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Ma J, Chen B, Wang K, Hu Y, Wang X, Zhan H, Wu W. Emotional contagion and cognitive empathy regulate the effect of depressive symptoms on empathy-related brain functional connectivity in patients with chronic back pain. J Affect Disord 2024; 362:459-467. [PMID: 39013522 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.07.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2024] [Accepted: 07/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chronic pain and depression share common neural mechanisms, but their impacts on empathy are different. It is unclear how comorbid depressive symptoms affect empathy-related brain function in patients with chronic pain. METHODS A total of 29 healthy participants and 107 patients with chronic back pain (CBP) were included in this study. All subjects underwent a functional MRI scan with concurrent empathic stimulation. Multiple linear regression, moderation analysis, and mediation analysis were used to explore the impacts of chronic pain and comorbid depression on empathy. RESULTS The interaction between the pain intensity and the depressive symptoms affected the functional connectivity (FC) of the insula-middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and the severity of the self-rating depression scale (SDS) scores moderated the effect of the pain on the left insula-left MFG FC. Within the CBP group, the emotional contagion (EC) scores served as a mediator in the association between the SDS scores and the FC of the left middle cingulate cortex (MCC)-inferior temporal gyrus (ITG), and the level of cognitive empathy (CE) moderated the effect of the SDS scores on the left MCC-ITG FC. LIMITATIONS There is a lack of research on the effects of depressive symptoms on empathy in individuals with different types of chronic pain. CONCLUSION Depressive symptoms were strongly associated with the emotional contagion in patients with chronic back pain. Furthermore, the emotional contagion and the cognitive empathy regulated the effect of the comorbid depressive symptoms on the MCC-ITG connectivity in patients with chronic back pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junqin Ma
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Bingmei Chen
- Department of Radiology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Kangling Wang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Yingxuan Hu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Xianglong Wang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Hongrui Zhan
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519000, China.
| | - Wen Wu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China.
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2
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Suzuki C, Ikeda Y, Tateno A, Okubo Y, Fukayama H, Suzuki H. Tramadol effects on brain activity during cognitive and emotional empathy for pain: a randomized controlled study. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2024:104672. [PMID: 39245196 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2024] [Revised: 08/06/2024] [Accepted: 09/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/10/2024]
Abstract
Pain is perceived not only by personal experience, but also vicariously. Pain empathy is the ability to share and understand other's intentions and emotions in their painful conditions, which can be divided into cognitive and emotional empathy. It remains unclear how centrally acting analgesics would modulate brain activity related to pain empathy, and which component of pain empathy would be altered by analgesics. In this study, we examined the effects of the analgesic tramadol on the brain activity for pain empathy in healthy adults. We used two tasks to assess brain activity for pain empathy. In experiment 1, we used a well-established picture-based pain empathy task involving passive observation of other's pain. In experiment 2, we developed a novel pain empathy task to assess brain activity during cognitive and emotional empathy for pain separately in a single task. We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled within-subject cross-over study with functional magnetic resonance imaging for 33 participants in experiment 1 and 31 participants in experiment 2, respectively. In experiment 1, we found that tramadol decreased activation in the supramarginal gyrus (SMG) during observation of other's pain compared to placebo. SMG activation correlated negatively with the thermal pain threshold. In experiment 2, we found that tramadol decreased activation in angular gyrus in cognitive empathy for pain compared to placebo, but didn't change brain activity in emotional empathy for pain. PERSPECTIVE: Centrally acting analgesics such as tramadol may have not only analgesic effects on self-experienced pain, but also on the complex neural processing of pain empathy. DATA AVAILABILITY: Data are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chihiro Suzuki
- Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Orofacial Pain Management, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; Tokyo Metropolitan Center for Oral Health of Persons with Disabilities, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yumiko Ikeda
- Department of Pharmacology, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Amane Tateno
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yoshiro Okubo
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Haruhisa Fukayama
- Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Orofacial Pain Management, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hidenori Suzuki
- Department of Pharmacology, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
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3
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Rütgen M, Lamm C. Dissecting shared pain representations to understand their behavioral and clinical relevance. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 163:105769. [PMID: 38879099 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105769] [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: 04/11/2024] [Revised: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Accounts of shared representations posit that the experience of pain and pain empathy rely on similar neural mechanisms. Experimental research employing novel analytical and methodological approaches has made significant advances in both the identification and targeted manipulation of such shared experiences and their neural underpinnings. This revealed that painful experiences can be shared on different representational levels, from pain-specific to domain-general features, such as negative affect and its regulation. In view of direct links between such representations and social behaviors such as prosocial behavior, conditions characterized by aberrant pain processing may come along with heavy impairments in the social domain, depending on the affected representational level. This has wide potential implications in light of the high prevalence of pain-related clinical conditions, their management, and the overuse of pain medication. In this review and opinion paper, we aim to chart the path toward a better understanding of the link between shared affect and prosocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Rütgen
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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4
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Trujillo-Llano C, Sainz-Ballesteros A, Suarez-Ardila F, Gonzalez-Gadea ML, Ibáñez A, Herrera E, Baez S. Neuroanatomical markers of social cognition in neglected adolescents. Neurobiol Stress 2024; 31:100642. [PMID: 38800539 PMCID: PMC11127280 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Growing up in neglectful households can impact multiple aspects of social cognition. However, research on neglect's effects on social cognition processes and their neuroanatomical correlates during adolescence is scarce. Here, we aimed to comprehensively assess social cognition processes (recognition of basic and contextual emotions, theory of mind, the experience of envy and Schadenfreude and empathy for pain) and their structural brain correlates in adolescents with legal neglect records within family-based care. First, we compared neglected adolescents (n = 27) with control participants (n = 25) on context-sensitive social cognition tasks while controlling for physical and emotional abuse and executive and intellectual functioning. Additionally, we explored the grey matter correlates of these domains through voxel-based morphometry. Compared to controls, neglected adolescents exhibited lower performance in contextual emotional recognition and theory of mind, higher levels of envy and Schadenfreude and diminished empathy. Physical and emotional abuse and executive or intellectual functioning did not explain these effects. Moreover, social cognition scores correlated with brain volumes in regions subserving social cognition and emotional processing. Our results underscore the potential impact of neglect on different aspects of social cognition during adolescence, emphasizing the necessity for preventive and intervention strategies to address these deficits in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catalina Trujillo-Llano
- Department of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | - Agustín Sainz-Ballesteros
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany
- Department for High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - María Luz Gonzalez-Gadea
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Eduar Herrera
- Universidad Icesi, Departamento de Estudios Psicológicos, Cali, Colombia
| | - Sandra Baez
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
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5
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Wang C, He J, Feng X, Qi X, Hong Z, Dun W, Zhang M, Liu J. Characteristics of pain empathic networks in healthy and primary dysmenorrhea women: an fMRI study. Brain Imaging Behav 2024:10.1007/s11682-024-00901-x. [PMID: 38954259 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-024-00901-x] [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] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
Pain empathy enables us to understand and share how others feel pain. Few studies have investigated pain empathy-related functional interactions at the whole-brain level across all networks. Additionally, women with primary dysmenorrhea (PDM) have abnormal pain empathy, and the association among the whole-brain functional network, pain, and pain empathy remain unclear. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and machine learning analysis, we identified the brain functional network connectivity (FNC)-based features that are associated with pain empathy in two studies. Specifically, Study 1 examined 41 healthy controls (HCs), while Study 2 investigated 45 women with PDM. Additionally, in Study 3, a classification analysis was performed to examine the differences in FNC between HCs and women with PDM. Pain empathy was evaluated using a visual stimuli experiment, and trait and state of menstrual pain were recorded. In Study 1, the results showed that pain empathy in HCs relied on dynamic interactions across whole-brain networks and was not concentrated in a single or two brain networks, suggesting the dynamic cooperation of networks for pain empathy in HCs. In Study 2, PDM exhibited a distinctive network for pain empathy. The features associated with pain empathy were concentrated in the sensorimotor network (SMN). In Study 3, the SMN-related dynamic FNC could accurately distinguish women with PDM from HCs and exhibited a significant association with trait menstrual pain. This study may deepen our understanding of the neural mechanisms underpinning pain empathy and suggest that menstrual pain may affect pain empathy through maladaptive dynamic interaction between brain networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenxi Wang
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, PR China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular & Neuroimaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, 710126, PR China
| | - Juan He
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 277, West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710061, PR China
| | - Xinyue Feng
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, PR China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular & Neuroimaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, 710126, PR China
| | - Xingang Qi
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, PR China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular & Neuroimaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, 710126, PR China
| | - Zilong Hong
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, PR China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular & Neuroimaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, 710126, PR China
| | - Wanghuan Dun
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 277, West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710061, PR China.
| | - Ming Zhang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 277, West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710061, PR China.
| | - Jixin Liu
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, PR China.
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular & Neuroimaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, 710126, PR China.
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 277, West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710061, PR China.
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6
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Tan H, Zeng X, Ni J, Liang K, Xu C, Zhang Y, Wang J, Li Z, Yang J, Han C, Gao Y, Yu X, Han S, Meng F, Ma Y. Intracranial EEG signals disentangle multi-areal neural dynamics of vicarious pain perception. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5203. [PMID: 38890380 PMCID: PMC11189531 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49541-1] [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: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Empathy enables understanding and sharing of others' feelings. Human neuroimaging studies have identified critical brain regions supporting empathy for pain, including the anterior insula (AI), anterior cingulate (ACC), amygdala, and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). However, to date, the precise spatio-temporal profiles of empathic neural responses and inter-regional communications remain elusive. Here, using intracranial electroencephalography, we investigated electrophysiological signatures of vicarious pain perception. Others' pain perception induced early increases in high-gamma activity in IFG, beta power increases in ACC, but decreased beta power in AI and amygdala. Vicarious pain perception also altered the beta-band-coordinated coupling between ACC, AI, and amygdala, as well as increased modulation of IFG high-gamma amplitudes by beta phases of amygdala/AI/ACC. We identified a necessary combination of neural features for decoding vicarious pain perception. These spatio-temporally specific regional activities and inter-regional interactions within the empathy network suggest a neurodynamic model of human pain empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huixin Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Ni
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Kun Liang
- Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Cuiping Xu
- Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yanyang Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Jiaxin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zizhou Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jiaxin Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Chunlei Han
- Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Gao
- Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Xinguang Yu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Shihui Han
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Fangang Meng
- Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China.
| | - Yina Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China.
