The virtual disengagement hypothesis: A neurophysiological framework for reduced empathy on social media.

Social media is a hotbed of interpersonal conflict and aggression. Platforms such as Twitter and Instagram are used by more than 62% of the global population, facilitating billions of user interactions every day. However, many of these exchanges involve hostile, insensitive, and antisocial behaviors. This raises the question: is empathy blunted on social media? Substantial evidence demonstrates that humans tend to behave more rudely in virtual settings, but considering the scarcity of physiological data collected under these circumstances, it remains unclear how the neural systems guiding social cognition and empathy may function differently in online interactions. We propose the "Virtual Disengagement Hypothesis," a conceptual framework to explain the prevalence of hostility online. It posits that interactions occurring on social media omit social cues that facilitate the assessment of a social partner's affective state, such as facial expressions and vocal tone, and thus fail to sufficiently recruit brain circuitry involved in empathy, such as the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and prefrontal cortex. Additionally, interactions on social media occur asynchronously and in a "replayed" context, which may further limit recruitment of empathy systems. As a result of this diminished sensitivity to others' states, users may be predisposed to inconsiderate or outright antisocial behaviors. Given the massive and growing base of users on these platforms, we urge researchers to expand efforts that focus on neuroimaging in virtual settings with a particular emphasis on developing social media-relevant behavioral designs.

Social cognition and healthy aging: Cross-sectional associations of emotion perception, theory of mind, and emotional empathy.

OBJECTIVE: Older adults are identified to have reduced social cognitive performance compared to younger adults. However, few studies have examined age-associations throughout later life to determine whether these reductions continue with advancing age. METHOD: This study assesses cross-sectional associations of emotion perception, cognitive and affective theory of mind (ToM), and emotional empathy in a healthy sample of 157 adults aged 50-89 years (M = 65.31, SD = 9.00, 68% female sex). Emotion perception, cognitive ToM, and affective ToM were measured using The Awareness of Social Inference Test Short Form (TASIT-S), while affective ToM was also measured using Reading the Mind in the Eyes Revised (RME-R). Emotional empathy was measured using the Empathy Quotient. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses, adjusting for multiple comparisons, revealed a moderate negative association between age and emotion perception for all emotions combined, as well as for sad and revolted expressions, but not happy, neutral, anxious, or angry expressions. Age had a negative, moderate association with first-order cognitive, second-order cognitive, and affective ToM measured using TASIT-S, but not RME-R. Age was not significantly associated with emotional empathy. CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to the limited understanding of age-related associations of social cognitive performance throughout later life. This knowledge can inform future research examining the clinical utility of including social cognitive measures in neuropsychological screening and diagnostic tools for later-life neurological disorders.

Impairments in Cognitive and Emotional Empathy as Markers of General versus Specific Personality Pathology.

INTRODUCTION: The alternative model for personality disorders (AMPD) of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 5th edition (DSM-5) considers impairments in empathy a basic feature of personality disorders (PDs). In contrast, the AMPD pathological personality trait model and the categorical DSM-5 Section II PD model associate deficits in empathy to specific forms of personality pathology. The present study investigated to what extent impairments in cognitive and emotional empathy are markers of general versus specific personality pathology. METHODS: In a clinical sample (n = 119), the Multifaceted Empathy Test was used to assess cognitive empathy, emotional empathy for positive emotions, and emotional empathy for negative emotions. Personality functioning, pathological personality traits, and DSM-5 Section II PDs were assessed via interviews and self-reports. Confirmatory factor analyses were applied to associate the three empathy facets with the three personality pathology approaches, each modeled with general personality pathology (common factor) and specific personality pathology (residuals of indicators). RESULTS: Impairments in cognitive empathy and emotional empathy for positive emotions were significantly correlated with general personality pathology. All three empathy facets were also correlated to specific personality pathology when controlling for general personality pathology, respectively. Impairments in cognitive empathy were incrementally associated with identity and empathy (personality functioning), psychoticism (pathological personality traits), and paranoid and dependent PD (DSM-5 Section II PDs). Deficits in emotional empathy for positive emotions were incrementally associated with self-direction and intimacy (personality functioning) and detachment (pathological personality traits). Impairments in emotional empathy for negative emotions were incrementally associated with antagonism (pathological personality traits) and antisocial PD (DSM-5 Section II PDs). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that impairments in cognitive empathy and emotional empathy for positive emotions, but not for negative emotions, are markers of general personality pathology, while deficits in the three empathy facets are also markers for specific personality pathology.

