Skip to main content

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
Cancel
×
×
Home
  • Home
Article
  • Cited by 35
  • Cited by
    Crossref Citations
    Crossref logo
    This article has been cited by the following publications. This list is generated based on data provided by CrossRef.
    Robbins, Brent Dean 2018. The Medicalized Body and Anesthetic Culture. p. 85.
    Hall, Judith and Schwartz, Rachel 2018. Empathy present and future. The Journal of Social Psychology,
    Feng, Chunliang Yuan, Jie Geng, Haiyang Gu, Ruolei Zhou, Hui Wu, Xia and Luo, Yuejia 2018. Individualized prediction of trait narcissism from whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity. Human Brain Mapping,
    Hoertel, Nicolas Peyre, Hugo Lavaud, Pierre Blanco, Carlos Guerin-Langlois, Christophe René, Margaux Schuster, Jean-Pierre Lemogne, Cédric Delorme, Richard and Limosin, Frédéric 2018. Examining sex differences in DSM-IV-TR narcissistic personality disorder symptom expression using Item Response Theory (IRT). Psychiatry Research, Vol. 260, Issue. , p. 500.
    Amoretti, M Cristina and Lalumera, Elisabetta 2018. A Potential Tension in DSM-5: The General Definition of Mental Disorder versus Some Specific Diagnostic Criteria. The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy: A Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine,
    Robbins, Brent Dean 2018. The Medicalized Body and Anesthetic Culture. p. 127.
    Del Casale, Antonio Kotzalidis, Georgios D. Rapinesi, Chiara Janiri, Delfina Aragona, Massimiliano Puzella, Antonella Spinazzola, Edoardo Maggiora, Matteo Giuseppin, Giulia Tamorri, Stefano Maria Vento, Alessandro Emiliano Ferracuti, Stefano Sani, Gabriele Pompili, Maurizio and Girardi, Paolo 2017. Neural functional correlates of empathic face processing. Neuroscience Letters, Vol. 655, Issue. , p. 68.
    Ronningstam, Elsa 2017. Intersect between self-esteem and emotion regulation in narcissistic personality disorder - implications for alliance building and treatment. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, Vol. 4, Issue. 1,
    Valdespino, Andrew Antezana, Ligia Ghane, Merage and Richey, John A. 2017. Alexithymia as a Transdiagnostic Precursor to Empathy Abnormalities: The Functional Role of the Insula. Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 8, Issue. ,
    Allen, Micah Frank, Darya Glen, James C. Fardo, Francesca Callaghan, Martina F. and Rees, Geraint 2017. Insula and somatosensory cortical myelination and iron markers underlie individual differences in empathy. Scientific Reports, Vol. 7, Issue. , p. 43316.
    Fossati, Andrea Somma, Antonella Pincus, Aaron Borroni, Serena and Dowgwillo, Emily A. 2017. Differentiating Community Dwellers at Risk for Pathological Narcissism From Community Dwellers at Risk for Psychopathy Using Measures of Emotion Recognition and Subjective Emotional Activation. Journal of Personality Disorders, Vol. 31, Issue. 3, p. 325.
    El-Rasheed, Amany H. ElAttar, Khled S. Elrassas, Hanan H. Mahmoud, Dalia A.M. and Mohamed, Shierf Y. 2017. Mood Regulation, Alexithymia, and Personality Disorders in Adolescent Male Addicts. Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment, Vol. 16, Issue. 2, p. 49.
    Scalabrini, Andrea Huang, Zirui Mucci, Clara Perrucci, Mauro Gianni Ferretti, Antonio Fossati, Andrea Romani, Gian Luca Northoff, Georg and Ebisch, Sjoerd J. H. 2017. How spontaneous brain activity and narcissistic features shape social interaction. Scientific Reports, Vol. 7, Issue. 1,
    Ronningstam, Elsa 2016. Pathological Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Recent Research and Clinical Implications. Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports, Vol. 3, Issue. 1, p. 34.
    Mao, Yu Sang, Na Wang, Yongchao Hou, Xin Huang, Hui Wei, Dongtao Zhang, Jinfu and Qiu, Jiang 2016. Reduced frontal cortex thickness and cortical volume associated with pathological narcissism. Neuroscience, Vol. 328, Issue. , p. 50.
    Labek, Karin Viviani, Roberto Gizewski, Elke R. Verius, Michael and Buchheim, Anna 2016. Neural Correlates of the Appraisal of Attachment Scenes in Healthy Controls and Social Cognition—An fMRI Study. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Vol. 10, Issue. ,
    Fischmann, Tamara Leuzinger-Bohleber, Marianne Russ, Michael and Schött, Margerete 2016. Das Unbewusste – Eine Brücke zwischen Psychoanalyse und Neurowissenschaften. p. 261.
    Ma, Guorong Fan, Hongying Shen, Chanchan and Wang, Wei 2016. Genetic and Neuroimaging Features of Personality Disorders: State of the Art. Neuroscience Bulletin, Vol. 32, Issue. 3, p. 286.
    Mizen, C.S. 2015. Neuroscience, mind and meaning: an attempt at synthesis in a Relational Affective Hypothesis. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Vol. 29, Issue. 4, p. 363.
    Nenadic, Igor Güllmar, Daniel Dietzek, Maren Langbein, Kerstin Steinke, Johanna and Gaser, Christian 2015. Brain structure in narcissistic personality disorder: A VBM and DTI pilot study. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, Vol. 231, Issue. 2, p. 184.
    Download full list
    ×
  • Get access
    Add to cart USD35.00
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    Log in Register Recommend to librarian

