Empathy for joy recruits a broader prefrontal network than empathy for sadness and is predicted by executive functioning.

Empathy encompasses the ability to contemplate and vicariously share in the emotional life of others, and is critical for social interaction, and may enhance subjective happiness. OBJECTIVE: While a few theoretical models propose that executive function may play a role in empathy, it is unknown how variation in executive function, and underlying variation in key large-scale brain network nodes, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex node within the executive control network-or the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) node within the mentalizing/theory of mind network-may account for individual differences in empathy capacity. METHOD: The relationship between individual differences in executive capacity-parsed into working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility subdomains-and magnitude of activity in a priori identified PFC subregions during a functional MRI-based ecologically valid empathy induction paradigm, was investigated. Empathic happiness (i.e., vicarious joy) and empathic concern (i.e., vicarious sadness) in response to the life circumstances of actual people were measured at separate time points as brain functional MRI was obtained. Participants also completed executive-heavy clinical neuropsychological tasks outside of the scanner. RESULTS: Frontopolar PFC was activated across both types of empathy. However, empathic happiness related to engagement of a much broader network of prefrontal cortex subregions relative to empathic concern: spawning frontopolar, dorsolateral, and medial aspects. PFC activation during both types of empathy was positively predicted by working memory capacity. CONCLUSION: Activation in core aspects of the working memory-executive control network, and core happiness-related aspects of the mentalizing brain network (i.e., medial PFC and precuneus) predicted greater empathy capacity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Fronto-striatal activity predicts anhedonia and positive empathy subtypes.

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, globus pallidus, and nucleus accumbens are important components of the reward circuit in the brain; and prior research suggests individuals with damage to these regions feel less pleasure (i.e., are anhedonic). However, little is known about how these brain regions relate to vicarious pleasure. Pilot fMRI data were collected from 20 participants (Mage = 22, SD = 7.0, 63% female) during a validated empathy induction paradigm that utilized video clips extracted from the television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to elicit empathic happiness (i.e. vicarious happiness) when targets display positive affect, and either empathic cheerfulness (i.e. the tendency to want to cheer someone up) or empathic concern (i.e. vicarious sadness) when targets display negative affect. Participants also completed the novel "Happy Faces" task-a behavioral measure of anhedonia-while fMRI was collected. fMRI data during task completion were used to predict trait empathy measured via self-report outside of the scanner, and accuracy on the "Happy Faces" task. Results indicate that globus pallidus activity during empathic concern-eliciting video clips significantly predicted self-reported trait empathic cheerfulness (R2 = 26%, p = 0.045). Furthermore, greater dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity during the Happy Faces task predicted accurate performance on the task (R2 = 34%, p < .05); and greater nucleus accumbens shell activity during the Happy Faces task predicted greater trait empathic happiness (R2 = 38%, p < .05). These results suggest that fronto-striatal circuitry contributes to our experience of anhedonia, empathic happiness, and empathic cheerfulness.