5 121 Neural signatures of parental empathic responses to imagined suffering of their adolescent child prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), temporoparietal junction (TPJ), temporal pole, superior temporal sulcus, and frontopolar cortex (Abraham et al., 2018; Feldman, 2017; Shamay-Tsoory, 2011), and facilitates understanding of another’s point of view by making inferences of others’ mental states (Shamay-Tsoory, 2011). In the context of parenting, this cognitive empathy network may promote a better understanding of the feelings, actions, motives and intentions of the child (Abraham et al., 2018). Constructs that were found to modulate the neural responses underpinning empathy for others are interpersonal closeness and similarity to the person suffering (Bruneau et al., 2013; Cheng et al., 2010; Lee et al., 2017). For example, activity in anterior cingulate cortex and insula is higher when empathizing with the self and loved-ones compared to strangers (Cheng et al., 2010), and AI is more activated in both black and white participants when they observe someone of their own race in physical pain compared to someone of another race (Azevedo et al., 2013). With the parent-child bond being one of the most intimate and closest social relationships (Abraham et al., 2016; Abraham et al., 2018; Atzil et al., 2011; Laurita et al., 2019b; Leibenluft et al., 2004), it is not unreasonable to hypothesize that neural responses in empathy networks are more intense in parents when confronted with the suffering of their own child versus an unfamiliar child. So far, several neuroimaging studies have examined neural networks involved in empathic responses in parents of babies and young children (Abraham et al., 2018; Atzil et al., 2011; Barrett et al., 2012; Elmadih et al., 2016; Kuo et al., 2012; Leibenluft et al., 2004; Lenzi et al., 2009; Wan et al., 2014), but no prior studies focused on how these neural networks support empathy in parents of adolescents. Moreover, prior work in parents of infants and young children examined neural responses to pictures and videos of their own versus another child, which makes sense given that parents of infants are most often present when their child is in distress. Given the increasing autonomy of adolescents and the fact that they spend more time without adult supervision, it is likely that parents of adolescents have to rely on more higher-order sociocognitive functions in order to appropriately empathize with their child when they verbally share their distress about painful situations. In addition, it is relevant to examine whether such brain responses are related to sensitive parenting behavior during adolescence in daily life. Current evidence in this direction emphasizes the involvement of empathy and emotion regulation networks in parents (Barrett et al., 2012; Kuo et al., 2012; Turpyn et al., 2020; Wan et al., 2014). For example, Turpyn et al. (2020) reported that higher levels of observed structured parenting behavior (e.g., problem solving and guiding) were associated with decreased neural responses in “affective empathy” regions (i.e., AI and ACC) and increased neural responses in “cognitive control” regions (i.e., dorsolateral PFC) to negative adolescent stimuli. In addition, Kuo et al. (2012) showed that observed parental sensitivity in fathers was associated with decreased neural responses to video clips of their own child (versus an unfamiliar child) in right orbitofrontal gyrus. Also, Wan et al. (2014) found that self-reported positive mother-infant interactions were
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