Individual differences in local gray matter density are associated with differences in affective and cognitive empathy

The understanding of empathy from a neuroscientific perspective has recently developed quickly, with numerous functional MRI studies associating different brain regions with different components of empathy. A recent meta-analysis across 40 fMRI studies revealed that affective empathy is most often associated with increased activity in the insula, whereas cognitive empathy is most often associated with activity in the midcingulate cortex and adjacent dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (MCC/dmPFC). To date, however, it remains unclear whether individual differences in brain morphometry in these regions underlie different dispositions in affective and cognitive empathy. In order to test this hypothesis, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to examine the extent to which gray matter density predicts scores from an established empathy measure (Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy; QCAE). One hundred and seventy-six participants completed the QCAE and underwent MRI in order to acquire a high-resolution, three-dimensional T1-weighted structural scans. A factor analysis of the questionnaire scores revealed two distinct factors of empathy, affective and cognitive, which confirmed the validity of the QCAE. VBM results revealed gray matter density differences associated with the distinct components of empathy. Higher scores on affective empathy were associated with greater gray matter density in the insula cortex and higher scores of cognitive empathy were associated with greater gray matter density in the MCC/dmPFC. Taken together, these results provide validation for empathy being a multi-component construct, suggesting that affective and cognitive empathy are differentially represented in brain morphometry as well as providing convergent evidence for empathy being represented by different neural and structural correlates

Fatigue experienced by people with cerebral palsy : A systematic review of assessment tools and decision tree

Purpose To conduct a systematic review of self- and proxy-report fatigue assessment tools used in studies of people with cerebral palsy (CP) of all ages, and to develop a fatigue assessment tool decision tree for clinicians and researchers. Materials and methods Five electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsycInfo, CINAHL, Web of Science and Cochrane) were searched to September 2021 to identify studies assessing self-reported fatigue in people with CP of any age. The assessment tools utilised were extracted and two reviewers appraised the tool characteristics, clinical utility and psychometric properties. A decision tree for selecting fatigue assessment tools was constructed. Results Ten assessment tools were identified across thirty-nine studies, three of which are valid and reliable for assessing fatigue severity and impact in people with CP. A four-level fatigue assessment tool decision tree was constructed. No valid and reliable tool for assessing cognitive fatigue was identified; responsiveness has not been evaluated in any tool for people with CP. Conclusions Physical fatigue screening and assessment tools for people with CP are available and are presented in our decision tree, however their utility as outcome measures remains unclear. Cognitive fatigue is understudied and poorly understood, further work is required in this area. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION • Current measurement tools to screen and assess physical fatigue in people with cerebral palsy (CP) are valid and reliable and are presented in our 4-level decision tree to guide assessment tool selection. • The responsiveness of these measurement tools to screen and assess physical fatigue has not been evaluated, therefore their utility as outcome measures in people with CP is unclear. • Cognitive fatigue is understudied and poorly understood in people with CP. • Valid and reliable tools to assess cognitive fatigue in people with CP are not available

A pilot randomised controlled trial of the Peer Tree digital intervention targeting loneliness in young people: a study protocol

Background Young people are vulnerable to experiencing problematic levels of loneliness which can lead to poor mental health outcomes. Loneliness is a malleable treatment target and preliminary evidence has shown that it can be addressed with digital platforms. Peer Tree is a strength-based digital smartphone application aimed at reducing loneliness. The study aim is to reduce loneliness and assess the acceptability, usability, and feasibility of Peer Tree in young people enrolled at university. Methods This will be a pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) comparing a strength-based digital smartphone application (Peer Tree) with a control condition. Forty-two young people enrolled at university will be recruited for this pilot RCT. Participants with suicidal ideation or behaviours, acute psychiatric symptoms in the past month, or a current diagnosis of a mood or social anxiety disorder will be excluded. Allocation will be made on a 1:1 ratio and will occur after the initial baseline assessment. Assessments are completed at baseline, at post-intervention, and at follow-up. Participants in the control condition complete the same three assessment sessions. The primary outcome of the study will be loneliness. Depression, social anxiety, quality of life, acceptability, usability, feasibility, and safety of Peer Tree will also be measured as secondary outcomes. Discussion This trial will report the findings of implementing Peer Tree, a smartphone application aimed at reducing loneliness in university students. Findings from this trial will highlight the initial efficacy, acceptability, and feasibility of using digital positive psychology interventions to reduce subthreshold mental health concerns. Findings from this trial will also describe the safety of Peer Tree as a digital tool. Results will contribute evidence for positive psychology interventions to address mental ill-health. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12619000350123. Registered on 6 March 202

iPhone therefore iAttend: the effect of property on our ability to detect briefly presented information in our visual field

