Publications
Detailed Information
Multi-level comparison of empathy in schizophrenia: An fMRI study of a cartoon task
Cited 54 time in
Web of Science
Cited 55 time in Scopus
- Authors
- Issue Date
- 2010-02-28
- Publisher
- ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
- Citation
- PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH-NEUROIMAGING; Vol.181 2; 121-129
- Keywords
- Empathy ; fMRI ; Social cognition ; Schizophrenia
- 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. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
- ISSN
- 0925-4927
- Language
- English
- Files in This Item:
- There are no files associated with this item.
- Appears in Collections:
Item View & Download Count
Items in S-Space are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.