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7
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Basile GA, Tatti E, Bertino S, Milardi D, Genovese G, Bruno A, Muscatello MRA, Ciurleo R, Cerasa A, Quartarone A, Cacciola A. Neuroanatomical correlates of peripersonal space: bridging the gap between perception, action, emotion and social cognition. Brain Struct Funct 2024; 229:1047-1072. [PMID: 38683211 PMCID: PMC11147881 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-024-02781-9] [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: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Peripersonal space (PPS) is a construct referring to the portion of space immediately surrounding our bodies, where most of the interactions between the subject and the environment, including other individuals, take place. Decades of animal and human neuroscience research have revealed that the brain holds a separate representation of this region of space: this distinct spatial representation has evolved to ensure proper relevance to stimuli that are close to the body and prompt an appropriate behavioral response. The neural underpinnings of such construct have been thoroughly investigated by different generations of studies involving anatomical and electrophysiological investigations in animal models, and, recently, neuroimaging experiments in human subjects. Here, we provide a comprehensive anatomical overview of the anatomical circuitry underlying PPS representation in the human brain. Gathering evidence from multiple areas of research, we identified cortical and subcortical regions that are involved in specific aspects of PPS encoding.We show how these regions are part of segregated, yet integrated functional networks within the brain, which are in turn involved in higher-order integration of information. This wide-scale circuitry accounts for the relevance of PPS encoding in multiple brain functions, including not only motor planning and visuospatial attention but also emotional and social cognitive aspects. A complete characterization of these circuits may clarify the derangements of PPS representation observed in different neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianpaolo Antonio Basile
- Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
| | - Elisa Tatti
- Department of Molecular, Cellular & Biomedical Sciences, CUNY, School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10031, USA
| | - Salvatore Bertino
- Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Demetrio Milardi
- Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | | | - Antonio Bruno
- Psychiatry Unit, University Hospital "G. Martino", Messina, Italy
- Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Maria Rosaria Anna Muscatello
- Psychiatry Unit, University Hospital "G. Martino", Messina, Italy
- Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | | | - Antonio Cerasa
- S. Anna Institute, Crotone, Italy
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation (IRIB), National Research Council of Italy, Messina, Italy
- Pharmacotechnology Documentation and Transfer Unit, Preclinical and Translational Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacy, Health Science and Nutrition, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
| | | | - Alberto Cacciola
- Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
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8
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Almeida R, Prata C, Pereira MR, Barbosa F, Ferreira-Santos F. Neuronal Correlates of Empathy: A Systematic Review of Event-Related Potentials Studies in Perceptual Tasks. Brain Sci 2024; 14:504. [PMID: 38790482 PMCID: PMC11119458 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14050504] [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: 04/24/2024] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Empathy is a crucial component to infer and understand others' emotions. However, a synthesis of studies regarding empathy and its neuronal correlates in perceptual tasks using event-related potentials (ERPs) has yet to occur. The current systematic review aimed to provide that overview. Upon bibliographic research, 30 studies featuring empathy assessments and at least one perceptual task measuring ERP components in healthy participants were included. Four main focus categories were identified, as follows: Affective Pictures, Facial Stimuli, Mental States, and Social Language. The Late Positive Potential was the most analyzed in Affective Pictures and was reported to be positively correlated with cognitive and affective empathy, along with other late components. In contrast, for Facial Stimuli, early components presented significant correlations with empathy scales. Particularly, the N170 presented negative correlations with cognitive and affective empathy. Finally, augmented N400 was suggested to be associated with higher empathy scores in the Mental States and Social Language categories. These findings highlight the relevance of early perceptual stages of empathic processing and how different EEG/ERP methodologies provide relevant information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita Almeida
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; (R.A.)
| | - Catarina Prata
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; (R.A.)
| | - Mariana R. Pereira
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; (R.A.)
- GOS Institute of Child Health (UCL, UK), London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Fernando Barbosa
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; (R.A.)
| | - Fernando Ferreira-Santos
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; (R.A.)
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9
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Schurz M, Berenz JP, Maerz J, Perla R, Buchheim A, Labek K. Brain Activation for Social Cognition and Emotion Processing Tasks in Borderline Personality Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Studies. Brain Sci 2024; 14:395. [PMID: 38672044 PMCID: PMC11048542 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14040395] [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: 03/28/2024] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The present meta-analysis summarizes brain activation for social cognition and emotion-processing tasks in borderline personality disorder (BPD). We carried out two meta-analyses to elaborate on commonalities and potential differences between the two types of tasks. In the first meta-analysis, we implemented a more liberal strategy for task selection (including social and emotional content). The results confirmed previously reported hyperactivations in patients with BPD in the bilateral amygdala and prefrontal cortex and hypoactivations in bilateral inferior frontal gyri. When applying a stricter approach to task selection, focusing narrowly on social cognition tasks, we only found activation in prefrontal areas, particularly in the anterior cingulate and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. We review the role of these areas in social cognition in healthy adults, suggesting that the observed BPD hyperactivations may reflect an overreliance on self-related thought in social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Schurz
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Sport Science, and Digital Science Center (DiSC), University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstrasse 15, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Jan-Patrick Berenz
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstrasse 15, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Jeff Maerz
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstrasse 15, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Raphael Perla
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Sport Science, and Digital Science Center (DiSC), University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstrasse 15, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Anna Buchheim
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstrasse 15, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Karin Labek
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstrasse 15, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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10
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Hernandez Pena L, Weidacker K, Massau C, Wetzel K, Brand AL, Weckes K, Opwis M, Schiffer B, Kärgel C. Can people empathize with offenders and victims during violent scenes? Behavioral and brain correlates of affective and cognitive empathy considering victim vs. offender perspective using the Bochumer affective and cognitive empathy task (BACET). Neuropsychologia 2024; 194:108784. [PMID: 38159801 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108784] [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: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Empathy is defined as the capacity to resonate with others' emotions and can be subdivided into affective and cognitive components. Few studies have focused on the role of perspective-taking within this ability. Utilizing the novel Bochumer Affective and Cognitive Empathy Task (BACET), the present study aims to determine the characteristics of specific empathy components, as well as the impact of offender vs. victim perspective-taking. A total of 21 male participants (mean age = 30.6) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while watching 60 videos showing two protagonists in neutral (n = 30) or violent interactions (n = 30) thereby adopting the perspective of the (later) offender or victim. Our data show that videos showing emotional (violent) content, compared to those with neutral content, were rated more emotionally negative and induced higher affective empathic involvement, particularly when adopting the victim's perspective compared to the offender's point of view. The correct assignment of people's appropriate emotion (cognitive empathy) was found to be more accurate and faster in the emotional condition relative to the neutral one. However, no significant differences in cognitive empathy performance were observed when comparing victim vs offender conditions. On a neural level, affective empathy processing, during emotional compared to neutral videos, was related to brain areas generally involved in social information processing, particularly in occipital, parietal, insular, and frontal regions. Cognitive aspects of empathy, relative to factual reasoning questions, were located in inferior occipital areas, fusiform gyrus, temporal pole, and frontal cortex. Neural differences were found depending on the perspective, i.e., empathizing with the victim, compared to the offender, during affective empathy activated parts of the right temporal lobe, whereas empathy towards the role of the offender revealed stronger activation in the right lingual gyrus. During cognitive empathy, empathy toward the victim, relative to the offender, enhanced activity of the right supramarginal and left precentral gyri. The opposite contrast did not show any significant differences. We conclude that the BACET can be a useful tool for further studying behavioral and neurobiological underpinnings of affective and cognitive empathy, especially in forensic populations since response patterns point to a significant impact of the observer's perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Hernandez Pena
- Division of Forensic Psychiatry, LWL-University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship, Research Center Jülich and RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Kathrin Weidacker
- School of Psychology, University of Swansea, Swansea, United Kingdom
| | - Claudia Massau
- Division of Forensic Psychiatry, LWL-University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Kai Wetzel
- Division of Forensic Psychiatry, LWL-University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Anna-Lena Brand
- Division of Forensic Psychiatry, LWL-University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Katharina Weckes
- Division of Forensic Psychiatry, LWL-University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Mareile Opwis
- Department of Health Psychology, Distance University Hagen, Hagen, Germany
| | - Boris Schiffer
- Division of Forensic Psychiatry, LWL-University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Christian Kärgel
- Division of Forensic Psychiatry, LWL-University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
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11
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Gamble RS, Henry JD, Decety J, Vanman EJ. The role of external factors in affect-sharing and their neural bases. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 157:105540. [PMID: 38211739 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105540] [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: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Affect-sharing, the ability to vicariously feel another person's emotions, is the primary component of empathy that is typically thought to rely on the observer's capacity to feel the emotions of others. However, external signals, such as the target's physical characteristics, have been demonstrated to influence affect-sharing in the neuroscientific literature that speaks to the underappreciated role of external factors in eliciting affect-sharing. We consider factors that influence affect-sharing, including physical cues, emotional cues, situational factors, and observer-target relationships, as well as the neural circuits involved in these processes. Our review reveals that, while neural network activation is primarily responsible for processing affect-sharing, external factors also co-activate a top-down cognitive processing network to modulate the conscious process of affect-sharing. From this knowledge, an integrative framework of external factor interactions with affect-sharing are explained in detail. Finally, we identify critical areas for future research in social and affective neuroscience, including research gaps and incorporation of ecologically valid paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger S Gamble
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
| | - Julie D Henry
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Eric J Vanman
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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12
