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Choi D, Förster K, Alexander N, Kanske P. Downsides to the empathic brain? A review of neural correlates of empathy in major depressive disorder. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1456570. [PMID: 39211533 PMCID: PMC11357912 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1456570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Empathy as one of the basic prerequisites for successful social interactions seems to be aberrant in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). Although understanding empathic impairments in MDD is crucial considering the frequently reported social skill deficits in patients, the current state of research is still inconclusive, pointing to both elevated and impaired levels of empathy. In this review, we extend previous reports of MDD-related aberrations in self-reported and behavioral empathy by shedding light on the neural correlates of empathy in MDD. Study findings indicate a complex and potentially state-dependent association, comprising both elevated and lower neural activity in empathy-related brain regions such as the inferior frontal gyri, bilateral anterior insulae, and cingulate areas. Predominantly, lower activity in these areas seems to be induced by antidepressant treatment or remission, with accompanying behavioral results indicating a reduced negativity-bias in empathic processing compared to acute states of MDD. We propose a preliminary model of empathy development throughout the course of the disorder, comprising initially elevated levels of empathy and a somewhat detached and lower empathic responding during the further progression of the disorder or post-treatment. The seemingly multifaceted nature of the association between empathy and MDD requires further exploration in future multimodal and longitudinal studies. The study of neural correlates of empathy in MDD should prospectively be enlarged by including further socio-affective and -cognitive capacities in MDD and related mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dahna Choi
- Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Katharina Förster
- Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Nina Alexander
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Philipp Kanske
- Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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Livanou M, Whittenbury K, Di Basilio D. Listening to other people's traumatic experiences: What makes it hard and what could protect professionals from developing related distress? A qualitative investigation. Stress Health 2024; 40:e3353. [PMID: 38015473 DOI: 10.1002/smi.3353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Listening to people talk about their trauma experiences involves indirect exposure to trauma (IET) and can trigger emotional distress. Existing studies about the risk factors for post-IET distress have methodological limitations and reported inconsistent results, making their findings difficult to meaningfully synthesise. Also, most of them did not focus explicitly on trauma narratives and did not explore qualitatively the opinions and experiences of professionals who work closely with trauma survivors. The present study involved 36 professionals who worked with trauma survivors and used a qualitative design to investigate: (a) the perceived impact of the survivors' accounts, (b) the factors they deemed as important to be psychologically prepared for trauma accounts, and (c) their strategies for coping with IET. The semi-structured interviews conducted yielded rich data that was analysed thematically and organised in 13 subordinate themes, and 4 master themes. Listening to trauma narratives was thought to lead to emotional distress when it challenges the listener's 'basic assumptions' of safety and justice, when the listener has reduced sense of control and operates outside their 'window of tolerance', when empathic responses are too strong, and psychological preparedness for trauma-narratives is perceived as insufficient. Recommendations for future research and implications for practice are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Livanou
- School of Psychology, University of Bolton, Bolton, UK
| | - Kate Whittenbury
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Education, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
| | - Daniela Di Basilio
- Division of Psychology and Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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3
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Zhou H, Wu AMS. The protective effects of cognitive empathy and emotional empathy on gambling disorder are mediated by risk aversion and responsible gambling attitude. BMC Psychiatry 2024; 24:63. [PMID: 38254048 PMCID: PMC10804480 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-05509-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Based on social cognitive theory, this study aimed to examine whether and how social abilities (i.e., cognitive empathy and emotional empathy) are associated with gambling disorder (GD) by incorporating attitudes toward general risk (i.e., risk aversion) and responsible gambling as potential mediators of this link. METHODS A convenience sample of 580 past-year lottery gamblers (Mage = 34.07, SD = 13.36; 50.4% female), recruited near lottery sales shops, completed an anonymous paper-version questionnaire on site. Data were collected using the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for GD, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Risk Aversion Scale, Positive Play Scale, and demographic items. Path analysis and mediation analysis were applied to examine the effects of cognitive empathy and emotional empathy on GD and the mediating roles of risk aversion and responsible gambling attitude. RESULTS Our results showed that cognitive empathy, but not emotional empathy, was significantly and negatively correlated with GD. Also, the effect of cognitive empathy on GD was fully mediated by risk aversion and responsible gambling attitude, whilst the total indirect effect of emotional empathy on GD was nonsignificant. As hypothesized, the indirect paths from both types of empathy to GD were significantly and serially mediated by risk aversion and responsible gambling attitude. CONCLUSION Cognitive empathy, distinct from emotional empathy, was a statistically significant correlate of GD. Moreover, the path model results also suggest that responsible gambling attitude was a salient protective factors against GD. Future GD prevention efforts may benefit from paying more attention to the role of responsible gambling attitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Zhou
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Institute of Collaborative Innovation, University of Macau, Macao, China
| | - Anise M S Wu
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China.
