Adriana Bortolotti

Self-report, personality and autonomic system modulation in response to empathic conflictual versus non conflictual situation

The present study integrated three different measures of emotional empathic behaviour in a social context: verbal self-report measures (empathic response, emotional involvement, emotional significance, and valence), autonomic response (skin conductance, SCR, and heart rate, HR), and personal response to empathic scale (BEES). Thirty-five younger adults were presented with different interpersonal scene types (co-operation, non-co-operation, conflict, neutral). Different empathic sensitivity to these interpersonal situations was tested, since we hypothesised self-report on empathy, emotional involvement and valence varied as a function of interpersonal context. As supposed, self-report measures of empathy and autonomic measures were found to be related: SCR and HR increased in response to conflictual and non-co-operative situations. Moreover, high empathic subjects were more responsive (on both self-report and autonomic response) to empathy-related situations than low empathic subjects. The convergence of these multidimensional measures are discussed: emotional components of empathy are elucidated in relation to self-report, autonomic modulation, and personality trait variation.

Emotional face recognition, empathic trait (BEES), and cortical contribution in response to positive and negative cues. The effect of rTMS on dorsal medial prefrontal cortex

The present study investigated the relationship between three different measures related to the affective empathy: facial expression detection in response to different emotional patterns (positive vs. negative), personal response to empathic scale [Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES)], and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dMPFC) contribution to mediate the facial detection task. Nineteen subjects took part in the study and they were required to recognize facial expression of emotions, after having empathized with these emotional cues. Repeated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) method was used in the present research in order to produce a temporary virtual disruption of dMPFC activity. dMPFC disruption induced a worse performance, especially in response to negative expressions (i.e. anger and fear). High-BEES subjects paid a higher cost after frontal brain perturbation: they showed to be unable to correctly detect facial expressions more than low-BEES. Moreover, a “negative valence effect” was observed only for high-BEES, and it was probably related with their higher impairment to recognize negative more than positive expressions. dMPFC was found to support emotional facial expression recognition in an empathic condition, with a specific increased responsiveness for negative-valenced faces. The contribution of this research was discussed to explain the mechanisms underlying affective empathy based on rTMS application.

Self-report measures, facial feedback, and personality differences (BEES) in cooperative vs. noncooperative situations: Contribution of the mimic system to the sense of empathy

The present study integrated three different measures of emotional empathic behavior in a social context: verbal self-report measures (empathic response, emotional involvement, emotional significance, and valence), facial mimicry (activity of corrugator and zygomaticus muscles), and personal response to the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES). Participants were presented with different interpersonal scene types (cooperation, noncooperation, conflict, indifference). Firstly, self-rating on empathy, emotional involvement, and valence varied as a function of interpersonal context. Secondly, corrugator activity increased in response to conflictual and noncooperative situations; zygomatic activity increased in response to cooperative situations. Third, high- and low-BEES subjects showed different empathic behavior: High-empathic subjects were more responsive to empathy-related situations than low-empathic subjects. The convergence and divergence of these multidimensional measures was discussed.