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Li S, He M, Lin L, Chen Q, Ru T, Zhou G. Altered neurophysiological responses during empathy for pain in insomnia: evidence from an EEG study in non-clinical samples. J Physiol Anthropol 2024; 43:4. [PMID: 38172965 PMCID: PMC10765821 DOI: 10.1186/s40101-023-00351-2] [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: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study aims to investigate the behavioral and neurophysiological changes accompanying the empathy for pain among individuals with insomnia in nonclinical samples, which has been scarcely explored in the existing literature despite the deleterious effects of sleep disturbance on social behavior, and interactions had been well-documented. METHODS Twenty-one individuals with insomnia in nonclinical samples and 20 healthy individuals as normal controls participated in the study. Electroencephalograph (EEG) was continuously recorded, while the participants underwent an empathy for pain task. RESULTS Subjective ratings of pain for painful and non-painful images revealed no statistically significant differences between the insomnia and control groups. The painful images induced a smaller P2 compared to non-painful images in the insomnia group, whereas no such difference was revealed for the controls. Moreover, a higher power density of the alpha and theta2 bands in the posterior brain regions was found in the insomnia group compared to the control group. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that individuals with insomnia exhibit altered neurophysiological responses to pain stimuli and a lower capacity to share empathy for pain. These alterations may be associated with changes in attentional mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Li
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Meiheng He
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Li Lin
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Qingwei Chen
- Lab of Light and Physio-Psychological Health, National Center for International Research On Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology & Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
| | - Taotao Ru
- Lab of Light and Physio-Psychological Health, National Center for International Research On Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology & Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
| | - Guofu Zhou
- Lab of Light and Physio-Psychological Health, National Center for International Research On Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology & Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
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13
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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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14
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Alves M, Krypotos AM, Crombez G, Vlaeyen JWS. Experimental Pain Picture System (EPPS): Development and Validation. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2023; 24:2052-2062. [PMID: 37356605 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2023.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023]
Abstract
Pain-related pictures are useful for studying how individuals respond to pain-related stimulation. Such pictures can occasionally be found in databases for affective pictures. However, a validated database specifically for pain-related pictures is not available yet. In 2 experiments (N = 185 and 103, respectively), we developed and validated the Experimental Pain Pictures System (EPPS). In both experiments, negative valence, arousal, and painfulness ratings were compared between neutral-, sad-, and pain-related pictures. The pain-related pictures represented both deep and superficial somatic pain. Across the 2 experiments, pain-related pictures were judged as more negative, arousing, and painful than neutral pictures and more painful than sad pictures. The final EPPS contains 50 pictures of different painful events considered moderately to highly painful by participants. The EPPS is a valuable tool for studying pain-related responses, as it gives researchers a choice among many validated pictures depicting different types of pain, increasing the comparability between studies. PERSPECTIVE: This article presents the validation of the experimental pain pictures system, which consists of a set of pain-related pictures. The experimental pain pictures system is composed of pictures depicting different types of pain. Participants rated all the pictures as being negative, arousing, and painful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryna Alves
- Research Group Health Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - Angelos-Miltiadis Krypotos
- Research Group Health Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Geert Crombez
- Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - Johan W S Vlaeyen
- Research Group Health Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Experimental Health Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
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15
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Wei Z, Huang Y, Li X, Shao M, Qian H, He B, Meng J. The influence of aggressive exercise on responses to self-perceived and others' pain. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:10802-10812. [PMID: 37715469 PMCID: PMC10629897 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad324] [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: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have reported relationships between exercise and pain. However, little is known about how aggressive exercise modulates individuals' responses to their own and others' pain. This present study addresses this question by conducting 2 studies employing event-related potential (ERP). Study 1 included 38 participants whose self-perceived pain was assessed after intervention with aggressive or nonaggressive exercises. Study 2 recruited 36 participants whose responses to others' pain were assessed after intervention with aggressive or nonaggressive exercise. Study 1's results showed that P2 amplitudes were smaller, reaction times were longer, and participants' judgments were less accurate in response to self-perceived pain stimuli, especially to high-pain stimuli, after intervention with aggressive exercise compared to nonaggressive exercise. Results of study 2 showed that both P3 and LPP amplitudes to others' pain were larger after intervention with aggressive exercise than with nonaggressive exercise. These results suggest that aggressive exercise decreases individuals' self-perceived pain and increases their empathic responses to others' pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zilong Wei
- Research Center for Brain and Cognitive Science, Chongqing Normal University, No. 37, Middle Road, University Town, Chongqing 401331, China
- Key Laboratory of Applied Psychology, Chongqing Normal University, No. 37, Middle Road, University Town, Chongqing 401331, China
| | - Yujuan Huang
- Guizhou Light Industry Technical College, No. 3, Dongqing Road, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Xiong Li
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, No. 2, Tiansheng Road, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Min Shao
- Research Center for Brain and Cognitive Science, Chongqing Normal University, No. 37, Middle Road, University Town, Chongqing 401331, China
- Key Laboratory of Applied Psychology, Chongqing Normal University, No. 37, Middle Road, University Town, Chongqing 401331, China
| | - Huiling Qian
- Research Center for Brain and Cognitive Science, Chongqing Normal University, No. 37, Middle Road, University Town, Chongqing 401331, China
- Key Laboratory of Applied Psychology, Chongqing Normal University, No. 37, Middle Road, University Town, Chongqing 401331, China
| | - Bojun He
- Research Center for Brain and Cognitive Science, Chongqing Normal University, No. 37, Middle Road, University Town, Chongqing 401331, China
- Key Laboratory of Applied Psychology, Chongqing Normal University, No. 37, Middle Road, University Town, Chongqing 401331, China
| | - Jing Meng
- Research Center for Brain and Cognitive Science, Chongqing Normal University, No. 37, Middle Road, University Town, Chongqing 401331, China
- Key Laboratory of Applied Psychology, Chongqing Normal University, No. 37, Middle Road, University Town, Chongqing 401331, China
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16
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Pech GP, Caspar EA. Does the cowl make the monk? The effect of military and Red Cross uniforms on empathy for pain, sense of agency and moral behaviors. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1255835. [PMID: 37854147 PMCID: PMC10580073 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1255835] [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: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
According to the embodied cognition framework, cognitive functions are not confined to the brain but are also shaped by the mutual interactions between the brain, body, and external environment. In this regard, a theory developed in 2012, called enclothed cognition, suggests an effect on wearing specific clothing on various psychological processes. However, the neuro-cognitive mechanisms underlying the impact of clothing on behavior have received less systematic investigation. The present study examined the influence of clothing on prosocial behaviors, and focused on sense of agency, and empathy for pain as neuro-cognitive processes of interest. Participants (40 in total) wore civilian, military, and Red Cross uniforms. They were paired up and assigned as either agents or victims. Agents had the option to administer real electric shocks to victims for a monetary reward of +€0.05. They could choose to shock freely (free condition) or follow the experimenter's instructions (coerced condition). We measured prosocial behavior by counting the number of shocks prevented, neural empathic response using electroencephalography with the P3 and the LPP, and sense of agency through an implicit method based on interval estimates. Findings showed that wearing the Red Cross uniform led to more prosocial behavior compared to civilian clothing. The Red Cross uniform also increased neural response to pain when participants witnessed shocks, compared to civilian or military clothing. Moreover, wearing a military uniform increased the sense of agency in the free condition, as compared to civilian clothing. This study broadens our knowledge on the impact of enclothed cognition on cognitive and psychological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume P. Pech
- Consciousness, Cognition and Computation lab, Center for Research in Cognition and Neuroscience, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Emilie A. Caspar
- Moral & Social Brain lab, Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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17
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Troncoso A, Soto V, Gomila A, Martínez-Pernía D. Moving beyond the lab: investigating empathy through the Empirical 5E approach. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1119469. [PMID: 37519389 PMCID: PMC10374225 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1119469] [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: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathy is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that plays a crucial role in human social interactions. Recent developments in social neuroscience have provided valuable insights into the neural underpinnings and bodily mechanisms underlying empathy. This methodology often prioritizes precision, replicability, internal validity, and confound control. However, fully understanding the complexity of empathy seems unattainable by solely relying on artificial and controlled laboratory settings, while overlooking a comprehensive view of empathy through an ecological experimental approach. In this article, we propose articulating an integrative theoretical and methodological framework based on the 5E approach (the "E"s stand for embodied, embedded, enacted, emotional, and extended perspectives of empathy), highlighting the relevance of studying empathy as an active interaction between embodied agents, embedded in a shared real-world environment. In addition, we illustrate how a novel multimodal approach including mobile brain and body imaging (MoBi) combined with phenomenological methods, and the implementation of interactive paradigms in a natural context, are adequate procedures to study empathy from the 5E approach. In doing so, we present the Empirical 5E approach (E5E) as an integrative scientific framework to bridge brain/body and phenomenological attributes in an interbody interactive setting. Progressing toward an E5E approach can be crucial to understanding empathy in accordance with the complexity of how it is experienced in the real world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Troncoso
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Vicente Soto
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Antoni Gomila
- Department of Psychology, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - David Martínez-Pernía
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
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18
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Yoshiike T, Benedetti F, Moriguchi Y, Vai B, Aggio V, Asano K, Ito M, Ikeda H, Ohmura H, Honma M, Yamada N, Kim Y, Nakajima S, Kuriyama K. Exploring the role of empathy in prolonged grief reactions to bereavement. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7596. [PMID: 37165097 PMCID: PMC10172345 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34755-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Grief reactions to the bereavement of a close individual could involve empathy for pain, which is fundamental to social interaction. To explore whether grief symptoms interact with social relatedness to a person to whom one directs empathy to modulate the expression of empathy, we administered an empathy task to 28 bereaved adults during functional magnetic resonance imaging, in which participants were subliminally primed with facial stimuli (e.g., faces of their deceased or living relative, or a stranger), each immediately followed by a visual pain stimulus. Individuals' grief severity promoted empathy for the pain stimulus primed with the deceased's face, while it diminished the neural response to the pain stimulus primed with the face of either their living relative or a stranger in the medial frontal cortex (e.g., the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex). Moreover, preliminary analyses showed that while the behavioral empathic response was promoted by the component of "longing" in the deceased priming condition, the neural empathic response was diminished by the component of "avoidance" in the stranger priming condition. Our results suggest an association between grief reactions to bereavement and empathy, in which grief symptoms interact with interpersonal factors to promote or diminish empathic responses to others' pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuya Yoshiike
- Department of Sleep-Wake Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawahigashi, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8553, Japan.
