Figure 1.
Four stages of the self-attachment therapeutic process. See text for further details.
Figure 2.
Numan’s neuroanatomical model for how empathic states can motivate caregiving behavior. Stimuli enter the BLMA, which projects to the AI to create an empathic state and to the NAc and VP to drive caregiving behavior. The AI projects to the medial prefrontal cortex (including the anterior cingulate), which is proposed to activate a mesolimbic caregiving pathway from the mPOA to the VTA and the NAc, inhibition of which releases the VP from NAc inhibition mediated via BLMA inputs. Projections from lPFC and OFC cortices to the AI and BLMA are additional pathways that can potentiate the caregiving response, as are projections from AI and mPFC to the NAc. Ellipses represent neural populations, arrows are excitatory synapses, and circles are inhibitory synapses (the nature of the connections between AI and NAc and between mPFC and NAc within this context is currently unknown). ⊕ denotes positively valent neurons (i.e., populations that subsequently activate prosocial/approach pathways). From Numan (2014, p. 278). Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
Figure 3.
Model capturing how self-other distinction can mediate empathically motivated caregiving behavior in response to pain-inducing stimuli. The model is based on an expanded version of Numan’s framework (Figure 2) to incorporate data on the self–other distinction within the context of pain, to account for the distinct states of personal distress, and (weak and strong) empathic concern. During the self pain condition (associated with personal distress), the PI and BLMA⊖, associated with egoistic withdrawal/avoidance pathways, activate the AI and aMCC. During the other pain conditions (associated with empathic concern), BLMA⊕ are activated to potentiate caregiving behavior and inhibit BLMA⊖ avoidance circuitry. The strong empathic concern state (involving close other representations) is associated with stronger mPFC activation of prosocial pathways compared to a weak empathic concern state (associated with relatively more distant other representations). Ellipses represent neural populations, arrows are excitatory connections, and circles are inhibitory connections (intragroup excitatory/inhibitory connections not shown). Rectangles (Self, Other) are points of current injection, proposed to represent activity in distinct neural networks involved in the perception of self and other pain (see text for details). ⊕ denotes positively valent neurons (i.e., populations that subsequently activate prosocial/approach pathways) and ⊖ negatively valent neurons (that subsequently activate withdrawal/avoidance pathways).
Figure 4.
Mean firing rates for the AI and PI in the model of personal distress and empathic concern. exc = excitatory neurons, inh = inhibitory neurons. See text for details.
Figure 5.
Mean firing rates for the aMCC and mPFC in the model of personal distress and empathic concern. exc = excitatory neurons, inh = inhibitory neurons. See text for details.
Figure 6.
Mean firing rates for the three BLMA neural populations in the model of personal distress and empathic concern. exc = excitatory neurons, inh = inhibitory neurons. See text for details.
Figure 7.
Mean firing rates for the mPOA, VTA, NAc, and VP in the model of personal distress and empathic concern. exc = excitatory neurons, inh = inhibitory neurons, da = dopaminergic neurons. See text for details.
Figure 8.
Additional connectivity emanating from the mOFC to the AI, and BLMAi and BLMA ⊕ .The remaining architecture is as in Figure 3.
Figure 9.
Mean firing rates for the AI and PI in the model of the self-attachment empathy protocols. exc = excitatory neurons, inh = inhibitory neurons. See text for details.
Figure 10.
Mean firing rates for the aMCC, mPFC, and mOFC in the model of the self-attachment empathy protocols. exc = excitatory neurons, inh = inhibitory neurons. See text for details.
Figure 11.
Mean firing rates for the three BLMA neural populations in the model of the self-attachment empathy protocols. exc = excitatory neurons, inh = inhibitory neurons. See text for details.