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Institute of Collaborative Innovation, University of Macau, Macao, China.
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4
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Cortes PM, García-Hernández JP, Iribe-Burgos FA, Guevara MA, Hernández-González M. Effects of emotional congruency and task complexity on decision-making. Cogn Process 2023; 24:161-171. [PMID: 36862269 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-023-01129-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
The heuristic approach to decision-making holds that the selection process becomes more efficient when part of the information available is ignored. One element involved in selecting information is emotional valence. If emotional congruency is related to simplified decision-making strategies, then the interaction of this factor with task complexity should exist. The present study explored how factors of this nature influence decision-making efficiency. We hypothesized that emotional congruency would have a positive effect on task execution and that the magnitude of that effect would increase with greater task complexity because in that condition the amount of information to be processed is greater, meaning that a heuristic approach to the problem would be more efficient. We design a decision in browser decision-making task in which participants had to select emotional images to gain points. Depending on the correlation between emotional valence and in-task image value, we defined three emotional congruency conditions: direct, null, and inverse. Our results show that distinct types of emotional congruency have differential effects on behavior. While direct congruency-enhanced overall decision-making performance, inverse congruency interacted with task complexity to modify the pace at which task feedback affected behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Manuel Cortes
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara, Francisco de Quevedo 180, Col. Arcos-Vallarta, 44130, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - Juan Pablo García-Hernández
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara, Francisco de Quevedo 180, Col. Arcos-Vallarta, 44130, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - Fabiola Alejandra Iribe-Burgos
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara, Francisco de Quevedo 180, Col. Arcos-Vallarta, 44130, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - Miguel Angel Guevara
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara, Francisco de Quevedo 180, Col. Arcos-Vallarta, 44130, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - Marisela Hernández-González
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara, Francisco de Quevedo 180, Col. Arcos-Vallarta, 44130, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
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He Y, Zhu J, Chen X, Mu Y. Trait Empathy Modulates Patterns of Personal and Social Emotions During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Front Psychol 2022; 13:893328. [PMID: 35756252 PMCID: PMC9231589 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.893328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound consequences on people's personal and social feelings worldwide. However, little is known about whether individual differences in empathy, a prosocial trait, may affect the emotional feelings under such threat. To address this, we measured 345 Chinese participants' personal emotions (e.g., active, nervous), social emotions (i.e., fearful and empathetic feelings about various social groups), and their empathy traits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the representational similarity analysis (RSA), we calculated the pattern similarity of personal emotions and found the similarity between the positive and negative emotions was less in the high vs. low empathy groups. In addition, people with high (vs. low) empathy traits were more likely to have fearful and sympathetic feelings about the disease-related people (i.e., depression patients, suspected COVID-19 patients, COVID-19 patients, flu patients, SARS patients, AIDS patients, schizophrenic patients) and showed more pattern dissimilarity in the two social feelings toward the disease-related people. These findings suggest a prominent role of trait empathy in modulating emotions across different domains, strengthening the polarization of personal emotions as well as enlarging social feelings toward a set of stigmatized groups when facing a pandemic threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaji He
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jiajia Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xuhai Chen
- Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Psychology in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
| | - Yan Mu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Varma MM, Hu X. Prosocial behaviour reduces unwanted intrusions of experimental traumatic memories. Behav Res Ther 2021; 148:103998. [PMID: 34864480 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2021] [Revised: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Following trauma exposure, people often experience involuntary intrusions of traumatic memories, i.e., flashbacks. How to reduce such unwanted intrusions attracts attention from basic and translational memory research, with a goal to safeguard mental well-being and promote resilience. Here, based on prosocial behaviour's well-documented psychological benefits, we hypothesized that post-trauma prosocial behaviour would causally reduce trauma-related symptoms, including involuntary intrusions. To test this novel hypothesis, we