Genotype-genotype interactions of the OXTR gene polymorphisms are associated with self-reported daytime dysfunction, sleep latency and personal distress.

The oxytocin receptors located in the corticotropin-releasing factor neurons of the paraventricular nucleus are stimulated by oxytocin. Oxytocin functions as the regulator of the corticotropin-releasing factor system and in turn promotes sleep quality. The objective of this study was to examine the main and genotype-genotype interactive effects of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) polymorphisms on sleep quality. A total of 324 participants were randomly recruited from a university in Beijing, China. Sleep quality was measured with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The OXTR single-nucleotide polymorphisms (rs2254298, rs2268498, rs13316193, rs2268490 and rs2268491) were genotyped. The results showed that gender and age were associated with various empathy traits (all p < 0.001). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was positively correlated with the Personal Distress subscale of empathy (p < 0.001). Both rs2254298 and rs2268491 interacted with rs13316193 to influence daytime dysfunction and Personal Distress (all p < 0.05), indicating that in individuals with rs13316193 CC/CT genotype, those with rs2254298 AA/AG or rs2268491 TT/TC genotypes displayed higher daytime dysfunction and Personal Distress scores than those with rs2254298 GG or rs2268491 CC genotypes. Conversely, among the individuals with rs2254298 GG or rs2268491 CC genotypes, the rs13316193 C allele carriers had lower daytime dysfunction and Personal Distress scores than rs13316193 TT homozygotes. There was also a significant interaction between rs2268490 and rs2268498 on the sleep latency dimension of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Our findings reveal for the first time the genotype-genotype interactions of the OXTR gene on sleep quality, which may open new research avenues for studying psychopathology involving sleep problems.

Multisite ALLFTD study modeling progressive empathy loss from the earliest stages of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia.

INTRODUCTION: Empathy relies on fronto-cingular and temporal networks that are selectively vulnerable in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). This study modeled when in the disease process empathy changes begin, and how they progress. METHODS: Four hundred thirty-one individuals with asymptomatic genetic FTD (n = 114), genetic and sporadic bvFTD (n = 317), and 163 asymptomatic non-carrier controls were enrolled. In sub-samples, we investigated empathy measured by the informant-based Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) at each disease stage and over time (n = 91), and its correspondence to underlying atrophy (n = 51). RESULTS: Empathic concern (estimate = 4.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.79, 5.97; p < 0.001) and perspective taking (estimate = 5.64, 95% CI = 3.81, 7.48; p < 0.001) scores declined between the asymptomatic and very mild symptomatic stages regardless of pathogenic variant status. More rapid loss of empathy corresponded with subcortical atrophy. DISCUSSION: Loss of empathy is an early and progressive symptom of bvFTD that is measurable by IRI informant ratings and can be used to monitor behavior in neuropsychiatry practice and treatment trials.

Moderating role of motivational preference in the relationship between attachment quality and emotional empathy among autistic caregivers.

The study investigated the moderating role of motivational preference in the relationship between attachment quality and emotional empathy among sixty-five autistic caregivers (42 males and 23 females). Participants were drawn from Therapeutic Inclusive Nursery, Primary, and Secondary School in Abakpa Nike, Enugu State, Nigeria. Attachment Quality Scale, Work Preference Inventory Scale, and Emotional Empathy Scale were used in the study. Hayes PROCESS macro regression-based, path-analytical framework was employed to analyse the data. Motivational preference and the four dimensions of attachment quality predicted emotional empathy. Motivational preference did not moderate the relationship between security, avoidance and ambivalent worry dimensions of attachment quality and emotional empathy. Motivational preference moderated the relationship between ambivalent merger and emotional empathy (ß = -.14, t = -3.15, p = <.05). Ambivalent merger predicted emotional empathy for those with low motivational preference (ß = 7.22, p = <.05), moderate motivational preference (ß = 3.07, p = < .05), and for those with high motivational preference (ß = 1.01, p = <.05). Implications and limitations of the findings were discussed and suggestions for further studies were made.

