Empathy helps us resonate with others on both an emotional and physical level. Now, research may have found the roots of this visceral emotion in the brain’s resting state.

Share on Pinterest New research finds that even in its resting state, the brain can help predict who is an empathetic person.

The neurological underpinnings of empathy have long preoccupied scientists.

From mirror neurons that help us “reflect” other people’s emotions, to using brain scans that detect different kinds of empathy, researchers have always tried to dig deep into the brain, searching for the roots of this profound human feeling.

Now, they have asked another interesting question: Is it possible for the brain to reveal how empathetic a person is, even in its resting state?

The answer seems to be yes, according to the results of new research appearing in the journal Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience.

Marco Iacoboni, who is a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), is the senior author of the new research.

He explains the motivation for the study, saying, “Assessing empathy is often the hardest in the populations that need it most.”

“Empathy is a cornerstone of mental health and well-being. It promotes social and cooperative behavior through our concern for others. It also helps us to infer and predict the internal feelings, behavior, and intentions of others.”