Explore the vast range of titles available.

Compassion is a key motivator of altruistic behavior, but little is known about individuals’ capacity to cultivate compassion through training. We examined whether compassion may be systematically trained by testing whether (a) short-term compassion training increases altruistic behavior and (b) individual differences in altruism are associated with training-induced changes in neural responses to suffering. In healthy adults, we found that compassion training increased altruistic redistribution of funds to a victim encountered outside of the training context. Furthermore, increased altruistic behavior after compassion training was associated with altered activation in brain regions implicated in social cognition and emotion regulation, including the inferior parietal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and in DLPFC connectivity with the nucleus accumbens. These results suggest that compassion can be cultivated with training and that greater altruistic behavior may emerge from increased engagement of neural systems implicated in understanding the suffering of other people, executive and emotional control, and reward processing.

Impaired metacognition is associated with difficulties in the daily functioning of people with psychosis. Metacognition can be divided into four domains: Self-Reflection, Understanding the Other's Mind, Decentration, and Mastery. This study investigated whether Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy (MERIT) can be used to improve metacognition. This study is a randomized controlled trial. Patients in the active condition (n = 35) received forty MERIT sessions, the control group (n = 35) received treatment as usual. Multilevel intention-to-treat and completers analyses were performed for metacognition and secondary outcomes (psychotic symptomatology, cognitive insight, Theory of Mind, empathy, depression, self-stigma, quality of life, social functioning, and work readiness). Eighteen out of 35 participants finished treatment, half the drop-out stemmed from therapist attrition (N = 5) or before the first session (N = 4). Intention-to-treat analysis demonstrated that in both groups metacognition improved between pre- and post-measurements, with no significant differences between the groups. Patients who received MERIT continued to improve, while the control group returned to baseline, leading to significant differences at follow-up. Completers analysis (18/35) showed improvements on the Metacognition Assessment Scale (MAS-A) scales Self Reflectivity and metacognitive Mastery at follow-up. No effects were found on secondary outcomes. On average, participants in the MERIT group were, based on MAS-A scores, at follow-up more likely to recognize their thoughts as changeable rather than as facts. MERIT might be useful for patients whose self-reflection is too limited to benefit from other therapies. Given how no changes were found in secondary measures, further research is needed. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Deficits in empathy enhance conflicts and human suffering. Thus, it is crucial to understand how empathy can be learned and how learning experiences shape empathy-related processes in the human brain. As a model of empathy deficits, we used the well-established suppression of empathy-related brain responses for the suffering of out-groups and tested whether and how out-group empathy is boosted by a learning intervention. During this intervention, participants received costly help equally often from an out-group member (experimental group) or an in-group member (control group). We show that receiving help from an out-group member elicits a classical learning signal (prediction error) in the anterior insular cortex. This signal in turn predicts a subsequent increase of empathy for a different out-group member (generalization). The enhancement of empathy-related insula responses by the neural prediction error signal was mediated by an establishment of positive emotions toward the out-group member. Finally, we show that surprisingly few positive learning experiences are sufficient to increase empathy. Our results specify the neural and psychological mechanisms through which learning interacts with empathy, and thus provide a neurobiological account for the plasticity of empathic reactions.

The capacity to infer others' mental states (known as ‘mind reading’ and ‘cognitive empathy’) is essential for social interactions across species, and its impairment characterizes psychopathological conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. Previous studies reported that testosterone administration impaired cognitive empathy in healthy humans, and that a putative biomarker of prenatal testosterone exposure (finger digit ratios) moderated the effect. However, empirical support for the relationship has relied on small sample studies with mixed evidence. We investigate the reliability and generalizability of the relationship in two large-scale double-blind placebo-controlled experiments in young men ( n = 243 and n = 400), using two different testosterone administration protocols. We find no evidence that cognitive empathy is impaired by testosterone administration or associated with digit ratios. With an unprecedented combined sample size, these results counter current theories and previous high-profile reports, and demonstrate that previous investigations of this topic have been statistically underpowered.

