Somatic engagement alters subsequent neurobehavioral correlates of affective mentalizing.

ABSTRACT: Socio-emotional encounters involve a resonance of others' affective states, known as affect sharing (AS); and attribution of mental states to others, known as theory-of-mind (ToM). Empathy necessitates the integration of both processes, yet their interaction during emotional episodes and subsequent generation of inferences on others' affective states has rarely been tested. To address this, we developed a novel experimental design, wherein we manipulated AS by presenting nonverbal emotionally negative movies twice-each time accompanied by one of two soundtracks that accentuated either somatic cues or externally generated sounds. Movies were followed by questions addressing affective-ToM (emotional inferences), cognitive-ToM (inferences on beliefs and knowledge), and non-ToM aspects. Result

SUBMITTER: Shany O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8596949 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature