title: The highly sensitive brain: an fMRI study of sensory processing sensitivity and response to others' emotions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Theory and research suggest that sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), found in roughly 20% of humans and over 100 other species, is a trait associated with greater sensitivity and responsiveness to the environment and to social stimuli. Self-report studies have shown that high-SPS individuals are strongly affected by others' moods, but no previous study has examined neural systems engaged in response to others' emotions.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study examined the neural correlates of SPS (measured by the standard short-form Highly Sensitive Person [HSP] scale) among 18 participants (10 females) while viewing photos of their romantic partners and of strangers displaying positive, negative, or neutral facial expressions. One year apart, 13 of the 18 participants were scanned twice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Across all conditions, HSP scores were associated with increased brain activation of regions involved in attention and action planning (in the cingulate and premotor area [PMA]). For happy and sad photo conditions, SPS was associated with activation of brain regions involved in awareness, integration of sensory information, empathy, and action planning (e.g., cingulate, insula, inferior frontal gyrus [IFG], middle temporal gyrus [MTG], and PMA).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As predicted, for partner images and for happy facial photos, HSP scores were associated with stronger activation of brain regions involved in awareness, empathy, and self-other processing. These results provide evidence that awareness and responsiveness are fundamental features of SPS, and show how the brain may mediate these traits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, California.
authors.forename: Bianca P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Acevedo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University New York, New York.
authors.forename: Elaine N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Aron
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University New York, New York.
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aron
authors.affiliation: Monmouth University Monmouth County, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Matthew-Donald
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Sangster
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, California.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Lucy L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D004645:Empathy / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Emotion; empathy; highly sensitive person; magnetic resonance imaging; mirror neurons; sensory processing sensitivity