Empathy as a Concept from Bench to Bedside: A Translational Challenge

Abstract

Empathy is a multidimensional paradigm, and there currently is a lack of scientific consensus in its definition. In this paper, we review the possibility of compromising data during behavioral neuroscience experiments, including but not limited to those who study empathy. The experimental protocols can affect, and be affected by, empathy and related processes at multiple levels. We discuss several points to help researchers develop a successful translational pathway for behavioral research on empathy. Despite varying in their focus with no widely accepted model, current rodent models on empathy have provided sound translational explanations for many neuropsychiatric proof-of-concepts to date. Research has shown that empathy can be influenced by many parameters, some of which are to be reviewed in this paper. We emphasize the future importance of consistency in modeling proof of concept; efforts to create a multidisciplinary group which would include both bench scientists and clinicians with expertise in neuropsychiatry, and the consideration of empathy as an independent variable in animal behavioral experimental designs which is not the mainstream practice at present.

Time to re-engage psychiatric drug discovery by strengthening confidence in preclinical psychopharmacology

“…Exposure to the stressed cage mate increases activity in the ACC and the behaviour is blocked when an oxytocin receptor antagonist is infused into this area, again showing conserved neural mechanisms between prairie vole and man. Further evidence supporting this view is given by Uysal et al (2020).…”

“…These investigations open up behaviours thought primarily beyond the cognitive capacity of rodents, and that can be pharmacologically manipulated (Uysal et al 2020 ). The tendency of some to dismiss rodent-based neuroscience as irrelevant to the mechanisms underlying human brain dysfunction are closing their eyes to a source of knowledge that is highly relevant and able to inform our understanding of the molecular events that underlie human brain function and more importantly, human brain dysfunction (Markou et al 2009 ).…”

Neuronal, affective, and sensory correlates of targeted helping behavior in male and female Sprague Dawley rats

“…A large library of clinical fMRI studies exists evaluating numerous substrates and their role in empathy. Brain regions that have been correlated with aspects of empathy include those involved in emotional salience and interoceptive valence, specifically the amygdala and insula ( Adolphs, 2002 ; Singer et al, 2004 ; Fusar-Poli et al, 2009 ; Keysers and Gazzola, 2018 ; Marsh, 2018 ), as well as substrates necessary for perspective-taking, motivation, and cognition, like the prefrontal (PFC), anterior cingulate (ACC), and orbitofrontal (OFC) cortices ( Jackson et al, 2005 ; Singer and Lamm, 2009 ; Decety, 2015 ; de Waal and Preston, 2017 ; Cerniglia et al, 2019 ; Uysal et al, 2020 ). More causational and region-specific research using rodent models are beginning to corroborate some of these imaging studies ( Adolphs, 2002 ; Knapska et al, 2006 ; Panksepp and Panksepp, 2013 ; Meyza et al, 2017 ; Meyza and Knapska, 2018 ; Sivaselvachandran et al, 2018 ; Carrillo et al, 2019 ).…”

Neuronal, Affective, and Sensory Correlates of Targeted Helping Behavior in Male and Female Sprague Dawley Rats

“…A large library of clinical fMRI studies exists evaluating numerous substrates and their role in empathy. Brain regions that have been correlated with aspects of empathy include those involved in emotional salience and interoceptive valence, specifically the amygdala and insula [28][29][30][31][32] ,as well as substrates necessary for perspective-taking, motivation, and cognition, like the prefrontal (PFC), anterior cingulate (ACC), and orbitofrontal (OFC) cortices 3,[33][34][35][36][37] . More causational and region-specific research using rats and mice are beginning to corroborate some of these imaging studies 8,[38][39][40] .…”