences, indicating that humans have a remarkable ability to share the distress of others, but may react less to the joy of others.
AB - The neural bases of empathy have been examined mainly in the context of reacting to others' distress, while almost no attention has been paid to the mechanisms by which we share others' joy. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we demonstrated that the same neural network mediates judgment of the emotional state of the other in response to both negative and positive events through empathy-related structures, such as the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), the insula, the superior temporal sulcus (STS) and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). However, the responses of the MPFC, bilateral insula and the right IFG to negative experiences occurring to the other (but not to the self) were found to be much more intense than the responses to positive experiences, indicating that humans have a remarkable ability to share the distress of others, but may react less to the joy of others.
KW - Distress
KW - Empathy
KW - Joy
KW - Medial prefrontal cortex
KW - Social neuroscience
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84870202186&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/scan/nsr073
DO - 10.1093/scan/nsr073
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AN - SCOPUS:84870202186
SN - 1749-5016
VL - 7
SP - 909
EP - 916
JO - Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
JF - Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
IS - 8
M1 - nsr073
ER -