The present thesis used a Posner cueing task to investigate the effect of property ownership on visuo-spatial attention. Property ownership was manipulated using mobile Smartphones presented adjacent to the computer monitor and aligned horizontally with the experimental stimuli. Smartphones belonged to the participant, the experimenter, or was a wooden block presented instead of a Smartphone (non-phone, control). Experiment 1 showed that mean-validity reaction times (RTs) for detecting briefly presented stimuli were attenuated by the presence of a mobile Smartphone, regardless of ownership status, compared with the non-phone. Experiment 2 enhanced participants’ internal representation of ownership status to disentangle the property ownership effects from Experiment 1 associated with the two mobile Smartphone conditions. To enhance ownership status, participants wrote a significant other’s name in either the experimenter’s or the participant’s phone. For participants using the experimenter’s phone, there were larger RT costs when the participant’s phone was presented next to the monitor compared with when the experimenter’s phone was presented. This suggests an inhibition effect for self-owned property. These findings demonstrate that property ownership status associated with mobile Smartphones can affect the way we engage and disengage our attention to briefly presented information in the visual field

The influence of group membership on the neural correlates involved in empathy

Empathy involves affective, cognitive and emotion regulative components. The affective component relies on the sharing of emotional states with others and is discussed here in relation to the human Mirror System. On the other hand, the cognitive component is related to understanding the mental states of others and draws upon literature surrounding Theory of Mind. The final component, emotion regulation depends on executive function and is responsible for managing the degree to which explicit empathic responses are made. This mini-review provides information on how each of the three components is individually affected by group membership and how this leads to in-group bias

Understanding the Empathic and Moral Brain: A neuroscientific approach

Our ability to empathise and make moral decisions can facilitate prosocial behaviour. However, sometimes people act immorally or they do not sympathise with others. The purpose of my research was to further understand how specific conditions influence the neural mechanisms involved in empathy and morality. <br>     <br>    The first chapter of this thesis provides the necessary conceptual backbone for understanding empathy and morality. In the second chapter, the literature is reviewed surrounding the influence of group membership on the neural correlates involved in empathy. In chapter three, a voxel-based morphometry study is presented which shows that individual differences in cognitive and affective empathy are associated with differences in grey matter density in specific brain regions. <br>     <br>    Chapter four presents a large-scale activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis, showing different contexts in moral tasks results in recruitment of different neural networks. Chapter 5, investigates internet piracy and shows, across three studies, that people experience less guilt when stealing non-physical property. The final chapter summarises the findings, and discusses limitations, and future research avenues

Why do people pirate? A neuroimaging investigation

It is not uncommon for people to openly admit to pirating information from the internet despite the known legal consequences. Those same people are often less inclined to steal the same physical item from a shop. This raises the question, why do people have fewer reservations with stealing intangible items compared to tangible? Using questionnaires and fMRI we provide evidence across three studies as to the differences between tangible and intangible theft. In a questionnaire (Study 1), participants revealed that across different conditions they were more willing to steal intangible compared to tangible goods. Study 2a used fMRI to reveal that a network involved in imagining objects was more active when participants were representing intangible versus tangible objects, suggesting people have greater difficulty representing intangible items. Study 2b used fMRI to show that when stealing tangible objects versus intangible, participants had increased activation in left lateral orbitofrontal cortex, an area typically activated in response to morally laden situations. The findings from the current investigation provide novel insights into the higher prevalence of intangible theft and suggest that differential neural representation of tangible and intangible items may, in part, explain why people are more willing to steal intangible items

Common and distinct neural networks involved in fMRI studies investigating morality: an ALE meta-analysis

Morality is an important social construct necessary for understanding what is right and wrong. Neuroimaging studies investigating morality have used a wide variety of paradigms and implicated many different brain areas. Yet, it remains unclear whether differences amongst morality tasks are the cause for such heterogeneous findings. Therefore, in the present study, a series of activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analyses were conducted on 123 datasets (inclusive of 1963 participants) to address this question. The ALE meta-analyses revealed a series of common brain areas associated with all moral tasks, including medial prefrontal cortex, lateral orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, temporoparietal junction, and precuneus. However, individual and contrast analyses also revealed unique networks associated with each moral modality, suggesting that different moral tasks recruit specialised brain regions

Loneliness and emotion regulation: implications of having social anxiety disorder

Objective: Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) are more likely to feel lonely compared with those without the disorder (NOSAD). Loneliness is also associated with increased emotion regulation deficits. In this study, we examined the relationships among different emotion regulation processes and loneliness in individuals with and without a diagnosis of SAD. Method: We recruited demographically matched groups comprising 42 participants with a primary diagnosis of SAD, and 42 participants from the broader community who acted as the NOSAD sample. Results: In line with predictions, loneliness severity and difficulties with regulating emotions differed between a SAD and NOSAD sample. We also found that loneliness in those with SAD was positively associated with the clarity and awareness subscales of the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale. Conclusion: Overall, those with SAD reported more difficulties regulating emotions and higher loneliness compared with the sample with NOSAD. Results are discussed in line with theoretical and clinical implications. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: (1) Loneliness is associated with poor mental health. (2) Social anxiety symptoms predict higher loneliness over time and vice versa. (3) Emotion regulation capacity is related to both social anxiety and loneliness. What this topic adds: (1) Compares loneliness and emotion regulation across clinical and NOSAD samples. (2) Difficulties in emotion regulation ability are uniquely associated with loneliness in the sample with social anxiety disorder compared to those without social anxiety disorder. (3) Provides a rationale to target emotion regulation deficits