Nursing students' emotional empathy, emotional intelligence and higher education-related stress: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Nursing is one of the critically important disciplines in healthcare. Due to its complexity and specificity, nursing students often face additional higher education-related stress. However, there is less research on higher education-related stress among nursing students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of emotional empathy and emotional intelligence on the dimensions of higher education-related stress among nursing students. METHODS: This study utilized a multi-stage sampling design and was completed within the March-June 2023 period. A total of 1126 nursing students were recruited to complete the questionnaire. The self-administered questionnaire included the basic characteristics of the subjects, an emotional empathy scale, an emotional intelligence scale, and a higher education-related stress scale. One-way ANOVA/t-tests, correlation coefficients, and hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to explore the factors affecting higher education-related stress and the relationship between emotional empathy and emotional intelligence with the dimensions of higher education-related stress. RESULTS: The mean (SD) scores of challenges and dissatisfaction dimensions of higher education-related stress among nursing students were 30.052 (7.466) and 8.270 (2.205), respectively. Emotional empathy was significantly and positively related to the challenges and dissatisfaction dimensions of higher education-related stress. Emotional intelligence was negatively correlated with the challenges dimension of higher education-related stress and positively correlated with the dissatisfaction dimension. Stratified multiple regression analyses revealed that nursing students' emotional empathy and emotional intelligence were significant predictors of the dimensions of higher education-related stress. CONCLUSION: Overall, emotional empathy and emotional intelligence were significantly correlated with all dimensions of higher education-related stress. Consequently, in future interventions, the Chinese government and education sector can develop nursing students' ability to use emotional empathy and emotional intelligence rationally through emotional regulation strategies and emotional intelligence courses, to reduce the higher education-related stress they experience.

Empathy and perceived burden in caregivers of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

BACKGROUND: Caregivers of patients load different kinds of burdens, including emotional distress. Aims of this study were to evaluate both burden and empathy of caregivers who assist patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. METHODS: We selected a sample of 60 caregivers (34 women and 26 men), who assisted patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders treated in our local Community Mental Health Center for a 1-year minimum period. We administered two scales to our sample, Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) and Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES), and collected data of caregivers and their assisted patients in a 3-month period. Data were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: We reported a mean ZBI score of 49.68 (±15.03 SD) and a mean BEES score of 14.35 (±9.05 SD), indicating the perception of moderate-severe burden and low level of empathy, respectively. The analysis of internal consistency confirmed the good reliability of both ZBI (Cronbach's alpha = 0.90) and BEES (Cronbach's alpha = 0.77). The correlation between the two scales was not statistically significant at Spearman test. At our multiple linear regression, many variables of both caregiver and patient showed a significant correlation with the ZBI score. In particular, not living with the assisted patient and female gender of caregiver potentially decreased the burden, whereas clinical severity of assisted patient and two caregiver conditions, middle school education and spouse relationship with patient, could worsen the burden. We highlighted two positive statistically significant correlations between the total score of BEES and caregiver characteristics: being spouse and not living with assisted patient. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights that the caregiver burden of patients with severe psychiatric disorders is high and is associated with low emotional empathy experienced by caregivers, probably due to a defensive psychological mechanism. The conditions of spouse and cohabitation can concomitantly increase both empathy and burden in caregivers.

The role of sleep in aesthetic perception and empathy: A mediation analysis.

The ability to experience aesthetics plays a fundamental role in human social interactions, as well as the capacity to feel empathy. Some studies have shown that beauty perception shares part of the neural network underlying emotional and empathic abilities, which are also known to affect sleep quality and duration. In this study, we evaluated for the first time the effects of sleep on the relation between aesthetic perception and empathic abilities in healthy subjects using a mediation analysis approach. One-hundred and twenty-six subjects participated in this study. One-hundred and one subjects slept at home (Sleep Group). The remaining 25 subjects were tested as controls after 1 night of sleep deprivation to assess the effects of lack of sleep on aesthetic perception and empathy (Sleep-Deprived Group). All participants underwent one testing session in which they performed a battery of empathy tests and an aesthetic perception task (Golden Beauty). The results showed that sleep duration mediates the relationship between empathy and aesthetic perception in the sleep group. The mediation effect of sleep was more evident on the emotional empathy measures. Conversely, in the sleep deprivation group the lack of correlations among empathy, aesthetic perception and sleep variables did not allow to perform the mediation analysis. These results suggest that adequate sleep duration may play a significant role in improving cognitive and emotional empathic abilities as well as the capability to give accurate aesthetic judgements.

Psychosocial stress differentially affects emotional empathy in women with borderline personality disorder and healthy controls.

