The Shared Neural Substrates of Emotional Mimicry and Emotional Contagion: an ALE Meta-analysis and MACM Analysis.

Emotional contagion is an important aspect of social interaction. Traditional theories suggest that it relies on mimicry of facial or emotional movements. To address the question of whether there is a distinction between emotional contagion and emotional mimicry, we conducted a meta-analysis using the ALE algorithm to identify brain regions activated by the two tasks. We then evaluated the co-activation patterns of these common regions using Meta-Analytical Connectivity Modeling (MACM). The results show partial overlap in brain regions, such as the cingulate gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule, between emotional contagion and emotional mimicry. Contrast analyses further identified distinct brain regions activated by each task. MACM analysis indicated that regions including the thalamus, putamen, precentral gyrus, and insula play critical roles in the co-activation network.