What Happens in the Brain When We Feel Empathy?
Empathy—the ability to understand and share the feelings of another—is something we experience intuitively. A friend’s voice trembles, and we feel a pang of sadness. We witness a stranger’s joy, and it lifts us, even momentarily. These emotional connections seem to arise naturally, but beneath the surface, empathy is powered by a complex network of brain activity that scientists have only begun to understand in recent decades. Unraveling what happens in the brain when we feel empathy reveals insights into human connection, emotional intelligence, and why some people seem more attuned to others’ feelings than others.
The Mirror Neuron System: How We “Feel” Others’ Emotions
One of the most intriguing discoveries in neuroscience tied to empathy is the mirror neuron system. First identified in the early 1990s through research on macaque monkeys, mirror neurons are brain cells that activate both when we perform an action and when we observe someone else doing the same thing. In humans, this system extends to emotional mirroring as well. Watching someone express pain, joy, or fear can trigger activity in the same neural regions responsible for experiencing those emotions firsthand.
This internal mirroring allows us to simulate others’ experiences within ourselves. When we see someone wince in pain, certain regions of the brain, such as the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex, light up. These regions are associated with processing physical and emotional pain. Internal mirroring means that we don’t just recognize someone’s discomfort intellectually; we feel a faint echo of it ourselves. This unconscious simulation is one reason why empathy can feel so immediate and visceral.
Emotional Intelligence and the Prefrontal Cortex
While mirror neurons help explain the automatic, emotional side of empathy, other brain regions are involved in regulating and interpreting those feelings. The prefrontal cortex, particularly the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), plays a key role in perspective-taking and emotional regulation, which are both central elements of empathy. This area helps us consider others’ points of view, understand intentions, and weigh emotional responses with social awareness.
People with higher emotional intelligence may have more activity or better connectivity in these areas. Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to identify, understand, and manage both our own emotions and those of others. It’s not simply about feeling more deeply; it’s about being aware of those feelings and using that awareness to guide communication and behavior. In this way, empathy becomes more than a reaction. It becomes a skill.
The Role of the Default Mode Network
Another critical player in empathy is the brain’s default mode network (DMN), which is active when we’re at rest or daydreaming. It might seem counterintuitive, but the DMN is deeply involved in social cognition. When we imagine how someone else might feel or reflect on past emotional experiences, this network kicks in. It helps us project ourselves into others’ lives and interpret their mental states, even when they differ from our own.
Empathy requires a kind of imaginative leap, and the DMN makes that leap possible. Without it, our ability to empathize would be limited to the people right in front of us or whose emotions we can directly observe. The default mode network helps bridge that gap, making empathy more expansive and nuanced.
Why Are Some People More Empathetic Than Others?
While we all have the basic neural architecture for empathy, some people seem to access it more readily than others. Genetics, early life experiences, and environmental factors all contribute to the development of empathic ability. For example, children raised in emotionally responsive environments often show more empathy as adults, partly because their brains have had more practice navigating emotional landscapes.
Hormones also play a role. Oxytocin, often called the “love hormone,” enhances social bonding and trust and has been linked to increased empathic behavior. Higher levels of oxytocin activity can make people more responsive to others’ emotional states, especially in close relationships. However, even this is context-dependent. In some cases, empathy can be turned off or dampened, especially when people perceive others as belonging to an “out-group” or feel threatened.
Neurological differences can also affect empathy. People on the autism spectrum, for instance, often have intact emotional empathy—feeling what others feel—but may struggle with cognitive empathy, or understanding what others are thinking. Meanwhile, people with psychopathy or antisocial traits may demonstrate a lack of both types of empathy, which is often tied to abnormalities in the amygdala and other emotional processing centers.
Empathy as a Trainable Skill
The good news is that empathy isn’t fixed. Because the brain is adaptable, or plastic, empathy can be strengthened with intentional effort. Practices like mindfulness, compassionate meditation, and even reading literary fiction have been shown to boost empathic understanding by activating the same neural pathways involved in social connection. Professional training in fields like counseling, medicine, or education often includes exercises specifically designed to enhance empathic communication, reinforcing the idea that while some may be naturally more empathic, everyone has the capacity to grow.
Empathy sits at the intersection of biology, experience, and conscious intention. The next time you feel moved by someone else’s story, remember that your brain is doing something extraordinary: It’s bridging the space between two minds. And in that connection, even for a moment, lies one of the most powerful forces for compassion and understanding that humans possess.