Abstract: Empathy is the understandings and feelings about other people’s emotion and thoughts, which is vital for individual development and human society. Recently, the neural basis of empathy is attracting more and more attention in neuroscience research. Functional imaging studies have demonstrated activation of some key areas associated with empathy in the human brain. Basic and clinical evidence also suggests that a better understanding of neural basis of empathy has important implications for autism and anti-social personality. This article reviews empathy-related research and highlights its possible future

Key words: empathy, neural basis, brain imaging, mental disorders