Brick Johnstone, a neuropsychologist and professor of health psychology at the University of Missouri, and a team of researchers published the results of their empathy study on Wednesday.
In the study, researchers gave neuropsychological evaluations and self-reported questionnaires to a group of 31 individuals with traumatic brain injuries. Twenty of the participants also received MRI brain scans. Johnstone and his colleagues found that individuals who were more empathetic appeared to have greater functioning in their right parietal lobe, the area of the brain associated with self-orientation. He also found that increased functioning of the areas of the brain focused on the self went hand in hand with increased empathy.
by Antonia Blumberg
