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Ioumpa K, Gallo S, Keysers C, Gazzola V. Neural mechanisms of costly helping in the general population and mirror-pain synesthetes. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11617. [PMID: 38773183 PMCID: PMC11109206 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62422-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
It has been argued that experiencing the pain of others motivates helping. Here, we investigate the contribution of somatic feelings while witnessing the pain of others onto costly helping decisions, by contrasting the choices and brain activity of participants that report feeling somatic feelings (self-reported mirror-pain synesthetes) against those that do not. Participants in fMRI witnessed a confederate receiving pain stimulations whose intensity they could reduce by donating money. The pain intensity could be inferred either from the facial expressions of the confederate in pain (Face condition) or from the kinematics of the pain-receiving hand (Hand condition). Our results show that self-reported mirror-pain synesthetes increase their donation more steeply, as the intensity of the observed pain increases, and their somatosensory brain activity (SII and the adjacent IPL) was more tightly associated with donation in the Hand condition. For all participants, activation in insula, SII, TPJ, pSTS, amygdala and MCC correlated with the trial by trial donation made in the Face condition, while SI and MTG activation was correlated with the donation in the Hand condition. These results further inform us about the role of somatic feelings while witnessing the pain of others in situations of costly helping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kalliopi Ioumpa
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Selene Gallo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Christian Keysers
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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2
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Wang H, Wu X, Xu J, Zhu R, Zhang S, Xu Z, Mai X, Qin S, Liu C. Acute stress during witnessing injustice shifts third-party interventions from punishing the perpetrator to helping the victim. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002195. [PMID: 38754078 PMCID: PMC11098560 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
People tend to intervene in others' injustices by either punishing the transgressor or helping the victim. Injustice events often occur under stressful circumstances. However, how acute stress affects a third party's intervention in injustice events remains open. Here, we show a stress-induced shift in third parties' willingness to engage in help instead of punishment by acting on emotional salience and central-executive and theory-of-mind networks. Acute stress decreased the third party's willingness to punish the violator and the severity of the punishment and increased their willingness to help the victim. Computational modeling revealed a shift in preference of justice recovery from punishment the offender toward help the victim under stress. This finding is consistent with the increased dorsolateral prefrontal engagement observed with higher amygdala activity and greater connectivity with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in the stress group. A brain connectivity theory-of-mind network predicted stress-induced justice recovery in punishment. Our findings suggest a neurocomputational mechanism of how acute stress reshapes third parties' decisions by reallocating neural resources in emotional, executive, and mentalizing networks to inhibit punishment bias and decrease punishment severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huagen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jiahua Xu
- Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Peking University Huilonguan Clinical Medical School, Beijing, China
| | - Ruida Zhu
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Sihui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenhua Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoqin Mai
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
| | - Shaozheng Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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3
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Carriedo N, Rodríguez-Villagra OA, Moguilner S, Morales-Sepulveda JP, Huepe-Artigas D, Soto V, Franco-O’Byrne D, Ibáñez A, Bekinschtein TA, Huepe D. Cognitive, emotional, and social factors promoting psychosocial adaptation: a study of latent profiles in people living in socially vulnerable contexts. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1321242. [PMID: 38680276 PMCID: PMC11050042 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1321242] [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: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Social adaptation is a multifaceted process that encompasses cognitive, social, and affective factors. Previous research often focused on isolated variables, overlooking their interactions, especially in challenging environments. Our study addresses this by investigating how cognitive (working memory, verbal intelligence, self-regulation), social (affective empathy, family networks, loneliness), and psychological (locus of control, self-esteem, perceived stress) factors interact to influence social adaptation. Methods We analyzed data from 254 adults (55% female) aged 18 to 46 in economically vulnerable households in Santiago, Chile. We used Latent profile analysis (LPA) and machine learning to uncover distinct patters of socioadaptive features and identify the most discriminating features. Results LPA showed two distinct psychosocial adaptation profiles: one characterized by effective psychosocial adaptation and another by poor psychosocial adaptation. The adaptive profile featured individuals with strong emotional, cognitive, and behavioral self-regulation, an internal locus of control, high self-esteem, lower stress levels, reduced affective empathy, robust family support, and decreased loneliness. Conversely, the poorly adapted profile exhibited the opposite traits. Machine learning pinpointed six key differentiating factors in various adaptation pathways within the same vulnerable context: high self-esteem, cognitive and behavioral self-regulation, low stress levels, higher education, and increased social support. Discussion This research carries significant policy implications, highlighting the need to reinforce protective factors and psychological resources, such as self-esteem, self-regulation, and education, to foster effective adaptation in adversity. Additionally, we identified critical risk factors impacting social adaptation in vulnerable populations, advancing our understanding of this intricate phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nuria Carriedo
- Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, National Distance Education University (UNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - Odir A. Rodríguez-Villagra
- Institute for Psychological Research, University of Costa Rica, Sabanilla, San José, Costa Rica
- Neuroscience Research Center, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Sebastián Moguilner
- Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Latin American Brain Health, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Juan Pablo Morales-Sepulveda
- University of Sydney Business School, Darlington, NSW, Australia
- Facultad de Educación Psicología y Familia, Universidad Finis Terrae, Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniela Huepe-Artigas
- Facultad de Educación Psicología y Familia, Universidad Finis Terrae, Santiago, Chile
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Vicente Soto
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniel Franco-O’Byrne
- Latin American Brain Health, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Latin American Brain Health, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Tristan A. Bekinschtein
- Cambridge Consciousness and Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - David Huepe
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
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Forbes PAG, Aydogan G, Braunstein J, Todorova B, Wagner IC, Lockwood PL, Apps MAJ, Ruff CC, Lamm C. Acute stress reduces effortful prosocial behaviour. eLife 2024; 12:RP87271. [PMID: 38180785 PMCID: PMC10942768 DOI: 10.7554/elife.87271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Acute stress can change our cognition and emotions, but what specific consequences this has for human prosocial behaviour is unclear. Previous studies have mainly investigated prosociality with financial transfers in economic games and produced conflicting results. Yet a core feature of many types of prosocial behaviour is that they are effortful. We therefore examined how acute stress changes our willingness to exert effort that benefits others. Healthy male participants - half of whom were put under acute stress - made decisions whether to exert physical effort to gain money for themselves or another person. With this design, we could independently assess the effects of acute stress on prosocial, compared to self-benefitting, effortful behaviour. Compared to controls (n = 45), participants in the stress group (n = 46) chose to exert effort more often for self- than for other-benefitting rewards at a low level of effort. Additionally, the adverse effects of stress on prosocial effort were particularly pronounced in more selfish participants. Neuroimaging combined with computational modelling revealed a putative neural mechanism underlying these effects: more stressed participants showed increased activation to subjective value in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula when they themselves could benefit from their exerted effort relative to when someone else could. By using an effort-based task that better approximates real-life prosocial behaviour and incorporating trait differences in prosocial tendencies, our study provides important insights into how acute stress affects prosociality and its associated neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul AG Forbes
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Gökhan Aydogan
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Julia Braunstein
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Boryana Todorova
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Isabella C Wagner
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Patricia L Lockwood
- Centre for Human Brain Health, Institute of Mental Health and School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
- Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Matthew AJ Apps
- Centre for Human Brain Health, Institute of Mental Health and School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
- Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Christian C Ruff
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Claus Lamm
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
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5
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Corradi‐Dell'Acqua C, Hofstetter C, Sharvit G, Hugli O, Vuilleumier P. Healthcare experience affects pain-specific responses to others' suffering in the anterior insula. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:5655-5671. [PMID: 37608624 PMCID: PMC10619377 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Medical students and professional healthcare providers often underestimate patients' pain, together with decreased neural responses to pain information in the anterior insula (AI), a brain region implicated in self-pain processing and negative affect. However, the functional significance and specificity of these neural changes remains debated. Across two experiments, we recruited university medical students and emergency nurses to test the role of healthcare experience on the brain reactivity to other's pain, emotions, and beliefs, using both pictorial and verbal cues. Brain responses to self-pain was also assessed and compared with those to observed pain. Our results confirmed that healthcare experience decreased the activity in AI in response to others' suffering. This effect was independent from stimulus modality (pictures or texts), but specific for pain, as it did not generalize to inferences about other mental or affective states. Furthermore, representational similarity and multivariate pattern analysis revealed that healthcare experience impacted specifically a component of the neural representation of others' pain that is shared with that of first-hand nociception, and related more to AI than to other pain-responsive regions. Taken together, our study suggests a decreased propensity to appraise others' suffering as one's own, associated with a reduced recruitment of pain-specific information in AI. These findings provide new insights into neural mechanisms leading to pain underestimation by caregivers in clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corrado Corradi‐Dell'Acqua
- Theory of Pain Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE)University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Geneva Neuroscience CenterUniversity of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Christoph Hofstetter
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Gil Sharvit
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Balgrist University Hospital and University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Olivier Hugli