The narcissistic self and its psychological and neural correlates: an exploratory fMRI study

  • Y. Fan (a1) (a2) (a3), C. Wonneberger (a1) (a2), B. Enzi (a2), M. de Greck (a4), C. Ulrich (a5), C. Tempelmann (a6), B. Bogerts (a2), S. Doering (a7) (a8) (a9) and G. Northoff (a1)...
Abstract
Background

The concept of narcissism has been much researched in psychoanalysis and especially in self psychology. One of the hallmarks of narcissism is altered emotion, including decreased affective resonance (e.g. empathy) with others, the neural underpinnings of which remain unclear. The aim of our exploratory study was to investigate the psychological and neural correlates of empathy in two groups of healthy subjects with high and low narcissistic personality trait. We hypothesized that high narcissistic subjects would show a differential activity pattern in regions such as the anterior insula that are typically associated with empathy.

Method

A sample of 34 non-clinical subjects was divided into high (n=11) and low (n=11) narcissistic groups according to the 66th and 33rd percentiles of their scores on the Narcissism Inventory (NI). Combining the psychological, behavioral and neuronal [i.e. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)] measurements of empathy, we compared the high and low narcissistic groups of subjects.

Results

High narcissistic subjects showed higher scores on the Symptom Checklist-90 – Revised (SCL-90-R) and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) when compared to low narcissistic subjects. High narcissistic subjects also showed significantly decreased deactivation during empathy, especially in the right anterior insula.

Conclusions

Psychological and neuroimaging data indicate respectively higher degrees of alexithymia and lower deactivation during empathy in the insula in high narcissistic subjects. Taken together, our preliminary findings demonstrate, for the first time, psychological and neuronal correlates of narcissism in non-clinical subjects. This might stipulate both novel psychodynamic conceptualization and future psychological–neuronal investigation of narcissism.

