Rankin Katherine P, Gorno-Tempini Maria Luisa, Allison Stephen C, Stanley Christine M, Glenn Shenly, Weiner Michael W, Miller Bruce L
Memory and Aging Center, UCSF Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco CA 94143-1207, USA.
Brain. 2006 Nov;129(Pt 11):2945-56. doi: 10.1093/brain/awl254. Epub 2006 Sep 28.
Empathy is a complex social behaviour mediated by a network of brain structures. Recently, several functional imaging studies have investigated the neural basis of empathy, but few corroborative human lesion studies exist. Severe empathy loss is a common feature of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), and is also seen in other neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, the neuroanatomic basis of empathy was investigated in 123 patients with FTLD, Alzheimer's disease, corticobasal degeneration and progressive supranuclear palsy using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). IRI Empathic Concern and Perspective taking scores were correlated with structural MRI brain volume using voxel-based morphometry. Voxels in the right temporal pole, the right fusiform gyrus, the right caudate and right subcallosal gyrus correlated significantly with total empathy score (P < 0.05 after whole-brain correction for multiple comparisons). Empathy score correlated positively with the volume of right temporal structures in semantic dementia, and with subcallosal gyrus volume in frontotemporal dementia. These findings are consistent with previous research suggesting that a primarily right frontotemporal network of brain regions is involved in emotion processing, and highlights the roles of the right temporal pole and inferior frontal/striatal regions in regulating complex social interactions. This is the first large-scale lesion study to investigate the neural basis of empathy using correlational analytic methods. The results suggest that the right anterior temporal and medial frontal regions are essential for real-life empathic behaviour.
同理心是一种由脑结构网络介导的复杂社会行为。最近，一些功能成像研究调查了同理心的神经基础，但确凿的人类损伤研究却很少。严重的同理心丧失是额颞叶痴呆（FTLD）的常见特征，在其他神经退行性疾病中也有出现。在本研究中，使用人际反应指数（IRI）对123例患有FTLD、阿尔茨海默病、皮质基底节变性和进行性核上性麻痹的患者的同理心神经解剖学基础进行了研究。使用基于体素的形态学方法，将IRI的同理心关怀和观点采择得分与脑部结构MRI体积进行关联。右侧颞极、右侧梭状回、右侧尾状核和右侧胼胝体下回的体素与总同理心得分显著相关（在全脑校正多重比较后P < 0.05）。在语义性痴呆中，同理心得分与右侧颞叶结构的体积呈正相关，在额颞叶痴呆中与胼胝体下回体积呈正相关。这些发现与先前的研究一致，表明主要由右侧额颞叶脑区网络参与情绪处理，并突出了右侧颞极和额下/纹状体区域在调节复杂社会互动中的作用。这是第一项使用相关分析方法研究同理心神经基础的大规模损伤研究。结果表明，右侧颞前部和额内侧区域对现实生活中的同理心行为至关重要。
