In:
eLife, eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, Vol. 7 ( 2018-05-08)
Abstract:
When we experience physical pain, certain areas in our brain that process bodily sensation and emotions switch on. If we see someone else in pain, many of the same regions also get activated. In contrast, convicted criminals with psychopathic traits have less activation in these areas of the brain when witnessing someone’s pain; they also show less empathy and disregard the needs of others. This suggests that a lack of this ‘shared activations’ may lead to problems in empathy. In fact, many scientists believe that shared activations are why we feel empathy for people in pain, and why we are driven to help them. Yet, there is little direct evidence about how the activity in the pain processing parts of the brain actually influences helpful behavior. As a result, some scientists now argue that empathy-related processes may actually contribute very little to helping behavior. Gallo et al. designed an experiment where participants watched videos of someone having their hand swatted with a belt, and showing different levels of pain as a result. The volunteers could decide to reduce the amount of pain the person received by donating money they could have taken home. The more pain the participants thought the victim was in, the more money they gave up to lessen it. During the study, the activity in the brain region that processes pain in the hand was also measured in the participants. The more active this region was, the more money people donated to help. Then, Gallo et al. used techniques that interfered with the activity of the brain area involved in perceiving sensations from the hand. This interference changed how accurately participants assessed the victim's pain. It also disrupted the link between donations and the victim's perceived pain: the amount of money people gave no longer matched the level of pain they had witnessed. This suggests that the brain areas that perceive sensations of pain in the self, which evolved primarily to experience our own sensations, also have a social function. They transform the sight of bodily harm into an accurate feeling for how much pain the victim experiences. The findings also show that we need this feeling so we can adapt our help to the needs of others. In the current debate about the role of empathy in helping behaviors, this study demonstrates that empathy-related brain activity indeed promotes helping by allowing us to detect those that need our assistance. Understanding the relationship between helping behavior and the activity of the brain may further lead to treatments for individuals with antisocial behavior and for children with callous and unemotional traits, a disorder that is associated with a lack of empathy and a general disregard for others.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2050-084X
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.001
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.002
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.003
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.004
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.005
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.006
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.007
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.008
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.009
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.010
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.011
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.012
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.013
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.014
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.015
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.016
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.017
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.018
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.019
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.020
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.021
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.022
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.023
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.024
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.025
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.026
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.027
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.028
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.029
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.030
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.038
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.039
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.032
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32740.033
Language:
English
Publisher:
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Publication Date:
2018
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2687154-3
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