Copyright
COPYRIGHT: © Cambridge University Press 2010
Corresponding author
*Address for correspondence: Dr G. Northoff, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.P.C., Research Unit Director, Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, Canada Research Chair, The Michael Smith Chair, ELJB-CIHR, Royal Ottawa Healthcare Group, University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, 1145 Carling Avenue, Room 6435, Ottawa, ON K1Z 7K4, Canada. (Email: georg.northoff@rohcg.on.ca)
References
Hide All
APA (1980). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edn. American Psychiatric Press: Washington, DC.
APA (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn. American Psychiatric Press: Washington, DC.
Bach, M, Bach, D, de Zwaan, M, Serim, M, Bohmer, F (1996). Validation of the German version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in normal persons and psychiatric patients [in German]. Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, Medizinische Psychologie 46, 23–8.
Craig, AD (2009). How do you feel – now? The anterior insula and human awareness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10, 59–70.
Daig, I, Burkert, S, Fischer, F, Kienast, T, Klapp, BF, Fliege, H (2010). Development and factorial validation of a short version of the Narcissism Inventory (NI-20). Psychopathology 43, 150–158.
Decety, J, Lamm, C (2006). Human empathy through the lens of social neuroscience. Scientific World Journal 6, 1146–1163.
Denecke, FW, Hilgenstock, B (1989). The Narcissism Inventory [in German]. Hans Huber: Bern.
Dimaggio, G, Nicolò, G, Popolo, R, Semerari, A, Carcione, A (2006). Self-regulatory dysfunctions in personality disorders: the role of poor self-monitoring and mindreading. Applied Psychology: An International Review 55, 397–407.
Emmons, RA (1984). Factor analysis and construct validity of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment 48, 291–300.
Enzi, B, de Greck, M, Prosch, U, Tempelmann, C, Northoff, G (2009). Is our self nothing but reward? Neuronal overlap and distinction between reward and personal relevance and its relation to human personality. PLoS ONE 4, e8429.
Fosshage, JL (2009). Some key features in the evolution of self psychology and psychoanalysis. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1159, 1–18.
Franke, G (1995). SCL-90-R. Die Symptom-Checkliste von Derogatis – Deutsche Version [SCL-90-R. The Symptom Check-List from Derogatis – German version]. Beltz: Goettingen.
Freud, S (1905). Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Vol. 7. Hogarth: London.
Freud, S (1910). Leonardo da Vinci and a memory of his childhood. In The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (ed. Freud, S.), pp. 59–137. Hogarth Press: London.
Gehrie, MJ (2009). The evolution of the psychology of the self: toward a mature narcissism. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1159, 31–50.
Hartmann, HP (2009). Psychoanalytic self psychology and its conceptual development in light of developmental psychology, attachment theory, and neuroscience. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 1159, 86–105.
Hautzinger, M, Bailer, M, Worall, H, Keller, F (1994). The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) [in German]. Huber: Bern.
Hooker, CI, Verosky, SC, Germine, LT, Knight, RT, D'Esposito, M (2008). Mentalizing about emotion and its relationship to empathy. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 3, 204–217.
Horn, W (1983). Leistungsprüfsystem L-P-S, Handanweisung [Achievement Measurement System, User's Guide]. Hogrefe: Göttingen.
Kernberg, OF (1975). Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism. Jason Aronson: New York.
Knutson, B, Adams, CM, Fong, GW, Hommer, D (2001 a). Anticipation of increasing monetary reward selectively recruits nucleus accumbens. Journal of Neuroscience 21, RC159.
Knutson, B, Fong, GW, Adams, CM, Varner, JL, Hommer, D (2001 b). Dissociation of reward anticipation and outcome with event-related fMRI. Neuroreport 12, 3683–3687.
Kohut, H (1971). The Analysis of the Self. International Universities Press: New York.
Kohut, H (1977). The Restoration of the Self. International Universities Press: New York.
Kohut, H (1984). How Does Analysis Cure? The University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
Kriegeskorte, N, Simmons, WK, Bellgowan, PS, Baker, CI (2009). Circular analysis in systems neuroscience: the dangers of double dipping. Nature Neuroscience 12, 535–540.
Lamm, C, Singer, T (2010). The role of anterior insular cortex in social emotions. Brain Structure and Function 214, 579–591.
Lasch, C (1979). The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations. WW Norton: New York.
Lawson, R, Waller, G, Sines, J, Meyer, C (2008). Emotional awareness among eating-disordered patients: the role of narcissistic traits. European Eating Disorders Review 16, 44–48.
Lehrl, S, Triebig, G, Fischer, B (1995). Multiple choice vocabulary test MWT as a valid and short test to estimate premorbid intelligence. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica 91, 335–345.
Modinos, G, Ormel, J, Aleman, A (2009). Activation of anterior insula during self-reflection. PLoS ONE 4, e4618.
Paulus, C (2009). Saarbruecker Persoenlichkeits-Fragebogen zur Empathie (SPF) [Saarbruecker Personality Questionnaires for Empathy (SPF)]. Based on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). V5.5. University of Saarbruecken: Saarbruecken.
Preston, SD, de Waal, FB (2002). Empathy: its ultimate and proximate bases. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 25, 1–20; discussion 20–71.
Ritter, K, Lammers, CH (2007). Narcissism – variable of personality and personality disorder [in German]. Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, Medizinische Psychologie 57, 53–60.
Russ, E, Shedler, J, Bradley, R, Westen, D (2008). Refining the construct of narcissistic personality disorder: diagnostic criteria and subtypes. American Journal of Psychiatry 165, 1473–1481.
Singer, JL (1966). Daydreaming: An Introduction to the Experimental Study of Inner Experience. Random House: New York.
Singer, T (2006). The neuronal basis and ontogeny of empathy and mind reading: review of literature and implications for future research. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 30, 855–863.
Singer, T, Lamm, C (2009). The social neuroscience of empathy. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1156, 81–96.
Singer, T, Seymour, B, O'Doherty, J, Kaube, H, Dolan, RJ, Frith, CD (2004). Empathy for pain involves the affective but not sensory components of pain. Science 303, 1157–1162.
Singer, T, Seymour, B, O'Doherty, JP, Stephan, KE, Dolan, RJ, Frith, CD (2006). Empathic neural responses are modulated by the perceived fairness of others. Nature 439, 466–469.
Smallwood, J, Schooler, JW (2006). The restless mind. Psychological Bulletin 132, 946–958.
Watson, PJ, Grisham, SO, Trotter, MV, Biderman, MD (1984). Narcissism and empathy: validity evidence for the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment 48, 301–305.
Watson, PJ, Sawrie, SM, Greene, RL, Arredondo, R (2002). Narcissism and depression: MMPI-2 evidence for the continuum hypothesis in clinical samples. Journal of Personality Assessment 79, 85–109.
Recommend this journal

Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this journal to your organisation's collection.

Psychological Medicine
  • ISSN: 0033-2917
  • EISSN: 1469-8978
  • URL: /core/journals/psychological-medicine
Please enter your name
Please enter a valid email address
Who would you like to send this to? *

CAPTCHA *

Skip to the audio challenge
×

Keywords:

Type Description Title
WORD
Supplementary materials

Fan Supplementary Material
Appendix.doc

 Word (936 KB)
936 KB

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Total number of HTML views: 29
Total number of PDF views: 332 *
Loading metrics...

Abstract views

Total abstract views: 1465 *
Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between September 2016 - 12th June 2018. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Cancel
Confirm
×