RationaleHypothetical moral dilemmas, pitting characteristically utilitarian and non-utilitarian outcomes against each other, have played a central role in investigations of moral decision-making. Preferences for utilitarian over non-utilitarian responses have been explained by two contrasting hypotheses; one implicating increased deliberative reasoning, and the other implicating diminished harm aversion. In recent field experiments, these hypotheses have been investigated using alcohol intoxication to impair both social and cognitive functioning. These studies have found increased utilitarian responding, arguably as a result of alcohol impairing affective empathy.ObjectivesThe present research expands existing investigations by examining the acute effects of alcohol on affective empathy and subsequent moral judgments in traditional vignettes and moral actions in virtual reality, as well as physiological responses in moral dilemmas.MethodsParticipants (N = 48) were administered either a placebo or alcohol in one of two dosages; low or moderate. Both pre- and post intervention, participants completed a moral action and moral judgment task alongside behavioural measures of affective empathy.ResultsHigher dosages of alcohol consumption resulted in inappropriate empathic responses to facial displays of emotion, mirroring responses of individuals high in trait psychopathy, but empathy for pain was unaffected. Whilst affective empathy was influenced by alcohol consumption in a facial responding task, both moral judgments and moral actions were unaffected.ConclusionsThese results suggest that facets, beyond or in addition to deficits in affective empathy, might influence the relationship between alcohol consumption and utilitarian endorsements.

Abstract Empathy for social pain encompasses both affective and cognitive responses to others’ emotional reactions following negative social encounters, facilitating an understanding of their suffering and promoting prosocial behaviors. This study examined how a scarcity mindset affects empathy for social pain and prosocial intentions at behavioral and neural levels. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to either the scarcity or abundance mindset group. They viewed images of social exclusion or neutral scenarios and subsequently rated the perceived unpleasantness of the target person and their willingness to provide comfort during a stage-game paradigm. The results showed that participants in the scarcity mindset group demonstrated greater differentiation in their ratings of unpleasantness and willingness to comfort when exposed to social exclusion images compared to neutral ones, relative to the abundance mindset group. Electrophysiological data revealed that social exclusion images elicited larger late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes in the scarcity mindset group, but not in the abundance mindset group. Additionally, within the scarcity mindset group, affective empathy trait scores moderated the relationship between LPP amplitudes and willingness to comfort ratings. These findings highlight the amplifying effects of a scarcity mindset on empathy for social pain and prosocial intentions, and emphasize the role of affective empathy traits in this dynamic process.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is often characterized by deficits in emotion regulation and empathic abilities, potentially linked to alterations in prefrontal brain regions. This randomized, controlled clinical trial examines the efficacy of slow cortical potential neurofeedback training, specifically targeting these prefrontal areas, in improving emotion regulation and empathy among children and adolescents with ASD. The study involved 41 participants, with 21 undergoing slow cortical potential training and 20 receiving treatment as usual. All participants were allowed to continue usual care in progress, if it was kept stable. Emotional processing was evaluated using an adapted and extended version of the Multifaceted Empathy Test, alongside electroencephalography assessments focusing on event-related potentials, including N170, LPP, and P300 components. The main findings indicate a significant group × time interaction in P300 latency, with shorter latencies in the SCP neurofeedback group and longer latencies in controls, though post hoc tests were not significant. A trend toward reduced P300 amplitude in the experimental group suggests possible modulation of attentional processing. Additionally, changes in a late component of LPP amplitude were linked to reaction time in processing positive emotions, with increases associated with slower responses and decreases with faster responses. These results suggest slow cortical potential neurofeedback training may influence cognitive efficiency and emotional processing in autistic individuals. While promising, further research is needed to confirm these findings and optimize neurofeedback protocols for this population.

