Please disable your adblock and script blockers to view this page
Do You Cry Easily? You May Be a ‘Highly Sensitive Person’ - HSPs are more empathic
See all posts in this thread below.
-
-
Christian
Published: 06-05-2015 04:50 am
-
http://www.scoop.it/t/empathy-and-compassion/p/4045126409/2015/06/04/do-you-cry-easily-you-may-be-a-highly-sensitive-person-hsps-are-more-empathic
"Brain-scan studies of HSPs show differences in their neural activity, compared with non-HSPs: HSPs are more empathic, pay closer attention to their environment and are more attentive to social clues from their close friends and partners...."
-
-
-
-
Christian
Published: 06-09-2015 09:12 am
-
Here is the article they are referencing: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/brb3.242/full
"Background
Theory and research suggest that sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), found in roughly 20% of humans and over 100 other species, is a trait associated with greater sensitivity and responsiveness to the environment and to social stimuli. Self-report studies have shown that high-SPS individuals are strongly affected by others' moods, but no previous study has examined neural systems engaged in response to others' emotions.
Methods
This study examined the neural correlates of SPS (measured by the standard short-form Highly Sensitive Person [HSP] scale) among 18 participants (10 females) while viewing photos of their romantic partners and of strangers displaying positive, negative, or neutral facial expressions. One year apart, 13 of the 18 participants were scanned twice.
Results
Across all conditions, HSP scores were associated with increased brain activation of regions involved in attention and action planning (in the cingulate and premotor area [PMA]). For happy and sad photo conditions, SPS was associated with activation of brain regions involved in awareness, integration of sensory information, empathy, and action planning (e.g., cingulate, insula, inferior frontal gyrus [IFG], middle temporal gyrus [MTG], and PMA).
Conclusions
As predicted, for partner images and for happy facial photos, HSP scores were associated with stronger activation of brain regions involved in awareness, empathy, and self-other processing. These results provide evidence that awareness and responsiveness are fundamental features of SPS, and show how the brain may mediate these traits."
My interpretation is that HSP is linked to increased connectivity in social / emotional decoding.
-
-
You might be interested in.