- Emergency Department, University Hospital of Lausanne (UHL)LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Geneva Neuroscience CenterUniversity of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
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6
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Lengersdorff LL, Wagner IC, Mittmann G, Sastre-Yagüe D, Lüttig A, Olsson A, Petrovic P, Lamm C. Neuroimaging and behavioral evidence that violent video games exert no negative effect on human empathy for pain and emotional reactivity to violence. eLife 2023; 12:e84951. [PMID: 37975654 PMCID: PMC10791126 DOI: 10.7554/elife.84951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Influential accounts claim that violent video games (VVGs) decrease players' emotional empathy by desensitizing them to both virtual and real-life violence. However, scientific evidence for this claim is inconclusive and controversially debated. To assess the causal effect of VVGs on the behavioral and neural correlates of empathy and emotional reactivity to violence, we conducted a prospective experimental study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We recruited 89 male participants without prior VVG experience. Over the course of two weeks, participants played either a highly violent video game or a non-violent version of the same game. Before and after this period, participants completed an fMRI experiment with paradigms measuring their empathy for pain and emotional reactivity to violent images. Applying a Bayesian analysis approach throughout enabled us to find substantial evidence for the absence of an effect of VVGs on the behavioral and neural correlates of empathy. Moreover, participants in the VVG group were not desensitized to images of real-world violence. These results imply that short and controlled exposure to VVGs does not numb empathy nor the responses to real-world violence. We discuss the implications of our findings regarding the potential and limitations of experimental research on the causal effects of VVGs. While VVGs might not have a discernible effect on the investigated subpopulation within our carefully controlled experimental setting, our results cannot preclude that effects could be found in settings with higher ecological validity, in vulnerable subpopulations, or after more extensive VVG play.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Leopold Lengersdorff
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Isabella C Wagner
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Gloria Mittmann
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - David Sastre-Yagüe
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Andre Lüttig
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Andreas Olsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska InstituteStockholmSweden
| | - Pedrag Petrovic
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska InstituteStockholmSweden
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
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7
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Flasbeck V, Matthiessen A, Alabowitz A, Rusu AC, Brüne M. Is your pain my pain? A study exploring the relation between pain sensitivity, pain thresholds and empathy for somatic and psychological pain. BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 62:748-761. [PMID: 37605326 DOI: 10.1111/bjc.12436] [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: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Research has shown that empathy for both somatic and psychological pain recruits affective components of the so-called pain matrix, a set of brain regions that is activated during the perception of somatic pain. In addition, the subjective evaluation of experimentally induced somatic pain is related to empathy for somatic pain. In contrast, it is unclear whether or not the subjective sensitivity to somatic pain impacts on empathy for psychological pain. METHODS In the present study, 55 healthy participants conducted a pain-pressure-test (PPT) and a cold-pressor test (CPT) in order to assess pain thresholds, pain tolerance and evaluation of pain during the task. They further conducted the social interaction empathy task (SIET), which investigates empathy for somatic as well as psychological pain. All participants completed the interpersonal-reactivity index (IRI) and the pain-sensitivity questionnaire (PSQ). RESULTS Participants who are in general more sensitive to somatic pain, as indicated by high-PSQ scores, showed higher empathy, that is, higher pain ratings, for both somatic and psychological painful situations observed in others as compared to those with low-PSQ scores. High-PSQ scores and high pain and unpleasantness ratings during the CPT were correlated with empathy for pain (both pain conditions), whereas pain thresholds (PPT) and pain tolerance thresholds (CPT) did not correlate with empathy. The IRI subscore 'personal distress' correlated with psychological pain ratings. CONCLUSIONS Thus, empathy for both somatic and psychological pain were related to the subjective evaluation of somatic pain and general pain sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Flasbeck
- Division of Social Neuropsychiatry and Evolutionary Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, LWL University Hospital Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Annegret Matthiessen
- Division of Social Neuropsychiatry and Evolutionary Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, LWL University Hospital Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Anne Alabowitz
- Division of Social Neuropsychiatry and Evolutionary Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, LWL University Hospital Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Adina Carmen Rusu
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Martin Brüne
- Division of Social Neuropsychiatry and Evolutionary Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, LWL University Hospital Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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8
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Shalev I, Eran A, Uzefovsky F. Fluctuations and individual differences in empathy interact with stress to predict mental health, parenting, and relationship outcomes. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1237278. [PMID: 37928564 PMCID: PMC10621795 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1237278] [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: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Empathy is a complex, multifaceted ability allowing for the most basic forms of social communication and plays a prominent role in multiple aspects of everyday lives. In this intensive longitudinal study, we assessed how empathy interacts with stress to predict central domains of psychosocial functioning: mental health, romantic relationships, and parenting. Methods Fluctuations and individual differences in empathy were assessed across eight time points, where participants from the general population (N = 566) self-reported their empathy, stress, depressive symptoms, romantic satisfaction, and parental functioning. Results Both trait and state aspects of empathy were associated with all psychosocial outcomes, with state empathy showing a stronger effect. Additionally, empathy components interacted with stress-emotional empathy better-predicted outcomes under high stress, while cognitive empathy under low stress. Discussion Our findings advance the theoretical understanding of empathy, emphasizing the effects of state-dependent empathy fluctuations on our everyday mental and social lives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ido Shalev
- Department of Psychology, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Alal Eran
- Computational Health Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
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9
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Altino VS, Rezende DCB, Nogueira SSC, Aldrigui LG, Roldan M, Duarte JMB, Fureix C, Mendl M, Nogueira-Filho SLG. Validation of complementary non-invasive tools for stress assessment in spotted paca ( Cuniculus paca). Anim Welf 2023; 32:e54. [PMID: 38487411 PMCID: PMC10936349 DOI: 10.1017/awf.2023.49] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
Monitoring the concentration of glucocorticoid metabolites (GCMs) in faecal samples is a non-invasive tool for physiological stress evaluation, particularly useful when studying wild species. However, both negative and positive stimuli (distress and eustress, respectively) can lead to a rise in glucocorticoids. Thus, besides validating whether GCM concentration in faeces reflects endogenous adrenal activity, we also need to identify behavioural indicators of distress to avoid misinterpretation. Therefore, we submitted four adult male spotted pacas (Cuniculus paca) to an exogenous adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge-test in a Latin square design (4 × 4) to monitor changes in the GCM concentration in faeces. We also aimed to describe behaviours potentially indicative of distress. We collected excreted faeces and video-recorded the animals' behaviours for five consecutive days, one day before and four days after application of the following four treatments: 1st control (no-handling); 2nd control (intra-muscular [IM] injection of saline solution); low-dose ACTH (IM injection of 0.18 ml ACTH); and high-dose ACTH (IM injection of 0.37 ml ACTH). There was a peak in the concentration of GCM in faeces collected 24 h after the injection of the high-dose ACTH treatment. Additionally, independent of the treatments, spotted pacas spent less time on exploration and feeding states, while spending more time in the inactive but awake (IBA) state following the treatment application (challenge day). The use of GCM concentration in faecal samples together with the behavioural changes (less exploration and feeding, and more IBA) showed to be efficient as a non-invasive tool for welfare assessment of farmed spotted paca.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa S Altino
- Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz Rod. Jorge Amado, km 16, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil, 45662-900
| | - Darília CB Rezende
- Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz Rod. Jorge Amado, km 16, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil, 45662-900
| | - Selene SC Nogueira
- Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz Rod. Jorge Amado, km 16, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil, 45662-900
| | - Letícia G Aldrigui
- Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz Rod. Jorge Amado, km 16, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil, 45662-900
| | - Mar Roldan
- Núcleo de Pesquisa e Conservação de Cervídeos, Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade Estadual Paulista (FCAV-UNESP), Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - José MB Duarte
- Núcleo de Pesquisa e Conservação de Cervídeos, Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade Estadual Paulista (FCAV-UNESP), Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carole Fureix
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford, UK
| | - Michael Mendl
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford, UK
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10
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Impact of social exclusion on empathy in women with borderline personality disorder. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2023:10.1007/s00406-022-01535-0. [PMID: 36604330 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-022-01535-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Unstable interpersonal relationships and fear of abandonment are core symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD) that often intensify during stress. Psychosocial stress, which includes components of social exclusion and increases cortisol secretion, enhances emotional empathy in healthy individuals. Women with BPD, on the contrary, react with reduced emotional empathy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of perceived social exclusion without accompanying cortisol increase on empathy in women with BPD and healthy women. To induce social exclusion, we randomized 98 women with BPD and 98 healthy women to either an exclusion or an overinclusion (control) condition of Cyberball, a virtual ball game. Subsequently, participants underwent the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET), which assesses cognitive and emotional empathy. There was no increase in cortisol release after Cyberball. Cognitive empathy did not differ between groups or conditions. Women with BPD reported lower emotional empathy for positive emotions (group by valence interaction), but not for negative emotions. Exploratory analyses suggested that this effect might be more pronounced after social exclusion. Our results confirm previous findings that cognitive empathy does not differ between women with BPD and healthy women and extend this evidence to social exclusion. Emotional empathy in women with BPD seems to be more sensitive to the effects of stress or ambiguous social situations. Specifically, emotional empathy seems to be reduced for positive emotions, and might further decline after social exclusion. Empathic reactions to emotional stimuli of different valences and to specific emotions should be further investigated.
