Sasirekha G¹, Viji Devanand², Celine D³
¹Assistant Professor,
²Professor & HOD,
Department of Physiology,
Stanley Medical College,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
³Professor & HOD,
Department of Physiology,
Chengalpattu Medical College,
Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

• Empathy is the ability to resonate with another person’s feelings. It is one of the most important elements of higher social functioning in humans. When empathy is absent, violence, abuse, discrimination and selfishness become common. This elusive capacity has interested researchers from a wide range of disciplines and many studies have been conducted to explore the various aspects of empathy such as its development in childhood and the neural basis of empathy. With increase in the incidence of disorders such as Autism spectrum disorder and psychopathy which are considered to be disorders of empathy, it becomes essential to know about the basic concepts of empathy and its neural basis. Moreover recently researchers have focused on the importance of empathy in patient care and how it can be taught to medical students since it plays an important role in successful clinical practice. This short communication is intended to provide an insight into What empathy is?, Why humans possess it?, How it develops?, What are it’s social outcomes?, What happens when it’s absent? and finally about the therapeutic outcomes of empathy.
• Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, empathy, psychopathy