Abstract
The cognitive and emotional processes underlying deficits in empathy in patients with prefrontal lesions are not known. The present study was designed to examine the degree of impairment in cognitive and affective empathy, and the contribution of specific cognitive abilities (such as cognitive flexibility and processing of emotional information), to the level of cognitive and affective empathy. The performance of 11 patients with lesions in the prefrontal cortex was compared to that of 8 age-matched normal controls. Although patients displayed lower degrees of both cognitive and affective empathy, the two were not correlated, and the pattern of relationships between cognitive performance and empathy suggested a dissociation between the cognitive correlates of affective and cognitive empathy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 353-356 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Brain and Cognition |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| State | Published - 2001 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Cognitive Neuroscience