The DOI matches its Crossref record; 91 of the 92 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Multidimensional assessment of empathic abilities: Neural correlates and gender differences
Open accessAbstract
Empathy is a multidimensional construct and comprises the ability to perceive, understand and feel the emotional states of others. Gender differences have been reported for various aspects of emotional and cognitive behaviors including theory of mind. However, although empathy is not a single ability but a complex behavioral competency including different components, most studies relied on single aspects of empathy, such as perspective taking or emotion perception. To extend those findings we developed three paradigms to assess all three core components of empathy (emotion recognition, perspective taking and affective responsiveness) and clarify to which extent gender affects the neural correlates of empathic abilities. A functional MRI study was performed with 12 females (6 during their follicular phase, 6 during their luteal phase) and 12 males, measuring these tasks as well as self-report empathy questionnaires. Data analyses revealed no significant gender differences in behavioral performance, but females rated themselves as more empathic than males in the self-report questionnaires. Analyses of functional data revealed distinct neural networks in females and males, and females showed stronger neural activation across all three empathy tasks in emotion-related areas, including the amygdala. Exploratory analysis of possible hormonal effects indicated stronger amygdala activation in females during their follicular phase supporting previous data suggesting higher social sensitivity and thus facilitated socio-emotional behavior. Hence, our data support the assumption that females and males rely on divergent processing strategies when solving emotional tasks: while females seem to recruit more emotion and self-related regions, males activate more cortical, rather cognitive-related areas.
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“In men and women, neural activation patterns to the same tasks are quite different between the sexes even when performance is similar.”
From Neurobiological and Systemic Effects of Chronic Stress (2017) · cites this paper as [113]
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“In men and women, neural activation patterns to the same tasks are quite different between the sexes even when performance is similar.(113) This leads to the concept that men and women often use different strategies to approach and deal with issues in their daily lives, in part because of the subtle differences in bra…”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Derntl, B., Finkelmeyer, A., Eickhoff, S., Kellermann, T., Falkenberg, D. I., Schneider, F., & Habel, U.
- Affiliations
- University of Vienna (AT)
- RWTH Aachen University (DE)
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE)
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Derntl, Birgit
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-01
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 67-82
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2086539848
- Cited by
- 377
- References
- 92
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 34 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 34
- FWCI
- 26.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- JuSER (Forschungszentrum Jülich) (submittedVersion)
- RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen) (submittedVersion)
- Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- empathy, gender differences, emotion recognition, perspective taking, emotional responsiveness, neural correlates, amygdala, menstrual cycle, follicular phase, luteal phase, self-reported empathy, theory of mind, social sensitivity
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Brain, Cognition, Data Interpretation, Statistical, Emotions, Empathy, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Menstruation, Nerve Net, Nervous System Physiological Phenomena, Neuropsychological Tests, Psychomotor Performance, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sex Characteristics, Recognition, Psychology, Young Adult, Executive Function
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