conducted two pre-registered lab studies (N = 180) using trauma films to induce lab-analogue trauma exposure. Following trauma exposure, participants were randomly assigned to prosocial or non-prosocial conditions. Specifically, in the prosocial condition, participants donated money to their preferred charities. In the non-prosocial conditions, participants completed either a neutral, number judgement task (Experiment 1) or a proself task (Experiment 2). Participants completed a 1-week intrusion diary and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), to assess frequencies of traumatic intrusions and post-trauma stress disorder symptoms, respectively. Results showed that compared to non-prosocial behaviour, prosocial engagement (i.e. performing charitable donations) reduced involuntary traumatic intrusions in both lab settings and in their daily life as evidenced by 1-week intrusion diaries. While exploratory mediation analyses suggested that intrusion reduction was partly driven by enhanced positive affect afforded by prosocial behaviour, future studies are required to illuminate the underlying mechanisms. To the extent that post-trauma prosociality alleviated trauma-related symptoms, future research is warranted to investigate how various forms of prosocial behaviour in naturalistic setting could promote resilience following trauma exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohith M Varma
- Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaoqing Hu
- Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; HKU-Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation, Shenzhen, China.
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7
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Bi T, Xie Q, Gao J, Zhang T, Kou H. The Effect of Empathy on the Attentional Processing of Painful and Emotional Stimuli. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2021; 14:1223-1234. [PMID: 34408507 PMCID: PMC8364384 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s318657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Empathy is shown to affect the attentional processing of painful stimuli and emotional stimuli. However, whether the attentional effects on emotional stimuli depend on emotional valence and the nature of the relationship between the attentional effects on different stimuli are still unknown. Methods In the present study, 25 high-empathy (HE) participants and 25 low-empathy (LE) participants were recruited to perform dot-probe tasks on painful stimuli and emotional stimuli. Results The results showed that HE individuals had weak attentional disengagement to painful pictures. More importantly, regarding emotional pictures, HE individuals showed attentional avoidance to negative emotion pictures, while LE individuals showed attentional bias to positive emotion pictures. Correlation analysis showed that the attentional bias score and attentional disengagement score were only associated with each other within the same category of stimuli (painful, positive or negative stimuli). Conclusion These results revealed that HE individuals mainly showed attentional avoidance to negative stimuli, while LE individuals mainly showed attentional bias to positive stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taiyong Bi
- Center for Mental Health Research in School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, People's Republic of China
| | - Qinhong Xie
- Center for Mental Health Research in School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, People's Republic of China.,School of Criminal Justice, China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianhui Gao
- Center for Mental Health Research in School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, People's Republic of China
| | - Tao Zhang
- Center for Mental Health Research in School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, People's Republic of China
| | - Hui Kou
- Center for Mental Health Research in School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, People's Republic of China
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Psychological Distress Symptoms and Resilience Assets in Adolescents in Residential Care. CHILDREN-BASEL 2021; 8:children8080700. [PMID: 34438591 PMCID: PMC8391887 DOI: 10.3390/children8080700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Most studies with institutionalised children and adolescents focus on evaluating the impact of negative life events on emotional development. However, few have investigated the relationship between resilience assets and the teenagers’ psychopathological problems. The purpose of the present study was to investigate differences in psychological distress symptoms and in resilience assets in institutionalised and non-institutionalised adolescents. A total of 266 adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years old took part in the study (60.5% female): 125 lived in residential care and 144 resided with their families. Results found a significant and inverse relation between psychopathology and the perception of individual resilience assets, specifically with self-efficacy and self-awareness in the community sample, and with empathy in the institutionalised sample. Overall, and regardless of the age group, adolescents in residential care tend to perceive themselves as significantly less resilient in perceived self-efficacy and empathy, and they report fewer goals and aspirations for the future. The importance of promoting mental health and resilience assets in adolescents, particularly in those in residential care, is discussed. This can be achieved through early interventions that may prevent emotional suffering and deviant life paths, with transgenerational repercussions.
