Affektive (Empathie und Mitgefühl) und kognitive (Theory of Mind (ToM)) neuronale Netzwerke liege... more Affektive (Empathie und Mitgefühl) und kognitive (Theory of Mind (ToM)) neuronale Netzwerke liegen unserem Verständnis Anderer zugrunde. Inwieweit diese Netzwerke direkt trennbar sind, ob sie einander bedingen, d.h. ob hohe Empathie-Fähigkeit auch gute ToM-Fertigkeiten bedeutet, und wie sie zusammenarbeiten ist unbekannt. Im Rahmen der ReSource-Studie, einer 9-Monats-Trainings-Studie mit Modulen zu Achtsamkeit, Affekt und Perspektivübernahme sind wir sowohl diesen Fragen, als auch der differentiellen Plastizität der Netzwerke nachgegangen. Die neu-entwickelte Aufgabe ‚EmpaToM‘ konfrontiert Probanden (N=178) im fMRT mit naturalistischen Videos in denen emotionale oder neutrale Episoden berichtet werden. Auf jedes Video folgt eine Frage zum Inhalt des Videos, die entweder ToM oder logisches Schlussfolgern testet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen klare Trennbarkeit der Netzwerke, die während des Online-Verständnisses Anderer miteinander kommunizieren. Hohe Empathie-Fähigkeit geht dabei nicht automatisch mit guten ToM-Fertigkeiten einher. Besonders bedeutsam für die Psychotherapieforschung sind differentielle Effekte der verschiedenen Module, die zeigen, dass sozio-affektive und -kognitive Fähigkeiten separat trainiert werden können
Social neuroscience has identified different neural networks, a more affective (empathy and compa... more Social neuroscience has identified different neural networks, a more affective (empathy and compassion) and a more cognitive route (Theory of Mind (ToM)) to the understanding of others. While the anterior insula (AI) is critically involved when empathizing with the pain of another person, experiencing compassion for another’s suffering activates a different network including the ventral striatum. ToM tasks, in contrast, engage the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), temporal poles (TP) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). To study the separability and interrelations of these neural networks as well as their plasticity, we developed a novel paradigm, the EmpaToM. In the EmpaToM task, participants were presented with naturalistic video stimuli in which people recount autobiographical episodes that are either emotional or neutral. Each video is followed by empathy and compassion ratings and questions about the content of the video that probe ToM. Participants were tested before and after each training module in a 3T Scanner. At baseline, emotional vs. neutral videos increased activity in bilateral AI, which parametrically modulated with subjective empathy ratings. Compassion ratings, in contrast, covaried with activity in the ventral striatum. ToM activated bilateral TPJ, TP and MPFC. Inter-individual differences in the activity of these networks were uncorrelated, suggesting independence of these socio-affective and -cognitive abilities. Training in the Perspective, but not the Presence or Affective Module, enhanced performance in ToM questions. The compassion ratings, in contrast, increased more after the Affective and Perspective module, not so however after the Presence module. Similarly, differential change was also observed with regards to the neural networks underlying compassion and ToM. The present results confirm that the neural networks underlying empathy, compassion and ToM can be reliably identified within a single task and also demonstrate their independence on an inter-individual level – strong empathizers are not (necessarily) good mentalizers. Most critically, the training-related changes indicate that Theory of Mind can be trained by specific practices implemented in the Perspective Module. Surprisingly, there was an increase in experienced compassion after both, the Affective and the Perspective Modules. As no effect was observed after the Presence Module, which focused on attention and interoceptive awareness, the readiness to experience compassion seems to only increase after modules involving intersubjective exercises focusing on prosocial affect and motivation (Affective) or cognitive perspective taking of self and others (Perspective). In conclusion, these results provide first evidence that we can induce plasticity in socio-affective and socio-cognitive capacities through specifically designed mental training programs
Introduction: The ability to understand other people's mind and feelings encompasses differen... more Introduction: The ability to understand other people's mind and feelings encompasses different abilities such as empathy, the ability to share affective states of others, and mentalizing, the ability to attribute mental states to others. Functional neuroimaging has identified distinct substrates of both empathy and mentalizing. While for example empathizing with the pain or suffering of others consistently involves dorsal anterior insula cortex (dAI), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC), mentalizing relates to activity in a network including dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), posterior temporo-parietal junction (pTPJ), and superior temporal gyrus/sulcus (STG/STS). Whether this divergence is also found at the level of brain structure is unknown. Here, we employ MRI covariance analysis to jointly assess structural network substrates of individual differences in empathy and mentalizing. Methods: We studied 154 healthy participants (94 women, mean±SD age=40.5±9.5 years). We aggregated measures derived from multiple tasks (Samson et al., 2010; Klimecki et al., 2013; Kanske et al., in press) to create constructs of empathy and mentalizing. T1-weighted MRI was obtained using a 3T Siemens Verio scanner. FreeSurfer was used of generate cortical