Development of the Empathic Brain

Empathy is a skill that is vital for healthy relationships and productive social interactions. By tuning in to others emotional cues, paying attention to non-verbal signals and understanding other’s perspectives, we can become more caring individuals and better communicative partners. But how do these abilities develop and what accounts for the differences we observe in their expression? The focus of this graduate seminar is to chart the development of empathy- related skills from infancy through adulthood through the lens of affective neuroscience.

Empathy is a skill that is vital for healthy relationships and productive social interactions. By tuning in to others emotional cues, paying attention to non-verbal signals and understanding other’s perspectives, we can become more caring individuals and better communicative partners. But how do these abilities develop and what accounts for the differences we observe in their expression? The focus of this graduate seminar is to chart the development of empathy- related skills from infancy through adulthood through the lens of affective neuroscience. My goal in this course is to provide you with an understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of empathy and its development in both typical development and in pediatric psychopathology.

We will begin in the brain, reviewing theories of typical brain development and methodology. Next, we will review the neurocircuitry involved in social perception, face emotion processing, theory of mind, and communication. Finally, we will cover cases of atypical social development, including conduct disorder, autism and anxiety.

Through examination of these topics we will address core questions in developmental social neuroscience, including: how are social processes represented in the brain? Are these representations “innate” and domain-specific? How do these systems develop, interact, and specialize? Does it make sense to think of a social brain (i.e., are social representations neurobiologically plausible)? What is the role of experience on brain development (and vice versa)? Can atypical development inform typical development? When can social neuroscience inform questions of development and conversely when can knowledge of development inform neuroscience?

1. Principles of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Karmiloff-Smith, A. (2009) Nativism vs Neuroconstructivism: Rethinking the study of developmental disorders. Developmental Psychology, 45(1), 56-63.

Karmiloff-Smith, A., (2010). Neuroimaging of the developing brain: Taking “developing” seriously. Human Brain Mapping, 31(6), 934-94

2. Building a Brain wired for Empathy

Nelson, E.E., Jarcho, J.M., & Guyer, A.E. (2016). Social re-orientation and brain development: An expanded and updated view. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 17, 118-127.

McLaughlin, K. A., Sheridan, M. A., & Nelson, C. A. (2017). Neglect as a violation of species-expectant experience: neurodevelopmental consequences. Biological Psychiatry, 82(7), 462-471.

Weissman, D. G., Jenness, J. L., Colich, N. L., Miller, A. B., Sambrook, K. A., Sheridan, M. A., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2019). Altered neural processing of threat-related information in children and adolescents exposed to violence: a transdiagnostic mechanism contributing to the emergence of psychopathology. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, In Press

3. Development of Empathy and Sympathy

Davidov, M., Zahn-Waxler, C., Roth-Hanania, R., & Knafo, A. (2013). Concern for others in the first year of life: Theory, evidence, and avenues for research. Child Development Perspectives, 7(2), 126-131.

Levy, J., Goldstein, A., & Feldman, R. (2019). The neural development of empathy is sensitive to caregiving and early trauma. Nature Communications, 10(1), 1-10.

Abramson, L., Paz, Y., & Knafo‐Noam, A. (2019). From negative reactivity to empathic responding: Infants high in negative reactivity express more empathy later in development, with the help of regulation. Developmental science, 22(3), e12766.

4. Atypical Empathic Development: Conduct Disorder and Callousness

Marsh, A. A. (2019). The caring continuum: Evolved hormonal and proximal mechanisms explain prosocial and antisocial extremes. Annual Review of Psychology, 70, 347-371.

Dadds, M. R., Kimonis, E. R., Schollar-Root, O., Moul, C., & Hawes, D. J. (2018). Are impairments in emotion recognition a core feature of callous–unemotional traits? Testing the primary versus secondary variants model in children. Development and Psychopathology, 30(1), 67-77.

Satlof‐Bedrick, E., Waller, R., & Olson, S. L. (2019). Emotion versus cognition: differential pathways to theory of mind for children with high versus low callous‐unemotional traits. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60(12), 1300-1308.

5. Atypical Empathic Development: Autism

Baron-Cohen, S. (2013). Empathy deficits in autism and psychopaths: Mirror opposites? Navigating the Social World: What Infants, Children, and Other Species Can Teach Us, eds Banaji M, Gelman S (Oxford Univ Press, New York). 7

Jones, A. P., Happé, F. G., Gilbert, F., Burnett, S., & Viding, E. (2010). Feeling, caring, knowing: different types of empathy deficit in boys with psychopathic tendencies and autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(11), 1188- 1197.

The course will introduce students to a diverse array of theoretical and empirical issues related to the study of emotional development and social developmental neuroscience. We will discuss recent research in humans and nonhuman primates that helps to clarify factors that result in adaptive and maladaptive empathy development. After taking this course, student will gain a broad, interdisciplinary scientific background in empathy development so that they can: (1) Be a critical consumer and reviewer of this literature, especially when it appears in the mass media, or is a part of conversations about public policy (education, business, or healthcare); (2) Understand the strengths and weaknesses of a broad spectrum of biological, behavioral, and statistical tools; (3) Broaden the way they think about connections between the mind, brain, behavior.

Class participation (20%): Students class participation grade will be based on: 1) careful preparation for each lecture, assessed via a short quiz at the beginning of lecture 2) the quality of contribution to class discussions, assessed via noting class engagement and discussion. Missing a class will have an adverse effect on class participation grade.

Reflection Reports (30%): Students are required to submit two type- written reflection reports (no more than 600 words a piece), to be handed in at the beginning of Class #2 and #4. The reflection reports are a vehicle for students to synthesize the lessons they want to retain from what they have learned in lecture. Reports should be more than a description of what was covered during class – students should analyze the material, draw an important lesson from it, and offer detailed suggestions for future studies.

Final paper (50%): In place of an exam, I ask that students write a paper exploring one question among three proposed by me at the end of the course. Papers should be no more than 3000 words in length. More details will be given in class.

The following grading scheme will be used

97% or more = 5!

92-96% = 5

84-91% = 4.5

76-83% = 4

68-75% = 3.5

60-67% = 3

below 60% = 2 (fail)

Completed courses on biological bases of behavior and intermediate statistics courses. As this is an advanced course, enrollment is limited to students in years 3,4, and 5.

Students must respect the principles of academic integrity. Cheating and plagiarism (including copying work from other students, internet or other sources) are serious violations that are punishable, and instructors are required to report all cases to the administration.