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Bracci M, Guidi S, Marchigiani E, Masini M, Palmitesta P, Parlangeli O. Perception of Faces and Elaboration of Gender and Victim/Aggressor Stereotypes: The Influence of Internet Use and of the Perceiver's Personality. Front Psychol 2021; 12:561480. [PMID: 34239467 PMCID: PMC8258252 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.561480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of social media, particularly among youngsters, is characterized by simple and fast image exploration, mostly of people, particularly faces. The study presented here was conducted in order to investigate stereotypical judgments about men and women concerning past events of aggression—perpetrated or suffered—expressed on the basis of their faces, and gender-related differences in the judgments. To this aim, 185 participants answered a structured questionnaire online. The questionnaire contained 30 photos of young people’s faces, 15 men and 15 women (Ma et al., 2015), selected on the basis of the neutrality of their expression, and participants were asked to rate each face with respect to masculinity/femininity, strength/weakness, and having a past of aggression, as a victim or as a perpetrator. Information about the empathic abilities and personality traits of participants were also collected. The results indicate that the stereotypes—both of gender and those of victims and perpetrators—emerge as a consequence of the visual exploration of faces that present no facial emotion. Some characteristics of the personality of the observers, such as neuroticism, extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and affective empathy, have a role in facilitating or hindering stereotype processing, in different ways for male and female faces by male and female observers. In particular, both genders attribute their positive stereotypical attributes to same-gender faces: men see male faces as stronger, masculine, and more aggressive than women do, and women see female faces as more feminine, less weak, and less as victims than men do. Intensive use of social media emerges as a factor that could facilitate the expression of some stereotypes of violent experiences and considering female subjects as more aggressive. Findings in this study can contribute to research on aggressive behavior on the Internet and improve our understanding of the multiple factors involved in the elaboration of gender stereotypes relative to violent or victim behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Bracci
- Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences, Dispoc, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Stefano Guidi
- Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences, Dispoc, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Enrica Marchigiani
- Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences, Dispoc, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Maurizio Masini
- Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences, Dispoc, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Paola Palmitesta
- Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences, Dispoc, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Oronzo Parlangeli
- Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences, Dispoc, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
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Patoilo MS, Berman ME, Coccaro EF. Emotion attribution in intermittent explosive disorder. Compr Psychiatry 2021; 106:152229. [PMID: 33662604 DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2021.152229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Accurate recognition of the emotions of others is an important part of healthy neurological development and promotes positive psychosocial adaptation. Differences in emotional recognition may be associated with the presence of emotional biases and can alter one's perception, thus influencing their overall social cognition abilities. The present study aims to extend our collective understanding of emotion attribution abnormalities in individuals with Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). METHODS Two-hundred and forty-two adults participated, separated into groups of those diagnosed with IED according to DSM 5 criteria, Psychiatric Controls (PC), and Healthy Controls (HC). Participants completed a modified version of the Emotional Attribution Task wherein they attributed an emotion to the main character of a short vignette. RESULTS Participants with IED correctly identified anger stories and misattributed anger to non-anger stories significantly more often than PC and HC participants. They were also significantly less likely than HC participants to correctly identify "sad stories." LIMITATIONS We utilized self-report assessments in a community-recruited sample. Replication in a clinical is suggested. CONCLUSIONS Findings from this study support the validity of IED as a diagnostic entity and provide important information about how individuals with psychiatric disorders perceive and experience emotional cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela S Patoilo
- Department of Psychology, Mississippi State, Starkville, MS, United States of America
| | - Mitchell E Berman
- Department of Psychology, Mississippi State, Starkville, MS, United States of America
| | - Emil F Coccaro
- Clinical Neuroscience and Psychotherapeutics Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, United States of America.
