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SUMMARY:The Nature of Empathy: Perspectives from Psychiatry - Prof. Simon 
 Baron-Cohen\, Autism Research Centre\, Cambridge
DTSTART:20110603T170000Z
DTEND:20110603T181500Z
UID:TALK31210@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Simon Lacoste-Julien
DESCRIPTION:Empathy is the drive to identify another person's thoughts and
  feelings and to respond to these with an appropriate emotion. We now know
  quite a lot about which parts of the brain are used when we empathize and
  how empathy grows in typically developing children. We even know that hor
 mones in the womb\, and specific genes\, influence how much empathy a pers
 on has. There are several ways in which one can lose one's empathy\, and t
 his is clearly seen in psychiatric conditions such as the personality diso
 rders. However\, there is one condition\, autism\, which not only entails 
 difficulties with empathy but can lead to a talent in 'systemizing'. Syste
 mizing is the aptitude to spot patterns in the world. Why should losing yo
 ur empathy render you better at systemizing? And can aspects of empathy be
  taught if a child is having difficulty developing it? Finally\, the disco
 very that there may be 'genes for empathy' implies that empathy may be the
  result of our evolution.
LOCATION:Old Combination Room (OCR)\, Wolfson College
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