A Pilot Study of Perspective Taking and Emotional Contagion in Mental Health Professionals: Glass Brain View of Empathy

Background: Empathy plays a fundamental role in the context of psychotherapy. Mental health professionals (MHP) are required to express empathy on a daily basis. “Perspective taking” (cognitive empathy) and “emotional contagion” (affective empathy) are elements of empathy that are both innate and ac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Indian journal of psychological medicine 2022-01, Vol.44 (1), p.53-58
Main Authors: Reddy, Rajakumari P., Mathulla, Anna R., Rajeswaran, Jamuna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Emotions
Empathy
Medical personnel
Mental health
Original
Pain
Reading
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background: Empathy plays a fundamental role in the context of psychotherapy. Mental health professionals (MHP) are required to express empathy on a daily basis. “Perspective taking” (cognitive empathy) and “emotional contagion” (affective empathy) are elements of empathy that are both innate and acquired. This study aimed to explore the underlying neural correlates of empathy using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Method: A total of six healthy subjects from MHP and other professionals (OP) were recruited in a single-assessment study design. Subjects were screened using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview and the Standard Progressive Matrices. Behavioral measures such as cognitive and affective empathy, interpersonal reactivity, and emotional and social quotient were assessed. Perspective taking was examined with the fMRI face recognition task and the reading mind through eyes task. Emotional contagion was examined by the negative, positive, and pain emotions task. The fMRI was conducted in a 3T Siemens Magnetom Skyra scanner, using a block design paradigm. Results: Activation was noted in the following areas: cingulate and thalamus for positive and negative emotions, precuneus for negative emotion and pain, inferior parietal lobe for reading mind task and negative emotion, declive for reading mind and pain, and precuneus and frontal gyrus for reading mind task and facial recognition. Conclusions: There was no significant difference between MHP and OP groups on the behavioral measures. However, there were variations in cerebral and cerebellar activation in the functional imaging parameters.
ISSN:0253-7176
0975-1564
DOI:10.1177/0253717620973380