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Jones LL, Wurm LH, Norville GA, Mullins KL. Sex differences in emoji use, familiarity, and valence. COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2020.106305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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12
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Israelashvili J, Sauter D, Fischer A. Two facets of affective empathy: concern and distress have opposite relationships to emotion recognition. Cogn Emot 2020; 34:1112-1122. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2020.1724893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Israelashvili
- Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Disa Sauter
- Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Agneta Fischer
- Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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13
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Abstract
A hallmark feature of episodic memory is that of "mental time travel," whereby an individual feels they have returned to a prior moment in time. Cognitive and behavioral neuroscience methods have revealed a neurobiological counterpart: Successful retrieval often is associated with reactivation of a prior brain state. We review the emerging literature on memory reactivation and recapitulation, and we describe evidence for the effects of emotion on these processes. Based on this review, we propose a new model: Negative Emotional Valence Enhances Recapitulation (NEVER). This model diverges from existing models of emotional memory in three key ways. First, it underscores the effects of emotion during retrieval. Second, it stresses the importance of sensory processing to emotional memory. Third, it emphasizes how emotional valence - whether an event is negative or positive - affects the way that information is remembered. The model specifically proposes that, as compared to positive events, negative events both trigger increased encoding of sensory detail and elicit a closer resemblance between the sensory encoding signature and the sensory retrieval signature. The model also proposes that negative valence enhances the reactivation and storage of sensory details over offline periods, leading to a greater divergence between the sensory recapitulation of negative and positive memories over time. Importantly, the model proposes that these valence-based differences occur even when events are equated for arousal, thus rendering an exclusively arousal-based theory of emotional memory insufficient. We conclude by discussing implications of the model and suggesting directions for future research to test the tenets of the model.
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14
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Pires FBC, Lacerda SS, Balardin JB, Portes B, Tobo PR, Barrichello CRC, Amaro E, Kozasa EH. Self-compassion is associated with less stress and depression and greater attention and brain response to affective stimuli in women managers. BMC WOMENS HEALTH 2018; 18:195. [PMID: 30482193 PMCID: PMC6258154 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-018-0685-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 11/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Women have been assuming more responsibilities and higher positions in major companies, which exposes them to high levels of stress. Higher perceived work stress is related to higher emotional reactivity. Difficulties with emotional regulation can lead to anxiety and mood disorders, which are more prevalent in women than men. Indeed, women leaders are more likely to experience emotional fatigue than men due to excessive empathy. Our aim was to evaluate the associations between self-compassion (SC) scores to depression symptoms, perceived stress and mindfulness, as well as with brain responses to high-arousal unpleasant and pleasant pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), as measured through functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in women managers. METHODS Forty-six participants were selected for the study. All participants filled the Self Compassion Scale (SCS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Mindful Awareness Attention Scale (MAAS) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). After that they were scanned during an fMRI affective response paradigm. Correlation analysis were performed among these variables. RESULTS Our data suggest that women with higher SC scores respond to affective stimuli with higher activation of the precuneus (a brain region related to self-referential processing), lower levels of stress and depression and show greater attention in everyday activities. CONCLUSION SC may be an important characteristic for women leaders because of its association with higher sensitivity to emotional stimuli and mindfulness. These skills may allow them to be more aware of others while being less susceptible for stress and depression symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda B C Pires
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Av. Albert Einstein, 627/701, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Shirley S Lacerda
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Av. Albert Einstein, 627/701, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
| | - Joana B Balardin
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Av. Albert Einstein, 627/701, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Bruna Portes
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Av. Albert Einstein, 627/701, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Patrícia R Tobo
- Natura Cosméticos S.A, Rodovia Anhanguera km 30.5, Cajamar, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Edson Amaro
