Right frontal cortical asymmetry predicts empathic reactions: support for a link between withdrawal motivation and empathy

Depression, diminished positive affect, and exaggerated negative affect have all been linked to right frontal cortical asymmetry as measured by electroencephalography (EEG). Emerging evidence, however, suggests that right frontal EEG asymmetry might be linked to empathic responding. EEG was used to assess baseline asymmetries in frontal brain activity. Participants viewed images associated with a charity and then rated their sadness, personal distress, perspective-taking, and empathic concern towards the images. We found that baseline measures of right frontal asymmetry were a significant predictor of empathic concern, a relationship that was mediated by feelings of sadness. These results provide a more complex view of right frontal asymmetry and suggest that this pattern of brain activity might facilitate sensitivity towards the suffering of others.