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KMID : 0605720150210030141
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Journal of the Korean Society of Biological Therapies in Psychiatry
2015 Volume.21 No. 3 p.141 ~ p.148
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Neurobiological Understanding of Empathy
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Kim Yang-Tae
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Abstract
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The ability to perceive, share and understand others’ emotional states plays a pivotal role in interpersonal relationship. Empathy in humans is built on basic mechanisms related to affective sharing, parental care, and attachment. Since empathy has deep neurobiological underpinnings, its developmental perspectives are better understood with reference to a neuroevolutionary perspective. In this paper, therefore, we overviewed empathy within a neuroevolutionary framework including phylogeny, ontogeny, and neurobiology. First, we defined empathy and explained the differences of its meaning from its related terms such as mimicry, emotional contagion, sympathy, or compassion. Next, we provided the evidence of empathy in mammals and addressed how empathy has evolved in the context of parental care in them. Then, we discussed how empathy develops from infancy to adulthood in human, and examined the relationship between it and attachment. Finally, we reviewed neuroimaging studies associated with empathy and elucidated its modulating factors such as context, interpersonal relationship, and personal characteristic. Considering empathy in a neuroevolutionary perspective will warrant a better and wider understanding of empathy.
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KEYWORD
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Empathy, Phylogeny, Ontogeny, Neurobiology
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