Submission Type
Poster
Start Date
4-26-2023
Abstract
Our study looks at brain activity underlying empathy processing and its association with underlying mental health. Using a functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measuring device, we measured blood oxygenation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain region associated with reasoning and decision-making, while participants engaged in two different empathy tasks. The first task is the Frith-Happé Animations – an assessment of Theory of Mind, the ability to take the perspective of another – and the second task is the EU-Emotional Stimulus Set, which assesses emotion recognition connected to empathy. Accuracy of performance and brain activity during these tasks were then examined alongside mental health questionnaires completed by participants. We expect to find that individuals who are higher in empathy will show unique patterns of brain activity which differentiate them from less empathic individuals, and that this neural response will be associated with higher levels of mental illness. We suspect that increased hypervigilance, associated with forms of mental illness such as social anxiety and depression, may explain these hypothesized trends in performance and brain activity during empathy tasks. Results, as well as implications for further research, will be discussed.
Recommended Citation
Griffin, Thomas; Kaplan, Melissa; Fitting, Michelle; Elliott, Catherine; Echols, Rachel; Vaughn, Julia; and Woodworth, Lillian, "196 - Neural Correlates of Empathy and their Association with Psychopathology" (2023). GREAT Day Posters. 10.
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/great-day-symposium/great-day-2023/posters-2023/10
196 - Neural Correlates of Empathy and their Association with Psychopathology
Our study looks at brain activity underlying empathy processing and its association with underlying mental health. Using a functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measuring device, we measured blood oxygenation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain region associated with reasoning and decision-making, while participants engaged in two different empathy tasks. The first task is the Frith-Happé Animations – an assessment of Theory of Mind, the ability to take the perspective of another – and the second task is the EU-Emotional Stimulus Set, which assesses emotion recognition connected to empathy. Accuracy of performance and brain activity during these tasks were then examined alongside mental health questionnaires completed by participants. We expect to find that individuals who are higher in empathy will show unique patterns of brain activity which differentiate them from less empathic individuals, and that this neural response will be associated with higher levels of mental illness. We suspect that increased hypervigilance, associated with forms of mental illness such as social anxiety and depression, may explain these hypothesized trends in performance and brain activity during empathy tasks. Results, as well as implications for further research, will be discussed.
Comments
Additional authors: Alexandra Young and Maxwell Mesi;
Sponsored by Michael Lynch