surface models and to measure cortical thickness (Fischl and Dale, 2000). Analysis was performed using SurfStat (Worsley et al., 2009). Based on intersections of task-based functional activations in the same subjects (Kanske et al., in press) and meta-analytical results (Lamm et al., 2011; Mar, 2011), we defined seeds involved in empathy (dAI, aMCC, IFG) and mentalizing pTPJ, STG/STS). We furthermore studied the right supramarginal gyrus (rSMG), a region proximal to the pTPJ that has been suggested to play a role in affective perspective taking (Silani et al., 2013). To map structural covariance networks, we correlated thickness of each seed with thickness across the entire cortical mantle. We studied the interaction between seed covariance strength and individual differences in empathy and mentalizing. Findings were corrected for multiple comparisons using random field theory. Results: We observed that individual differences in empathy and mentalizing related to the covariance of non-overlapping networks. Specifically, individuals with high empathy score had increased right dAI covariance to lateral prefrontal regions, whereas importantly, covariance of TPJ, dmPFC, STG/STS were not modulated by individual differences in empathy (Figure 1). On the other hand, individuals scoring high on mentalizing capacity had increased pTPJ and STG/STS network covariance to mPFC and TPJ (Figure 2). And again, no modulation of dAI, aMCC and IFG was observed by individual differences in mentalizing scores. Interestingly and in line with previous work, rSMG was modulated by empathy, but not mentalizing, to regions similar to the covariance network found in right dAI (Figure 3)
Social neuroscience has identified different neural networks, a more affective (empathy and compa... more Social neuroscience has identified different neural networks, a more affective (empathy and compassion) and a more cognitive route (Theory of Mind (ToM)), to the understanding of others. While the anterior insula (AI) is critically involved when empathizing with the pain of another person, experiencing compassion for another’s suffering activates a different network including the ventral striatum. ToM tasks, in contrast, engage the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), temporal poles (TP) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). The separability and interrelations of these two capacities and their related neural networks is, however, little understood. We, therefore, developed a novel task, the EmpaToM. Participants are presented with naturalistic video stimuli in which people recount autobiographical episodes that are either emotional or neutral. Each video is followed by empathy and compassion ratings and questions about the content of the video that probe ToM. Emotional vs. neutral videos increased activity in bilateral AI, which parametrically modulated with subjective empathy ratings. Compassion ratings, in contrast, covaried with activity in the ventral striatum. ToM activated bilateral TPJ, TP and MPFC. These two networks interact during the online understanding of others. However, inter-individual differences in the activity of these networks were uncorrelated, suggesting some independence, such that strong empathizers are not (necessarily) good mentalizers. Separate training of these capacities within the longitudinal ReSource study has differential enhancing effects on ToM performance and compassion, providing some first evidence that we can induce plasticity in socio-affective and socio-cognitive capacities
The neural networks associated with socio-affective (empathy, compassion) and socio-cognitive pro... more The neural networks associated with socio-affective (empathy, compassion) and socio-cognitive processes (mentalizing/Theory of Mind) have been well-characterized over the last years. The goal of the present talk is twofold: (1) To explore the separability of these functions during online social understanding on a subjective, behavioral and on a neural level and (2) to investigate the embedding of the related neural substrates in large-scale task-free neural networks. To this end, we acquired resting state as well as behavioral and neuroimaging data (fMRI) during a social video task in a large sample of participants (N = 178). The videos were short autobiographical narrations of emotionally negative and neutral events that allowed for asking Theory of Mind questions about the thoughts of the narrators and factual reasoning questions about the content of the stories, thereby allowing for independent assessment of socio-affective and socio-cognitive processing. Linking the phenomenological with the neural level, participants reported increased negative affect after emotional stories, which covaried with activity strength in the meta-analytically defined “empathy network”, but not with activity in the “Theory of Mind network”. Vice versa, performance in answering the Theory of Mind questions correlated with “Theory of Mind network”, but not “empathy network” activity. Interestingly, neither behavioral markers of social affect and mentalizing (i.e. emotional valence ratings and Theory of Mind performance) nor activity in the two respective neural networks correlated with each other. Furthermore, resting state functional connectivity to task activation based seed regions for empathy and Theory of Mind yielded distinct networks that strongly overlapped with the respective task activations and correspond to the well-described default mode network (Theory of Mind seeds) and the salience or central executive network (empathy). The data strongly argue for dissociable and independent socio-affective and -cognitive functions that are embedded in large-scale task-unrelated neural circuits