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Av. Albert Einstein, 627/701, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Elisa H Kozasa
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Av. Albert Einstein, 627/701, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Van Doorn G, De Foe A, Wood A, Wagstaff D, Hohwy J. Down the rabbit hole: assessing the influence of schizotypy on the experience of the Barbie Doll Illusion. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2018; 23:284-298. [PMID: 29975156 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2018.1495623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION "Body swapping" illusions have been used to explore factors contributing to the experience of "owning" an artificial body. Preliminary research indicated that those people diagnosed with schizophrenia experience more vivid illusions of this kind than do "normal" individuals. OBJECTIVES Here, we explored whether participants who rated themselves "high" on the cognitive-perceptual factor of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) experienced a more compelling sense of immersion in a variation of the body swapping illusion: The Barbie Doll Illusion. We also hypothesised that these individuals would experience a change in size perception when immersed in the illusion. METHOD Forty-four participants wore a pair of Head-Mounted Display goggles connected to a video-camera, and thus a doll's body replaced their own body in their visual field. In two conditions, touch was either applied synchronously or asynchronously to the doll's and each participant's leg. After each condition, participants filled out a questionnaire relating to their experience in the illusion. When both conditions were completed, they filled out the SPQ. RESULTS Our first hypothesis was confirmed, which suggested that people with higher cognitive-perceptual SPQ scores do indeed experience a more compelling Barbie Doll Illusion; however, our second hypothesis was not supported. CONCLUSION Our study demonstrated, for the first time, that proneness to the positive and interpersonal factors of schizotypy in a normal population is sufficient to produce a compelling sense of swapping bodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Van Doorn
- a School of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Psychology , Federation University Australia , Churchill , Australia
| | - Alexander De Foe
- b School of Health Sciences and Biomedical Sciences, Discipline of Psychology , RMIT University , Melbourne , Australia
| | - Alle Wood
- a School of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Psychology , Federation University Australia , Churchill , Australia
| | - Danielle Wagstaff
- a School of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Psychology , Federation University Australia , Churchill , Australia
| | - Jakob Hohwy
- c Cognition & Philosophy Laboratory, Department of Philosophy , Monash University , Melbourne , Australia
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Wang Y, Su Q, Wen Z. Exploring Latent Profiles of Empathy Among Chinese Preschool Teachers: A Person-Centered Approach. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT 2018. [DOI: 10.1177/0734282918786653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In view of the shortcomings of previous research on empathy (e.g., no dimensional differentiation, predominantly variable-centered approaches, and a lack of sample diversity), we adopted a person-centered approach to identify distinct profiles of empathy among Chinese preschool teachers, and we examined how these profiles relate to certain outcomes. We identified three profiles—moderate empathy, high cognitive empathy–moderate affective empathy, and high empathy—that varied in the level and shape of the profile indicators. Subsequent analyses showed that participants with higher levels of overall empathy scored higher in sympathy, while those with higher levels of affective empathy and lower levels of cognitive empathy scored higher in emotional exhaustion. Finally, we discussed the theoretical and practical implications of the findings and the limitations of the study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Wang
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application/School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qin Su
- Guangdong Polytechnic of Science and Trade, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhonglin Wen
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application/School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
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Naor N, Shamay-Tsoory SG, Sheppes G, Okon-Singer H. The impact of empathy and reappraisal on emotional intensity recognition. Cogn Emot 2017; 32:972-987. [PMID: 28891381 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2017.1372366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Empathy represents a fundamental ability that allows for the creation and cultivation of social bonds. As part of the empathic process, individuals use their own emotional state to interpret the content and intensity of other people's emotions. Therefore, the current study was designed to test two hypotheses: (1) empathy for the pain of another will result in biased emotional intensity judgment; and (2) changing one's emotion via emotion regulation will modulate these biased judgments. To test these hypotheses, in experiment one we used a modified version of a well-known task that triggers an empathic reaction We found that empathy resulted in biased emotional intensity judgment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a bias in the recognition of emotional facial expressions as a function of empathy for pain. In experiment two, we replicated these findings in an independent sample, and further found that this biased emotional intensity judgment can be moderated via reappraisal. Taken together, our findings suggest that the novel task used here can be employed to further explore the relation between emotion regulation and empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Navot Naor