OBJECTIVE: Deficits in empathy, an important part of social cognition, have been described in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Importantly, psychosocial stress enhances emotional empathy in healthy participants. However, it remains unknown whether stress affects empathy in BPD. METHOD: We randomized 47 women with BPD and 47 healthy women to either the Trier Social Stress Test or a control condition. Subsequently, all participants underwent the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET), a measure of cognitive and emotional facets of empathy. RESULTS: Across groups, stress resulted in a significant increase in cortisol and stress ratings. There was a significant stress × group interaction for emotional empathy (Fdf1,92 = 5.12, P = 0.04, ηp2 = 0.05). While there was no difference between patients with BPD and healthy participants after the control condition, patients with BPD had significantly lower emotional empathy scores after stress compared to healthy individuals. There were no effects for cognitive empathy. CONCLUSION: The current finding provides first evidence that stress differentially affects emotional empathy in patients with BPD and healthy individuals such that patients with BPD showed reduced emotional empathy compared to healthy women after stress. Given the strong impact of stress on acute psychopathology in patients with BPD, such a response may exacerbate interpersonal conflicts in stress contexts and may be an important target for therapeutic interventions.

Independent elevation of peripheral oxytocin concentrations and reduction in cognitive empathy during 4-fluoroamphetamine intoxication.

OBJECTIVES: 4-Fluoroamphetamine (4-FA) is a novel psychoactive substance with a pharmacological profile and reported subjective effects (e.g., empathy) intermediate between 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and amphetamine. Studies have shown that MDMA and amphetamine increase emotional empathy without affecting cognitive empathy; MDMA simultaneously leads to elevated levels of oxytocin, unrelated to its behavioral effects. The aim of the present study was to assess the reported enhancement of empathy by 4-FA, to assess its effects on oxytocin, and to test potential associations between both. METHODS: Twelve healthy poly-drug users were included in a double-blind placebo-controlled two-way crossover study. Treatments were 4-FA (100 mg) and placebo; empathy was assessed by means of the multifaceted empathy test, and blood samples were taken before and after treatment administration to determine oxytocin concentrations. RESULTS: 4-FA reduced cognitive empathy, whereas emotional empathy was left unaffected. One hour after treatment, plasma oxytocin levels were significantly increased compared with placebo. Behavioral and hormonal effects were unrelated. CONCLUSION: Although 4-FA shares its pharmacological mechanism with MDMA and amphetamine, current findings seem to indicate that it affects empathy differently. The 4-FA-induced increase in oxytocin levels was independent of behavioral effects, which confirms previous findings that drug-induced effects on peripheral oxytocin levels are not associated with empathy.

Effects of mineralocorticoid receptor blockade on empathy in patients with major depressive disorder.

BACKGROUND: The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is highly expressed in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex and is involved in social cognition. We recently found that pharmacological stimulation of the MR enhances emotional empathy but does not affect cognitive empathy. In the current study, we examined whether blockade of the MR impairs empathy in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy individuals. METHODS: In a placebo-controlled study, we randomized 28 patients with MDD without psychotropic medication and 43 healthy individuals to either placebo or 300 mg spironolactone, a MR antagonist. Subsequently, all participants underwent two tests of social cognition, the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET) and the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC), measuring cognitive and emotional facets of empathy. RESULTS: In the MET, we found no significant main effect of treatment or main effect of group for cognitive empathy but a highly significant treatment by group interaction (p < 0.01). Patients had higher cognitive empathy scores compared to controls in the placebo condition but not after spironolactone. Furthermore, in the spironolactone condition reduced cognitive empathy was seen in MDD patients but not in controls. Emotional empathy was not affected by MR blockade. In the MASC, no effect of spironolactone could be revealed. CONCLUSION: Depressed patients appear to exhibit greater cognitive empathy compared to healthy individuals. Blockade of MR reduced cognitive empathy in MDD patients to the level of healthy individuals. Future studies should further clarify the impact of MR functioning on different domains of social cognition in psychiatric patients.

