Is the Putative Mirror Neuron System Associated with Empathy? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
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REVIEW
Is the Putative Mirror Neuron System Associated with Empathy? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Soukayna Bekkali 1 Peter G. Enticott 1
&
George J. Youssef 1,2 & Peter H. Donaldson 1 & Natalia Albein-Urios 1 & Christian Hyde 1 &
Received: 25 March 2019 / Accepted: 9 August 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Theoretical perspectives suggest that the mirror neuron system (MNS) is an important neurobiological contributor to empathy, yet empirical support is mixed. Here, we adopt a summary model for empathy, consisting of motor, emotional, and cognitive components of empathy. This review provides an overview of existing empirical studies investigating the relationship between putative MNS activity and empathy in healthy populations. 52 studies were identified that investigated the association between the MNS and at least one domain of empathy, representing data from 1044 participants. Our results suggest that emotional and cognitive empathy are moderately correlated with MNS activity, however, these domains were mixed and varied across techniques used to acquire MNS activity (TMS, EEG, and fMRI). Few studies investigated motor empathy, and of those, no significant relationships were revealed. Overall, results provide preliminary evidence for a relationship between MNS activity and empathy. However, our findings highlight methodological variability in study design as an important factor in understanding this relationship. We discuss limitations regarding these methodological variations and important implications for clinical and community translations, as well as suggestions for future research. Keywords Mirror neurons . Simulation . Empathy . Meta-analysis . Systematic review Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-020-09452-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Soukayna Bekkali [email protected] George J. Youssef [email protected] Peter H. Donaldson [email protected] Natalia Albein-Urios [email protected] Christian Hyde [email protected] Peter G. Enticott [email protected] 1
Cognitive Neuroscience Unit (CNU), School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood, Melbourne, VIC 3125, Australia
2
Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, 50 Flemington Rd, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
Is the Putative Mirror Neuron System Associated with Empathy? A Meta-Analysis Empathy is a broad concept that refers to the reactions of an individual in response to the experiences of an observed other (Davis, 1994). Empathy is thought to be essential for effective social functioning, for instance in developing social understanding, maintaining interpersonal relationships, and facilitating pro-social behaviour. Empathic abilities putatively confer evolutionary advantages, such as the development and maintenance of healthy social relat
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