Is The Empathetic Brain Inherently Different?
How easy is it to identify with the feelings of others? Do you feel your heartstrings tugged when you hear of parents separated from their children?
How easy is it to identify with the feelings of others? Do you feel your heartstrings tugged when you hear of parents separated from their children? Do you feel joy when your friend tells you that they are getting married? Empathy is something we understand on an emotional level, but on a scientific level, where does empathy come from?
In a recent study from UCLA, researchers, led by senior author Dr. Marco Iacoboni, were able to identify brain differences in brains of empathetic people, even when the brain is at rest.
Participants were asked to let their mind wander when their brain activity was gathered using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Meanwhile, the fMRI detected small changes in blood flow throughout the brain. The participants were later asked to complete a survey that measured how empathetic they were.
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