25/11/2018 Sensitive? Emotional? Empathetic?

It Could be in Your Genes | | SBU News

 

SBU News > Newsroom > Press Release > Medicine > Sensitive? Emotional? Empathetic? It Could be in Your Genes

MEDICINE NEWSROOM PRESS RELEASE RESEARCH

Sensitive? Emotional? Empathetic? It

Could be in Your Genes
 June 23, 2014  4 min read

Sensitive? Emotional? Empathetic? It Could be in Your Genes

https://news.stonybrook.edu/news/medical/140623empatheticAron 1/14
25/11/2018 Sensitive? Emotional? Empathetic? It Could be in Your Genes | | SBU News

An fMRI study in Brain and Behavior by Stony Brook psychologists and colleagues provides
evidence  

Stony Brook, NY, June 23, 2014 – Do

you jump to help the less fortunate,
cry during sad movie scenes, or tweet
and post the latest topics and photos
that excite or move you? If yes, you
may be among the 20 percent of our
population that is genetically pre-
disposed to empathy, according to
Stony Brook University psychologists
Arthur and Elaine Aron. In a new
study published in Brain and Behavior,
Drs. Aron and colleagues at the
University of California, Albert
Einstein College of Medicine, and
This is an overall fMRI composite comparison of
Monmouth University found that
the brains of highly sensitive people (HSP)
Functional Magnetic Resonance
compared to non-HSPs. The areas in color
Imaging (fMRI) of brains provide
represent some of the regions of the brain
physical evidence that the “highly
where greater activation occurs in HSPs
sensitive” brain responds powerfully
compared to non-HSPs. The brain region highly
to emotional images.
associated with empathy and noticing emotion
(Anterior Insula) shows significantly greater
Previous research suggests that
activation in HSPs than non-HSPs when
sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is
viewing a photo of their partner smiling.
an innate trait associated with greater
sensitivity, or responsiveness, to
environmental and social stimuli.
According to Dr. Arthur Aron, the trait is becoming increasingly associated with identifiable

https://news.stonybrook.edu/news/medical/140623empatheticAron 2/14
25/11/2018 Sensitive? Emotional? Empathetic? It Could be in Your Genes | | SBU News

behaviors, genes, physiological reactions, and patterns of brain activation. Highly sensitive
people (HSP), those high in SPS, encompass roughly 20 percent of the population. Elaine  
Aron, PhD, originated the HSP concept. Humans characterized as HSPs tend to show
heightened awareness to subtle stimuli, process information more thoroughly, and be
more reactive to both positive and negative stimuli. In contrast, the majority of people
have comparatively low SPS and pay less attention to subtle stimuli, approach situations
more quickly and are not as emotionally reactive.

In “The Highly Sensitive Brain: An fMRI study of Sensory Processing Sensitivity and
Response to Others’ Emotions,” Drs. Aron and colleagues used fMRI brain scans to
compare HSPs with  low SPS individuals. The analysis is the first with fMRI to demonstrate
how HSPs’ brain activity processes others’ emotions.

The brains of 18 married individuals (some with high and some with low SPS) were
scanned as they viewed photos of either smiling faces, or sad faces. One set of photos
included the faces of strangers, and the other set included photos of their husbands or
wives.

“We found that areas of the brain involved with awareness and emotion, particularly those
areas connected with empathetic feelings, in the highly sensitive people showed
substantially greater blood flow to relevant brain areas than was seen in individuals with
low sensitivity during the twelve second period when they viewed the photos,” said Dr.
Aron, a Research Professor in Psychology at Stony Brook. “This is physical evidence within
the brain that highly sensitive individuals respond especially strongly to social situations
that trigger emotions, in this case of faces being happy or sad.”

The brain activity was even higher when HSPs viewed the expressions of their spouses.
The highest activation occurred when viewing images of their partner as happy. Most of
the participants were scanned again one year later, and the same results occurred.

https://news.stonybrook.edu/news/medical/140623empatheticAron 3/14
25/11/2018 Sensitive? Emotional? Empathetic? It Could be in Your Genes | | SBU News

Areas of the brain indicating the greatest activity – as shown by blood flow – include
sections known as the “mirror neuron system,” an area strongly associated with empathetic  
response and brain areas associated with awareness, processing sensory information and
action planning.

Dr. Aron believes the results provide further evidence that HSPs are generally highly tuned
into their environment. He said the new findings via the fMRI provide evidence that
especially high levels of awareness and emotional responsiveness are fundamental
features of humans characterized as HSPs. 

The study was led by Bianca Acevedo, PhD, of the University of California, Santa Barbara,
in collaboration with Dr. Arthur Aron, her doctoral advisor while attending Stony Brook
University, and with Dr. Elaine Aron.

Related Posts

https://news.stonybrook.edu/news/medical/140623empatheticAron 4/14