- a Department of Psychology , University of Haifa , Haifa , IL , USA
| | | | - Gal Sheppes
- b Department of Psychology , Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv , IL , USA
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Kujala MV, Somppi S, Jokela M, Vainio O, Parkkonen L. Human Empathy, Personality and Experience Affect the Emotion Ratings of Dog and Human Facial Expressions. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0170730. [PMID: 28114335 PMCID: PMC5257001 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2016] [Accepted: 01/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial expressions are important for humans in communicating emotions to the conspecifics and enhancing interpersonal understanding. Many muscles producing facial expressions in humans are also found in domestic dogs, but little is known about how humans perceive dog facial expressions, and which psychological factors influence people’s perceptions. Here, we asked 34 observers to rate the valence, arousal, and the six basic emotions (happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, fear, and anger/aggressiveness) from images of human and dog faces with Pleasant, Neutral and Threatening expressions. We investigated how the subjects’ personality (the Big Five Inventory), empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index) and experience of dog behavior affect the ratings of dog and human faces. Ratings of both species followed similar general patterns: human subjects classified dog facial expressions from pleasant to threatening very similarly to human facial expressions. Subjects with higher emotional empathy evaluated Threatening faces of both species as more negative in valence and higher in anger/aggressiveness. More empathetic subjects also rated the happiness of Pleasant humans but not dogs higher, and they were quicker in their valence judgments of Pleasant human, Threatening human and Threatening dog faces. Experience with dogs correlated positively with ratings of Pleasant and Neutral dog faces. Personality also had a minor effect on the ratings of Pleasant and Neutral faces in both species. The results imply that humans perceive human and dog facial expression in a similar manner, and the perception of both species is influenced by psychological factors of the evaluators. Especially empathy affects both the speed and intensity of rating dogs’ emotional facial expressions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miiamaaria V. Kujala
- Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, PL, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Aalto, Espoo, Finland
- * E-mail:
| | - Sanni Somppi
- Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, PL, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Markus Jokela
- Psychology, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Outi Vainio
- Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, PL, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Lauri Parkkonen
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Aalto, Espoo, Finland
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Brosnan SF, Tone EB, Williams L. The Evolution of Social Anxiety. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-60576-0_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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McArthur ML, Andrews JR, Brand C, Hazel SJ. The Prevalence of Compassion Fatigue among Veterinary Students in Australia and the Associated Psychological Factors. JOURNAL OF VETERINARY MEDICAL EDUCATION 2017; 44:9-21. [PMID: 28206848 DOI: 10.3138/jvme.0116-016r3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and other characteristics such as mindfulness and mental health stigma have not been investigated in veterinary students. The aims of this study were twofold: first to determine the prevalence of compassion, satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress among Australian veterinary students and second to investigate the association between these factors and self-stigma, coping, empathy, and mindfulness. A cross-sectional online survey consisting of demographic questions and four validated psychological measures sampled 828 students, with a response rate of 31% (255/828). We obtained a usable sample of completed surveys from 193 of 828 (23%) veterinary students from six of the seven Australian veterinary schools. Bivariate correlations and multiple regression analyses were used to examine associations between the psychological predictors and the outcome variables. Approximately 30% of veterinary students were at high risk of burnout, 24% were at high risk of secondary traumatic stress, and 21% reported low compassion satisfaction. High empathic concern, low personal distress, female gender, and employment history at a veterinary clinic were associated with high compassion satisfaction. High dysfunctional coping, low nonjudgmental and acting-with-awareness mindfulness, and lack of previous employment at a veterinary clinic were associated with high burnout. High dysfunctional coping, low acting-with-awareness mindfulness, high self-stigma, and high personal distress were associated with high secondary traumatic stress. As a result of these findings, certain emotional characteristics can be identified as targets for intervention to minimize the frequency and potentially negative impact of compassion fatigue and burnout in veterinary students.