Brain response to viewing others being harmed in children with conduct disorder symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Deficient empathic processing is thought to foster conduct disorder (CD). It is important to determine the extent to which neural response associated with perceiving harm to others predicts CD symptoms and callous disregard for others. METHODS: A total of 107 9- to 11-year-old children (52 female) were recruited from pediatric and mental health clinics, representing a wide range of CD symptoms. Children were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging while viewing brief video clips of persons being harmed intentionally or accidentally. RESULTS: Perceiving harm evoked increased hemodynamic response in the anterior insula (aINS), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), amygdala, periaqueductal gray (PAG), caudate, and inferior parietal lobe (IPL) across all participants. Intentionally caused, relative to unintentional harm was associated with greater activity in the aINS, amygdala, and temporal pole. There was an inverse association of number of CD symptoms with right posterior insula in both the Harm > No Harm and the Intentional > Unintentional Harm contrasts. Furthermore, an inverse association between callousness and posterior insula activation was found in the Harm > No Harm contrast, with the opposite pattern for reactive aggression scores. An interaction revealed a stronger association in girls between CD symptoms and the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) in the Intentional Harm versus Unintentional Harm contrast. CONCLUSIONS: Children with greater CD and callousness exhibit dampened hemodynamic response to viewing others being harmed in the insula, a region which plays a key role in empathy and emotional awareness. Sex differences in the neural correlates of CD were observed.

Enhanced emotional empathy after psychosocial stress in young healthy men.

Empathy is a core prerequisite for human social behavior. Relatively, little is known about how empathy is influenced by social stress and its associated neuroendocrine alterations. The current study was designed to test the impact of acute stress on emotional and cognitive empathy. Healthy male participants were exposed to a psychosocial laboratory stressor (trier social stress test, (TSST)) or a well-matched control condition (Placebo-TSST). Afterwards they participated in an empathy test measuring emotional and cognitive empathy (multifaceted empathy test, (MET)). Stress exposure caused an increase in negative affect, a rise in salivary alpha amylase and a rise in cortisol. Participants exposed to stress reported more emotional empathy in response to pictures displaying both positive and negative emotional social scenes. Cognitive empathy (emotion recognition) in contrast did not differ between the stress and the control group. The current findings provide initial evidence for enhanced emotional empathy after acute psychosocial stress.

Oxytocin receptor and vasopressin receptor 1a genes are respectively associated with emotional and cognitive empathy.

Empathy is the ability to recognize and share in the emotions of others. It can be considered a multifaceted concept with cognitive and emotional aspects. Little is known regarding the underlying neurochemistry of empathy and in the current study we used a neurogenetic approach to explore possible brain neurotransmitter pathways contributing to cognitive and emotional empathy. Both the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) and the arginine vasopressin receptor 1a (AVPR1a) genes contribute to social cognition in both animals and humans and hence are prominent candidates for contributing to empathy. The following research examined the associations between polymorphisms in these two genes and individual differences in emotional and cognitive empathy in a sample of 367 young adults. Intriguingly, we found that emotional empathy was associated solely with OXTR, whereas cognitive empathy was associated solely with AVPR1a. Moreover, no interaction was observed between the two genes and measures of empathy. The current findings contribute to our understanding of the distinct neurogenetic pathways involved in cognitive and emotional empathy and underscore the pervasive role of both oxytocin and vasopressin in modulating human emotions.

The effects of sleep deprivation on emotional empathy.

Previous studies have shown that sleep loss has a detrimental effect on the ability of the individuals to process emotional information. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that this negative effect extends to the ability of experiencing emotions while observing other individuals, i.e. emotional empathy. To test this hypothesis, we assessed emotional empathy in 37 healthy volunteers who were assigned randomly to one of three experimental groups: one group was tested before and after a night of total sleep deprivation (sleep deprivation group), a second group was tested before and after a usual night of sleep spent at home (sleep group) and the third group was tested twice during the same day (day group). Emotional empathy was assessed by using two parallel versions of a computerized test measuring direct (i.e. explicit evaluation of empathic concern) and indirect (i.e. the observer's reported physiological arousal) emotional empathy. The results revealed that the post measurements of both direct and indirect emotional empathy of participants in the sleep deprivation group were significantly lower than those of the sleep and day groups; post measurement scores of participants in the day and sleep groups did not differ significantly for either direct or indirect emotional empathy. These data are consistent with previous studies showing the negative effect of sleep deprivation on the processing of emotional information, and extend these effects to emotional empathy. The findings reported in our study are relevant to healthy individuals with poor sleep habits, as well as clinical populations suffering from sleep disturbances.

Peer acceptance among Chinese adolescents: the role of emotional empathy, cognitive empathy and gender.

