ArticleBrain and behavior2014
The highly sensitive brain: an fMRI study of sensory processing sensitivity and response to others' emotions.
Article in Brain and behavior, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 96 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
96 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Individual differences in emotional reactivity: A multidimensional systematic review across the big five.PloS one · 2026Pooled it
- Using Placebo Beverages in Group Alcohol Studies.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2018Trial
- The impact of sensory processing sensitivity on subtle dynamic facial expression recognition and metacognitive awareness.Psychological research · 2026Article
- Machine learning for individual epigenetic fingerprints as predictors of well-being in young adults.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Profiles of environmental sensitivity among nursing students on clinical placement and their structural associations with failure mindsets: a latent profile and network analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Sensory processing sensitivity levels in patients with disorders of gut-brain interaction: a propensity score-matched cross-sectional study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Evoked temporal summation in dogs to assess pain central sensitization and modulation - A feasibility study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Sensory processing sensitivity and overstimulation in daily life: an experience sampling method study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Conserved small RNA networks link inflammation to pain signaling in mice and men.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Network analysis of empathy, anxiety and depression symptoms, relationship satisfaction, sensory processing sensitivity, and alexithymia.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Predictors of Environmental Sensitivity in Syrian refugee children.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Article
- Sensory processing sensitivity and its associations with guilt, shame, self-esteem, and neuroticism.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- The Moderating Role of Sensory Processing Sensitivity in Social Skills Enhancement and Bullying Prevention Among Adolescents.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Latent profile analysis and influencing factors of cognitive flexibility among Chinese high school students.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Adherence to medical recommendations in high-risk pregnancy: dispositional and situational predictors with a focus on emotional reactivity.CNS spectrums · 2025Article
- Parent-Child Eye Gaze Congruency to Emotional Expressions Mediated by Child Aesthetic Sensitivity.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Long-term back pain recall in Generation XXI adolescents: the role of sensitivity and pain history.Pain reports · 2025Article
- Social Affiliation and Attention to Angry Faces in Children: Evidence for the Contributing Role of Parental Sensory Processing Sensitivity.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Sensory processing sensitivity in adult dental patients and its relation to perceived stress, cortisol, and serotonin secretion.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Brain That Understands Diversity: A Pilot Study Focusing on the Triple Network.Brain sciences · 2025Article
36 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTheory and research suggest that sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), found in roughly 20% of humans and over 100 other species, is a trait associated with greater sensitivity and responsiveness to the environment and to social stimuli. Self-report studies have shown that high-SPS individuals are strongly affected by others' moods, but no previous study has examined neural systems engaged in response to others' emotions.
methodsThis study examined the neural correlates of SPS (measured by the standard short-form Highly Sensitive Person [HSP] scale) among 18 participants (10 females) while viewing photos of their romantic partners and of strangers displaying positive, negative, or neutral facial expressions. One year apart, 13 of the 18 participants were scanned twice.
resultsAcross all conditions, HSP scores were associated with increased brain activation of regions involved in attention and action planning (in the cingulate and premotor area [PMA]). For happy and sad photo conditions, SPS was associated with activation of brain regions involved in awareness, integration of sensory information, empathy, and action planning (e.g., cingulate, insula, inferior frontal gyrus [IFG], middle temporal gyrus [MTG], and PMA).
conclusionsAs predicted, for partner images and for happy facial photos, HSP scores were associated with stronger activation of brain regions involved in awareness, empathy, and self-other processing. These results provide evidence that awareness and responsiveness are fundamental features of SPS, and show how the brain may mediate these traits.
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