Investigating the functional anatomy of empathy and forgiveness

Previous functional brain imaging studies suggest that the ability to infer the intentions and mental states of others (social cognition) is mediated by medial prefrontal cortex. Little is known about the anatomy of empathy a nd forgiveness. We used functional MRI to detect brain regions engaged by j udging others' emotional states and the forgivability of their crimes. Ten volunteers read and made judgements based an social scenarios and a high le vel baseline task (social reasoning). Both empathic and forgivability judge ments activated left superior frontal gyrus, orbitofrontal gyrus and precun eus. Empathic judgements also activated left anterior middle temporal and l eft inferior frontal gyri, while forgivability judgements activated posteri or cingulate gyrus. Empathic and forgivability judgements activate specific regions of the human brain, which we propose contribute to social cohesion . NeuroReport 12:2433-2438 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.