Empathy development in preschool children: insights from EEG microstate and spectral analyses
Poster No:
642
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Chenbo Wang1, Ruoxi Wu2, Yiming Zhang2
Institutions:
1East China Normal University, Shanghai, Shanghai, 2East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
Empathy plays a critical role in adaptive social functioning (Decety & Jackson, 2004) and mental health (Jones et al., 2010), raising a pivotal question: How does empathy develop? While substantial evidence highlights the developmental trajectories of empathy across the lifespan (Huang & Su, 2012), the neurophysiological basis underlying these changes remains largely unexplored.
This study examines empathy development in children aged 3–6 years-a critical period for socioemotional growth. Using EEG recordings, we aim to uncover how neural mechanisms support the emergence of empathic abilities during this formative stage.
This study examines empathy development in children aged 3–6 years-a critical period for socioemotional growth. Using EEG recordings, we aim to uncover how neural mechanisms support the emergence of empathic abilities during this formative stage.
Methods:
This study recruited 71 preschool children (41 male, 30 female; aged 37–82 months). Participants watched a 5-minute empathy-eliciting animated clip, Partly Cloudy, while EEG signals were recorded. Following the viewing, empathy-related behaviors were assessed using five simple questions.
We leveraged the complementary strengths of spectral analysis (Uhlhaas et al., 2009) and microstate analysis (Michel & Koenig, 2018) to examine neural responses during the naturalistic viewing of the animated clip. For spectral analysis, frequency bands associated with the emotion contagion (EC) and perspective-taking (PT) components of empathy were identified, and their developmental trajectories were tracked across this age range. Concurrently, we analyzed temporal dynamics using five microstates (MS1–MS5), characterizing distinct parameters (e.g., coverage) during empathy-related neural processing and exploring their associations with the cognitive and emotional facets of empathy development.
We leveraged the complementary strengths of spectral analysis (Uhlhaas et al., 2009) and microstate analysis (Michel & Koenig, 2018) to examine neural responses during the naturalistic viewing of the animated clip. For spectral analysis, frequency bands associated with the emotion contagion (EC) and perspective-taking (PT) components of empathy were identified, and their developmental trajectories were tracked across this age range. Concurrently, we analyzed temporal dynamics using five microstates (MS1–MS5), characterizing distinct parameters (e.g., coverage) during empathy-related neural processing and exploring their associations with the cognitive and emotional facets of empathy development.
Results:
The analysis of power spectral density (PSD) revealed distinct spatial patterns associated with empathy-related processing. In the theta band, paired t-tests indicated significantly enhanced PSD during the EC and PT clips compared to the baseline condition (Fig. 1a). Notably, the right occipital theta component showed a negative correlation with age (r = -0.270, p = 0.023; Fig. 1d). Similarly, in the alpha band, PSD was significantly elevated during the EC and PT clips (Fig. 1b), and this increase positively correlated with age across conditions (r = 0.297, p = 0.012; Fig. 1e), suggesting a developmental enhancement in emotional processing capacity.
Microstate analysis identified five representative microstates across subjects in all conditions (Fig. 2a). Paired t-tests revealed that, compared to baseline, EC clips exhibited higher coverage in MS2, MS3, and MS5, along with decreased coverage in MS1 (Fig. 2b). Similarly, PT clips showed increased coverage of MS5 and reduced coverage of MS1 relative to baseline. Notably, MS5 coverage decreased with age (r = -0.33, p = 0.004; Fig. 2c), while transitions from MS5 to MS2 increased with age during PT clips (r = 0.298, p = 0.012).
Microstate analysis identified five representative microstates across subjects in all conditions (Fig. 2a). Paired t-tests revealed that, compared to baseline, EC clips exhibited higher coverage in MS2, MS3, and MS5, along with decreased coverage in MS1 (Fig. 2b). Similarly, PT clips showed increased coverage of MS5 and reduced coverage of MS1 relative to baseline. Notably, MS5 coverage decreased with age (r = -0.33, p = 0.004; Fig. 2c), while transitions from MS5 to MS2 increased with age during PT clips (r = 0.298, p = 0.012).
Conclusions:
The emotional and cognitive development of empathy abilities with age is reflected in increased alpha-band activity around temporal-parietal regions and corresponding microstates. At the same time, preschool children exhibited faster perceptual processing of empathy, as indicated by a decrease in occipital theta-band activity and its associated microstates with age.
These findings enhance our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying empathy development (Singer et al., 2004), particularly during the preschool years. The current study offers valuable insights for refining theoretical models (de Waal & Preston, 2017) and developing early childhood interventions that promote healthy socioemotional growth.
These findings enhance our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying empathy development (Singer et al., 2004), particularly during the preschool years. The current study offers valuable insights for refining theoretical models (de Waal & Preston, 2017) and developing early childhood interventions that promote healthy socioemotional growth.
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Emotional Learning
Social Cognition 1
Lifespan Development:
Early life, Adolescence, Aging 2
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
EEG/MEG Modeling and Analysis
Keywords:
Development
Electroencephaolography (EEG)
Emotions
Other - Empathy
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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Provide references using APA citation style.
Huang, H., & Su, Y. (2012). The development of empathy across the lifespan: A perspective of double processes. Psychological Development and Education, 28, 434–441.
Jones, A. P., et al. (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.
Michel, C. M., & Koenig, T. (2018). EEG microstates as a tool for studying the temporal dynamics of whole-brain neuronal networks: A review. Neuroimage, 180, 577–593.
Singer, T., et al. (2004). Empathy for pain involves the affective but not sensory components of pain. Science, 303(5661), 1157–1162.
Uhlhaas, P. J., et al. (2009). The development of neural synchrony reflects late maturation and restructuring of functional networks in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(24), 9866–9871.
de Waal, F. B., & Preston, S. D. (2017). Mammalian empathy: Behavioural manifestations and neural basis. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 18(8), 498–509.