Empathy articles from across Nature Portfolio

Projections from the anterior cingulate cortex to the nucleus accumbens are required for the social transfer of pain or analgesia in mice.

Humans and animals can react to the affective state of others in distress. However, exposure to a stressed partner can trigger stress-related adaptations. Two studies shed light on the mechanisms underlying the behavioral responses toward stressed individuals and on the synaptic changes associated with social transmission of stress.

A little empathy goes a long way in the competitive confines of a laboratory, argues Lydia Soraya Murray.

A study in this issue reports that mice can be fear conditioned through observation of other mice receiving aversive stimuli and identifies some of the brain regions involved in this observational fear learning.