The role of right supra-marginal gyrus and secondary somatosensory cortex in age-related differences in human emotional egocentricity

Autor(en)
Federica Riva, Melanie Lenger, Martin Kronbichler, Claus Lamm, Giorgia Silani
Abstrakt

Emotional egocentric bias (EEB) occurs when, due to a partial failure in self-other distinction, empathy for another's emotion is influenced by our own emotional state. Recent studies have revealed a higher EEB in children, adolescents and older adults compared to young adults, but the neural correlates of this finding are largely unknown. We asked female participants (N = 95) from three different age groups (adolescents, young and older adults) to perform a well-validated EEB task in an MRI scanner. We assessed task-based changes in activity and effective connectivity as well as morphometric changes in regions of interest to pinpoint functional and structural age-related differences. Results revealed higher EEB in older compared to young adults and adolescents. Connectivity between right supramarginal gyrus (rSMG) and somatosensory cortices acted as a partial mediator between age and EEB. The findings suggest that an intact connectivity of rSMG, rather than its regional activity, with sensory-perceptual brain areas is crucial for overcoming egocentric biases of empathic judgments.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Psychologie der Kognition, Emotion und Methoden, Institut für Klinische und Gesundheitspsychologie
Externe Organisation(en)
Paris-Lodron Universität Salzburg, Medizinische Universität Graz, Paracelsus Medizinische Privatuniversität (PMU)
Journal
Neurobiology of Aging
Band
112
Seiten
102-110
Anzahl der Seiten
9
ISSN
0197-4580
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.01.002
Publikationsdatum
04-2022
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
501014 Neuropsychologie
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Clinical Neurology, Geriatrics and Gerontology, Ageing, Allgemeine Neurowissenschaft, Developmental Biology
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/8447ecfa-d5ba-4a0b-bfe2-44ae1d37d343