Basics of social cognitive and affective neuroscience.
II. Empathy

Czech version

Authors: F. Koukolík
Authors‘ workplace: Primář: MUDr. František Koukolík, DrSc. ; Národní referenční laboratoř prionových chorob ; Fakultní Thomayerova nemocnice s poliklinikou, Praha ; Oddělení patologie a molekulární medicíny
Published in: Prakt. Lék. 2011; 91(2): 63-67
Category: Editorial

Overview

Empathy is a shared interpersonal experience with components of

– affective arousal,

– emotion understanding, and

– emotion regulation.

Every component has its evolutionary and ontogenetic trajectory. Empathy is a function, which involves a distributed recursively connected neuronal network consisting of medial prefrontal, orbitofrontal, insular and cingular cortices and their connections with amygdala and systems of regulation of autonomic and neuroendocrine responses.

Empathy is a fundamental trait of humanness.

Key words:

empathy, distributed neuronal network, affective arousal, emotion understanding, emotion regulation.

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