The ability to accurately infer others’ mental states from facial expressions is important for optimal social functioning and is fundamentally impaired in social cognitive disorders such as autism. While pharmacologic interventions have shown promise for enhancing empathic accuracy, little is known about the effects of behavioral interventions on empathic accuracy and related brain activity. This study employed a randomized, controlled and longitudinal design to investigate the effect of a secularized analytical compassion meditation program, cognitive-based compassion training (CBCT), on empathic accuracy. Twenty-one healthy participants received functional MRI scans while completing an empathic accuracy task, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), both prior to and after completion of either CBCT or a health discussion control group. Upon completion of the study interventions, participants randomized to CBCT and were significantly more likely than control subjects to have increased scores on the RMET and increased neural activity in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). Moreover, changes in dmPFC and IFG activity from baseline to the post-intervention assessment were associated with changes in empathic accuracy. These findings suggest that CBCT may hold promise as a behavioral intervention for enhancing empathic accuracy and the neurobiology supporting it.

Physiological signals conveyed by the vagus nerve may generate quiescent psychological states conducive to contemplative practices. This suggests that vagal neurostimulation could interact with contemplative psychotherapies (e.g. mindfulness and compassion-based interventions) to augment their efficacy. In a fully factorial experimental trial, healthy adults (  = 120) were randomized to transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) Self-Compassion-Mental-Imagery Training (SC-MIT) alternative factorial combinations of (tVNS or sham) plus (MIT: SC-MIT or Control-MIT). Primary outcomes were self-reported state self-compassion, self-criticism, and heart rate variability (HRV). Exploratory outcomes included state mindfulness and oculomotor attentional bias to compassion-expressing faces. Most outcomes were assessed acutely on session 1 at the pre-stimulation (T1), peri-stimulation (T2), and post-MIT + stimulation (T3) timepoints, and after daily stimulation+MIT sessions (eight sessions). During session 1, a significant Timepoint × Stimulation × MIT interaction (  = 0.025) was observed, reflecting a larger acute T1→T3 increase in state self-compassion after tVNS+SC-MIT, with similar rapid effects on state mindfulness. Additionally, significant Session × MIT and Session × Stimulation interactions (  ≤ 0.027) on state mindfulness (but not self-compassion) suggested that tVNS+SC-MIT's effects may accumulate across sessions for some outcomes. By contrast, changes in state self-criticism and compassion-related attentional bias were only moderated by MIT (not stimulation) condition. HRV was unaffected by stimulation or MIT condition. tVNS augmented the effects of SC-MIT and might, therefore, be a useful strategy for enhancing meditation-based psychotherapies. Our findings also highlight the value of oculomotor attentional metrics as responsive markers of self-compassion training and the continued need for sensitive indices of successful vagal stimulation.

Paranoia may build on negative beliefs held both about the self and others. Compassionate imagery may be one way of reducing such negative beliefs, and hence paranoia. Two studies tested this idea, one targeting compassion for the self and one targeting compassion for others. Two-hundred individuals from the general population scoring highly for paranoia were recruited. The studies used a randomised controlled experimental design, with embedded tests for mediation. Study one targeted self-compassion via creation of a compassionate coach (CC) image. Study two targeted compassion for others via loving kindness meditation (LKM). Individuals repeatedly entered neutral virtual reality social environments. Changes in compassion and paranoia were assessed. Compared to controls, the CC group increased in self-compassion (group difference = 2.12, C.I. = 1.57;2.67, p  = <0.0001, d  = 1.4) and decreased in paranoia (group difference = −1.73, C.I. = −2.48; −0.98, p  = <0.0001, d  = 0.8). Change in self-compassion explained 57% of change in paranoia. Compared to controls, the LKM group increased their compassion for others (group difference = 3.26, C.I. = 2.72;3.80, p  = <0.0001, d  = 1.7), and decreased in paranoia (group difference = −1.70, C.I. = −2.50; −0.89, p  = <0.0001, d  = 0.8). Change in compassion for others explained 67% of change in paranoia. Targeting negative beliefs about the self and others using compassionate imagery causes reductions in paranoia. Tests in clinical populations are indicated.