| | - Francesco Benedetti
- Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Yoshiya Moriguchi
- Department of Behavioral Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Japan
| | - Benedetta Vai
- Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Veronica Aggio
- Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Keiko Asano
- Department of Human Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, Musashino University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masaya Ito
- National Center for Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Research, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Japan
| | - Hiroki Ikeda
- National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan Organization of Occupational Health and Safety, Kawasaki, Japan
| | - Hidefumi Ohmura
- Department of Information Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Noda, Japan
| | - Motoyasu Honma
- Department of Physiology, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Naoto Yamada
- Department of Psychiatry, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Japan
| | - Yoshiharu Kim
- Department of Behavioral Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Japan
| | - Satomi Nakajima
- Department of Behavioral Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Japan
- Department of Human Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, Musashino University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kenichi Kuriyama
- Department of Sleep-Wake Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawahigashi, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8553, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Japan
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19
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McCommon SA, Turk B, Roach A, Jelsone-Swain L. Acetaminophen changes Mu rhythm power related to pain empathy. Neuropsychologia 2023; 184:108544. [PMID: 36948452 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
Empathy is an intricate ability that entails the subjective feeling and understanding of emotions someone else may be experiencing. Acetaminophen, the active ingredient found in Tylenol, is among the most common pain medications consumed. There is new evidence, however, that suggests this common analgesic may also dampen empathic processes. However, no previous study has investigated the effect acetaminophen may have on pain empathy or mu power during a pain empathy task. Therefore, participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental (acetaminophen) or control (sugar) group in a double-blinded experimental research design aimed to measure mu power (using EEG) and behavioral responses to painful and non-painful images. Participants in the experimental group were administered 1000 mg of acetaminophen, and it was verified that participants were unaware which group they were assigned. We found that mu suppression was greater in the acetaminophen group, which was strongest at electrode C3. Additionally, mu power differences between painful and non-painful images were related to trait empathy, and mu power during the painful images were positively correlated with empathy scores. Results from this study suggest that in addition to reducing physical pain, acetaminophen may also change the brain response when perceiving others in pain. The implications of these findings could possibly lead to changes in how we prescribe and administer this common drug.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Anne McCommon
- Department of Psychology University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Parkway, Aiken, SC, 29801, USA
| | - Brooke Turk
- Department of Psychology University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Parkway, Aiken, SC, 29801, USA
| | - Alexandra Roach
- Department of Psychology University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Parkway, Aiken, SC, 29801, USA
| | - Laura Jelsone-Swain
- Department of Psychology University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Parkway, Aiken, SC, 29801, USA.
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20
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Wijaya VG, Oba K, Ishibashi R, Sugiura M. Why people hesitate to help: Neural correlates of the counter-dynamics of altruistic helping and individual differences in daily helping tendencies. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1080376. [PMID: 36998358 PMCID: PMC10044345 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1080376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent psychological and neuroimaging studies on altruism–egoism dilemmas have promoted our understanding of the processes underlying altruistic motivation; however, little attention has been paid to the egoistic counter-dynamics that prompt hesitancy to help. These counter-dynamics may involve the construction of reasons not to help based on contextual elaboration and explain individual differences in the tendency to help others in daily life. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we explored the neural correlates of altruism–egoism dilemmas during empathy-driven helping decisions, with particular attention to the counter-dynamics related to individual helping tendency traits. We used two context-rich helping decision scenarios. In the empathy dilemma (Emp) scenario, empathy-driven motivation to help a poor person was associated with a cost, whereas in the economic-dilemma (Eco) scenario, self-beneficial motivation to help a non-poor person was associated with a cost. Our results showed activation of the right anterior prefrontal cortices, supramarginal gyrus, and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) for the altruism–egoism dilemma (i.e., Emp > Eco). A significant negative effect of the helping tendency trait score was observed on PCC activation; interestingly, this effect was observed for both Emp and Eco dilemmas. The identified neural correlates of altruism–egoism dilemmas appear to be related to the construction of decision reasons based on contextual elaboration in naturalistic situations. In contrast to the classical view, our results suggest a two-stage model that includes an altruistic helping decision followed by counter-dynamics to determine the individual helping tendency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vidya Gani Wijaya
- Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Kentaro Oba
- Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Ryo Ishibashi
- Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Motoaki Sugiura
- Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
- International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
- *Correspondence: Motoaki Sugiura,
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21
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Pluta A, Mazurek J, Wojciechowski J, Wolak T, Soral W, Bilewicz M. Exposure to hate speech deteriorates neurocognitive mechanisms of the ability to understand others' pain. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4127. [PMID: 36914701 PMCID: PMC10011534 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31146-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The widespread ubiquity of hate speech affects people's attitudes and behavior. Exposure to hate speech can lead to prejudice, dehumanization, and lack of empathy towards members of outgroups. However, the impact of exposure to hate speech on empathy and propensity to attribute mental states to others has never been directly tested empirically. In this fMRI study, we examine the effects of exposure to hate speech on neural mechanisms of empathy towards ingroup (Poles) versus outgroup members (Arabs). Thirty healthy young adults were randomly assigned to 2 groups: hateful and neutral. During the fMRI study, they were initially exposed to hateful or neutral comments and subsequently to narratives depicting Poles and Arabs in pain. Using whole-brain and region of interest analysis, we showed that exposure to derogatory language about migrants attenuates the brain response to someone else's pain in the right temporal parietal junction (rTPJ), irrespective of group membership (Poles or Arabs). Given that rTPJ is associated with processes relevant to perspective-taking, its reduced activity might be related to a decreased propensity to take the psychological perspective of others. This finding suggests that hate speech affects human functioning beyond intergroup relations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Pluta
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Stawki 5/7 Street, 00-183, Warszawa, Poland. .,Bioimaging Research Center, World Hearing Center of Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Warszawa, Poland.
| | - Joanna Mazurek
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Stawki 5/7 Street, 00-183, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Jakub Wojciechowski
- Bioimaging Research Center, World Hearing Center of Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Warszawa, Poland.,Laboratory of Emotions Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Tomasz Wolak
- Bioimaging Research Center, World Hearing Center of Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Wiktor Soral
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Stawki 5/7 Street, 00-183, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Michał Bilewicz
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Stawki 5/7 Street, 00-183, Warszawa, Poland
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22
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Fornari L, Ioumpa K, Nostro AD, Evans NJ, De Angelis L, Speer SPH, Paracampo R, Gallo S, Spezio M, Keysers C, Gazzola V. Neuro-computational mechanisms and individual biases in action-outcome learning under moral conflict. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1218. [PMID: 36878911 PMCID: PMC9988878 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36807-3] [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: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Learning to predict action outcomes in morally conflicting situations is essential for social decision-making but poorly understood. Here we tested which forms of Reinforcement Learning Theory capture how participants learn to choose between self-money and other-shocks, and how they adapt to changes in contingencies. We find choices were better described by a reinforcement learning model based on the current value of separately expected outcomes than by one based on the combined historical values of past outcomes. Participants track expected values of self-money and other-shocks separately, with the substantial individual difference in preference reflected in a valuation parameter balancing their relative weight. This valuation parameter also predicted choices in an independent costly helping task. The expectations of self-money and other-shocks were biased toward the favored outcome but fMRI revealed this bias to be reflected in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex while the pain-observation network represented pain prediction errors independently of individual preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Fornari
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Kalliopi Ioumpa
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alessandra D Nostro
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Nathan J Evans
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Lorenzo De Angelis
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sebastian P H Speer
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Riccardo Paracampo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Selene Gallo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Spezio
- Psychology, Neuroscience, & Data Science, Scripps College, 1030 Columbia Ave, CA 91711, Claremont, CA, USA
| | - 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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23
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Martínez-Pernía D, Cea I, Troncoso A, Blanco K, Calderón Vergara J, Baquedano C, Araya-Veliz C, Useros-Olmo A, Huepe D, Carrera V, Mack Silva V, Vergara M. "I am feeling tension in my whole body": An experimental phenomenological study of empathy for pain. Front Psychol 2023; 13:999227. [PMID: 36687843 PMCID: PMC9845790 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.999227] [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: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Traditionally, empathy has been studied from two main perspectives: the theory-theory approach and the simulation theory approach. These theories claim that social emotions are fundamentally constituted by mind states in the brain. In contrast, classical phenomenology and recent research based on the enactive theories consider empathy as the basic process of contacting others' emotional experiences through direct bodily perception and sensation. Objective This study aims to enrich the knowledge of the empathic experience of pain using an experimental phenomenological method. Materials and methods Implementing an experimental paradigm used in affective neuroscience, we exposed 28 healthy adults to a video of sportspersons suffering physical accidents while practicing extreme sports. Immediately after watching the video, each participant underwent a phenomenological interview to gather data on embodied, multi-layered dimensions (bodily sensations, emotions, and motivations) and temporal aspects of empathic experience. We also performed quantitative analyses of the phenomenological categories. Results Experiential access to the other person's painful experience involves four main themes. Bodily resonance: participants felt a multiplicity of bodily, affective, and kinesthetic sensations in coordination with the sportsperson's bodily actions. Attentional focus: some participants centered their attention more on their own personal discomfort and sensations of rejection, while others on the pain and suffering experienced by the sportspersons. Kinesthetic motivation: some participants experienced the feeling in their bodies to avoid or escape from watching the video, while others experienced the need to help the sportspersons avoid suffering any injury while practicing extreme sports. The temporality of experience: participants witnessed temporal fluctuations in their experiences, bringing intensity changes in their bodily resonance, attentional focus, and kinesthetic motivation. Finally, two experiential structures were found: one structure is self-centered empathic experience, characterized by bodily resonance, attentional focus centered on the participant's own experience of seeing the sportsperson suffering, and self-protective kinesthetic motivation; the other structure is other-centered empathic experience, characterized by bodily resonance, attentional focus centered on the sportsperson, and prosocial kinesthetic motivation to help them. Discussion We show how phenomenological data may contribute to comprehending empathy for pain in social neuroscience. In addition, we address the phenomenological aspect of the enactive approach to the three dimensions of an embodiment of human consciousness, especially the intersubjective dimension. Also, based on our results, we suggest an extension of the enactive theory of non-interactive social experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Martínez-Pernía
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile,Faculty of Medicine, Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism (GERO), University of Chile, Santiago, Chile,Faculty of Medicine, Memory and Neuropsychiatric Clinic (CMYN), Neurology Service, Hospital del Salvador, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile,*Correspondence: David Martínez-Pernía,
| | - Ignacio Cea
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile,Philosophy Department, Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Santiago, Chile
| | - Alejandro Troncoso
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Kevin Blanco
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Jorge Calderón Vergara
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Constanza Baquedano
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Ana Useros-Olmo
- Unidad de Daño Cerebral, Hospital Beata María Ana, Madrid, Spain,Departamento de Fisioterapia and Motion in Brains Research Group, Institute of Neuroscience and Sciences of the Movement (INCIMOV), Centro Superior de Estudios Universitarios La Salle, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Huepe
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Valentina Carrera
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Victoria Mack Silva
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Mayte Vergara
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
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24
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Walsh JJ, Christoffel DJ, Malenka RC. Neural circuits regulating prosocial behaviors. Neuropsychopharmacology 2023; 48:79-89. [PMID: 35701550 PMCID: PMC9700801 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-022-01348-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Positive, prosocial interactions are essential for survival, development, and well-being. These intricate and complex behaviors are mediated by an amalgamation of neural circuit mechanisms working in concert. Impairments in prosocial behaviors, which occur in a large number of neuropsychiatric disorders, result from disruption of the coordinated activity of these neural circuits. In this review, we focus our discussion on recent findings that utilize modern approaches in rodents to map, monitor, and manipulate neural circuits implicated in a variety of prosocial behaviors. We highlight how modulation by oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission in specific brain regions is critical for regulation of adaptive prosocial interactions. We then describe how recent findings have helped elucidate pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the social deficits that accompany neuropsychiatric disorders. We conclude by discussing approaches for the development of more efficacious and targeted therapeutic interventions to ameliorate aberrant prosocial behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica J Walsh
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA.
- Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA.
| | - Daniel J Christoffel
- Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - Robert C Malenka
- Nancy Pritzker Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305-5453, USA.
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25
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Labek K, Sittenberger E, Kienhöfer V, Rabl L, Messina I, Schurz M, Stingl JC, Viviani R. The gradient model of brain organization in decisions involving “empathy for pain”. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:5839-5850. [PMID: 36537039 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Influential models of cortical organization propose a close relationship between heteromodal association areas and highly connected hubs in the default mode network. The “gradient model” of cortical organization proposes a close relationship between these areas and highly connected hubs in the default mode network, a set of cortical areas deactivated by demanding tasks. Here, we used a decision-making task and representational similarity analysis with classic “empathy for pain” stimuli to probe the relationship between high-level representations of imminent pain in others and these areas. High-level representations were colocalized with task deactivations or the transitions from activations to deactivations. These loci belonged to 2 groups: those that loaded on the high end of the principal cortical gradient and were associated by meta-analytic decoding with the default mode network, and those that appeared to accompany functional repurposing of somatosensory cortex in the presence of visual stimuli. These findings suggest that task deactivations may set out cortical areas that host high-level representations. We anticipate that an increased understanding of the cortical correlates of high-level representations may improve neurobiological models of social interactions and psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Labek
- University of Innsbruck Institute of Psychology, , Universitätsstraße 5-7, 6020 Innsbruck , Austria
| | - Elisa Sittenberger
- University of Ulm Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Clinic III, , Leimgrubenweg 12, 89075 Ulm , Germany
| | - Valerie Kienhöfer
- University of Innsbruck Institute of Psychology, , Universitätsstraße 5-7, 6020 Innsbruck , Austria
- University of Ulm Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Clinic III, , Leimgrubenweg 12, 89075 Ulm , Germany
| | - Luna Rabl
- University of Innsbruck Institute of Psychology, , Universitätsstraße 5-7, 6020 Innsbruck , Austria
- University of Ulm Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Clinic III, , Leimgrubenweg 12, 89075 Ulm , Germany
| | - Irene Messina
- University of Ulm Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Clinic III, , Leimgrubenweg 12, 89075 Ulm , Germany
- Scienze e Tecniche Psicologiche,Universitas Mercatorum , Piazza Mattei 10, 00186 Rome , Italy
| | - Matthias Schurz
- University of Innsbruck Institute of Psychology, , Universitätsstraße 5-7, 6020 Innsbruck , Austria
- University of Innsbruck Digital Science Center (DiSC), , Innrain 15, 6020 Innsbruck , Austria
| | - Julia C Stingl
- University Clinic Aachen Clinical Pharmacology, , Wendlingweg 2, 52074 Aachen , Germany
| | - Roberto Viviani
- University of Innsbruck Institute of Psychology, , Universitätsstraße 5-7, 6020 Innsbruck , Austria
- University of Ulm Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Clinic III, , Leimgrubenweg 12, 89075 Ulm , Germany
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26
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Weiß M, Iotzov V, Zhou Y, Hein G. The bright and dark sides of egoism. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:1054065. [PMID: 36506436 PMCID: PMC9729783 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1054065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite its negative reputation, egoism - the excessive concern for one's own welfare - can incite prosocial behavior. So far, however, egoism-based prosociality has received little attention. Here, we first provide an overview of the conditions under which egoism turns into a prosocial motive, review the benefits and limitations of egoism-based prosociality, and compare them with empathy-driven prosocial behavior. Second, we summarize studies investigating the neural processing of egoism-based prosocial decisions, studies investigating the neural processing of empathy-based prosocial decisions, and the small number of studies that compared the neural processing of prosocial decisions elicited by the different motives. We conclude that there is evidence for differential neural networks involved in egoism and empathy-based prosocial decisions. However, this evidence is not yet conclusive, because it is mainly based on the comparison of different experimental paradigms which may exaggerate or overshadow the effect of the different motivational states. Finally, we propose paradigms and research questions that should be tackled in future research that could help to specify how egoism can be used to enhance other prosocial behavior and motivation, and the how it could be tamed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Weiß
- Translational Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Center of Mental Health, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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27
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Tramacere A. Face yourself: The social neuroscience of mirror gazing. Front Psychol 2022; 13:949211. [DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.949211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In philosophical and psychological accounts alike, it has been claimed that mirror gazing is like looking at ourselves as others. Social neuroscience and social psychology offer support for this view by showing that we use similar brain and cognitive mechanisms during perception of both others’ and our own face. I analyse these premises to investigate the factors affecting the perception of one’s own mirror image. I analyse mechanisms and processes involved in face perception, mimicry, and emotion recognition, and defend the following argument: because perception of others’ face is affected by our feelings toward them, it is likely that feelings toward ourselves affect our responses to the mirror image. One implication is that negative self-feelings can affect mirror gazing instantiating a vicious cycle where the negative emotional response reflects a previously acquired attitude toward oneself. I conclude by discussing implications of this view for psychology and social studies.
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28
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Wu YE, Hong W. Neural basis of prosocial behavior. Trends Neurosci 2022; 45:749-762. [PMID: 35853793 PMCID: PMC10039809 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The ability to behave in ways that benefit other individuals' well-being is among the most celebrated human characteristics crucial for social cohesiveness. Across mammalian species, animals display various forms of prosocial behaviors - comforting, helping, and resource sharing - to support others' emotions, goals, and/or material needs. In this review, we provide a cross-species view of the behavioral manifestations, proximate and ultimate drives, and neural mechanisms of prosocial behaviors. We summarize key findings from recent studies in humans and rodents that have shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying different processes essential for prosocial interactions, from perception and empathic sharing of others' states to prosocial decisions and actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye Emily Wu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Weizhe Hong
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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29
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Chen C, Chen YH, Cheng Y. Meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging and dispositional variables for clinical empathy. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104874. [PMID: 36116577 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Clinical empathy refers to the ability of healthcare providers (HP) to recognize and understand what patients feel. While neuroimaging investigations have identified a neural network of empathy, activation consistency of brain regions and their specific functions in clinical empathy remains unclear. Herein, we conducted meta-analyses of dispositional assessments using random-effects models and functional neuroimaging using Seed-based d Mapping with Permutation of Subject Images to ascertain the shared neural processes consistently identified as relevant to clinical empathy. The dispositional meta-analysis (n = 15) revealed that HP exhibited higher scores on empathic concern and perspective taking. The HP neuroimaging meta-analysis (n = 11) identified consistent activation of the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, anterior insula, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) while HP vs. controls comparison (n = 9) did not yield robust alterations. The vlPFC mediated positive and negative functional connectivity of the insula. We revisited the framework of emotion regulation in clinical empathy. The empathetic agent flexibly shifts between affective regulatory strategies to meet contextual demands, with vlPFC figuring as the key region where this neural mechanism takes place.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenyi Chen
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hospital, Yilan, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Research Center of Brain and Consciousness, Shuang-Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain and Consciousness, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Psychiatric Research Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Yu-Hsin Chen
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hospital, Yilan, Taiwan; Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Yawei Cheng
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hospital, Yilan, Taiwan; Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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30
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Iotzov V, Saulin A, Kaiser J, Han S, Hein G. Financial incentives facilitate stronger neural computation of prosocial decisions in lower empathic adult females. Soc Neurosci 2022; 17:441-461. [PMID: 36064327 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2022.2115550] [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
Financial incentives are commonly used to motivate behaviors. However, there is also evidence that incentives can impede the behavior they are supposed to foster, for example, documented by a decrease in blood donations if a financial incentive is offered. Based on these findings, previous studies assumed that prosocial motivation is shaped by incentives. However, so far, there is no direct evidence showing an interaction between financial incentives and a specific prosocial motive. Combining drift-diffusion modeling and fMRI, we investigated the effect of financial incentives on empathy, i.e., one of the key motives driving prosocial decisions. In the empathy-alone condition, participants made prosocial decisions based on empathy. In the empathy-bonus condition, they were offered a financial bonus for prosocial decisions, in addition to empathy induction. On average, the bonus enhanced the information accumulation in empathy-based decisions. On the neural level, this enhancement was related to the anterior insula, the same region that also correlated with empathy ratings. Moreover, the effect of the financial incentive on anterior insula activation was stronger the lower a person scored on empathy. These findings show that financial incentives enhance prosocial motivation in the absence of empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vassil Iotzov
- Translational Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.,Institute of Medical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Anne Saulin
- Translational Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Jochen Kaiser
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Shihui Han
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Grit Hein
- Translational Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
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31
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Caspar EA, Ioumpa K, Arnaldo I, Di Angelis L, Gazzola V, Keysers C. Commanding or Being a Simple Intermediary: How Does It Affect Moral Behavior and Related Brain Mechanisms? eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0508-21.2022. [PMID: 36171058 PMCID: PMC9581580 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0508-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychology and neuroscience research have shown that fractioning operations among several individuals along a hierarchical chain allows diffusing responsibility between components of the chain, which has the potential to disinhibit antisocial actions. Here, we present two studies, one using fMRI (Study 1) and one using EEG (Study 2), designed to help understand how commanding or being in an intermediary position impacts the sense of agency and empathy for pain. In the age of military drones, we also explored whether commanding a human or robot agent influences these measures. This was done within a single behavioral paradigm in which participants could freely decide whether or not to send painful shocks to another participant in exchange for money. In Study 1, fMRI reveals that activation in social cognition-related and empathy-related brain regions was equally low when witnessing a victim receive a painful shock while participants were either commander or simple intermediary transmitting an order, compared with being the agent directly delivering the shock. In Study 2, results indicated that the sense of agency did not differ between commanders and intermediary, no matter whether the executing agent was a robot or a human. However, we observed that the neural response over P3 event-related potential was higher when the executing agent was a robot compared with a human. Source reconstruction of the EEG signal revealed that this effect was mediated by areas including the insula and ACC. Results are discussed regarding the interplay between the sense of agency and empathy for pain for decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilie A Caspar
