Lonelier people feel less empathic despite intact neural empathy responses after meditation training.
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience January 21, 2026 Marla Dressel, Naomi Nero, Paige Freeburg et al.
Loneliness in the United States has reached an all-time high and is linked to lower self-reported empathy. A randomized controlled trial tested whether loving kindness meditation (LKM) reduces loneliness and increases empathy. One hundred eight participants completed either LKM or active control training; neural empathic responding was measured in 54 participants using functional MRI. Both interventions reduced loneliness, but neither increased trait empathy, failing to support the hypothesis that LKM reduces loneliness by boosting empathy. Loneliness was not credibly associated with differences in neural empathic responding, but lonelier individuals reported lower empathy. The results suggest that lonelier people may simulate others' experiences yet not perceive themselves as empathetic, pointing to interventions that address maladaptive social cognition.