Previous studies have found mixed results on the relationship between empathy and peer acceptance. Emotional and cognitive components of empathy were hypothesised to play different roles in peer acceptance, and the relationship between empathy and peer acceptance differed across genders. In this study, 375 Chinese adolescents completed self-report measures of emotional and cognitive empathy. They also provided peer nominations that allowed for the determination of social preference and social impact scores. The results showed that a boy's cognitive empathy positively correlated with the extent to which he was liked by his male classmates, whereas a girl's cognitive empathy positively correlated with her social impact among her female classmates. This study suggests that empathy does not affect peer acceptance among adolescents uniformly; instead, gender plays a determinative role in the dialectics between social acceptance and empathy.

Individual differences in empathy in Danish university students: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Empathy is widely recognized as a multi-dimensional construct, involving emotional and cognitive components. These may cause distinct experiences and behaviors that can be both beneficial and deleterious to individuals' well-being and mental health. AIM: We wished to examine the association between emotional and cognitive empathy of Danish university students as measured by the multidimensional Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and study major, sex, age, and parental status. Additionally, we aimed to gauge the validity of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy - Student version (JSE-S) as a measure of primarily cognitive empathy in the context of medical majors by comparing JSE-S scores with IRI cognitive scores. METHODS: In our national, cross-sectional study, conducted in October 2020, we used survey data from students in their first, third, and final study year. All students from University of Southern Denmark were invited to fill out IRI, and all medical students at Denmark's four medical educations were additionally invited to fill out the JSE-S. Associations were estimated by linear regression models. RESULTS: Of 14,072 invited, 2,595 students completed the questionnaire. Health majors scored statistically significantly higher on cognitive empathy than students from other study majors. The JSE-S correlated significantly with the cognitive empathy subscales of the IRI. Furthermore, the effects found in relation to sex, age-, and parental status were significant. CONCLUSION: Our study results show that large differences in empathy exist between university students and study majors. Overall, our results highlight (1) the relevance of investigating empathy as a multidimensional versus a global construct in young adult populations (including university students) and (2) the importance of focusing on differences in empathy across different student characteristics.

The impact of acute violent videogame exposure on neurocognitive markers of empathic concern.

Research examining the purported association between violent gaming and aggression remains controversial due to concerns related to methodology, unclear neurocognitive mechanisms, and the failure to adequately consider the role of individual differences in susceptibility. To help address these concerns, we used fMRI and an emotional empathy task to examine whether acute and cumulative violent gaming exposure were associated with abnormalities in emotional empathy as a function of trait-empathy. Emotional empathy was targeted given its involvement in regulating not only aggression, but also other important social functions such as compassion and prosocial behaviour. We hypothesized that violent gaming exposure increases the risk of aberrant social behaviour by altering the aversive value of distress cues. Contrary to expectations, neither behavioural ratings nor empathy-related brain activity varied as a function of violent gaming exposure. Notably, however, activation patterns in somatosensory and motor cortices reflected an interaction between violent gaming exposure and trait empathy. Thus, our results are inconsistent with a straightforward relationship between violent gaming exposure and reduced empathy. Furthermore, they highlight the importance of considering both individual differences in susceptibility and other aspects of cognition related to social functioning to best inform public concern regarding safe gaming practices.

Empathy among autistic and non-autistic adolescents: The importance of informant effects.

Empathy is the ability to recognize the emotions of others (cognitive empathy) and to share in those emotions while maintaining a self-other distinction (emotional empathy). Previous research often, but not always, showed that autistic adults and children have lower levels of overall and cognitive empathy than non-autistic individuals. Yet how empathy manifests during adolescence, a developmental period marked by physiological, social, and cognitive change, is largely unclear. As well, we aimed to compare self versus parents' perceptions regarding adolescents' empathy. To do so, parents (N = 157) of 10-16-year-olds (N = 59 autistic) and their children (N = 133) completed empathy questionnaires. Adolescents also completed a measure of mental state recognition (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test; RMET) and parents reported on their child's autistic traits. The tasks were completed twice ~six months apart. We found that autistic adolescents reported having lower empathic concern and higher personal distress than their non-autistic peers, whereas parents of autistic adolescents perceived them as having overall lower levels of empathy. Performance on the mental state recognition task of autistic and non-autistic adolescents' was comparable. The gap between self and parent reports regarding adolescents' empathy was explainable by parent-reported autistic traits, mainly communication difficulties. Empathy remains stable across the study's two time points. Thus, the findings do not support previous views of autistic people as having less empathy and these are possibly explainable by informant effects.