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Abstract
Abstract. The COVID-19 pandemic with its substantial changes to social life affects social cognitions, which are important for solidarity during a global crisis. We investigated how distal defense strategies for dealing with threat, perceived threat, and contact experiences relate to people’s empathic reactions during lockdowns in two countries. In three studies ( N = 1,332), we found that more experienced threat is associated with higher personal distress. In Germany, but not in the United Kingdom, people who applied social defenses reported more empathic concern. Additionally, general positive contact experiences related positively to empathic concern and perspective taking. These other-directed empathic reactions correlated highly with solidarity with others across all studies. The findings indicate that people’s empathy changes with their social experiences during this global crisis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Hechler
- German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), Nationaler Diskriminierungs- und Rassismusmonitor (NaDiRa) & Cluster Daten - Methoden - Monitoring, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Social Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany
| | - Clarissa Wendel
- Department of Social Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany
| | - Dana Schneider
- Department of Social Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany
- DFG Network “Understanding Others”, Institute of Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany
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12
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Liu C, Xiao X, Pi Q, Tan Q, Zhan Y. Are you more risk-seeking when helping others? Effects of situational urgency and peer presence on prosocial risky behavior. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1036624. [PMID: 36935944 PMCID: PMC10020997 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1036624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Prosocial risky behavior (PRB) proposes that individuals take risks for others' benefits or social welfare, and that this may involve trade-offs between risk and social preferences. However, little is known about the underlying cognitive mechanisms of risk-seeking or aversion during PRB. Methods This study adopted the dilemma-priming paradigm to examine the interaction between the risk levels of personal cost and situational urgency on PRB (Experiment 1, N = 88), and it further uncovered the modulation of the risk levels of failure (Experiment 2, N = 65) and peer presence (Experiment 3, N = 80) when helping others. Results In Experiment 1, the participants involved in risky dilemmas made more altruistic choices for strangers in urgent situations compared to those for strangers in non-urgent situations. However, increasing the risk levels of personal cost decreased the frequencies of help offered to strangers in urgent situations. Experiment 2 further established that, similar to the risk of personal cost, increasing the risk levels of failure when helping others also decreased the frequencies of help offered to strangers in urgent situations. Furthermore, in dilemmas involving a low-risk personal cost, Experiment 3 showed that peer presence encouraged the participants to make more altruistic choices when providing help to strangers in non-urgent situations. Discussion Individuals demonstrate obvious risk-seeking behavior when helping others and that both non-urgent situations and peer presence weaken the effect of increased risk aversion on PRB in a limited manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changlin Liu
- Department of Psychology, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China
| | - Xiao Xiao
- Mental Health Education Center, Hunan First Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Qiao Pi
- Department of Psychology, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China
| | - Qianbao Tan
- Department of Psychology, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China
| | - Youlong Zhan
- Department of Psychology, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China
- *Correspondence: Youlong Zhan, ✉
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13
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Mullins JL, Zhou E, Michalska KJ. How Parental Support Affects Latina Girls During the COVID-19 Pandemic. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1027/1864-9335/a000476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Abstract
Abstract. The current study focuses on a sample of low- to middle-income school-age Latina girls and their parents and examines how children’s distress proneness interacts with parental empathic accuracy and posttraumatic growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to predict children’s empathy and prosocial behavior toward unknown others. Approximately 2–3 months into state-mandated stay-at-home orders, 55 parent–daughter dyads were recruited to participate in this four-session longitudinal study. To assess distress proneness, daughters (ages 8–13 years, 100% Latina) identified their degree of distress in response to pandemic-related stressors. Concurrently, their parents reported how they thought their children would respond to these same pandemic-related stressors, which assessed parental empathic accuracy. Parents also completed an adapted version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, which assessed perceived positive outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon study completion, a behavioral measure of children’s empathic and prosocial behaviors was collected. Parental empathic accuracy interacted with children’s distress proneness to positively predict children’s affective empathy, such that children’s distress proneness predicted affective empathy at high and mean, but not low, levels of parental empathic accuracy. In a separate analysis, parental posttraumatic growth interacted with children’s distress proneness to positively predict children’s altruistic sharing behavior, such that children’s distress proneness predicted altruistic sharing behavior only at high, but not mean or low, levels of parental posttraumatic growth. The results of this study highlight how positive parental socialization and understanding of children’s tendencies toward distress are associated with children’s empathic and prosocial behaviors, particularly during major global crises.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan L. Mullins
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Elayne Zhou
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
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14
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The association between acute stress & empathy: A systematic literature review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 144:105003. [PMID: 36535374 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.105003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Empathy is a fundamental component of our social-emotional experience. Over the last decade, there has been increased interest in understanding the effects of acute stress on empathy. We provide a first comprehensive-and systematic-overview identifying emerging patterns and gaps in this literature. Regarding affective empathy, there is abundant evidence for stress contagion-the 'spillover' of stress from a stressed target to an unstressed perceiver. We highlight contextual factors that can facilitate and/or undermine these effects. Fewer studies have investigated the effects of acute stress on affective empathy, revealing a nuanced picture, some evidence suggests acute stress can block contagion of other's emotions; but again contextual differences need to be considered. Regarding cognitive empathy, most studies find no conclusive effects for simplistic measures of emotion recognition; however, studies using more complex empathy tasks find that acute stress might affect cognitive empathy differentially for men and women. This review provides an important first step towards understanding how acute stress can impact social-togetherness, and aims to aid future research by highlighting (in)congruencies and outstanding questions.
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15
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Vieira JB, Pierzchajlo S, Jangard S, Marsh AA, Olsson A. Acute anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with higher levels of everyday altruism. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18619. [PMID: 36329157 PMCID: PMC9632580 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23415-2] [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: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Prior laboratory research has suggested that humans may become more prosocial in stressful or threatening situations, but it is unknown whether the link between prosociality and defense generalizes to real-life. Here, we examined the association between defensive responses to a real-world threat (the COVID-19 pandemic) and everyday altruism. Four independent samples of 150 (N = 600) US residents were recruited online at 4 different timepoints, and self-report measures of perceived COVID-19 threat, defensive emotions (e.g., stress and anxiety), and everyday altruism were collected. Our operationalization of defensive emotions was inspired by the threat imminence framework, an ecological model of how humans and animals respond to varying levels of threat. We found that perceived COVID-19 threat was associated with higher levels of everyday altruism (assessed by the Self-report Altruism scale). Importantly, there was a robust association between experiencing acute anxiety and high physiological arousal during the pandemic (responses typically characteristic of higher perceived threat imminence), and propensity to engage in everyday altruism. Non-significant or negative associations were found with less acute defensive responses like stress. These findings support a real-life relation between defensive and altruistic motivation in humans, which may be modulated by perceived threat imminence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana B. Vieira
- grid.8391.30000 0004 1936 8024Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK ,grid.4714.60000 0004 1937 0626Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Stephen Pierzchajlo
- grid.10548.380000 0004 1936 9377Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Simon Jangard
- grid.4714.60000 0004 1937 0626Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Abigail A. Marsh
- grid.213910.80000 0001 1955 1644Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC USA
| | - Andreas Olsson
- grid.4714.60000 0004 1937 0626Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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16
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Nitschke JP, Forbes PA, Lamm C. Does stress make us more—or less—prosocial? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of acute stress on prosocial behaviours using economic games. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104905. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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17
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Vieira JB, Olsson A. Neural defensive circuits underlie helping under threat in humans. eLife 2022; 11:78162. [PMID: 36281636 PMCID: PMC9596154 DOI: 10.7554/elife.78162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy for others’ distress has long been considered the driving force of helping. However, when deciding to help others in danger, one must consider not only their distress, but also the risk to oneself. Whereas the role of self-defense in helping has been overlooked in human research, studies in other animals indicate defensive responses are necessary for the protection of conspecifics. In this pre-registered study (N=49), we demonstrate that human defensive neural circuits are implicated in helping others under threat. Participants underwent fMRI scanning while deciding whether to help another participant avoid aversive electrical shocks, at the risk of also being shocked. We found that higher engagement of neural circuits that coordinate fast escape from self-directed danger (including the insula, PAG, and ACC) facilitated decisions to help others. Importantly, using representational similarity analysis, we found that the strength with which the amygdala and insula uniquely represented the threat to oneself (and not the other’s distress) predicted helping. Our findings indicate that in humans, as other mammals, defensive mechanisms play a greater role in helping behavior than previously understood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana B Vieira
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet
| | - Andreas Olsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet
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18
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Li X, Lou W, Zhang W, Tong RKY, Hu L, Peng W. Ongoing first-hand pain facilitates somatosensory resonance but inhibits affective sharing in empathy for pain. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119599. [PMID: 36049698 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119599] [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: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Alterations of empathy for others' pain among patients with chronic pain remained inconsistent. Here, applying a capsaicin-based ongoing pain model on healthy participants, this study investigated how ongoing first-hand pain influences empathic reactions to vicarious pain stimuli. Healthy participants were randomly treated with topical capsaicin cream (capsaicin group) or hand cream (control group) on the left forearm. Video clips showing limbs in painful and non-painful situations were used to induce empathic responses. The capsaicin group showed greater empathic neural responses in the right primary somatosensory cortex (S1) than the control group but smaller responses in the left anterior insula (AI) accompanied with smaller empathic pain-intensity ratings. Notably, the intensity of ongoing pain negatively correlated with empathy-related neural responses in the left AI. Inter-subject phase synchronization analysis was used to assess stimulus-dependent dynamic functional connectivity within or between brain regions engaged in pain empathy. The capsaicin group showed greater empathy-related neural synchronization within S1 and between S1 and AI, but less synchronization within AI and between AI and MCC. Behaviorally, the differential inter-subject pain-intensity rating alignment between painful and non-painful videos was more positive for the capsaicin group than for the control group, and this effect was partially mediated by the inter-subject neural synchronization between S1 and AI. These results suggest that ongoing first-hand pain facilitates neural activation and synchronization within brain regions associated with empathy-related somatosensory resonance at the cost of inhibiting activation and synchronization within brain regions engaged in empathy-related affective sharing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyun Li
