The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on empathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Empathy is a multi-dimensional concept with affective and cognitive components, the latter often referred to as Theory of Mind (ToM). Impaired empathy is prevalent in people with neuropsychiatric disorders, such as personality disorder, psychopathy, and schizophrenia, highlighting the need to develo...
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| Format: | Article |
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Cambridge University Press
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44348/ |
| _version_ | 1848796896326320128 |
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| author | Yang, Cheng-Chang Khalifa, Najat Völlm, Birgit |
| author_facet | Yang, Cheng-Chang Khalifa, Najat Völlm, Birgit |
| author_sort | Yang, Cheng-Chang |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Empathy is a multi-dimensional concept with affective and cognitive components, the latter often referred to as Theory of Mind (ToM). Impaired empathy is prevalent in people with neuropsychiatric disorders, such as personality disorder, psychopathy, and schizophrenia, highlighting the need to develop therapeutic interventions to address this. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive therapeutic technique that has been effective in treating various neuropsychiatric conditions, can be potentially used to modulate empathy. To our knowledge, no systematic reviews or meta-analyses in this field have been conducted. The aim of the current study was to review the literature on the use of rTMS to modulate empathy in adults. Seven electronic databases (AMED, Cochrane library, Embase, Medline, Pubmed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) were searched using appropriate search terms. Twenty-two studies were identified, all bar one study involved interventions in healthy rather than clinical populations, and 18 of them, providing results for 24 trials, were included in the meta-analyses. Results showed an overall small, but statistically significant, effect in favour of active rTMS in healthy individuals. Differential effects across cognitive and affective ToM were evident. Subgroup analyses for cognitive ToM revealed significant effect sizes on excitatory rTMS, offline paradigms, and non-randomised design trials. Subgroup analyses for affective ToM revealed significant effect sizes on excitatory rTMS, offline paradigms, and non-randomised design trials. Meta-regression revealed no significant sources of heterogeneity. In conclusion, rTMS may have discernible effects on different components of empathy. Further research is required to examine the effects of rTMS on empathy in clinical and non-clinical populations, using appropriate empathy tasks and rTMS protocols. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:55:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-44348 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:55:16Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-443482020-05-04T19:01:31Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44348/ The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on empathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis Yang, Cheng-Chang Khalifa, Najat Völlm, Birgit Empathy is a multi-dimensional concept with affective and cognitive components, the latter often referred to as Theory of Mind (ToM). Impaired empathy is prevalent in people with neuropsychiatric disorders, such as personality disorder, psychopathy, and schizophrenia, highlighting the need to develop therapeutic interventions to address this. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive therapeutic technique that has been effective in treating various neuropsychiatric conditions, can be potentially used to modulate empathy. To our knowledge, no systematic reviews or meta-analyses in this field have been conducted. The aim of the current study was to review the literature on the use of rTMS to modulate empathy in adults. Seven electronic databases (AMED, Cochrane library, Embase, Medline, Pubmed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) were searched using appropriate search terms. Twenty-two studies were identified, all bar one study involved interventions in healthy rather than clinical populations, and 18 of them, providing results for 24 trials, were included in the meta-analyses. Results showed an overall small, but statistically significant, effect in favour of active rTMS in healthy individuals. Differential effects across cognitive and affective ToM were evident. Subgroup analyses for cognitive ToM revealed significant effect sizes on excitatory rTMS, offline paradigms, and non-randomised design trials. Subgroup analyses for affective ToM revealed significant effect sizes on excitatory rTMS, offline paradigms, and non-randomised design trials. Meta-regression revealed no significant sources of heterogeneity. In conclusion, rTMS may have discernible effects on different components of empathy. Further research is required to examine the effects of rTMS on empathy in clinical and non-clinical populations, using appropriate empathy tasks and rTMS protocols. Cambridge University Press 2017-08-22 Article PeerReviewed Yang, Cheng-Chang, Khalifa, Najat and Völlm, Birgit (2017) The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on empathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 48 . 737 -750. ISSN 1469-8978 Empathy Neuromodulation Neuroplasticity Theory of mind Transcranial magnetic stimulation https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/effects-of-repetitive-transcranial-magnetic-stimulation-on-empathy-a-systematic-review-and-metaanalysis/72DA6CBE6F6F5C8CDCE3538AA8CCBFC5 doi:10.1017/S003329171700232X doi:10.1017/S003329171700232X |
| spellingShingle | Empathy Neuromodulation Neuroplasticity Theory of mind Transcranial magnetic stimulation Yang, Cheng-Chang Khalifa, Najat Völlm, Birgit The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on empathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title | The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on empathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_full | The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on empathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_fullStr | The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on empathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on empathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_short | The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on empathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_sort | effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on empathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| topic | Empathy Neuromodulation Neuroplasticity Theory of mind Transcranial magnetic stimulation |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44348/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44348/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44348/ |