Affektive (Empathie und Mitgefühl) und kognitive (Theory of Mind (ToM)) neuronale Netzwerke liege... more Affektive (Empathie und Mitgefühl) und kognitive (Theory of Mind (ToM)) neuronale Netzwerke liegen unserem Verständnis Anderer zugrunde. Inwieweit diese Netzwerke direkt trennbar sind, ob sie einander bedingen, d.h. ob hohe Empathie-Fähigkeit auch gute ToM-Fertigkeiten bedeutet, und wie sie zusammenarbeiten ist unbekannt. Im Rahmen der ReSource-Studie, einer 9-Monats-Trainings-Studie mit Modulen zu Achtsamkeit, Affekt und Perspektivübernahme sind wir sowohl diesen Fragen, als auch der differentiellen Plastizität der Netzwerke nachgegangen. Die neu-entwickelte Aufgabe ‚EmpaToM‘ konfrontiert Probanden (N=178) im fMRT mit naturalistischen Videos in denen emotionale oder neutrale Episoden berichtet werden. Auf jedes Video folgt eine Frage zum Inhalt des Videos, die entweder ToM oder logisches Schlussfolgern testet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen klare Trennbarkeit der Netzwerke, die während des Online-Verständnisses Anderer miteinander kommunizieren. Hohe Empathie-Fähigkeit geht dabei nicht automatisch mit guten ToM-Fertigkeiten einher. Besonders bedeutsam für die Psychotherapieforschung sind differentielle Effekte der verschiedenen Module, die zeigen, dass sozio-affektive und -kognitive Fähigkeiten separat trainiert werden können
Social neuroscience has identified different neural networks, a more affective (empathy and compa... more Social neuroscience has identified different neural networks, a more affective (empathy and compassion) and a more cognitive route (Theory of Mind (ToM)) to the understanding of others. While the anterior insula (AI) is critically involved when empathizing with the pain of another person, experiencing compassion for another’s suffering activates a different network including the ventral striatum. ToM tasks, in contrast, engage the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), temporal poles (TP) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). To study the separability and interrelations of these neural networks as well as their plasticity, we developed a novel paradigm, the EmpaToM. In the EmpaToM task, participants were presented with naturalistic video stimuli in which people recount autobiographical episodes that are either emotional or neutral. Each video is followed by empathy and compassion ratings and questions about the content of the video that probe ToM. Participants were tested before and after each training module in a 3T Scanner. At baseline, emotional vs. neutral videos increased activity in bilateral AI, which parametrically modulated with subjective empathy ratings. Compassion ratings, in contrast, covaried with activity in the ventral striatum. ToM activated bilateral TPJ, TP and MPFC. Inter-individual differences in the activity of these networks were uncorrelated, suggesting independence of these socio-affective and -cognitive abilities. Training in the Perspective, but not the Presence or Affective Module, enhanced performance in ToM questions. The compassion ratings, in contrast, increased more after the Affective and Perspective module, not so however after the Presence module. Similarly, differential change was also observed with regards to the neural networks underlying compassion and ToM. The present results confirm that the neural networks underlying empathy, compassion and ToM can be reliably identified within a single task and also demonstrate their independence on an inter-individual level – strong empathizers are not (necessarily) good mentalizers. Most critically, the training-related changes indicate that Theory of Mind can be trained by specific practices implemented in the Perspective Module. Surprisingly, there was an increase in experienced compassion after both, the Affective and the Perspective Modules. As no effect was observed after the Presence Module, which focused on attention and interoceptive awareness, the readiness to experience compassion seems to only increase after modules involving intersubjective exercises focusing on prosocial affect and motivation (Affective) or cognitive perspective taking of self and others (Perspective). In conclusion, these results provide first evidence that we can induce plasticity in socio-affective and socio-cognitive capacities through specifically designed mental training programs
Introduction: The ability to understand other people's mind and feelings encompasses differen... more Introduction: The ability to understand other people's mind and feelings encompasses different abilities such as empathy, the ability to share affective states of others, and mentalizing, the ability to attribute mental states to others. Functional neuroimaging has identified distinct substrates of both empathy and mentalizing. While for example empathizing with the pain or suffering of others consistently involves dorsal anterior insula cortex (dAI), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC), mentalizing relates to activity in a network including dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), posterior temporo-parietal junction (pTPJ), and superior temporal gyrus/sulcus (STG/STS). Whether this divergence is also found at the level of brain structure is unknown. Here, we employ MRI covariance analysis to jointly assess structural network substrates of individual differences in empathy and mentalizing. Methods: We studied 154 healthy participants (94 women, mean±SD age=40.5±9.5 years). We aggregated measures derived from multiple tasks (Samson et al., 2010; Klimecki et al., 2013; Kanske et al., in press) to create constructs of empathy and mentalizing. T1-weighted MRI was obtained using a 3T Siemens Verio scanner. FreeSurfer was used of generate cortical surface models and to measure