Philip L. Jackson

The functional architecture of human empathy

Empathy accounts for the naturally occurring subjective experience of similarity between the feelings expressed by self and others without loosing sight of whose feelings belong to whom. Empathy involves not only the affective experience of the other persons actual or inferred emotional state but also some minimal recognition and understanding of anothers emotional state. In light of multiple levels of analysis ranging from developmental psychology, social psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and clinical neuropsychology, this article proposes a model of empathy that involves parallel and distributed processing in a number of dissociable computational mechanisms. Shared neural representations, self-awareness, mental flexibility, and emotion regulation constitute the basic macrocomponents of empathy, which are underpinned by specific neural systems. This functional model may be used to make specific predictions about the various empathy deficits that can be encountered in different forms of social and neurological disorders.

A Social-Neuroscience Perspective on Empathy:

In recent years, abundant evidence from behavioral and cognitive studies and functional-imaging experiments has indicated that individuals come to understand the emotional and affective states expressed by others with the help of the neural architecture that produces such states in themselves. Such a mechanism gives rise to shared representations, which constitutes one important aspect of empathy, although not the sole one. We suggest that other components, including peoples ability to monitor and regulate cognitive and emotional processes to prevent confusion between self and other, are equally necessary parts of a functional model of empathy. We discuss data from recent functional-imaging studies in support of such a model and highlight the role of specific brain regions, notably the insula, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the right temporo-parietal region. Because this model assumes that empathy relies on dissociable information-processing mechanisms, it predicts a variety of structural or functional dysfunctions, depending on which mechanism is disrupted.

Brain activations during motor imagery of locomotor‐related tasks: A PET study

Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to study the involvement of supraspinal structures in human locomotion. Six right‐handed adults were scanned in four conditions while imagining locomotor‐related tasks in the first person perspective: Standing (S), Initiating gait (IG), Walking (W) and Walking with obstacles (WO). When these conditions were compared to a rest (control) condition to identify the neural structures involved in the imagination of locomotor‐related tasks, the results revealed a common pattern of activations, which included the dorsal premotor cortex and precuneus bilaterally, the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the left inferior parietal lobule, and the right posterior cingulate cortex. Additional areas involving the pre‐supplementary motor area (pre‐SMA), the precentral gyrus, were activated during conditions that required the imagery of locomotor movements. Further subtractions between the different locomotor conditions were then carried out to determine the cerebral regions associated with the simulation of increasingly complex locomotor functions. These analyses revealed increases in rCBF activity in the left cuneus and left caudate when the W condition was compared to the IG condition, suggesting that the basal ganglia plays a role in locomotor movements that are automatic in nature. Finally, subtraction of the W from the WO condition yielded increases in activity in the precuneus bilaterally, the left SMA, the right parietal inferior cortex and the left parahippocampal gyrus. Altogether, the present findings suggest that higher brain centers become progressively engaged when demands of locomotor tasks require increasing cognitive and sensory information processing. Hum. Brain Mapping 19:47–62, 2003.

A Biopsychosocial Formulation of Pain Communication.

We present a detailed framework for understanding the numerous and complicated interactions among psychological and social determinants of pain through examination of the process of pain communication. The focus is on an improved understanding of immediate dyadic transactions during painful events in the context of broader social phenomena. Fine-grain consideration of social transactions during pain leads to an appreciation of sociobehavioral events affecting both suffering persons as well as caregivers. Our examination considers knowledge from a variety of perspectives, including clinical health psychology, social and developmental processes, evolutionary psychology, communication studies, and behavioral neuroscience.

To what extent do we share the pain of others? Insight from the neural bases of pain empathy

In the representationalist framework generally adopted in cognitive neuroscience, pain is conceived as a subjective experience triggered by the activation of a mental representation of actual or potential tissue damage (nociception). This representation may involve somatic sensory features, as well as affective-motivational reactions associated with the promotion of protective or recuperative visceromotor and behavioral responses. Mental representation of nociception may provide the primary referent from which a rich associative network can be established to evoke the notion of pain in the absence of a nociceptive stimulus. Here, we adopt the notion of a mental representation of pain as a means to relate the experience of pain in oneself to the perception of pain in others. We review the functional neuroimaging studies supporting the hypothesis that the perception of pain in others relies at least partly on the activation of a mental representation of pain in the Self, and thus on common neural systems. However, we also demonstrate that there are

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.

Motor learning produces parallel dynamic functional changes during the execution and imagination of sequential foot movements.

The aim of the present positron emission tomography study was to measure the dynamic changes in cerebral activity before and after practice of an explicitly known sequence of foot movements when executed physically and to compare them to those elicited during motor imagery of the same movements. Nine healthy volunteers were scanned while performing both types of movement at an early phase of learning and after a 1-h training period of a sequence of dorsiflexions and plantarflexions with the left foot. These experimental conditions were compared directly, as well as to a perceptual control condition. Changes in regional cerebral blood flow associated with physical execution of the sequence early in the learning process were observed bilaterally in the dorsal premotor cortex and cerebellum, as well as in the left inferior parietal lobule. After training, however, most of these brain regions were no longer significantly activated, suggesting that they are critical for establishing the cognitive strategies and motor routines involved in executing sequential foot movements. By contrast, after practice, an increased level of activity was seen bilaterally in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and striatum, as well as in the left rostral portion of the anterior cingulate and a different region of the inferior parietal lobule, suggesting that these structures play an important role in the development of a long lasting representation of the sequence. Finally, as predicted, a similar pattern of dynamic changes was observed in both phases of learning during the motor imagery conditions. This last finding suggests that the cerebral plasticity occurring during the incremental acquisition of a motor sequence executed physically is reflected by the covert production of this skilled behavior using motor imagery.

