1. Introduction

previous imaging studies give us

1. shared affective neuronal networks: how we feel the emotions of others = as if they were our own.
2. these networks are activated automatically whenever we observe others displaying emotion.

The Purpose of Article
1. we question the 'assumption of automatic empathy'.
2. we propose several factors that might modulate when and to what extent we feel empathy.
3. answers to the question: why empathy might have evolved.

2. What is empathy and how do we empathize
- the shared network hypothesis
- Imaging Studies에 기반한 좁은 의미의 Empathy 정의를 소개하고, Empathy의 범주를 명확화 하면서
추가적으로 다른 개념과 구분해보고, 추가적인 의문이 아직 있음을 밝힘 (특히, automatic elicit에 대한 의문)

Recent fMRI studies (Figure 1)
- shown that observing another person's emotional state activates parts of the neuronal network involved in processing that same state in oneself
- it is disgust [2], touch [3] or pain 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8
[Figure1]
1. smell of Disgusting odors - AI(Anterior Insula)
2. veiw and feel Touching - SⅡ (Secondary somatosensory cortex)
3. Pain - AI(Anterior Insula), ACC(Anterior cingulate cortex)

→ [BUT] Still, Open questions:
Q1. consciousness
Controversy exists between a)Philosopher vs. b)Neuroscientist
a) - empathy is a conscious experience: Through 'simulation' of other feels
By contrast, b) - affective states are automatically and unconsciously shared.

Q2. isomorphism
- the degree to which the empathic response is isomorphic to the original affective state.
- Is it a coarse-grained congruency (e.g. only the same valence) or a more fine-grained equivalence (e.g. same valence, intensity and components)?: 감정의 종류만 유사하면 되는가 아니면 정도(강도)까지 유사하게 느껴야 하는가?
→ Neuroscience는 의문은 제기하고있지만 결론을 내릴만한 실험 결과가 없다.
▶ fMRI studies on pain
Previous almost experiment: empathic responses are associated with component of the pain network (ACC and AI) rather than with its sensorimotor properties (primary and secondary somatosensory cortices).
But experiment using transcranial magnetic stimulation, Aglioti's group: revealed reduced motor excitability related muscle of observed being penetrated deeply by needles in another person.
and + experiment: ‘empathy’ for touch → activation of primary sensorimotor cortex (somatotopically mapped) or another study showing only secondary somatosensory cortex activity (3 ↔ 4).

→ future research will be to isolate the factors determining the "degree" of isomorphism in empathy.

Some authors have suggested that
Shared circuits → [formed by] associative learning or Hebbian learning mechanisms → [in the domains of] actions, emotions and sensations.

▼: Shared circuits들이 그대로 network를 이뤄서 shared network가 되고

shared networks → associations between simultaneously firing, coactivated neurons whenever a percept (e.g. the sight of an angry face) or symbolic cue (e.g. the word ‘pain’) is presented

이라면 automatic인가?

▶ According to this view, empathic responses are automatically elicited by the mere perception of these cues. But is empathy really always automatic?

3. When do we empathize: automatism and modulatory factors
- 생성된 empathy의 accept/ignore의 기준을 생각해보며, T Singer등의 실험등 contextual approach를 통해 Ampathy 생성의 추가 조건을 생각해 보며 두가지 Model을 제시한다.

[phenomenological level] we are obviously not constantly empathizing with the people around us.
[However, from a neuroscientific perspective] it could be argued that we unconsciously share the affects of others even though we are not aware of doing so.

[neuroscientific evidence]
1. suggesting that empathy is not merely the consequence of the passive observation of emotional cues
2-1. but that it is subject to contextual appraisal and modulation (which can be fast and implicit.)
2-2. + in line with (in the fields of developmental and social psychology) the role of modulatory factors - similarity and familiarity etc... (see. table 1.)

evidence들을 정리하면

Features of emotions	Relationship between empathizer and target	Situative context	Empathizer
Valence	Affective link and nurturance	Appraisal of the situation	Mood arousal
Intensity	Self-implication (e.g. jealousy, anger)	Display of multiple emotions	Personality, gender and age
Saliency	Familiarity and similarity	Emotional repertoire
Primary versus secondary emotions	Communicative intentions	Emotional regulation capacities

▶Features of emotions - Target person의 감정이 얼마나 분명하고 강렬하게 드러나는가, Primary 6: Delight, Sad, Angry, Frighten, Fear, Disgust.
▶Relationship between empathizer and target - 두사람간의 관계, 사건의 대상에 empathizer가 있는등의 특수상황이어도 안되고, 둘간의 관계에 의해 설정되는 공감하고자 하고 전달하고자 하는 의도가 중요함.
▶Situative context - Intensity of attention(상호 간), Appraisal ...
▶Empathizer - 경험 감정 성향, 현재 상태, 개인별 특성

Schematic representation of the early and late appraisal model of empathy

두 모델 중 어느 것이 맞는지는 아직은 알 수 없다. 추가적으로 Temporal가지 분석 할 수 있는 MEG등의 Imaging방식을 도입해야 할 것이다. 그리고 Emotional Appraisal은 VMPFC에서 일어나므로 이 영역이 어느 시점에 뜨는지 알아봐야 할 것.

4. Why do we empathize: epistemological and social roles

1.Epistemological role (Evolution selected point)

- not faster way but more accururte for predicting subsequent behavior
→ because shared emotional networks also directly elicit the activation of associated relevant motivational and action systems. (Sharing emotion = sharing motivational significance)

- empathy provides knowledge about important environmental properties. empathy is an efficient computation tool for acquiring knowledge about the values of the world around us (without direct experience)

2. Social role (why in every day life)

1. Small talk
[in the literature] empathy having been related to moral sense, altruism, justice, prosocial behavior and cooperation( 10, 27, 39 and 40).
 · [behavioral evidence] people help others more when they report having empathized with them.
 · [but] remains to be shown whether individual differences in empathic brain responses also predict subsequent prosocial behavior.

2. Main question

[necessary]
- Empathy deficits are more likely to display aggressive.
- Empathy has a strong motivational role but it is likely that it is not the only possible motivation for cooperation and prosocial behavior. (중요조건이지만 필수조건은 아니라는것)

[sufficient]
- not suffice to induce prosocial behavior but that empathy has to be turned into sympathy to motivate helping.
- [이러한 의견도있음.] By contrast, empathic responses might also result in personal distress and thereby motivate self-related behavior, such as avoidance and withdrawal, instead of other-related prosocial behavior. (+[내 주석] 최근 Moral model의 경향을 보면 자신의 손익에 대한 감정과 타인에 대한 감정을 느끼는 것이 다른메커니즘 일수 있다는 가능성 있음.)
그렇다면 Empathy, Sympathy를 감정별로 구분하는 imaging연구가 필요할텐데.
[neuroscientific research는 초기 단계, 해야할 일이 많음]
- The interplay between empathy, sympathy and prosocial behavior.
- The neural signature underlying specific emotions and empathy

[Benefit]
- We propose that the ability to share other people's emotional experiences and to react to them in a fine-tuned manner might facilitate social communication and create social coherence.
[in action imitation] The chameleon effect →[Hypothesis, Similarly, in emotional empathy] is likely to increase affiliation and strengthen the emotional bond. → [for Proof] simultaneous recording techniques(hyper scanning) between multiple brains