Experts have found that being an emotional or rational individual is dictated by the differences in the structures of the brain, particularly the density or the number of brain cells present in each part.
The researchers looked into the relationship of grey matter thickness to the affective (emotional) or cognitive (rational) empathy.
Empathy is used by all individuals in their day-to-day lives. Even if they are not fully aware, empathy is exercised to survive socially. It is used to communicate, establish connections and combine each other's ideas and concepts, says Robert Eres, study lead author from the School of Psychological Sciences of the Monash University in Australia.
The study involved 176 study participants who were tested for the degree of density that each of their grey matter possesses. The team of researchers utilized the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to come up with test scores that can determine the extent of of grey matter density that may predict affective or cognitive empathy.
The findings of the study published in the journal NeuroImage reveal that those who have thicker grey matter in the insula, which is found in the center of the brain, are more emotional. Those who possess greater amounts of brain cells in the midcingulate cortex, which is located in superior to the corpus callosum and provides a link between the hemispheres of the brain, exhibit more rational empathy.
Individuals who are easily scared by watching horror shows and movies or tend to cry in an instant during an emotional scene are examples of those who have higher affective empathy, says Eres. Those who most commonly think realistically or use rational ideas and concepts have greater cognitive empathy, he adds.
This study provides evidence that empathy is influenced by a multitude of factors, particularly brain structure.
"Taken together, these results provide validation for empathy being a multi-component construct, suggesting that affective and cognitive empathy are differentially represented in brain morphometry as well as providing convergent evidence for empathy being represented by different neural and structural correlates," the study says.
After the results of the study were released, several questions cropped up including whether the different types of empathy may be acquired after training or education, and if the existing empathy of individuals may be lost if it is not widely applied.
Future plans of the research team include studying etiologies by conducting examinations that can help determine if exposing individuals to empathy-associated activities can change the brain structures or if brain damages secondary to medical events, such as strokes, can debilitate empathy.
Photo: Allan Ajifo | Flickr
