Mirror-touch synesthesia is linked with empathy

Michael J. Banissy; Jamie Ward

doi:10.1038/nn1926

Mirror-touch synesthesia is linked with empathy

Michael J. Banissy^*
, Jamie Ward

^*Corresponding author for this work

Bristol Neuroscience

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

211 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Watching another person being touched activates a similar neural circuit to actual touch and, for some people with 'mirror-touch' synesthesia, can produce a felt tactile sensation on their own body. In this study, we provide evidence for the existence of this type of synesthesia and show that it correlates with heightened empathic ability. This is consistent with the notion that we empathize with others through a process of simulation.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	815-816
Number of pages	2
Journal	Nature Neuroscience
Volume	10
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1926
Publication status	Published - 8 Jul 2007

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
M.J.B. is supported by an Economic and Social Research Council studentship.

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title = "Mirror-touch synesthesia is linked with empathy",

abstract = "Watching another person being touched activates a similar neural circuit to actual touch and, for some people with 'mirror-touch' synesthesia, can produce a felt tactile sensation on their own body. In this study, we provide evidence for the existence of this type of synesthesia and show that it correlates with heightened empathic ability. This is consistent with the notion that we empathize with others through a process of simulation.",

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AB - Watching another person being touched activates a similar neural circuit to actual touch and, for some people with 'mirror-touch' synesthesia, can produce a felt tactile sensation on their own body. In this study, we provide evidence for the existence of this type of synesthesia and show that it correlates with heightened empathic ability. This is consistent with the notion that we empathize with others through a process of simulation.

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DO - 10.1038/nn1926

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

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Mirror-touch synesthesia is linked with empathy

Abstract

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