Brain Imaging Reveals Neural Roots Of Caring, University of Colorado Study Reveals

When others suffer, we humans empathize. Our feelings of empathy take different forms, such as distress when we imagine and internalize someone's pain and compassion as we sympathize with their condition. These different feelings involve distinct patterns of brain activity, according to a study in Neuron published June 8. Feelings of empathy may seem subtle and personal, but this study, which used stories of human hardship to inspire feelings of empathic care and distress, found that the brain patterns associated with these feelings are consistent and predictable across individuals.