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Wutao Lou
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Wenyun Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Raymond Kai-Yu Tong
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Li Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Weiwei Peng
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
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Zhang J, Yin H, Zhang J, Yang G, Qin J, He L. Real-time mental stress detection using multimodality expressions with a deep learning framework. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:947168. [PMID: 35992909 PMCID: PMC9389269 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.947168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mental stress is becoming increasingly widespread and gradually severe in modern society, threatening people’s physical and mental health. To avoid the adverse effects of stress on people, it is imperative to detect stress in time. Many studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of using objective indicators to detect stress. Over the past few years, a growing number of researchers have been trying to use deep learning technology to detect stress. However, these works usually use single-modality for stress detection and rarely combine stress-related information from multimodality. In this paper, a real-time deep learning framework is proposed to fuse ECG, voice, and facial expressions for acute stress detection. The framework extracts the stress-related information of the corresponding input through ResNet50 and I3D with the temporal attention module (TAM), where TAM can highlight the distinguishing temporal representation for facial expressions about stress. The matrix eigenvector-based approach is then used to fuse the multimodality information about stress. To validate the effectiveness of the framework, a well-established psychological experiment, the Montreal imaging stress task (MIST), was applied in this work. We collected multimodality data from 20 participants during MIST. The results demonstrate that the framework can combine stress-related information from multimodality to achieve 85.1% accuracy in distinguishing acute stress. It can serve as a tool for computer-aided stress detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Zhang
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Hang Yin
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jiayu Zhang
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Gang Yang
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jing Qin
- Centre for Smart Health, School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Ling He
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- *Correspondence: Ling He,
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20
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Sung YW, Kiyama S, Choi US, Ogawa S. Involvement of the intrinsic functional network of the red nucleus in complex behavioral processing. Cereb Cortex Commun 2022; 3:tgac037. [PMID: 36159204 PMCID: PMC9491841 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgac037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Previous studies suggested the possibility that the red nucleus (RN) is involved in other cognitive functions than motion per se, even though such functions have yet to be clarified. We investigated the activation of RN during several tasks and its intrinsic functional network associated with social cognition and musical practice. The tasks included finger tapping, n-back, and memory recall tasks. Region of interest for RN was identified through those tasks, anatomical information of RN, and a brain atlas. The intrinsic functional network was identified for RN by an analysis of connectivity between RN and other regions typically involved in seven known resting state functional networks with RN used as the seed region. Association of the RN network with a psychological trait of the interpersonal reactivity index and musical training years revealed subnetworks that included empathy related regions or music practice related regions. These social or highly coordinated motor activity represent the most complex functions ever known to involve the RN, adding further evidence for the multifunctional roles of RN. These discoveries may lead to a new direction of investigations to clarify probable novel roles for RN in high-level human behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yul-Wan Sung
- Kansei Fukushi Research Institute, Tohoku Fukushi University , Sendai, Miyagi 9893201 , Japan
| | - Sachiko Kiyama
- Department of Linguistics, Tohoku University , Sendai, Miyagi 9800862 , Japan
| | - Uk-Su Choi
- Medical Device Development Center, Daegu-Gyeongbuk Medical Innovation Foundation , Daegu 41061 , Republic of Korea
| | - Seiji Ogawa
- Kansei Fukushi Research Institute, Tohoku Fukushi University , Sendai, Miyagi 9893201 , Japan
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21
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Yoder KJ, Harenski CL, Kiehl KA, Decety J. Psychopathic traits modulate functional connectivity during pain perception and perspective-taking in female inmates. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 34:102984. [PMID: 35276604 PMCID: PMC8907686 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.102984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
PCL-R scores are associated with altered functional connectivity in female inmates. PCL-R Factor 1 and Factor 2 subscores predicted opposite shifts in connectivity. Functional connectivity in the salience network is altered during pain perception. Connectivity in the social cognition network is altered during perspective-taking.
The ability to share and understand the distress of others is critical for successful social interactions and is a fundamental building block of morality. Psychopathy is a personality disorder that includes lack of empathy and concern for others. In the present study, functional MRI was used to examine neural responses and functional connectivity associated with empathy and affective perspective-taking in female inmates (N = 109) with various levels of psychopathic traits, as measured with Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). Participants viewed hands and feet in painful or non-painful situations while adopting a first person or third person perspective. All participants demonstrated robust neural responses in anterior insula (aINS), anterior cingulate (ACC), temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and supplementary motor area (SMA) when viewing pain, both during imagine-self and imagine-other blocks. Psychopathy shifted the functional connectivity seeded in core nodes of the salience and social cognition networks. Perceiving stimuli depicting somatic pain led to decreased functional coupling from right temporoparietal junction to superior temporal sulcus, which correlated with scores on PCL-R Factor 1 (Affective/Interpersonal). In contrast, connectivity from right insula to precuneus increased with Factor 2 (Lifestyle/Antisocial) scores. When adopting a third-person perspective, psychopathic traits modulated connectivity from the social cognition network, but not the salience network, with Factor 1 scores associated with increased connectivity to sensorimotor cortex and temporal pole, while Factor 2 scores were associated with decreased connectivity with ACC/SMA and inferior frontal gyrus. Overall, these results demonstrate that psychopathic traits in incarcerated females are associated with atypical functional connectivity within the salience network during pain-empathy processing and within the social cognition network during affective perspective-taking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith J Yoder
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.
| | - Carla L Harenski
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical, Albuquerque, NM, United States; Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Kent A Kiehl
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical, Albuquerque, NM, United States; Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
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22
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Duque A, Cano-López I, Puig-Pérez S. Effects of psychological stress and cortisol on decision making and modulating factors: a systematic review. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 56:3889-3920. [PMID: 35589606 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Evidence suggests that psychological stress has effects on decision making, but the results are inconsistent, and the influence of cortisol and other modulating factors remains unclear. Based on the PRISMA criteria, 18 studies carried out between 2015 and 2020 that examined the effects of psychological stress on decision making and measured cortisol levels were selected. Eight studies employed uncertainty-based economic tasks, five studies used decision-making tasks in hypothetical situations that can be encountered in real life or in a specific setting, and five studies employed prosocial decision tasks. Seventeen studies assessed acute stress, and two assessed chronic stress; eight evaluated the influence of sex. Most of the studies that explored the association between stress and decision making using uncertainty-based economic tasks found statistically significant differences as a function of stress exposure and the cortisol response to stress, whereas most of the studies that employed non-economic decision-making tasks in hypothetical situations did not find statistically significant differences. When prosocial decision making was evaluated, more altruistic decisions were found after acute stress, and these decisions were positively associated with cortisol. Half of the studies that assessed the role of sex observed a greater impact on decision making after stress in women. Results suggest that it is important to consider modulating factors - the type of decision-making task, the cortisol response to stress, the characteristics of the psychological stressor, or the subject's sex - when trying to understand psychosocial stress phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aránzazu Duque
- Research Group in Psychology and Quality of Life (PsiCal), Valencian International University, Valencia, Spain
| | - Irene Cano-López
- Research Group in Psychology and Quality of Life (PsiCal), Valencian International University, Valencia, Spain
| | - Sara Puig-Pérez
- Research Group in Psychology and Quality of Life (PsiCal), Valencian International University, Valencia, Spain
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Schulreich S, Tusche A, Kanske P, Schwabe L. Altruism under Stress: Cortisol Negatively Predicts Charitable Giving and Neural Value Representations Depending on Mentalizing Capacity. J Neurosci 2022; 42:3445-3460. [PMID: 35288436 PMCID: PMC9034777 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1870-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Altruism, defined as costly other-regarding behavior, varies considerably across people and contexts. One prominent context in which people frequently must decide on how to socially act is under stress. How does stress affect altruistic decision-making and through which neurocognitive mechanisms? To address these questions, we assessed neural activity associated with charitable giving under stress. Human participants (males and females) completed a charitable donation task before and after they underwent either a psychosocial stressor or a control manipulation, while their brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging. As the ability to infer other people's mental states (i.e., mentalizing) predicts prosocial giving and may be susceptible to stress, we examined whether stress effects on altruism depend on participants' general capacity to mentalize, as assessed in an independent task. Although our stress manipulation per se had no influence on charitable giving, increases in the stress hormone cortisol were associated with reductions in donations in participants with high mentalizing capacity, but not in low mentalizers. Multivariate neural response patterns in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) were less predictive of postmanipulation donations in high mentalizers with increased cortisol, indicating decreased value coding, and this effect mediated the (moderated) association between cortisol increases and reduced donations. Our findings provide novel insights into the modulation of altruistic decision-making by suggesting an impact of the stress hormone cortisol on mentalizing-related neurocognitive processes, which in turn results in decreased altruism. The DLPFC appears to play a key role in mediating this cortisol-related shift in altruism.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Altruism is a fundamental building block of our society. Emerging evidence indicates a major role of acute stress and stress-related neuromodulators in social behavior and decision-making. How and through which mechanisms stress may impact altruism remains elusive. We observed that the stress hormone cortisol was linked to diminished altruistic behavior. This effect was mediated by reduced value representations in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and critically depended on the individual capacity to infer mental states of others. Our findings provide novel insights into the modulation of human altruism linked to stress-hormone dynamics and into the involved sociocognitive and neural mechanisms, with important implications for future developments of more targeted interventions for stress-related decrements in social behavior and social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Schulreich
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science, Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Anita Tusche
- Queen's Neuroeconomics Laboratory, Departments of Psychology and Economics, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
| | - Philipp Kanske
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01187 Dresden, Germany
| | - Lars Schwabe
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science, Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
