Self-forgiveness is associated with increased volumes of fusiform gyrus in healthy individuals

Abstract

Self-forgiveness (SF) involves a process through which negative moral emotions directed at the self are replaced by benevolence and acceptance. Lower SF scores can be associated with less self-compassion, higher psychological distress, and lower life dissatisfaction. However, neural correlates of SF have not been investigated yet. We enrolled a total of 79 healthy individuals. The Self-Forgiveness Scale (SFS), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were evaluated. Voxel-wise correlational analyses showed a significant positive correlation between the total SFS scores and gray matter volumes (GMVs) in the fusiform gyrus (FG). In addition, the GMVs in the FG were significantly positively associated with the total SCS and CD-RISC scores and negatively correlated with the total BDI-II and BAI scores. These findings suggest that the FG related to the mirror neuron system might be a neural correlate of SF. Furthermore, its increased volumes of FG in healthy individuals can be associated with the capacity to overcome stressful life events.