Functional cerebral reorganization following motor sequence learning through mental practice with motor imagery

The goal of the present study was to examine, via positron emission tomography, the functional changes associated with the learning of a sequence of foot movements through mental practice with motor imagery (MI). Following intensive MI training over several days, which led to a modest but significant improvement in performance, healthy subjects showed an increase in activity restricted to the medial aspect of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and a decrease in the cerebellum. These main results are largely consistent with those found in a previous study of sequence learning performed in our laboratory after physical practice of the same task [NeuroImage 16 (2002) 142]. Further analyses showed a positive correlation between the blood flow increase in the OFC and the percentage of improvement on the foot sequence task. Moreover, the increased involvement of the medial OFC revealed a modality specific anatomo-functional organization, as imagination of the sequential task after MI practice activated a more posterior region than its execution. These results demonstrate that learning a sequential motor task through motor imagery practice produces cerebral functional changes similar to those observed after physical practice of the same task. Moreover, the findings are in accord with the hypothesis that mental practice with MI, at least initially, improves performance by acting on the preparation and anticipation of movements rather than on execution per se.

The Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire (KVIQ) for assessing motor imagery in persons with physical disabilities: a reliability and construct validity study.

Purpose: To benefit from mental practice training after stroke, one must be able to engage in motor imagery, and thus reliable motor imagery assessment tools tailored to persons with sensorimotor impairments are needed. The aims of this study were to (1) examine the test-retest reliability of the Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire (KVIQ-20) and its short version (the KVIQ-10) in healthy subjects and subjects with stroke, (2) investigate the internal consistency of both KVIQ versions, and (3) explore the factorial structure of the two KVIQ versions. Methods: The KVIQ assesses on a five-point ordinal scale the clarity of the image (visual: V subscale) and the intensity of the sensations (kinesthetic: K subscale) that the subjects are able to imagine from the first-person perspective. Nineteen persons who had sustained a stroke (CVA group) and 46 healthy persons (CTL group) including an age-matched (aCTL: n = 19) control group were assessed twice by the same examiner 10 to 14 days apart. The test-retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). The internal consistency (Cronbach &agr;) and the factorial structure of both KVIQ versions were studied in a sample of 131 subjects. Results: In the CVA group, the ICCs ranged from 0.81 to 0.90, from 0.73 to 0.86 in the aCTL group, and from 0.72 to 0.81 in the CTL group. When imagining movements of the affected and unaffected limbs (upper and lower limbs combined) ICCs in the CVA group ranged, respectively, from 0.71 to.87 and from 0.86 to 0.94. Likewise, when imagining movement of the dominant and nondominant limbs, ICCs in the aCTL group ranged, respectively, from 0.75 to 0.89 and from 0.81 to.92. Cronbach &agr; values were, respectively, 0.94 (V) and 0.92 (K) for the KVIQ-20 and 0.89 (V) and 0.87(K) for the KVIQ-10. The factorial analyses indicated that two factors explained 63.4% and 67.7% of total variance, respectively. Conclusion: Both versions of the KVIQ present similar psychometric properties that support their use in healthy individuals and in persons post-stroke. Because the KVIQ-10 can be administered in half the time, however, it is a good choice when assessing persons with physical disabilities.

The Efficacy of Combined Physical and Mental Practice in the Learning of a Foot-Sequence Task after Stroke: A Case Report

Objective. To investigate the effect of mental practice on the learning of a sequential task for the lower limb in a patient with a hemiparesis resulting from a stroke. Design. A single-case study. Setting. Research laboratory of a university-affiliated rehabilitation center. Patient. A right-handed 38-year-old man who had suffered a left hemorrhagic subcortical stroke 4 months prior. Intervention. The patient practiced a serial response time task with the lower limb in 3 distinct training phases over a period of 5 weeks: 2 weeks of physical practice, 1 week of combined physical and mental practice, and then 2 weeks of mental practice alone. Main Outcome Measures. Performance on the task measured through errors and response times. Imagery abilities measured through questionnaires. Results. The patient’s average response time improved significantly during the 1st 5 days of physical practice (26%) but then failed to show further improvement during the following week of physical practice. The combination of mental and physical practice during the 3rd week yielded additional improvement (10.3%), whereas the following 2 weeks of mental practice resulted in a marginal increase in performance (2.2%). Conclusion. The findings show that mental practice, when combined with physical practice, can improve the performance of a sequential motor skill in people who had a stroke, and suggest that mental practice could play a role in the retention of newly acquired abilities.