Gabay Yafit, Shamay-Tsoory Simone G, Goldfarb Liat
a Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, Department of Learning Disabilities , University of Haifa , Haifa , Israel.
b Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders , University of Haifa , Haifa , Israel.
J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2016 Dec;38(10):1131-43. doi: 10.1080/13803395.2016.1199663. Epub 2016 Jun 29.
Studies indicate a strong relationship between empathy and language skills, but the relationship between reading and empathy remains elusive, although a shared neural substrate (the temporoparietal junction; TPJ) has been implicated in both reading and empathy. Motivated by these observations, the purpose of the current study was to examine empathic skills in a large spectrum of reading abilities, including typical readers and individuals with dyslexia, and their relationship to reading competence. We administered the Intrapersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) test, which differentiates between two subscales of empathy (cognitive and emotional empathy), to a group of participants with dyslexia and typical readers. Results indicate that the general reading score (average z scores of all reading tests) was significantly positively correlated with empathic scores. In addition, tests of specific reading abilities-decoding, reading fluency, and reading-related measures of phonological awareness-were significantly positively correlated with empathic scores. Finally, participants with dyslexia who showed low reading abilities had significantly lower scores in total empathy and cognitive empathy, as measured by the IRI test, than did typical participants with high reading abilities. Taken together, these results indicate a strong association between reading-related skills and empathic abilities and may point to involvement of the TPJ in both empathy and reading.
研究表明，共情与语言技能之间存在密切关系，但阅读与共情之间的关系仍不明确，尽管阅读和共情都涉及一个共同的神经基质（颞顶联合区；TPJ）。受这些观察结果的启发，本研究的目的是考察包括典型读者和阅读障碍个体在内的广泛阅读能力人群的共情技能，以及它们与阅读能力的关系。我们对一组阅读障碍参与者和典型读者进行了人际反应指标（IRI）测试，该测试区分了共情的两个子量表（认知共情和情感共情）。结果表明，总体阅读分数（所有阅读测试的平均z分数）与共情分数显著正相关。此外，特定阅读能力的测试——解码、阅读流畅性以及与阅读相关的语音意识测量——与共情分数显著正相关。最后，通过IRI测试测量，阅读能力较低的阅读障碍参与者在总共情和认知共情方面的得分显著低于阅读能力较高的典型参与者。综上所述，这些结果表明阅读相关技能与共情能力之间存在密切关联，并且可能表明TPJ在共情和阅读中都发挥了作用。