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- The Moral & Social Brain Lab, Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Kalliopi Ioumpa
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Irene Arnaldo
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Lorenzo Di Angelis
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Christian Keysers
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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32
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Han Y, Valentini E, Halder S. Classification of Tonic Pain Experience based on Phase Connectivity in the Alpha Frequency Band of the Electroencephalogram using Convolutional Neural Networks. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2022; 2022:3542-3545. [PMID: 36086245 DOI: 10.1109/embc48229.2022.9871353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The complexity of brain activity involved in the generation of the experience of pain makes it hard to identify neural markers able to predict pain states. The within and between subjects variability of pain hinders the predictive potential of machine learning models trained across participants. This challenge can be tackled by implementing deep learning classifiers based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs). We targeted phase-based connectivity in the alpha band recorded with electroencephalography (EEG) during resting states and sensory conditions (eyes open [O] and closed [C] as resting states, and warm [W] and hot [H] water as sensory conditions). Connectivity features were extracted and re-organized as square matrices, because CNNs are effective in detecting the patterns from 2D data. To assess the classifier performance we implemented two complementary approaches: we 1) trained and tested the classifier with data from all participants, and 2) using a leave-one-out approach, that is excluding one participant at a time during training while using their data as a test set. The accuracy of binary classification between pain condition (H) and eyes open resting state (O) was 94.16% with the first approach, and 61.01 % with the leave-one-out approach. Clinical relevance-Further validation of the CNN classifier may help caregivers track the rehabilitation of chronic pain patients and dynamically modify the therapy. Further refinement of the model may allow its application in critical care setting with unresponsive patients to identify pain-like states otherwise incommunicable to medical personnel.
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Chae Y, Park HJ, Lee IS. Pain modalities in the body and brain: Current knowledge and future perspectives. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 139:104744. [PMID: 35716877 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104744] [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: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Development and validation of pain biomarkers has become a major issue in pain research. Recent advances in multimodal data acquisition have allowed researchers to gather multivariate and multilevel whole-body measurements in patients with pain conditions, and data analysis techniques such as machine learning have led to novel findings in neural biomarkers for pain. Most studies have focused on the development of a biomarker to predict the severity of pain with high precision and high specificity, however, a similar approach to discriminate different modalities of pain is lacking. Identification of more accurate and specific pain biomarkers will require an in-depth understanding of the modality specificity of pain. In this review, we summarize early and recent findings on the modality specificity of pain in the brain, with a focus on distinct neural activity patterns between chronic clinical and acute experimental pain, direct, social, and vicarious pain, and somatic and visceral pain. We also suggest future directions to improve our current strategy of pain management using our knowledge of modality-specific aspects of pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Younbyoung Chae
- College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, the Republic of Korea; Acupuncture & Meridian Science Research Center, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, the Republic of Korea
| | - Hi-Joon Park
- College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, the Republic of Korea; Acupuncture & Meridian Science Research Center, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, the Republic of Korea
| | - In-Seon Lee
- College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, the Republic of Korea; Acupuncture & Meridian Science Research Center, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, the Republic of Korea.
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34
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Keysers C, Knapska E, Moita MA, Gazzola V. Emotional contagion and prosocial behavior in rodents. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:688-706. [PMID: 35667978 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Empathy is critical to adjusting our behavior to the state of others. The past decade dramatically deepened our understanding of the biological origin of this capacity. We now understand that rodents robustly show emotional contagion for the distress of others via neural structures homologous to those involved in human empathy. Their propensity to approach others in distress strengthens this effect. Although rodents can also learn to favor behaviors that benefit others via structures overlapping with those of emotional contagion, they do so less reliably and more selectively. Together, this suggests evolution selected mechanisms for emotional contagion to prepare animals for dangers by using others as sentinels. Such shared emotions additionally can, under certain circumstances, promote prosocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Keysers
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Ewelina Knapska
- Laboratory of Emotions' Neurobiology, Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders BRAINCITY, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Marta A Moita
- Champalimaud Neuroscience Progamme, Champalimaud Foundation, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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35
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Murphy BA, Lilienfeld SO, Algoe SB. Why we Should Reject the Restrictive Isomorphic Matching Definition of Empathy. EMOTION REVIEW 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/17540739221082215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
A growing cadre of influential scholars has converged on a circumscribed definition of empathy as restricted only to feeling the same emotion that one perceives another is feeling. We argue that this restrictive isomorphic matching (RIM) definition is deeply problematic because (1) it deviates dramatically from traditional conceptualizations of empathy and unmoors the construct from generations of scientific research and clinical practice; (2) insistence on an isomorphic form undercuts much of the functional value of empathy from multiple perspectives of analysis; and (3) combining the opposing concepts of isomorphic matching and self-other awareness implicitly requires motivational content, causing the RIM definition to implicitly require the kind of non-matching emotional content that it explicitly seeks to exclude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett A. Murphy
- Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | | | - Sara B. Algoe
- Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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36
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Morawetz C, Berboth S, Kohn N, Jackson PL, Jauniaux J. Reappraisal and empathic perspective-taking - More alike than meets the eyes. Neuroimage 2022; 255:119194. [PMID: 35413444 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Emotion regulation and empathy represent highly intertwined psychological processes sharing common conceptual ground. Despite the wealth of research in these fields, the joint and distinct functional nature and topological features of these constructs have not yet been investigated using the same experimental approach. This study investigated the common and distinct neural correlates of emotion regulation and empathy using a meta-analytic approach. The regions that were jointly activated were then characterized using meta-analytic connectivity modeling and functional decoding of metadata terms. The results revealed convergent activity within the ventrolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex as well as temporal regions. The functional decoding analysis demonstrated that emotion regulation and empathy were related to highly similar executive and internally oriented processes. This synthesis underlining strong functional and neuronal correspondence between emotion regulation and empathy could (i) facilitate greater integration of these two separate lines of literature, (ii) accelerate progress toward elucidating the neural mechanisms that support social cognition, and (iii) push forward the development of a common theoretical framework for these psychological processes essential to human social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stella Berboth
- Institute of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Nils Kohn
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Netherlands
| | | | - Josiane Jauniaux
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sherbrooke University, Sherbrooke, Canada
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Bembich S, Saksida A, Mastromarino S, Travan L, Di Risio G, Cont G, Demarini S. Empathy at birth: Mother's cortex synchronizes with that of her newborn in pain. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:1519-1531. [PMID: 35266192 PMCID: PMC9314789 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Early neonatal relation with the caregiver is vital for newborn survival and for the promotion of an appropriate neural development. The aim of this study was to assess if the empathic cortical response of a mother to her baby's pain is synchronized with the neonatal cortical response to the painful stimulation. We used hyperscanning, a functional neuroimaging approach that allows studying functional synchronization between two brains. Sixteen mother-newborn dyads were recruited. Maternal and neonatal cortical activities were simultaneously monitored, by near-infrared spectroscopy, during a heel prick performed on the baby and observed by the mother. Multiple paired t test was used to identify cortical activation, and wavelet transform coherence method was used to explore possible synchronization between the maternal and neonatal cortical areas. Activations were observed in mother's parietal cortex, bilaterally, and in newborn's superior motor/somatosensory cortex. The main functional synchronization analysis showed that mother's left parietal cortex activity cross-correlated with that of her newborn's superior motor/somatosensory cortex. Such synchronization dynamically changed throughout assessment, becoming positively cross-correlated only after the leading role in synchronizing cortical activities was taken up by the newborn. Thus, maternal empathic cortical response to baby pain was guided by and synchronized to the newborn's cortical response to pain. We conclude that, in case of potential danger for the infant, brain areas involved in mother-newborn relationship appear to be already co-regulated at birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Bembich
- Division of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child HealthIRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”TriesteItaly
| | - Amanda Saksida
- Division of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child HealthIRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”TriesteItaly
| | - Simona Mastromarino
- Division of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child HealthIRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”TriesteItaly
| | - Laura Travan
- Division of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child HealthIRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”TriesteItaly
| | - Giovanna Di Risio
- Division of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child HealthIRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”TriesteItaly
| | - Gabriele Cont
- Division of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child HealthIRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”TriesteItaly
| | - Sergio Demarini
- Division of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child HealthIRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”TriesteItaly
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38