cortical thickness (Fischl and Dale, 2000). Analysis was performed using SurfStat (Worsley et al., 2009). Based on intersections of task-based functional activations in the same subjects (Kanske et al., in press) and meta-analytical results (Lamm et al., 2011; Mar, 2011), we defined seeds involved in empathy (dAI, aMCC, IFG) and mentalizing pTPJ, STG/STS). We furthermore studied the right supramarginal gyrus (rSMG), a region proximal to the pTPJ that has been suggested to play a role in affective perspective taking (Silani et al., 2013). To map structural covariance networks, we correlated thickness of each seed with thickness across the entire cortical mantle. We studied the interaction between seed covariance strength and individual differences in empathy and mentalizing. Findings were corrected for multiple comparisons using random field theory. Results: We observed that individual differences in empathy and mentalizing related to the covariance of non-overlapping networks. Specifically, individuals with high empathy score had increased right dAI covariance to lateral prefrontal regions, whereas importantly, covariance of TPJ, dmPFC, STG/STS were not modulated by individual differences in empathy (Figure 1). On the other hand, individuals scoring high on mentalizing capacity had increased pTPJ and STG/STS network covariance to mPFC and TPJ (Figure 2). And again, no modulation of dAI, aMCC and IFG was observed by individual differences in mentalizing scores. Interestingly and in line with previous work, rSMG was modulated by empathy, but not mentalizing, to regions similar to the covariance network found in right dAI (Figure 3)
Social neuroscience has identified different neural networks, a more affective (empathy and compa... more Social neuroscience has identified different neural networks, a more affective (empathy and compassion) and a more cognitive route (Theory of Mind (ToM)), to the understanding of others. While the anterior insula (AI) is critically involved when empathizing with the pain of another person, experiencing compassion for another’s suffering activates a different network including the ventral striatum. ToM tasks, in contrast, engage the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), temporal poles (TP) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). The separability and interrelations of these two capacities and their related neural networks is, however, little understood. We, therefore, developed a novel task, the EmpaToM. Participants are presented with naturalistic video stimuli in which people recount autobiographical episodes that are either emotional or neutral. Each video is followed by empathy and compassion ratings and questions about the content of the video that probe ToM. Emotional vs. neutral videos increased activity in bilateral AI, which parametrically modulated with subjective empathy ratings. Compassion ratings, in contrast, covaried with activity in the ventral striatum. ToM activated bilateral TPJ, TP and MPFC. These two networks interact during the online understanding of others. However, inter-individual differences in the activity of these networks were uncorrelated, suggesting some independence, such that strong empathizers are not (necessarily) good mentalizers. Separate training of these capacities within the longitudinal ReSource study has differential enhancing effects on ToM performance and compassion, providing some first evidence that we can induce plasticity in socio-affective and socio-cognitive capacities
The neural networks associated with socio-affective (empathy, compassion) and socio-cognitive pro... more The neural networks associated with socio-affective (empathy, compassion) and socio-cognitive processes (mentalizing/Theory of Mind) have been well-characterized over the last years. The goal of the present talk is twofold: (1) To explore the separability of these functions during online social understanding on a subjective, behavioral and on a neural level and (2) to investigate the embedding of the related neural substrates in large-scale task-free neural networks. To this end, we acquired resting state as well as behavioral and neuroimaging data (fMRI) during a social video task in a large sample of participants (N = 178). The videos were short autobiographical narrations of emotionally negative and neutral events that allowed for asking Theory of Mind questions about the thoughts of the narrators and factual reasoning questions about the content of the stories, thereby allowing for independent assessment of socio-affective and socio-cognitive processing. Linking the phenomenological with the neural level, participants reported increased negative affect after emotional stories, which covaried with activity strength in the meta-analytically defined “empathy network”, but not with activity in the “Theory of Mind network”. Vice versa, performance in answering the Theory of Mind questions correlated with “Theory of Mind network”, but not “empathy network” activity. Interestingly, neither behavioral markers of social affect and mentalizing (i.e. emotional valence ratings and Theory of Mind performance) nor activity in the two respective neural networks correlated with each other. Furthermore, resting state functional connectivity to task activation based seed regions for empathy and Theory of Mind yielded distinct networks that strongly overlapped with the respective task activations and correspond to the well-described default mode network (Theory of Mind seeds) and the salience or central executive network (empathy). The data strongly argue for dissociable and independent socio-affective and -cognitive functions that are embedded in large-scale task-unrelated neural circuits
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