Self-compassion is beneficial for individuals' emotional health, but debates regarding its conceptualization are increasing. The present study aimed to explore the neural basis of self-compassion and its compassionate and uncompassionate dimensions and the indirect path from neural basis to emotional health. Structural MRI and Resting-state fMRI data were used to measure the gray matter volume (GMV) and the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in 88 healthy college students. We found that individuals with higher self-compassion had decreased GMV in the prefrontal cortex, cerebellum as well as lower ALFF in the occipital lobe. The compassionate and uncompassionate dimensions of self-compassion shared some similarities (e.g., common correlation with GMV in the medial prefrontal cortex, ALFF in the occipital lobe) but also had some differences (e.g., only uncompassionate dimensions correlated with GMV in the lateral prefrontal cortex, ALFF in medial temporal lobe/striatum). The indirect path analyses revealed that corresponding brain characteristics could have associations with emotional health through self-compassion, as well as its uncompassionate dimension, but not compassionate dimension. This exploratory whole-brain study showed some preliminary findings that compassionate and uncompassionate dimensions of self-compassion were related to distinct brain regions, which are both important to the current conceptualization of self-compassion and intervention study.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11682-022-00723-9DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

compassionate uncompassionate
16
uncompassionate dimensions
16
dimensions self-compassion
12
emotional health
12
prefrontal cortex
12
self-compassion
8
neural basis
8
indirect path
8
alff occipital
8
occipital lobe
8

Similar Publications

Objectives: Validate the English version of the (SCS-SF) as a reliable measure in chronic pain. Explore self-compassion's relationship with pain-related outcomes.

Methods: A total of 240 chronic pain patients (at 6-months) and 256 community participants (at 12-months) completed two prospective survey studies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

With the popularity of the internet, cyberbullying has emerged as an increasingly serious social issue, particularly affecting college students' behavioral health. This study explores the relationship between perceived discrimination and cyberbullying, as well as the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of self-compassion (SC) in this relationship. Using a longitudinal design, data were collected from 892 Chinese college students (414 females, 478 males) in two waves spanning 1 year.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Role of self-criticism in postpartum mental health: a network analysis.

Psicol Reflex Crit

September 2024

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Post Graduate Program in Psychology, Porto Alegre (RS), Brazil.

Purpose: A significant percentage of women experience psychopathological symptoms during the postpartum period, which can impact not only their mental health and well-being but also the relationship between mother and baby. However, studies investigating how specific psychological factors, such as self-compassion and self-criticism, contribute to the development and maintenance of these symptoms are scarce.

Methods: This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationship among compassionate self-responding (CSR), uncompassionate self-responding (USR), maternal mental health indicators, mother-infant bonding, and the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Previous studies have shown that self-compassion can alleviate posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and promote posttraumatic growth (PTG). However, only a few studies explored the dual effects of its positive and negative components on PTSS and PTG. Also, the emotional mechanisms between self-compassion and PTSS/PTG remain unclear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Combined effect of compassionate and uncompassionate self-responding on Chinese college students' mental health during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a response surface analysis.

Eur J Psychotraumatol

June 2024

Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

The initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly deteriorated mental health, especially among college students. Self-compassion has demonstrated benefits for psychological outcomes such as depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and posttraumatic growth (PTG). Notably, existing literature suggests that the protective and vulnerable aspects within the Self-Compassion Scale, namely, compassionate and uncompassionate self-responding (CSR and USR), can coexist within individuals and influence their mental health through various coexisting patterns.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!