Human Empathy Through the Lens of Social Neuroscience

Jean Decety; Claus Lamm

doi:10.1100/tsw.2006.221

journal article Open Access Jan 01, 2006

Human Empathy Through the Lens of Social Neuroscience

Jean Decety Claus Lamm

The Scientific World JOURNAL Vol. 6 pp. 1146-1163 · Hindawi Limited

View at Publisher Save 10.1100/tsw.2006.221

Abstract

Empathy is the ability to experience and understand what others feel without confusion between oneself and others. Knowing what someone else is feeling plays a fundamental role in interpersonal interactions. In this paper, we articulate evidence from social psychology and cognitive neuroscience, and argue that empathy involves both emotion sharing (bottom-up information processing) and executive control to regulate and modulate this experience (top-down information processing), underpinned by specific and interacting neural systems. Furthermore, awareness of a distinction between the experiences of the self and others constitutes a crucial aspect of empathy. We discuss data from recent behavioral and functional neuroimaging studies with an emphasis on the perception of pain in others, and highlight the role of different neural mechanisms that underpin the experience of empathy, including emotion sharing, perspective taking, and emotion regulation.

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Details

Published: Jan 01, 2006
Vol/Issue: 6
Pages: 1146-1163
License: View

Authors

J

Jean Decety

Department of Psychology Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA

C

Claus Lamm

Department of Psychology Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA

Cite This Article

Jean Decety, Claus Lamm (2006). Human Empathy Through the Lens of Social Neuroscience. The Scientific World JOURNAL, 6, 1146-1163. https://doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2006.221

Human Empathy Through the Lens of Social Neuroscience

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