Neural Bases for Cognitive Empathy
Cognitive empathy is said to engage a top-down process of regulating emotion and responses (Decety, 2011a).
The structures of the brain believed to underlie cognitive empathy are the anterior cingulate cortex, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (Decety, 2011a). In addition, the areas of the brain that appear to be involved in distinguishing between the self and others (referred to as theory of mind) are the superior temporal sulcus, the right inferior parietal cortex at the temporo-parietal junction, and the temporal poles (Shamay-Tsoory, 2011).
The implicated empathetic functions of these separate structures are believed to be:
• The anterior cingulated cortex in the experience and observation of pain
(Morrison & Downing, 2007);
• The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in decision making and context evaluation
(Rahm et al., 2006);
• The ventromedial prefrontal cortex in integrating thoughts and emotions to produce the empathic response (Shamay-Tsoory, Tomer, Goldsher, Berger, & Aharon-Peretz, 2004);
• The superior temporal sulcus in the perception of facial expressions
(Engell & Haxby, 2007);
• The temporo-parietal junction in processing perspective differences and mental states like belief (Perner, Aichhorn, Kronbichler, Staffen, & Ladurner, 2006); and
• The temporal poles in making inferences about the mental state of others
(Olson, Plotzker, & Ezzyat, 2007).
The neurochemical system that has been implicated in cognitive empathy is the dopaminergic system (Lackner, Bowman, & Sabbagh, 2010). Dopamine affects cell proliferation in the frontal cortex (Seitz, Nickel, & Azari, 2006) and has been implicated in theory of mind (Lackner, et al., 2010).
