title: Empathy for pain-related dorsolateral prefrontal activity is modulated by angry face perception.
abstract: Empathy, i.e., the ability to perceive and share another person's affective state, is associated with activity in a complex neural network, including the anterior insula, the anterior and mid-cingulate cortex, and the lateral prefrontal cortex. Here, we were interested in the question how facial emotions influence the activation of the 'pain network'. In the present study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the neuronal correlates of empathy for pain and its interaction with emotional face recognition in 20 healthy subjects. We identified various brain regions commonly associated with empathy for pain, including the right mid-cingulate cortex, the left anterior insula (AI), and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), with an increased neuronal response in the left dlPFC after the presentation of angry faces. Furthermore, a negative correlation between psychological measures of alexithymia and empathy for pain-related brain activity was observed in the left AI. The dlPFC is an important brain region involved in cognitive reappraisal or in 'top-down' control of the limbic system. Our findings could therefore reflect a regulatory response associated with distancing from negatively valenced stimuli. Moreover, our results underline the involvement of the AI in empathy for pain responses and their relationship to alexithymia.
authors.affiliation: LWL University Hospital, Division of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Psychiatric Preventive Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum, Alexandrinenstr. 1, 44791, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Enzi
authors.affiliation: LWL University Hospital, Division of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Psychiatric Preventive Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum, Alexandrinenstr. 1, 44791, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Scharbanu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amirie
authors.affiliation: LWL University Hospital, Division of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Psychiatric Preventive Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum, Alexandrinenstr. 1, 44791, Bochum, Germany. martin.bruene@rub.de.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2507-0561
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brüne
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D004645:Empathy / Q000502:physiology*; D000066499:Facial Recognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Anterior insula; Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; Emotion; Empathy; Functional magnetic resonance imaging