The Neuroscience of Taking Empathic Action Ft. Dr. Lisa Aziz-Zadeh Purposeful Empathy

Watch this episode to learn about the neuroscience behind empathy, compassion, and sympathy. Dr. Lisa Aziz-Zadeh is a Professor at the Brain and Creativity Institute, the Department of Psychology, and the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California (USC). Her current research includes understanding how the gut–brain axis modulates behavior. In this episode, she explains her recent research on Autism and empathy as well as scientific ways to practice and improve empathy. 00:00 Preview 00:32 Introduction 00:52 About Dr. Lisa Aziz-Zadeh 02:34 The neuroscience difference between empathy, sympathy and compassion 06:26 Lisa’s research on Autism and empathy 08:29 What is alexithymia? 10:25 How acting on empathy activates our pleasure reward system 11:41 Why too much empathy is not always a good thing 14:05 Predictors of being a bystander vs. being a helper 19:21 Predictors of dehumanization 20:59 Daily practices to become more empathic and compassionate 22:17 Habits to encourage empathy in children 24:13 Dr. Lisa Aziz-Zadeh’s Purposeful Empathy Story CONNECT WITH DR. LISA AZIZ-ZADEH ✩ About Lisa: https://chan.usc.edu/people/faculty/L... ✩ Lisa’s talk on Brain and Body:    • Lisa Aziz-Zadeh: Brain and body   ✩ Altruistic Personality by Samuel P. Oliner: https://www.amazon.ca/Altruistic-Pers... CONNECT WITH ANITA ✩ Email purposefulempathy@gmail.com ✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com/ ✩ LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak ✩ Instagram