Fanny Eugène

The neural network of motor imagery: An ALE meta-analysis

Motor imagery (MI) or the mental simulation of action is now increasingly being studied using neuroimaging techniques such as positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging. The booming interest in capturing the neural underpinning of MI has provided a large amount of data which until now have never been quantitatively summarized. The aim of this activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis was to provide a map of the brain structures involved in MI. Combining the data from 75 papers revealed that MI consistently recruits a large fronto-parietal network in addition to subcortical and cerebellar regions. Although the primary motor cortex was not shown to be consistently activated, the MI network includes several regions which are known to play a role during actual motor execution. The body part involved in the movements, the modality of MI and the nature of the MI tasks used all seem to influence the consistency of activation within the general MI network. In addition to providing the first quantitative cortical map of MI, we highlight methodological issues that should be addressed in future research.

A developmental perspective on the neural bases of human empathy

While empathy has been widely studied in philosophical and psychological literatures, recent advances in social neuroscience have shed light on the neural correlates of this complex interpersonal phenomenon. In this review, we provide an overview of brain imaging studies that have investigated the neural substrates of human empathy. Based on existing models of the functional architecture of empathy, we review evidence of the neural underpinnings of each main component, as well as their development from infancy. Although early precursors of affective sharing and self-other distinction appear to be present from birth, recent findings also suggest that even higher-order components of empathy such as perspective-taking and emotion regulation demonstrate signs of development during infancy. This merging of developmental and social neuroscience literature thus supports the view that ontogenic development of empathy is rooted in early infancy, well before the emergence of verbal abilities. With age, the refinement of top-down mechanisms may foster more appropriate empathic responses, thus promoting greater altruistic motivation and prosocial behaviors.

Difference in neural response to social exclusion observation and subsequent altruism between adolescents and adults

ABSTRACT Empathy and prosocial behaviors toward peers promote successful social development and creation of significant long‐term relationships, but surprisingly little is known about the maturation of these skills during the period of adolescence. As the majority of studies have used questionnaires or pain observation paradigms, it remains unknown whether the empathic response of adolescents differs from that of adults in a paradigm that is closer to everyday life. In the current study, fMRI was used to examine the neural correlates of social exclusion observation and subsequent prosocial behavior in 20 adolescents (aged 12–17 years) and 20 adults (aged 22–30 years) while playing a ball‐tossing game with what they believed to be real individuals. Observing someone being excluded compared to observing equal inclusion of all players elicited a significantly higher activation of the IFG (pars triangularis) in adults compared to adolescents. When given the opportunity to directly help the excluded player during the game, adolescents showed significantly less prosocial behavior than adults, which was underpinned by a significantly lower activity in the right temporoparietal junction, medial/dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and fusiform face area. These findings might indicate that adolescents have a lower propensity to take the victims perspective and share his or her distress when witnessing social exclusion, which leads to a lower altruistic motivation to help. The factors that could generate what can be interpreted as a downward modulation of empathy during adolescence are discussed. HIGHLIGHTSA modified version of Cyberball was used to study empathy and altruism development.Adolescents showed lower activation of the IFG while witnessing exclusion.Adolescents showed significantly less prosocial behavior toward the victim.Adolescents had lower activity in the rTPJ and mPFC while playing with the victim.Adolescents who were more empathic and prosocial had more activation in these regions.

The Perception and Estimation of Others’ Pain according to Children

Accurate interpretation of pain expressed by others is important for socialization; however, the development of this skill in children is still poorly understood. Empathy for pain models propose two main components (affective and cognitive), which develop at different stages of life. The studys objective was to investigate the childrens ability between 3 and 12 years of age to detect and assess the pain intensity in others using visual stimuli depicting either facial expressions of pain or hands in painful contexts. 40 preschool children and 62 school-aged children were recruited. Children observed series of stimuli and evaluated the pain intensity depicted. Results demonstrated that children as young as three years old were able to detect and assess pain in both types of stimuli and this ability continued to improve until the age of 12. Participants demonstrated better detection performance with hands than with faces. Results were coherent with the idea that the two types of stimuli presented recruit different processes. Pain detection in hands appears to rely mostly on affective sharing processes that are effective early in life, while older childrens higher ability to perceive pain in facial expressions suggests that this ability is associated with the gradual development of cognitive processes.