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Wang H, Zhao P, Zhao J, Zhong J, Pan P, Wang G, Yi Z. Theory of Mind and Empathy in Adults With Epilepsy: A Meta-Analysis. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:877957. [PMID: 35573343 PMCID: PMC9093035 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.877957] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mounting evidence suggests that social cognitive abilities [including theory of mind (ToM) and empathy] are impaired in adult patients with epilepsy. Although the deficits in overall ToM in epilepsy have been documented well, the effects of epilepsy on empathic ability and specific subcomponents of ToM remain unclear. The primary aim of this study was to provide the first meta-analytic integration of ToM and empathy in adult patients with epilepsy, and to decompose these constructs to clearly differentiate their distinct (cognitive ToM and affective empathy) and overlapping (affective ToM/cognitive empathy) components. This meta-analysis included 28 studies. Adult patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) showed impairments in cognitive ToM and affective ToM/cognitive empathy compared to the healthy controls (HCs); no group differences were identified for affective empathy. Besides, cognitive ToM was impaired in adult patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) and focal seizures (caused by epileptogenic foci) outside the temporal and frontal lobes (extra-TLE/FLE) and no group differences were evident for affective ToM/cognitive empathy compared to the HCs. Moreover, relative to the HCs, no group differences were identified for affective empathy in adult patients with IGE. Additionally, no (statistically) significant difference was observed between the magnitude of ToM/empathy impairment in adult patients who underwent and those who did not undergo epilepsy surgery. These quantitative findings suggest differential impairment of the core aspects of social cognitive processing in adult patients with epilepsy, which may contribute to the development of structured cognitive interventions (i.e., social cognitive training) for adult patients with epilepsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- HongZhou Wang
- Department of Neurology, Anting Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - PanWen Zhao
- Department of Central Laboratory, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Yancheng, China
| | - Jing Zhao
- Department of Central Laboratory, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Yancheng, China
| | - JianGuo Zhong
- Department of Neurology, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Yancheng, China
| | - PingLei Pan
- Department of Central Laboratory, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Yancheng, China.,Department of Neurology, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Yancheng, China
| | - GenDi Wang
- Department of Neurology, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Yancheng, China
| | - ZhongQuan Yi
- Department of Central Laboratory, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Yancheng, China
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39
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Shany O, Greental A, Gilam G, Perry D, Bleich-Cohen M, Ovadia M, Cohen A, Raz G. Somatic engagement alters subsequent neurobehavioral correlates of affective mentalizing. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:5846-5861. [PMID: 34651382 PMCID: PMC8596949 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 07/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Socio‐emotional encounters involve a resonance of others' affective states, known as affect sharing (AS); and attribution of mental states to others, known as theory‐of‐mind (ToM). Empathy necessitates the integration of both processes, yet their interaction during emotional episodes and subsequent generation of inferences on others' affective states has rarely been tested. To address this, we developed a novel experimental design, wherein we manipulated AS by presenting nonverbal emotionally negative movies twice—each time accompanied by one of two soundtracks that accentuated either somatic cues or externally generated sounds. Movies were followed by questions addressing affective‐ToM (emotional inferences), cognitive‐ToM (inferences on beliefs and knowledge), and non‐ToM aspects. Results revealed a neural differentiation between AS, affective‐ToM, and cognitive‐ToM. AS movies activated regions that have been implicated in emotional (e.g., amygdala) and somatosensory processing, and synchronized brain activity between participants in the latter. Affective‐ToM activated the middle insula, limbic regions, and both ventral and dorsal portions of the medial prefrontal cortex (ventral medial prefrontal cortex [VMPFC] and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex [DMPFC], respectively), whereas cognitive‐ToM activated posteromedial and lateral–prefrontal and temporal cortices. Critically, AS movies specifically altered neural activation in AS and ToM‐related regions during subsequent affective‐ToM inferences, most notably in the DMPFC. Moreover, DMPFC–VMPFC connectivity correlated with affective‐ToM accuracy, when such questions followed AS movies. Our results associate empathic processes with designated neural activations and shed light on how neuro‐behavioral indices of affective ToM are shaped by preceding somatic engagement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ofir Shany
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.,Sagol Brain Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Ayam Greental
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.,Sagol Brain Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel.,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Gadi Gilam
- Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Daniella Perry
- Sagol Brain Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Maya Bleich-Cohen
- Sagol Brain Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Moran Ovadia
- Sagol Brain Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel.,Steve Tisch School of Film and Television, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Avihay Cohen
- Sagol Brain Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Gal Raz
- Sagol Brain Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel.,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.,Steve Tisch School of Film and Television, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
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40
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Ren Q, Yang Y, Wo Y, Lu X, Hu L. Different priming effects of empathy on neural processing associated with firsthand pain and nonpain perception. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2021; 1509:184-202. [PMID: 34877680 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The shared-representation model of empathy is still debated. One of the major questions is whether empathy-eliciting stimuli depicting others' pain selectively activate the representations of self-pain. To address this issue, we assessed the priming effects of empathy-eliciting pictures on firsthand pain and nonpain perception, as well as its associated neural processing. In Experiment 1, when compared with nonpainful pictures depicting individuals' body parts with no injury, participants primed by painful pictures showing individuals' body parts with injury reported higher ratings for perceived intensity, unpleasantness, and salience of nociceptive and auditory stimuli, but they only exhibited increased N2 amplitude in response to nociceptive stimuli. In Experiment 2, the results from another group of participants replicated the observations of Experiment 1 and validated the findings in the non-nociceptive somatosensory modality. Importantly, participants' concern ratings for priming pictures predicted their unpleasantness ratings for subsequent nociceptive stimuli, while participants' attention ratings predicted their unpleasantness ratings for subsequent auditory and tactile stimuli. This finding implies that empathy for pain might influence pain and nonpain perception via different psychological mechanisms. In summary, our findings highlight the existence of pain-selective representations in empathy for pain and contribute to a better understanding of the shared-representation model of empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiaoyue Ren
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,General and Experimental Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Ye Yang
- Centre for Mental Health Research in School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
| | - Ye Wo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xuejing Lu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Li Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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41
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The influence of social pain experience on empathic neural responses: the moderating role of gender. Exp Brain Res 2021; 240:53-69. [PMID: 34854933 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06279-2] [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: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/11/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Empathy for pain, the ability to share and understand the pain of others, plays an important role in the survival and development of individuals. Previous studies have found that social pain experience affects empathy for pain, but potential gender differences have not been considered. The stage of information processing during which gender is most likely to play a moderating role has yet to be clarified. In the current study, we set up two groups (social pain experience priming: social exclusion group; positive social interaction experience priming: social inclusion group) with a Cyberball game paradigm. We recorded the electrophysiological responses when participants were completing an empathy task. An early frontal P2 and N2 differentiation between painful stimuli and neutral stimuli was observed and females showed larger P2 amplitudes than males. At the P3 stage, in the social exclusion group, males showed similar parietal P3 amplitudes for painful and neutral stimuli, while females showed smaller P3 amplitudes for painful stimuli. At the central-parietal late positive potential (LPP) stage, females in the social inclusion group showed larger LPP amplitudes for painful stimuli than males. Our results suggest that gender plays a significant moderating role in how social pain experience affects empathy for pain during the late cognitive processing stage. Experiment 2 was designed to investigate the cognitive mechanism behind the results for the P3 component in females and the results partially confirmed our speculation. This study provides a neurophysiological basis for the dynamic gender differences in the effects of social pain experience on empathy for pain.
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Plank IS, Hindi Attar C, Kunas SL, Dziobek I, Bermpohl F. Increased activation in the bilateral anterior insulae in response to others in pain in mothers compared to non-mothers. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22757. [PMID: 34815443 PMCID: PMC8610985 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02162-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy allows us to share emotions and encourages us to help others. It is especially important in the context of parenting where children's wellbeing is dependent on their parents' understanding and fulfilment of their needs. To date, little is known about differences in empathy responses of parents and non-parents. Using stimuli depicting adults and children in pain, this study focuses on the interaction of motherhood and neural responses in areas associated with empathy. Mothers showed higher activation to both adults and children in pain in the bilateral anterior insulae, key regions of empathy for pain. Additionally, mothers more strongly activated the inferior frontal, superior temporal and the medial superior frontal gyrus. Differences between adult and child stimuli were only found in occipital areas in both mothers and non-mothers. Our results suggest a stronger neural response to others in pain in mothers than non-mothers regardless of whether the person is a child or an adult. This could indicate a possible influence of motherhood on overall neural responses to others in pain rather than motherhood specifically shaping child-related responses. Alternatively, stronger responses to others in pain could increase the likelihood for women to be in a relationship and subsequently to have a child.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Sophia Plank
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences | CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Catherine Hindi Attar
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences | CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefanie L Kunas
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences | CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Isabel Dziobek
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix Bermpohl
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences | CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Individualized Prediction of Females' Empathic Concern from Intrinsic Brain Activity within General Network of State Empathy. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 22:403-413. [PMID: 34750754 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00964-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Empathy can be measured based on behavioral tasks and self-report scales, which have been used to characterize the state and trait empathy, respectively, in previous studies. The neural correlates of state empathy have been deeply investigated, whereas the association between trait empathy and brain activity remains unclear. Thus, this study employed multiple variate pattern analysis (MVPA) to explore whether intrinsic brain activity (IBA) within state-empathy-related regions was associated with trait empathy. Meta-analysis of empathy-related fMRI experiments identified a general network underlying state empathy, which is located in the bilateral supplementary motor area (SMA) extending to the middle cingulate cortex (MCC) and left anterior insula (AI) and extending to the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). The subsequent MVPA found that empathic concern can be predicted through the IBA of the general network at the female individual level (i.e., the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity). Based on the resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI), these results further support the involvement of SMA/MCC and AI/IFG in empathy. Meanwhile, the significant predictive association between IBA and trait empathy offers new insights into the general component of empathy, which may indicate the potential of using rs-fMRI to achieve the objective measurement of empathic ability.