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Ren X, Zhao X, Li J, Liu Y, Ren Y, Pruessner JC, Yang J. The Hippocampal-Ventral Medial Prefrontal Cortex Neurocircuitry Involvement in the Association of Daily Life Stress With Acute Perceived Stress and Cortisol Responses. Psychosom Med 2022; 84:276-287. [PMID: 35149637 DOI: 10.1097/psy.0000000000001058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Daily life stressors include everyday irritants, hassles, and inconveniences, such as problems in traffic and unexpected work deadlines. A growing body of research has suggested higher daily stress is associated with blunted cortisol response to acute psychosocial stressors. However, so far, the neural mechanism underlying this association has not been elucidated. The current study aimed to examine the role of stress neurocircuitry between the hippocampus and the ventral medial prefrontal cortex in this relationship. METHODS To this end, as an index of daily stress in 44 young healthy individuals (23 females; mean [standard deviation] age = 19.07 [1.11] years), the total stressful rating score of daily life stress events that occurred in a 24-hour period was quantified. Individuals were then administered a modified version of the Montreal Imaging Stress Task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging scans, and their saliva samples were collected for assessment of the stress hormone cortisol. RESULTS Results revealed that a higher level of daily stress was associated with lower salivary cortisol secretion (r = -0.39, p = .008) and lower activation of the left hippocampus (tpeak = -5.51) in response to the Montreal Imaging Stress Task. Furthermore, a higher level of daily stress was associated with stronger functional connectivity between the left hippocampus and the ventral medial prefrontal cortex/subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (tpeak = 4.91, R2= 0.365). CONCLUSIONS Taken together, the current study suggested a possible neurocircuitry of the hippocampus and ventral medial prefrontal cortex in the relationship between daily life stress and acute psychosocial stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Ren
- From the Faculty of Psychology (X. Ren, Zhao, Li, liu, Y. Ren, Yang), Southwest University, Chongqing, China; and Department of Psychology (Pruessner), University of Constance, Constance, Germany
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25
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Hovnanyan A, Mastromatteo LY, Rubaltelli E, Scrimin S. Stress and Emotional Intelligence Shape Giving Behavior: Are There Different Effects of Social, Cognitive, and Emotional Stress? Front Psychol 2022; 13:800742. [PMID: 35282189 PMCID: PMC8907929 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.800742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute stress has been linked with prosocial behavior, yet it is entirely unexplored how different types of stressors may affect individuals’ willingness to help: This is particularly relevant while people is experiencing multiple sources of stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we explore whether different types of stress influence peoples’ giving behavior and the moderating role of emotional intelligence (EI). Undergraduate students were exposed to experimentally induced social, cognitive, or emotional stress and were asked to self-report on their willingness to help and donate to a charity raising funds for COVID-19 and flu patients. Results showed that when compared to a control condition, after being exposed to a social stress, participants were more willing to help a person in need. Our results also provide evidence that, after experiencing a social stress, participants with high (vs low) trait EI were more willing to help, and, as a result, donated more. Findings indicate that moderate levels of distress are associated with increased donations. Interestingly, when stress is not too threatening, high EI can regulate it and promote prosocial behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ani Hovnanyan
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | | | - Enrico Rubaltelli
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Sara Scrimin
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
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Loued-Khenissi L, Martin-Brevet S, Schumacher L, Corradi-Dell'Acqua C. The Effect of Uncertainty on Pain Decisions for Self and Others. Eur J Pain 2022; 26:1163-1175. [PMID: 35290697 PMCID: PMC9322544 DOI: 10.1002/ejp.1940] [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] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Background Estimating others’ pain is a challenging inferential process, associated with a high degree of uncertainty. While much is known about uncertainty’s effect on self‐regarding actions, its impact on other‐regarding decisions for pain have yet to be characterized. Aim The present study exploited models of probabilistic decision‐making to investigate how uncertainty influences the valuation and assessment of another’s pain. Materials & Methods We engaged 63 dyads (43 strangers and 20 romantic couples) in a task where individual choices affected the pain delivered to either oneself (the agent) or the other member of the dyad. At each trial, agents were presented with cues predicting a given pain intensity with an associated probability of occurrence. Agents either chose a sure (mild decrease of pain) or risky (50% chance of avoiding pain altogether) management option, before bidding on their choice. A heat stimulation was then issued to the target (self or other). Decision‐makers were then asked to rate the pain administered to the target. Results We found that the higher the expected pain, the more risk‐averse agents became, in line with findings in value‐based decision‐making. Furthermore, agents gambled less on another individual’s pain (especially strangers) and placed higher bids on pain relief than they did for themselves. Most critically, the uncertainty associated with expected pain dampened ratings made for strangers’ pain. This contrasted with the effect on an agent’s own pain, for which risk had a marginal hyperalgesic effect. Discussion & Conclusion Overall, our results suggested that risk selectively affects decision‐making on a stranger’s suffering, both at the level of assessment and treatment selection, by (1) leading to underestimation, (2) privileging sure options and (3) altruistically allocating more money to insure the treatment’s success. Significance Uncertainty biases decision‐making but it is unclear if it affects choice behavior on pain for others. In examining this question, we found individuals were generally risk‐seeking when faced with looming pain, but more so for self; and assigned higher monetary values and subjective ratings on another’s pain. However, uncertainty dampened agents’ assessment of a stranger’s pain, suggesting latent variables may contradict overt altruism. This bias may underlie pain underestimation in clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leyla Loued-Khenissi
- Theory of Pain Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE), University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Luis Schumacher
- Theory of Pain Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE), University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Corrado Corradi-Dell'Acqua
- Theory of Pain Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE), University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Geneva Neuroscience Center, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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27
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Zhao H, Li Y, Wang X, Kan Y, Xu S, Duan H. Inter-Brain Neural Mechanism Underlying Turn-Based Interaction Under Acute Stress in Women: A Hyperscanning Study Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2022; 17:850-863. [PMID: 35079834 PMCID: PMC9433846 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
With the ever-changing social environment, stress has exerted a substantial influence on social interaction. The present study examined the underlying cognitive and neural mechanism on how acute stress affected the real-time cooperative and competitive interaction with four hypothesized path models. We used the hyperscanning technique based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device to examine brain-to-brain coherence within the dyads engaging Pattern Game under acute stress manipulated through Trier Social Stress Test for Groups. Behavioral results showed stressed dyads exhibited better cooperative performance and higher self-other overlap level during the cooperative session than dyads in the control group. The fNIRS results identified higher interpersonal brain synchronization in the right temporal-parietal junction (r-TPJ) stronger Granger causality from partner-to-builder during the cooperative session in the stress group when compared with the control group. Our results corroborated better performance in the cooperative context and further identified that brain-to-brain coherence in r-TPJ and self-other overlap serially mediated the effect of acute stress on cooperative performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanxuan Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research & Key Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, School of Business and Management, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 200083, China
| | - Yadan Li
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China
| | - Xuewei Wang
- Centre for Mental Health Education, Xidian University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Yuecui Kan
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China
| | - Sihua Xu
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research & Key Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, School of Business and Management, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 200083, China
| | - Haijun Duan
- Correspondence should be addressed to Haijun Duan, Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Yanta Campus, Shaanxi Normal University, 199 South Chang’ an Road, Xi’an 710062, China. E-mail:
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28
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Hensel L, Rohleder N, Niessen C. Effects of psychosocial stress on prosociality: the moderating role of current life stress and thought control. Stress 2022; 25:235-245. [PMID: 35713555 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2022.2054697] [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] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
To date, only a few studies have examined whether and when stressed individuals are still prosocially motivated and willing to help others, which is in contrast to the relevance and importance that helping others has for our society. The present study investigates the impact of affective and biopsychological acute stress responses on prosociality (prosocial motivation, helping behavior) under controlled laboratory conditions. In addition, it was examined whether this relationship is affected by individuals' current life stress and the cognitive ability to keep stress-related thoughts at bay. To induce acute stress responses (heart rate, negative affect, salivary alpha-amylase, cortisol), 55 individuals (28 women, M = 24 years old, SD = 4.53) were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Current life stress (cortisol) was assessed over two days of participants' everyday lives. Thought control ability was assessed with the think/no-think paradigm and was additionally manipulated after the acute stress intervention (TSST) via instructions. The results showed that acute stress was positively associated with prosociality. Specifically, negative affect was positively related to prosocial motivation and salivary alpha-amylase was positively associated with helping behavior. Current life stress moderated the relationship between salivary cortisol and helping behavior: the association was positive at low levels of current life stress. The instruction to control one's thoughts but not participants' general ability to do so reduced stress responses (negative affect). In sum, the findings suggest that prosociality increases following acute stress and that this effect depends on the level of current life stress. Additionally, adopting the strategy of controlling stress-related thoughts was found to be promising for attenuating individuals' stress responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Hensel
- Department of Psychology, Chair of Work and Organizational Psychology, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Nicolas Rohleder
- Department of Psychology, Chair of Health Psychology, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Cornelia Niessen
- Department of Psychology, Chair of Work and Organizational Psychology, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
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29
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Sen A, Kara AY, Koyu A, Simsek F, Kizildag S, Uysal N. The effects of chronic restraint stress on empathy-like behaviour in rats. Neurosci Lett 2021; 765:136255. [PMID: 34537317 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.136255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Revised: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
It is clearly known that psychological stress is an important threat to health in today's modern societies. Recent studies have shown that acute stress causes an increase in positive social behaviours such as prosocial behaviour and devotion which are components of empathic behaviour. Neuropsychiatric manifestations such as anxiety and depression may affect empathic behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of chronic restraint stress on empathy-like behaviour and the histopathological changes in the amygdala, prefrontal cortex in the adrenal glands and thymus, as well as the neurochemical pathways associated with empathy, oxytocin and vasopressin. The chronic stress group was subjected to restraint stress daily for 14 days after all subjects were trained to rescue its stressed cagemate using empathy test equipment for 12 days. It was observed that chronic restraint stress had no effect on empathy-like behaviour in rats. Vasopressin levels in amygdala was increased in chronic stress group compared to control group. Anxiety and depression indicators did not change in both groups. In the open field test, control group spent more time in thigmo zone compared to chronic stress group. Adrenal glands relative weights and apoptotic cell ratios were significantly higher in the chronic stress group compared to the control group (expectedly). Although there was no significant difference in behavioral tests, histopathological changes were detected. In subsequent studies, it is appropriate to examine the effects of different types of stress applications, gender-related changes, and other neurochemical pathways associated with stress and empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aysu Sen
- Department of Physiology, Necmettin Erbakan University, Faculty of Medicine, Konya, Turkey.
| | - Ali Yucel Kara
- Department of Physiology, İzmir Katip Celebi University, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Ahmet Koyu
- Department of Physiology, İzmir Katip Celebi University, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Fatma Simsek
- Department of Histology and Embryology, İzmir Katip Celebi University, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Servet Kizildag
- College of Vocational School of Health Services, Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Nazan Uysal
- Department of Physiology, Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
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30
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Faber NS, Häusser JA. Why stress and hunger both increase and decrease prosocial behaviour. Curr Opin Psychol 2021; 44:49-57. [PMID: 34563979 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Humans are regularly in suboptimal psychophysiological states like stressed or hungry. Previous research has made both claims that such impairments should decrease and that they should increase prosocial behaviour. We describe the overarching theoretical reasoning underlying these opposing predictions. Then we discuss empirical research on the two impairments most frequently studied, acute stress and acute hunger, and we find that neither alters prosocial behaviour clearly in one direction. We argue that this is because even under impairments, humans react flexibly to the incentive structure of the specific social situation they are in. Hence, either prosocial or egoistic tendencies get expressed, depending on which strategy can lead to fulfilment of the need the impairment triggered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadira S Faber
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, UK & Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, UK.
| | - Jan A Häusser
- Department of Social Psychology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany
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31
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Beaurenaut M, Dezecache G, Grèzes J. Action co-representation under threat: A Social Simon study. Cognition 2021; 215:104829. [PMID: 34246913 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Several studies have shown that individuals automatically integrate the actions of other individuals into their own action plans, thus facilitating action coordination. What happens to this mechanism in situations of danger? This capacity could either be reduced, in order to allocate more cognitive resources for individualistic actions, or be maintained or enhanced to enable cooperation under threat. In order to determine the impact of the perception of danger on this capacity, two groups of participants carried out, in pairs, the Social Simon task, which provides a measure of co-representation. The task was performed during so-called 'threat blocks' (during which participants could be exposed at any time to an aversive stimulus) and so-called 'safety blocks' (during which no aversive stimulation could occur). In a first group of participants, both individuals were exposed at the same time to threat blocks. In a second group, only one of the two participants was exposed to them at a time. Our results indicate that co-representation, an important cognitive mechanism for cooperation, (i) is preserved in situations of danger; and (ii) may even be increased in participants who are confronted alone to threat but in the presence of a safe partner. Contrarily to popular belief, danger does not shut down our capacities for social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan Beaurenaut
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles - INSERM U960, Département d'études cognitives, ENS, PSL Research University, INSERM, Paris, France.
| | - Guillaume Dezecache
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LAPSCO, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Julie Grèzes
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles - INSERM U960, Département d'études cognitives, ENS, PSL Research University, INSERM, Paris, France.
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32
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Zhen Z, Wang H, Zhu R, Zhang S, Jin T, Qin S, Liu C. Acute psychosocial stress increases third-party helping but not punishing behavior. Stress 2021; 24:430-441. [PMID: 32951512 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2020.1825672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite extensive research on the effects of stress on the brain and behaviors, there is a debate whether stress promotes prosocial behaviors, especially acute stress due to intricate costly punishment in the ultimatum game. Therefore, the present study introduced an irrelevant third party to examine how acute stress and the triggered cortisol influence third parties' punishing and helping behaviors as more convincing altruistic behaviors. The 65 participants were exposed to a psychosocial stressor (n = 33) or a control condition (n = 32). Afterwards, two third-party intervention tasks (a token allocation task and criminal scenario judgment task) were completed, during which the participants, as an "irrelevant" third party, could choose whether to sacrifice their own interests to help the victim or punish the transgressor. Participants' affective states, heart rate, and salivary cortisol were repeatedly measured throughout the experiment. Results showed that acute stress can lead to more third-party helping behaviors but not more punishing behaviors. Specifically, participants under stress tended to transfer more monetary units to the victim in the token allocation task than the control-group participants, and they tended to help the victim in the scenario task. In contrast, there was no significant difference in punishing behavior between the stressed and control participants. These findings reveal that acute psychosocial stress triggers the "tend and befriend" response, which might reflect the prosocial intuition under acute stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Zhen
- Psychological Health Education and Counseling Center, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
| | - Huagen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ruida Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Shen Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Tao Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Shaozheng Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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33
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Terenzi D, Liu L, Bellucci G, Park SQ. Determinants and modulators of human social decisions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 128:383-393. [PMID: 34216653 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.06.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Social decision making is a highly complex process that involves diverse cognitive mechanisms, and it is driven by the precise processing of information from both the environment and from the internal state. On the one hand, successful social decisions require close monitoring of others' behavior, in order to track their intentions; this can guide not only decisions involving other people, but also one's own choices and preferences. On the other hand, internal states such as own reward or changes in hormonal and neurotransmitter states shape social decisions and their underlying neural function. Here, we review the current literature on modulators and determinants of human social decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damiano Terenzi
- Department of Decision Neuroscience and Nutrition, German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE), Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany; Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany; Berlin Institute of Health, Neuroscience Research Center, 10117, Berlin, Germany; Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetes, Neuherberg, Germany.
| | - Lu Liu
- Department of Decision Neuroscience and Nutrition, German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE), Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany; Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany; Berlin Institute of Health, Neuroscience Research Center, 10117, Berlin, Germany; Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetes, Neuherberg, Germany; Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Gabriele Bellucci
- Department of Computational Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen, Germany
| | - Soyoung Q Park
- Department of Decision Neuroscience and Nutrition, German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE), Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany; Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany; Berlin Institute of Health, Neuroscience Research Center, 10117, Berlin, Germany; Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetes, Neuherberg, Germany
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34
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Meconi F, Hodsoll J, Goranova Z, Degano G, Di Lello N, Miniussi C, Avenanti A, Mevorach C. Remember as we empathize. Do brain mechanisms engaged in autobiographical memory retrieval causally affect empathy awareness? A combined TMS and EEG registered report. J Neurosci Res 2021; 99:2377-2389. [PMID: 34185890 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24906] [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: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions are partly driven by our ability to empathize-the capacity to share and understand others' inner states. While a growing body of evidence suggests a link between past experiences and empathy, to what degree empathy is dependent on our own previous experiences (autobiographical memories, AMs) is still unclear. Whereas neuroimaging studies have shown wide overlapping brain networks underpinning AM and empathic processes, studies on clinical populations with memory loss have not always shown empathy is impaired. The current transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalography study will seek to shed light on this neuropsychological puzzle by testing whether self-perceived empathy is causally linked to AM retrieval. Cortical activity, together with self-rating of empathy, will be recorded for scenarios that echo personal experiences while a brain region critical for AM retrieval will be transiently inhibited using TMS before task performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Meconi
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - John Hodsoll
- Department of Biostatistics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Zheni Goranova
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Giulio Degano
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Nicolò Di Lello
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Carlo Miniussi
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences - CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centre for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience (CsrNC), Department of Psychology, Campus of Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.,Centro de Investigaci on en Neuropsicología y Neurosciencias Cognitivas, Universidad Catolica Del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | - Carmel Mevorach
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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Hu X, Zhang S, Wu L, Fan Y, Wang Q, Chen X, Zhang L, Tian Y. Impaired pain empathic abilities among patients with functional dyspepsia. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2021; 26:153-165. [PMID: 33730969 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2021.1897558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Brain structure or functioning abnormality in regions such as insula and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is associated with functional dyspepsia (FD) and pain empathy, but the relationship between FD and pain empathy remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the pain empathic abilities of FD patients and healthy controls (HCs) and investigate the association of pain empathy with clinical characteristics and quality of life of FD patients. METHODS Pain empathic abilities was measured in 30 FD patients and 30 HCs using a validated pain empathy paradigm. Demographic characteristics, Helicobacter pylori status, duration, dyspeptic symptom score and Nepean Dyspepsia Life Quality Index (NDLQI) were obtained from all patients. RESULTS FD patients scored higher than HCs when rating painful pictures, but the accuracy for painful pictures was significantly lower than HCs. Pearson correlation analysis showed significant negative correlation between NDLQI and pain rating scores for painful pictures. When sex, age, educational level, the number of complaints, duration, H. pylori infection and NDLQI were included in multiple linear regression analysis, NDLQI was independently associated with pain ratings. CONCLUSIONS FD patients showed abnormally enhanced pain empathic abilities, which may be associated with the severity of symptoms and quality of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangpeng Hu
- Digestive Department, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People's Republic of China
| | - Shenshen Zhang
- Digestive Department, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People's Republic of China
| | - Lihong Wu
- Digestive Department, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People's Republic of China
| | - Yinguang Fan
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of public health of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiao Wang
- Digestive Department, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoming Chen
- Digestive Department, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People's Republic of China
| | - Lijiu Zhang
- Digestive Department, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People's Republic of China
| | - Yanghua Tian
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People's Republic of China
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Chierchia G, Parianen Lesemann FH, Snower D, Singer T. Cooperation across multiple game theoretical paradigms is increased by fear more than anger in selfish individuals. Sci Rep 2021; 11:9351. [PMID: 33931689 PMCID: PMC8087760 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88663-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Cooperative decisions are well predicted by stable individual differences in social values but it remains unclear how they may be modulated by emotions such as fear and anger. Moving beyond specific decision paradigms, we used a suite of economic games and investigated how experimental inductions of fear or anger affect latent factors of decision making in individuals with selfish or prosocial value orientations. We found that, relative to experimentally induced anger, induced fear elicited higher scores on a cooperation factor, and that this effect was entirely driven by selfish participants. In fact, induced fear brought selfish individuals to cooperate similarly to prosocial individuals, possibly as a (selfish) mean to seek protection in others. These results suggest that two basic threat-related emotions, fear and anger, differentially affect a generalized form of cooperation and that this effect is buffered by prosocial value orientation.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Chierchia
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | | | - D Snower
- Department of Economics, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany
- Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford, UK
| | - T Singer
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Max Planck Society, Berlin, Germany.
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Empathic responses to social targets: The influence of warmth and competence perceptions, situational valence, and social identification. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0248562. [PMID: 33720971 PMCID: PMC7959363 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Accounts of empathy distinguish between cognitive (attribution of mental states to a social target) and emotional (sharing of emotions with a social target) empathy. To date, however, little is known about whether and how (interactions between) person perceptions, situational characteristics, and the observer-target relationship affect these constructs. The current study hence investigated (a) how the perceived warmth and competence of different social targets relate to both types of empathy, (b) whether there are differences in empathic responding to positive vs. negative scenarios, and (c) the impact of identification with the social targets. Eighty-nine participants rated cognitive and emotional empathy regarding four stereotypical target characters (student, elderly person, businessperson, alcoholic person) facing diverse positive and negative events. They also rated how warm and competent these characters appeared to them and how strongly they identified with the social targets. Results for cognitive and emotional empathy were partly overlapping, but demonstrated several significant differences, thereby demonstrating the need to investigate the two concepts separately. Notably, stereotypes of warmth predicted both cognitive and emotional empathic responses more strongly in desirable than in undesirable scenarios, which may relate to greater freedom of response to positive (rather than negative) social outcomes permitted by society. Our data show that scenario valence mattered even more for cognitive (than for emotional) empathy because it additionally moderated the effects of perceived competence and social identification. Finally, both cognitive and emotional empathy increased as a positive function of social identification, and social identification moderated effects exerted by perceived warmth and competence (yet differently for the two types of empathy investigated). Together, these findings speak to empathic responses arising from a complex interplay between perceptions (i.e., warmth and competence), scenario valence, and social identification.
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Differential Susceptibility to the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Working Memory, Empathy, and Perceived Stress: The Role of Cortisol and Resilience. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11030348. [PMID: 33803413 PMCID: PMC7998983 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11030348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
There are important individual differences in adaptation and reactivity to stressful challenges. Being subjected to strict social confinement is a distressful psychological experience leading to reduced emotional well-being, but it is not known how it can affect the cognitive and empathic tendencies of different individuals. Cortisol, a key glucocorticoid in humans, is a strong modulator of brain function, behavior, and cognition, and the diurnal cortisol rhythm has been postulated to interact with environmental stressors to predict stress adaptation. The present study investigates in 45 young adults (21.09 years old, SD = 6.42) whether pre-pandemic diurnal cortisol indices, overall diurnal cortisol secretion (AUCg) and cortisol awakening response (CAR) can predict individuals' differential susceptibility to the impact of strict social confinement during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on working memory, empathy, and perceived stress. We observed that, following long-term home confinement, there was an increase in subjects' perceived stress and cognitive empathy scores, as well as an improvement in visuospatial working memory. Moreover, during confinement, resilient coping moderated the relationship between perceived stress scores and pre-pandemic AUCg and CAR. In addition, in mediation models, we observed a direct effect of AUCg and an indirect effect of both CAR and AUCg, on change in perceived self-efficacy. These effects were parallelly mediated by the increase in working memory span and cognitive empathy. In summary, our findings reveal the role of the diurnal pattern of cortisol in predicting the emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting a potential biomarker for the identification of at-risk groups following public health crises.
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39
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Alen NV, Deer LK, Karimi M, Feyzieva E, Hastings PD, Hostinar CE. Children's altruism following acute stress: The role of autonomic nervous system activity and social support. Dev Sci 2021; 24:e13099. [PMID: 33550679 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13099] [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: 08/16/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Altruistic behavior after stress exposure may have important health and psychological benefits, in addition to broader societal consequences. However, so far experimental research on altruism following acute stress has been limited to adult populations. The current study utilized an experimental design to investigate how altruistic donation behavior among children may be influenced by (a) exposure to an acute social stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test modified for use with children (TSST-M), (b) individual differences in stress physiology, and (c) social support from a parent. The sample consisted of 180 children (54.9% male, 45.1% female; mean age = 9.92 years, SD = 0.56 years) randomly assigned to one of three conditions involving the TSST-M: (a) prepare for the TSST-M alone, (b) prepare for the TSST-M with a parent, and (c) no-stress control group. Results revealed that children made larger donations post-stressor if they were alone before the acute stressor, if they had moderate cardiac autonomic balance, reflecting both parasympathetic and sympathetic influence, and if they were older. Children who prepared for the TSST-M with social support from a parent made comparable donations as children in the no-stress control group, in accord with stress buffering models. Increased altruism following acute stress among children suggests that a comprehensive understanding of the human stress response needs to incorporate "tend-and-befriend" behavior-the tendency for humans to show increased altruistic behavior during times of distress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas V Alen
- Psychology Department and Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - LillyBelle K Deer
- Psychology Department and Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Mona Karimi
- Psychology Department and Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Elis Feyzieva
- Psychology Department and Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Paul D Hastings
- Psychology Department and Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Camelia E Hostinar
- Psychology Department and Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
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40
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von Dawans B, Strojny J, Domes G. The effects of acute stress and stress hormones on social cognition and behavior: Current state of research and future directions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 121:75-88. [PMID: 33301780 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.11.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Stress encompasses profound psychological and physiological changes that are observable on all levels, from cellular mechanisms, humoral changes, and brain activation to subjective experience and behavior. While the impact of stress on health has already been studied for decades, a more recent field of research has revealed effects of stress on human social cognition and behavior. Initial studies have attempted to elucidate the underlying biological mechanisms of these stress-induced effects by measuring physiological responses or by using pharmacological approaches. We provide an overview of the current state of research on the effects of acute stress induction or pharmacological manipulations of stress-related neuro circuitry on social cognition and behavior. Additionally, we discuss the methodological challenges that need to be addressed in order to gain further insight into this important research topic and facilitate replicability of results. Future directions may help to disentangle the complex interplay of psychological and biological stress variables and their effects on social cognition and behavior on health and in disorders with social deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Julia Strojny
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany
| | - Gregor Domes
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany.
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41
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Vieira JB, Schellhaas S, Enström E, Olsson A. Help or flight? Increased threat imminence promotes defensive helping in humans. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201473. [PMID: 32842931 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
In humans and other mammals, defensive responses to danger vary with threat imminence, but it is unknown how those responses affect decisions to help conspecifics. Here, we manipulated threat imminence to investigate the impact of different defensive states on human helping behaviour. Ninety-eight healthy adult participants made trial-by-trial decisions about whether to help a co-participant avoid an aversive shock, at the risk of receiving a shock themselves. Helping decisions were prompted under imminent or distal threat, based on temporal distance to the moment of shock administration to the co-participant. Results showed that, regardless of how likely participants were to also receive a shock, they helped the co-participant more under imminent than distal threat. Reaction times and cardiac changes during the task supported the efficacy of the threat imminence manipulation in eliciting dissociable defensive states, with faster responses and increased heart rate during imminent compared to distal threats. Individual differences in empathic concern were specifically correlated with helping during imminent threats. These results suggest that defensive states driving active escape from immediate danger may also facilitate decisions to help others, potentially by engaging neurocognitive systems implicated in caregiving across mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana B Vieira
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Sabine Schellhaas
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Erik Enström
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Andreas Olsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
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42
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Tremblay MPB, Marcoux A, Turcotte V, Woods J, Rouleau C, Grondin F, Jackson PL. I Can But I Shall Not Always Be Empathic. Psychol Rep 2020; 124:1634-1672. [PMID: 32757717 DOI: 10.1177/0033294120945180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Empathy, a core process for social interactions, is the capacity to understand and share others' mental states and emotions. Each individual is thought to have a maximum level of empathy (empathic ability) and a spontaneous tendency to express it (empathic propensity), which can be affected by multiple factors. Two within-subject studies were conducted to assess the malleability of empathy by modulating contextual factors and measuring their interaction with psychological characteristics. In Study 1, 59 healthy adults evaluated their empathy for people showing facial expressions of pain following different instructions: Passive Observation and Instruction to Actively Empathize. In Study 2, 56 healthy adults performed a similar task under two conditions: Passive Observation and Observation under a Cognitive Load. The results revealed that empathy was significantly increased in the actively empathizing condition (Study 1) and under a cognitive load, but more importantly for men (Study 2). The level of change between the two conditions was associated with self-reported empathy, autistic, alexithymia and psychopathic traits (Study 1), as well as with working memory capacities and the level of empathy reported in the passive observation condition (Study 2). These findings suggest that an instruction to actively empathize and, surprisingly, a cognitive load can both increase empathy, but not for the same individuals. An instruction to actively empathize seems to increase empathy for individuals with good empathic dispositions, while a cognitive load enhances empathy in people for which empathic propensity is sub-optimal.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Audrey Marcoux
- École de psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale, Québec, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO, Québec, Canada
| | - Valérie Turcotte
- École de psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO, Québec, Canada
| | - Jamie Woods
- École de psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale, Québec, Canada
| | - Camille Rouleau
- École de psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale, Québec, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO, Québec, Canada
| | - Frédéric Grondin
- École de psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale, Québec, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO, Québec, Canada
| | - Philip L Jackson
- École de psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale, Québec, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO, Québec, Canada
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43
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Tollenaar MS, Overgaauw S. Empathy and mentalizing abilities in relation to psychosocial stress in healthy adult men and women. Heliyon 2020; 6:e04488. [PMID: 32904299 PMCID: PMC7452492 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2019] [Revised: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress has many consequences for our wellbeing, both physically and psychologically, underscoring the need to study markers of differential sensitivity to stressful situations. We examined associations between empathy and mentalizing abilities and psycho-physiological responses to a psychosocial stress task. We conducted two highly comparable studies, the first in men (N = 52) and the second in women (N = 72). Each study started with a self-report empathy measure and a mentalizing test [Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET)] followed by the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) or a control task. Stress reactivity was confirmed in both men and women with significantly higher levels of cortisol, blood pressure, and subjective stress levels in response to the TSST compared to the control task. Higher accuracy on the RMET significantly predicted higher cortisol and heart rate reactivity, while self-reported empathic concern significantly predicted higher subjective stress reactivity. These associations were found in men, and when men and women were analyzed together. This indicates that higher levels of mentalizing and empathic abilities may confer sensitivity to socially stressful situations. While a moderation analysis indicated no gender differences in these associations, the findings could not be directly replicated in women. This suggests that gender may impact such associations and that replication of the findings in larger samples is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marieke S. Tollenaar
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, the Netherlands
| | - Sandy Overgaauw
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, the Netherlands
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44
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Nitschke JP, Sunahara CS, Carr EW, Winkielman P, Pruessner JC, Bartz JA. Stressed connections: cortisol levels following acute psychosocial stress disrupt affiliative mimicry in humans. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192941. [PMID: 32396799 PMCID: PMC7287352 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Mimicry, and especially spontaneous facial mimicry, is a rudimentary element of social-emotional experience that is well-conserved across numerous species. Although such mimicry is thought to be a relatively automatic process, research indicates that contextual factors can influence mimicry, especially in humans. Here, we extend this work by investigating the effect of acute psychosocial stress on spontaneous facial mimicry. Participants performed a spontaneous facial mimicry task with facial electromyography (fEMG) at baseline and approximately one month later, following an acute psychosocial stressor (Trier Social Stress Test). Results show that the magnitude of the endocrine stress response reduced zygomaticus major reactivity, and specifically spontaneous facial mimicry for positive social stimuli (i.e. smiles). Individuals with higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol showed a more blunted fEMG response to smiles, but not to frowns. Conversely, stress had no effect on corrugator supercilii activation (i.e. frowning to frowns). These findings highlight the importance of the biological stress response system in this basic element of social-emotional experience.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Evan W. Carr
- Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | - Piotr Winkielman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, USA
- SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jens C. Pruessner
- Faculty of Medicine, McGill Centre for Studies in Aging, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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45
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Wu YJ, Liu Y, Yao M, Li X, Peng W. Language contexts modulate instant empathic responses to others’ pain. Psychophysiology 2020; 57:e13562. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yan Jing Wu
- School of Psychology Shenzhen University Shenzhen China
- Faculty of Foreign Languages Ningbo University Ningbo China
| | - Yang Liu
- School of Psychology Shenzhen University Shenzhen China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science Shenzhen University Shenzhen China
| | - Manlin Yao
- School of Psychology Shenzhen University Shenzhen China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science Shenzhen University Shenzhen China
| | - Xiaoyun Li
- School of Psychology Shenzhen University Shenzhen China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science Shenzhen University Shenzhen China
| | - Weiwei Peng
- School of Psychology Shenzhen University Shenzhen China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science Shenzhen University Shenzhen China
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46
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Uysal N, Çamsari UM, ATEş M, Kandİş S, Karakiliç A, Çamsari GB. Empathy as a Concept from Bench to Bedside: A Translational Challenge. Noro Psikiyatr Ars 2020; 57:71-77. [PMID: 32110155 PMCID: PMC7024828 DOI: 10.29399/npa.23457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2018] [Accepted: 08/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathy is a multidimensional paradigm, and there currently is a lack of scientific consensus in its definition. In this paper, we review the possibility of compromising data during behavioral neuroscience experiments, including but not limited to those who study empathy. The experimental protocols can affect, and be affected by, empathy and related processes at multiple levels. We discuss several points to help researchers develop a successful translational pathway for behavioral research on empathy. Despite varying in their focus with no widely accepted model, current rodent models on empathy have provided sound translational explanations for many neuropsychiatric proof-of-concepts to date. Research has shown that empathy can be influenced by many parameters, some of which are to be reviewed in this paper. We emphasize the future importance of consistency in modeling proof of concept; efforts to create a multidisciplinary group which would include both bench scientists and clinicians with expertise in neuropsychiatry, and the consideration of empathy as an independent variable in animal behavioral experimental designs which is not the mainstream practice at present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nazan Uysal
- Department of Physiology, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkey
| | - Ulaş M. Çamsari
- Department of Psychiatry, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Mehmet ATEş
- Department of Pharmacology, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkey
| | - Sevim Kandİş
- Department of Physiology, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkey
| | - Aslı Karakiliç
- Department of Physiology, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkey
| | - Gamze B. Çamsari
- Department of Psychiatry, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
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47
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Hahn H, Seager van Dyk I, Ahn WY. Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbian Women Moderate Heterosexual Adults’ Subjective Stress Response to Witnessing Homonegativity. Front Psychol 2020; 10:2948. [PMID: 31998197 PMCID: PMC6965017 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Hunter Hahn
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
- *Correspondence: Hunter Hahn,
| | - Ilana Seager van Dyk
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Woo-Young Ahn
- Department of Psychology, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
- Woo-Young Ahn,
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48
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Tomova L, Saxe R, Klöbl M, Lanzenberger R, Lamm C. Acute stress alters neural patterns of value representation for others. Neuroimage 2019; 209:116497. [PMID: 31899285 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2019] [Revised: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute stress is often evoked during social interactions, by feelings of threat or negative evaluation by other people. We also constantly interact with others while under stress - in the workplace or in private alike. However, it is not clear how stress affects social interactions. For one, individuals could become more selfish and focused on their own goals. On the other hand, individuals might also become more focused on affiliating with potential social partners, in order to secure their support. There is, indeed, accumulating behavioral evidence that prosocial behaviors increase rather than decrease under stress. Here, we tested the underlying brain processes of such findings, by assessing the effects of stress on the neural representations of (monetary) value for self and other. Participants (N = 30; male, 18-40 years) played a gambling task for themselves and for another participant while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Each participant played the gambling task twice: once immediately following acute stress induction, and once in a control session. We compared neural patterns of value representation in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and striatum using representational similarity analysis (RSA). We found that under stress, dmPFC and striatum showed higher dissimilarity between neural patterns underlying high and low value for the other. Dissimilarity of neural patterns underlying high and low value for the self was unaffected by stress. These findings suggest that participants track the magnitude of possible rewards for others more under stress, suggesting increased prosocial orientation.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Tomova
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA; Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Austria.
| | - R Saxe
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA
| | - M Klöbl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - R Lanzenberger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - C Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Austria; Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Austria
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49
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The effects of psychosocial stress on intergroup resource allocation. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18620. [PMID: 31819104 PMCID: PMC6901446 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54954-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Stress changes our social behavior. Traditionally, stress has been associated with “fight-or-flight” – the tendency to attack an aggressor, or escape the stressor. But stress may also promote the opposite pattern, i.e., “tend-and-befriend” – increased prosociality toward others. It is currently unclear which situational or physiological factors promote one or the other. Here, we hypothesized that stress stimulates both tendencies, but that fight-or-flight is primarily directed against a potentially hostile outgroup, moderated by rapid-acting catecholamines, while tend-and-befriend is mainly shown towards a supportive ingroup, regulated by cortisol. To test this hypothesis, we measured stress-related neurohormonal modulators and sex hormones in male and female participants who were exposed to a psychosocial stressor, and subsequently played an intergroup social dilemma game in which they could reveal prosocial motives towards an ingroup (ingroup-love) and hostility towards an outgroup (outgroup-hate). We found no significant effects of stress on social preferences, but stress-related heart-rate increases predicted outgroup-hostile behavior. Furthermore, when controlling for testosterone, cortisol was associated with increased ingroup-love. Other-regarding behavior was overall higher in male than female participants. Our mixed results are of interest to scholars of the effects of stress on prosocial and aggressive behavior, but call for refinement in future replications.
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50
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von Mohr M, Finotti G, Ambroziak KB, Tsakiris M. Do you hear what I see? An audio-visual paradigm to assess emotional egocentricity bias. Cogn Emot 2019; 34:756-770. [PMID: 31672095 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2019.1683516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
We often use our own emotions to understand other people's emotions. However, emotional egocentric biases (EEB), namely the tendency to use one's own emotional state when relating to others' emotions, may hinder this process, especially when emotions are incongruent. We capitalised on the classic EEB task to develop a new version that is easier to implement and control. Unlike the original EEB task that relies on a combination of private (e.g. touch) and public (e.g. vision) sensory information, our EEB task (AV-EEB) used audio-visual stimuli to evoke congruent/incongruent emotions in participants. Auditory and visual signals are both public, in that they can be shared among individuals, and make the task easier to implement and control. We provide lab-based and online validations of the AV-EEB, and demonstrate a positive relationship between EEB and social negative potency. This new, easily implemented version of the EEB task can accelerate the investigation of egocentricity biases in several research areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana von Mohr
- Lab of Action and Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, UK
| | - Gianluca Finotti
- Lab of Action and Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, UK
| | - Klaudia B Ambroziak
- The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, UK
| | - Manos Tsakiris
- Lab of Action and Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, UK.,The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, UK
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