Smart Ageing International Research Center, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
PLoS One. 2014 Jan 7;9(1):e84782. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084782. eCollection 2014.
Empathizing is defined as the drive to identify the mental states of others for predicting their behavior and responding with an appropriate emotion. Systemizing is defined as the drive to analyze a system in terms of the rules that govern the system in order to predict its behavior. Using voxel-based morphometry and questionnaires in a large sample of normal, right-handed young adults, we investigated the regional gray matter volume (rGMV) correlates of empathizing and systemizing and additionally those of the D score, which is the difference between systemizing and empathizing, to reveal the comprehensive picture of those correlates. Negative rGMV correlates of empathizing and positive rGMV correlates of the D score (formed by the negative correlation between rGMV and empathizing), were found primarily in nodes in the default mode network, mirror neuron system, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and the lateral part of the prefrontal cortex together with other areas. Positive rGMV correlates of systemizing and of the D score (formed by the positive correlation between rGMV and systemizing) were found primarily in nodes in the external attention system, middle cingulate cortex, and other regions. Negative rGMV correlates of systemizing were found in an area close to the left posterior insula and putamen. These findings reconcile some previously inconsistent findings, provide other new findings and suggest that these areas contribute to empathizing-systemizing. Furthermore, the negative/positive rGMV correlates of empathizing and positive/negative rGMV correlates of systemizing overlapped substantially. This may be in line with the notion that empathizing and systemizing compete neurally in the brain.
共情被定义为识别他人心理状态的驱动力，以便预测他们的行为并做出相应的情绪反应。系统化被定义为分析系统的驱动力，根据支配系统的规则来预测其行为。我们使用基于体素的形态测量学和问卷，对大量正常、右利手的年轻成年人进行研究，调查了共情和系统化的区域灰质体积（rGMV）相关性，此外还调查了 D 分数的相关性，D 分数是系统化和共情之间的差异，以揭示这些相关性的全貌。共情的 rGMV 负相关和 D 分数的 rGMV 正相关（由 rGMV 与共情之间的负相关形成）主要出现在默认模式网络、镜像神经元系统、背侧前扣带皮层和外侧前额叶的节点中，以及其他区域。系统化和 D 分数的 rGMV 正相关（由 rGMV 与系统化之间的正相关形成）主要出现在外部注意系统、中扣带皮层和其他区域的节点中。系统化的 rGMV 负相关出现在左侧后岛叶和壳核附近的一个区域。这些发现调和了一些先前不一致的发现，提供了其他新的发现，并表明这些区域对共情和系统化有贡献。此外，共情的 rGMV 负/正相关和系统化的 rGMV 正/负相关有很大的重叠。这可能与大脑中共情和系统化在神经上相互竞争的观点一致。