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Establishing a role of the semantic control network in social cognitive processing: A meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies. Neuroimage 2021; 245:118702. [PMID: 34742940 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The contribution and neural basis of cognitive control is under-specified in many prominent models of socio-cognitive processing. Important outstanding questions include whether there are multiple, distinguishable systems underpinning control and whether control is ubiquitously or selectively engaged across different social behaviours and task demands. Recently, it has been proposed that the regulation of social behaviours could rely on brain regions specialised in the controlled retrieval of semantic information, namely the anterior inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and posterior middle temporal gyrus. Accordingly, we investigated for the first time whether the neural activation commonly found in social functional neuroimaging studies extends to these 'semantic control' regions. We conducted five coordinate-based meta-analyses to combine results of 499 fMRI/PET experiments and identified the brain regions consistently involved in semantic control, as well as four social abilities: theory of mind, trait inference, empathy and moral reasoning. This allowed an unprecedented parallel review of the neural networks associated with each of these cognitive domains. The results confirmed that the anterior left IFG region involved in semantic control is reliably engaged in all four social domains. This supports the hypothesis that social cognition is partly regulated by the neurocognitive system underpinning semantic control.
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Impaired Cognitive Empathy in Outpatients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study. Neural Plast 2021; 2021:4430594. [PMID: 34616448 PMCID: PMC8487839 DOI: 10.1155/2021/4430594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In recent years, a growing number of researchers showed significant interest in psychological and social interventions to manage chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. Cognitive and emotional empathy is an attractive and valuable sociopsychological factor that may provide protection and resilience against chronic MSK pain. However, its effect on outpatients remains underexplored. Objective To compare the empathy ability between chronic MSK pain outpatients and healthy controls and explore the relationship between cognitive/emotional empathy and chronic pain. Methods Patients with chronic MSK pain (n = 22) and healthy controls (n = 26) completed the pain assessment and empathy ability task, utilizing a multidimensional empathy assessment tool with satisfactory reliability and validity (i.e., the Chinese version of the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET-C)). Results The data indicated that the chronic MSK pain outpatients had impaired cognitive empathy (i.e., lower squared cognitive empathy accuracy: Student's t = −2.119, P = 0.040, and longer task completion time: Student's t = 3.382, P = 0.002) compared to healthy controls, and cognitive empathy was negatively correlated with pain intensity (r = −0.614, P = 0.002). Further, the impaired cognitive empathy was present in identifying positive, but not negative emotions. Conclusion These results indicate that chronic MSK pain is associated with impaired empathy ability. Our studies contribute to offering a potential direction for developing psychosocial interventions to treat chronic MSK pain.
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Matiz A, Crescentini C, Bergamasco M, Budai R, Fabbro F. Inter-brain co-activations during mindfulness meditation. Implications for devotional and clinical settings. Conscious Cogn 2021; 95:103210. [PMID: 34562699 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103210] [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: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Mindfulness meditation usually takes place as personal, introspective activity. It is not known if this practice activates the brain differently when done alone or with someone else. Sixteen couples of expert meditators performed mindfulness-oriented meditation (MOM) and instructed mind-wandering (IMW) tasks in two conditions: once sitting in the same room (SR) and once in two different rooms (DR). Spontaneous electroencephalographic (EEG) data was collected during 7-minute recording sessions in the four experimental settings (MOM/SR, MOM/DR, IMW/SR, IMW/DR). Power in band was computed in separate clusters of independent components of the EEG signals. In addition to significant task effects, found in frontolimbic (MOM > IMW in gamma) and frontoparietal locations (MOM < IMW in theta), significant condition effects were found in frontal (SR > DR in delta) and in temporo-occipital regions (SR > DR in theta and alpha). Moreover, a significant interaction between task and condition revealed higher gamma activity in limbic areas during MOM/SR vs. MOM/DR settings. This effect was not attributable to gender, age nor the meditation expertise of participants. We thus show that the brains of two people work differently when they are doing something together or alone; some of these differences are specific to mindfulness meditation. Implications for devotional and clinical settings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessio Matiz
- Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy; Perceptual Robotics (PERCRO) Laboratory, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Cristiano Crescentini
- Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
| | - Massimo Bergamasco
- Perceptual Robotics (PERCRO) Laboratory, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Riccardo Budai
- Department of Neuroscience, University-Hospital "S. Maria della Misericordia", Udine, Italy.
| | - Franco Fabbro
- Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy; Perceptual Robotics (PERCRO) Laboratory, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy.
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Tusche A, Bas LM. Neurocomputational models of altruistic decision-making and social motives: Advances, pitfalls, and future directions. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2021; 12:e1571. [PMID: 34340256 PMCID: PMC9286344 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
This article discusses insights from computational models and social neuroscience into motivations, precursors, and mechanisms of altruistic decision-making and other-regard. We introduce theoretical and methodological tools for researchers who wish to adopt a multilevel, computational approach to study behaviors that promote others' welfare. Using examples from recent studies, we outline multiple mental and neural processes relevant to altruism. To this end, we integrate evidence from neuroimaging, psychology, economics, and formalized mathematical models. We introduce basic mechanisms-pertinent to a broad range of value-based decisions-and social emotions and cognitions commonly recruited when our decisions involve other people. Regarding the latter, we discuss how decomposing distinct facets of social processes can advance altruistic models and the development of novel, targeted interventions. We propose that an accelerated synthesis of computational approaches and social neuroscience represents a critical step towards a more comprehensive understanding of altruistic decision-making. We discuss the utility of this approach to study lifespan differences in social preference in late adulthood, a crucial future direction in aging global populations. Finally, we review potential pitfalls and recommendations for researchers interested in applying a computational approach to their research. This article is categorized under: Economics > Interactive Decision-Making Psychology > Emotion and Motivation Neuroscience > Cognition Economics > Individual Decision-Making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Tusche
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Ontario, Kingston, Canada.,Department of Economics, Queen's University, Ontario, Kingston, Canada.,Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Lisa M Bas
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Ontario, Kingston, Canada
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Arioli M, Cattaneo Z, Ricciardi E, Canessa N. Overlapping and specific neural correlates for empathizing, affective mentalizing, and cognitive mentalizing: A coordinate-based meta-analytic study. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:4777-4804. [PMID: 34322943 PMCID: PMC8410528 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
While the discussion on the foundations of social understanding mainly revolves around the notions of empathy, affective mentalizing, and cognitive mentalizing, their degree of overlap versus specificity is still unclear. We took a meta-analytic approach to unveil the neural bases of cognitive mentalizing, affective mentalizing, and empathy, both in healthy individuals and pathological conditions characterized by social deficits such as schizophrenia and autism. We observed partially overlapping networks for cognitive and affective mentalizing in the medial prefrontal, posterior cingulate, and lateral temporal cortex, while empathy mainly engaged fronto-insular, somatosensory, and anterior cingulate cortex. Adjacent process-specific regions in the posterior lateral temporal, ventrolateral, and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex might underpin a transition from abstract representations of cognitive mental states detached from sensory facets to emotionally-charged representations of affective mental states. Altered mentalizing-related activity involved distinct sectors of the posterior lateral temporal cortex in schizophrenia and autism, while only the latter group displayed abnormal empathy related activity in the amygdala. These data might inform the design of rehabilitative treatments for social cognitive deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Arioli
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | | | - Nicola Canessa
- ICoN center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, Italy.,Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory of Pavia Institute, Pavia, Italy
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49
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Ziaei M, Oestreich L, Reutens DC, Ebner NC. Age-related differences in negative cognitive empathy but similarities in positive affective empathy. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:1823-1840. [PMID: 34037867 PMCID: PMC8203543 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02291-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Empathy, among other social-cognitive processes, changes across adulthood. More specifically, cognitive components of empathy (understanding another's perspective) appear to decline with age, while findings for affective empathy (sharing another's emotional state) are rather mixed. Structural and functional correlates underlying cognitive and affective empathy in aging and the extent to which valence affects empathic response in brain and behavior are not well understood yet. To fill these research gaps, younger and older adults completed a modified version of the Multifaceted Empathy Test, which measures both cognitive and affective empathy as well as empathic responding to both positive and negative stimuli (i.e., positive vs. negative empathy). Adopting a multimodal imaging approach and applying multivariate analysis, the study found that for cognitive empathy to negative emotions, regions of the salience network including the anterior insula and anterior cingulate were more involved in older than younger adults. For affective empathy to positive emotions, in contrast, younger and older adults recruited a similar brain network including main nodes of the default mode network. Additionally, increased structural microstructure (fractional anisotropy values) of the posterior cingulum bundle (right henisphere) was related to activation of default mode regions during affective empathy for positive emotions in both age groups. These findings provide novel insights into the functional networks subserving cognitive and affective empathy in younger and older adults and highlight the importance of considering valence in empathic response in aging research. Further this study, for the first time, underscores the role of the posterior cingulum bundle in higher-order social-cognitive processes such as empathy, specifically for positive emotions, in aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Ziaei
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
| | - Lena Oestreich
- UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - David C Reutens
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Natalie C Ebner
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Florida, USA
- Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, Institute on Aging, University of Florida, Florida, USA
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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50
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Stevens F, Taber K. The neuroscience of empathy and compassion in pro-social behavior. Neuropsychologia 2021; 159:107925. [PMID: 34186105 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Research in the scientific literature increasingly demonstrates that empathy consists of multiple dimensions, and that defining empathy as a single encompassing term may be imprecise. Recent calls have been made for increasing empathy as means to increase pro-social behavior. However, contradictory evidence exists that empathy may reduce pro-social behavior. This debate has sparked confusion around what is empathy, along with the value of empathy in promoting pro-social behavior. This paper will examine recent advances in affective neuroscience to better understand the construct of empathy and its relationship to pro-social behavior. Individuals' responses to affective empathy, seeing the suffering of others can result in personal distress or empathic concern, which may then subsequently affect motivation for pro-social behavior. Current research in affective neuroscience suggests that combining compassion interventions in conjunction with both affective and cognitive empathy offers the most optimal likelihood that individuals will engage in pro-social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Katherine Taber
- Veterans Affairs Mid Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, USA; W.G. "Bill" Hefner VA Medical Center, USA; Division of Biomedical Sciences at College of Osteopathic Medicine, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine, USA
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