title: Multi-level comparison of empathy in schizophrenia: an fMRI study of a cartoon task.
abstract: Empathy deficits might play a role in social dysfunction in schizophrenia. However, few studies have investigated the neuroanatomical underpinnings of the subcomponents of empathy in schizophrenia. This study investigated the hemodynamic responses to three subcomponents of empathy in patients with schizophrenia (N=15) and healthy volunteers (N=18), performing an empathy cartoon task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The experiment used a block design with four conditions: cognitive, emotional, and inhibitory empathy, and physical causality control. Data were analyzed by comparing the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal activation between the two groups. The cognitive empathy condition activated the right temporal pole to a lesser extent in the patient group than in comparison subjects. In the emotional and inhibitory conditions, the patients showed greater activation in the left insula and in the right middle/inferior frontal cortex, respectively. These findings add to our understanding of the impaired empathy in patients with schizophrenia by identifying a multi-level cortical dysfunction that underlies a deficit in each subcomponent of empathy and highlighting the importance of the fronto-temporal cortical network in ability to empathize.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Jae
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Do Hyung
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Chi-Won
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Bon Mi
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Ji-Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Chi-Hoon
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Na Young
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Jong-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jun Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003072:Cognition Disorders; D004645:Empathy / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen