Alli: Biological Empathy

For my contribution to our Classroom Canon, I decided to write a paper based on the research I found for another assignment to make a bibliography. I became fascinated with the topic I was researching and wanted to learn more. I love everything relating to the brain, and so to be able to connect my English class with neuroscience was very exciting. The bibliography containing the original sources that sparked my interest to write this essay is listed at the end.

Biological Basis of Empathy

Though we may not be conscious of it, the capacity to recognize emotions that are being experienced by another functions in our daily interactions with one another. This phenomenon, known as human empathy, depends on the ability to share the emotions of others – to feel what others feel. Empathy is regarded by many as the foundation of moral behavior, and thanks to recent scientific research, this may soon be more than just a theory. Research studies preformed by behavioral biologists are beginning to show that the notion of empathy is not specific to humans, but can be seen in not only other primate species, but also mammals in general. There seems to be a neurobiological basis to empathy that has been conserved through evolution. Researcher, Frans de Waal defines empathy as the act of “taking the perspective of another or imagining oneself in another’s position.” In his research preformed at Emory University, he has provided convincing evidence that bonobos display sensitivity to other’s emotions at a very early age before advanced thought processes have developed. By observing these consolations behaviors in monkeys, we can apply them to our understanding of human interactions.

This research however raises an important question. If empathy is in fact hardwired in our DNA, why then do we not see everyone in the world being empathetic to one another? Though it may be incorporated into everyone’s genetic makeup, there are varying extents to which the biological aspect of empathy is displayed. This question can also be answered by the bonobos. The researchers state in their review of the study that they “found strong effects of friendship and kinship, with bonobos being more likely to comfort those they are emotionally close to” (Clay and de Waal, 2013). Therefore, though empathy may have the biological ability to exist in everyone, the extent to which an individual displays the behavior may have to do with a previously established closeness. Another fascinating finding of the study was that juvenile bonobos (ages 3 to 7 years old) engage in consolation behavior more than their adult counterparts, suggesting that once higher functioning brain processes develop, there are thoughts and other similar distortions that may interfere with this innate impulse to show empathy.

In understanding how our brains can relate to another person on a biological level, it is first important to note that when we experience a sort of emotional or psychological pain, the same brain regions are activated as when we experience a physical pain. Thus, it is interesting that those same brain regions that process our first-hand experiences of pain are also activated when we observe other people in pain, psychological or physical. When we observe the emotional signs of others, research shows we recruit brain regions associated with theory of mind—the mechanism that allows us to take the perspective of another person (Shulte-Rüther et al, 2007). This theory of mind mechanism may be of crucial importance for showing empathetic concern or sympathy. A person lacking theory of mind or the ability to self-regulate emotions might focus solely on his or her own emotional reactions to another person’s situation, thus being too absorbed by his or her own emotional agitation to show signs of compassion.

In an experiment where kids ages seven to twelve were presented with images of people getting hurt, the kids experienced elevated levels of activity in the same neural circuits that process first-hand experiences of pain (Decety et al 2008). This automatic response, known as mirroring, has also been documented in adults. The phenomenon is believed to reflect the activation of mirror neurons, nerve cells that fire both when a person acts and when a person observes the same action performed by another. Thus, the neuron “mirrors” the behavior of the other person, as though the observer were acting. Mirror neurons may explain how we can experience so called second-hand pain or emotion. But to respond with compassion and empathetic concern, more information is needed, and here is where the theory of mind comes into play.

Various other experiments have been performed to provide evidence for the display of empathy among nonhuman animals. In one experiment, fifteen rhesus monkeys were trained to get food by pulling on the correct chains. The monkeys quickly learned that one chain delivered twice as much food than the other. The circumstances then changed so that if a monkey pulled the chain originally associated with the bigger reward, another bystander monkey received an electric shock. After observing this bystander get a shock, ten of the monkeys switched their preferences to the chain associated with the lesser food reward. Two other monkeys stopped pulling either chain – preferring to starve rather than see another monkey in pain (Masserman et al, 1964).

Empathy is important to the daily interactions exhibited by humans, and as research has shown, other mammals as well. By observing various other mammals, and particularly monkeys, it seems that we can conclude that they exhibit a natural, inherent tendency toward pro-social behaviors, such as empathy. Current and future research aims to localize specific groups of mirror neurons to even further understand this apparent neurobiological foundation of empathetic behavior.

Bibliography:

Decety J, Michalska K, and Akitsuki Y. 2008a. “Who caused the pain? An fMRI investigation of empathy and intentionality in children.” 46(11):2607-14

De Waal, Frans. “Frans De Waal: Moral Behavior in Animals.” TED: Ideas worth Spreading. Atlanta, Georgia. Nov. 2011. Speech.

Clay, Z. & de Waal, F. B. M. “Bonobos respond to distress in others: Consolation across the age spectrum.” PLoS One, 8.

Häusser LF. “Empathy and mirror neurons. A view on contemporary neuropsychological empathy research.” Prax Kinderpsychol Kinderpsychiatr. 2012;61(5):322-35.

“Humans are ‘naturally nice.’” Aljazeera. 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Newbern, Lisa. “Sign of empathy: Bonobos comfort friends in distress.” Emory. 6 Feb. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2013

Masserman JH. Wechkin S, and Terris W. 1964. “Altruistic behavior in rhesus monkeys.”American Journal of Psychiatry 121: 584-585.

Schulte-Rüther M, Markowitsch HJ, Fink GR, and Piefke M. 2007. “Mirror neuron and theory of mind mechanisms involved in face-to-face interactions: a functional magnetic resonance imaging approach to empathy”. J Cogn Neurosci. 19(8):1354-72.