Media release

From: Society for Neuroscience

Insight into the basis of healthy, stable relationships

Empathy plays an integral role in feeling socially connected with others and this may be linked to the anterior insula and temporo-parietal junction. 

Empathy helps us feel close to others, which is important for forming stable relationships. In a study from the Translational Social Neuroscience Unit in Würzburg, Germany, and the Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, the role of empathy in forming and maintaining social closeness was directly investigated. Over 100 female participants observed another person undergo something painful and then rated their closeness with them. Using a combined mathematical model and brain imaging approach, the scientists assessed the underlying mechanisms of this closeness. They found that formation of social closeness depended on a learning signal during the repeated viewing of another’s pain while the maintenance of social closeness was dependent on witnessing another’s relief from pain. These distinct processes were associated with activation of the anterior insula and the temporo-parietal junction. Joint evidence from the imaging experiments and additional behavioral control experiments suggests that empathy drives social closeness initially during painful contexts, and this is maintained by transitions into good contexts associated with pain relief. While sex differences remain unexplored, the identification of brain regions that contribute to this phenomenon may inform future studies working to develop treatment interventions for those who struggle to bond with others.