Empathic neural responses are modulated by the perceived fairness of others.

ABSTRACT: The neural processes underlying empathy are a subject of intense interest within the social neurosciences. However, very little is known about how brain empathic responses are modulated by the affective link between individuals. We show here that empathic responses are modulated by learned preferences, a result consistent with economic models of social preferences. We engaged male and female volunteers in an economic game, in which two confederates played fairly or unfairly, and then measured brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging while these same volunteers observed the confederates receiving pain. Both sexes exhibited empathy-related activation in pain-related brain areas (fronto-insular and anterior cingulate cortices) towards fair players. However, these empathy-rela

SUBMITTER: Singer T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2636868 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature