empathy

N/A

The PostDoctoral researcher will conduct research activities in modelling and simulation of reward-modulated prosocial behavior and decision-making. The position is part of a larger effort to uncover the computational and mechanistic bases of prosociality and empathy at the behavioral and circuit levels. The role involves working at the interface between experimental data (animal behavior and electrophysiology) and theoretical modelling, with an emphasis on Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning and neural population dynamics.

Protocols for the social transfer of pain and analgesia in mice

We provide protocols for the social transfer of pain and analgesia in mice. We describe the steps to induce pain or analgesia (pain relief) in bystander mice with a 1-h social interaction with a partner injected with CFA (complete Freund’s adjuvant) or CFA and morphine, respectively. We detail behavioral tests to assess pain or analgesia in the untreated bystander mice. This protocol has been validated in mice and rats and can be used for investigating mechanisms of empathy. Highlights • A protocol for the rapid social transfer of pain in rodents • Detailed requirements for handling and housing conditions • Procedures for habituation, social interaction, and pain induction and assessment • Adaptable for social transfer of analgesia and may be used to study empathy in rodents https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101756

Social neuroscience studies of racial ingroup bias in empathy

Empathy is supposed to play a functional role in prosocial behavior. However, there has been behavioral evidence that people do not empathize everyone equally. I’ll present studies that show brain imaging evidence for racial ingroup bias in empathy for pain. These studies reveal multiple-level neural mechanisms underlying racial ingroup bias in empathy. I’ll also discuss potential intervention of racial ingroup bias in empathy and its social implications.

Anterior Cingulate inputs to nucleus accumbens control the social transfer of pain and analgesia

Empathy plays a critical role in social interactions, and many species, including rodents, display evolutionarily conserved behavioral antecedents of empathy. In both humans and rodents, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) encodes information about the affective state of others. However, little is known about which downstream targets of the ACC contribute to empathy behaviors. We optimized a protocol for the social transfer of pain behavior in mice and compared the ACC-dependent neural circuitry responsible for this behavior with the neural circuitry required for the social transfer of two related states: analgesia and fear. We found that a 1-hour social interaction between a bystander mouse and a cagemate experiencing inflammatory pain led to congruent mechanical hyperalgesia in the bystander. This social transfer led to activation of neurons in the ACC and several downstream targets, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc), which was revealed by monosynaptic rabies virus tracing to be directly connected to the ACC. Bidirectional manipulation of activity in ACC-to-NAc inputs influenced the acquisition of socially transferred pain. Further, the social transfer of analgesia also depended upon ACC-NAc inputs. By contrast, the social transfer of fear instead required activity in ACC projections to the basolateral amygdala. This shows that mice rapidly adopt the sensory-affective state of a social partner, regardless of the valance of the information (pain, fear, or pain relief). We find that the ACC generates specific and appropriate empathic behavioral responses through distinct downstream targets. More sophisticated understanding of evolutionarily conserved brain mechanisms of empathy will also expedite the development of new therapies for the empathy-related deficits associated with a broad range of neuropsychiatric disorders.

The contribution of different information channels to different facets of empathy

Brain structure relates to self-report empathy and clinical psychopathy in incarcerated males

Investigating the role of the dorsal and ventral hippocampus in mice empathy and helping behaviour

Neural correlates of affective empathy in aging: A multimodal imaging, multivariate approach

The effects of empathy on passive avoidance test in rats

FENS Forum 2024

Empathy and basic behavior in non-human primates

FENS Forum 2024

Social anxiety and empathy for pain dependent on perspective taken: An ERP study

FENS Forum 2024