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Dalkıran M, Gultekin G, Yuksek E, Varsak N, Gul H, Kıncır Z, Tasdemir A, Emul M. Facial emotion recognition in psychiatrists and influences of their therapeutic identification on that ability. Compr Psychiatry 2016; 69:30-5. [PMID: 27423342 DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2016.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2015] [Revised: 03/20/2016] [Accepted: 04/06/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Although emotional cues like facial emotion expressions seem to be important in social interaction, there is no specific training about emotional cues for psychiatrists. Here, we aimed to investigate psychiatrists' ability of facial emotion recognition and relation with their clinical identification as psychotherapy-psychopharmacology oriented or being adult and childhood-adolescent psychiatrist. METHODS Facial Emotion Recognition Test was performed to 130 psychiatrists that were constructed by a set of photographs (happy, sad, fearful, angry, surprised, disgusted and neutral faces) from Ekman and Friesen's. RESULTS Psychotherapy oriented adult psychiatrists were significantly better in recognizing sad facial emotion (p=.003) than psychopharmacologists while no significant differences were detected according to therapeutic orientation among child-adolescent psychiatrists (for each, p>.05). Adult psychiatrists were significantly better in recognizing fearful (p=.012) and disgusted (p=.003) facial emotions than child-adolescent psychiatrists while the latter were better in recognizing angry facial emotion (p=.008). CONCLUSION For the first time, we have shown some differences on psychiatrists' facial emotion recognition ability according to therapeutic identification and being adult or child-adolescent psychiatrist. It would be valuable to investigate how these differences or training the ability of facial emotion recognition would affect the quality of patient-clinician interaction and treatment related outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihriban Dalkıran
- Department of Psychiatry, Sisli Etfal Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gozde Gultekin
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical School of Cerrahpasa, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
| | - Erhan Yuksek
- Clinic of Psychiatry, Viransehir State Hospital, Sanlıurfa, Turkey
| | - Nalan Varsak
- Department of Psychiatry, Konya Education and Research Hospital, Konya, Turkey
| | - Hesna Gul
- Clinic of Psychiatry, Kahramanmaras State Hospital, Kahramanmaras, Turkey
| | - Zeliha Kıncır
- Department of Psychiatry, Bakırkoy Mental Health and Neurological Diseases Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Akif Tasdemir
- Department of Psychiatry, Bakırkoy Mental Health and Neurological Diseases Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Murat Emul
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical School of Cerrahpasa, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
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Simons LE, Goubert L, Vervoort T, Borsook D. Circles of engagement: Childhood pain and parent brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 68:537-546. [PMID: 27320958 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2016] [Revised: 05/17/2016] [Accepted: 06/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Social interaction can have a profound effect on individual behavior, perhaps most salient in interactions between sick suffering children and their parents. Chronic pain is a difficult condition that can produce considerable changes in children's behaviors that can secondarily have profound effects on their parents. It may create a functionally disabling negative feedback loop. Research supports the notion of alterations in the brain of individuals who observe and empathize with loved ones in acute pain. However, neural activity in relation to empathic responses in the context of chronic pain has not been examined. Ongoing suffering with chronic pain in a child can result in child's brain circuit alterations. Moreover, prolonged suffering jointly experienced by the parent may putatively produce maladaptive changes in their neural networks and consequently in parental behaviors. Here we put forth the conceptual framework for 'Chronic pain contagion' (CPC). We review the underlying processes in CPC and discuss implications for devising and implementing treatments for children in chronic pain and their parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura E Simons
- Center for Pain and the Brain, Boston Childrens Hospital (BCH), Boston, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
| | - Liesbet Goubert
- Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Tine Vervoort
- Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - David Borsook
- Center for Pain and the Brain, Boston Childrens Hospital (BCH), Boston, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
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