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Baltariu IC, Enea V, de Jong PJ, Aan Het Rot M. Associations between alcohol consumption and empathy in a non-clinical sample: drinking motives as a moderator. Sci Rep 2024; 14:10993. [PMID: 38744834 PMCID: PMC11094050 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59233-x] [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: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
People consume alcohol for multiple reasons. Negative motives are often associated with alcohol-related problems. These problems might be explained by negative effects of high alcohol consumption on empathy. Past studies have associated alcohol use disorder (AUD) with reduced cognitive and affective empathy. Few studies have focused on non-clinical samples and considered behavioral empathy. We examined the links between alcohol consumption and multiple aspects of empathy, and if these links were moderated by negative drinking motives. We collected online data of 520 unselected individuals. All completed the AUD Identification Test (AUDIT) and a Drinking Motives Questionnaire. Affective and cognitive empathy were assessed using the Empathy Quotient. Behavioral empathy was assessed by asking participants how likely they would help the person in each of 24 scenarios involving pain. Helping others in pain was positively predicted by affective and cognitive empathy. Higher AUDIT scores were associated with helping others less, particularly among participants who scored higher on drinking to cope with negative affect. People who drink more and do so to cope with negative affect appear to have less behavioral empathy. This supports the view that negative drinking motives contribute to AUD risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle C Baltariu
- Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, Groningen, The Netherlands.
- Department of Psychology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Iași, Romania.
| | - Violeta Enea
- Department of Psychology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Iași, Romania
| | - Peter J de Jong
- Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marije Aan Het Rot
- Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, Groningen, The Netherlands
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2
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McCurdy LY, Yip SW, Worhunsky PD, Zhai ZW, Kim S, Strathearn L, Potenza MN, Mayes LC, Rutherford HJV. Neural correlates of altered emotional responsivity to infant stimuli in mothers who use substances. J Psychiatr Res 2024; 171:126-133. [PMID: 38277872 PMCID: PMC10922955 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.01.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
Mothers who use substances during pregnancy and postpartum may have altered maternal behavior towards their infants, which can have negative consequences on infant social-emotional development. Since maternal substance use has been associated with difficulties in recognizing and responding to infant emotional expressions, investigating mothers' subjective responses to emotional infant stimuli may provide insight into the neural and psychological processes underlying these differences in maternal behavior. In this study, 39 mothers who used substances during the perinatal period and 42 mothers who did not underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while viewing infant faces and hearing infant cries. Afterwards, they rated the emotional intensity they thought each infant felt ('think'-rating), and how intensely they felt in response to each infant stimulus ('feel'-rating). Mothers who used substances had lower 'feel'-ratings of infant stimuli compared to mothers who did not. Brain regions implicated in affective processing (e.g., insula, inferior frontal gyrus) were less active in response to infant stimuli, and activity in these brain regions statistically predicted maternal substance-use status. Interestingly, 'think'-ratings and activation in brain regions related to cognitive processing (e.g., medial prefrontal cortex) were comparable between the two groups of mothers. Taken together, these results suggest specific neural and psychological processes related to emotional responsivity to infant stimuli may reflect differences in maternal affective processing and may contribute to differences in maternal behavior in mothers who use substances compared to mothers who do not. The findings suggest potential neural targets for increasing maternal emotional responsivity and improving child outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Yan McCurdy
- Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA; Division of Prevention and Community Research, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA.
| | - Sarah W Yip
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA; Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - Patrick D Worhunsky
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| | - Zu Wei Zhai
- Department of Neuroscience, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA
| | - Sohye Kim
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA; Departments of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA
| | - Lane Strathearn
- Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA; Center for Disabilities and Development, University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA; Hawkeye Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Marc N Potenza
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA; Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA; The Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Wethersfield, CT, 06109, USA; The Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Linda C Mayes
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
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Prignitz M, Banaschewski T, Bokde ALW, Desrivières S, Grigis A, Garavan H, Gowland P, Heinz A, Martinot JL, Paillère Martinot ML, Artiges E, Papadopoulos Orfanos D, Poustka L, Hohmann S, Fröhner JH, Robinson L, Smolka MN, Walter H, Winterer JM, Whelan R, Schumann G, Nees F, Flor H, Consortium OBOTIMAGEN. The Role of Empathy in Alcohol Use of Bullying Perpetrators and Victims: Lower Personal Empathic Distress Makes Male Perpetrators of Bullying More Vulnerable to Alcohol Use. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:6286. [PMID: 37444132 PMCID: PMC10341197 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20136286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
Bullying often results in negative coping in victims, including an increased consumption of alcohol. Recently, however, an increase in alcohol use has also been reported among perpetrators of bullying. The factors triggering this pattern are still unclear. We investigated the role of empathy in the interaction between bullying and alcohol use in an adolescent sample (IMAGEN) at age 13.97 (±0.53) years (baseline (BL), N = 2165, 50.9% female) and age 16.51 (±0.61) years (follow-up 1 (FU1), N = 1185, 54.9% female). General empathic distress served as a significant moderator of alcohol use in perpetrators (F9, 493 = 17.978, p < 0.01), which was specific for males and FU1. Male perpetrators, who are generally less sensitive to distress, might thus be more vulnerable to alcohol abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maren Prignitz
- Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Tobias Banaschewski
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Arun L. W. Bokde
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Sylvane Desrivières
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Antoine Grigis
- NeuroSpin, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Hugh Garavan
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
| | - Penny Gowland
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2QL, UK
| | - Andreas Heinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jean-Luc Martinot
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U 1299 “Trajectoires Développementales en Psychiatrie”, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, Centre Borelli, F-91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Marie-Laure Paillère Martinot
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U 1299 “Trajectoires Développementales en Psychiatrie”, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, Centre Borelli, F-91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, AP-HP, Sorbonne Université, 75651 Paris, France
| | - Eric Artiges
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U 1299 “Trajectoires Développementales en Psychiatrie”, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, Centre Borelli, F-91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Psychiatry Department, EPS Barthélémy Durand, 91150 Etampes, France
| | | | - Luise Poustka
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Centre Göttingen, von-Siebold-Str. 5, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sarah Hohmann
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Juliane H. Fröhner
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Lauren Robinson
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Section for Eating Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Michael N. Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Henrik Walter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jeanne M. Winterer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 10117 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Robert Whelan
- School of Psychology and Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Gunter Schumann
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), Institute for Science and Technology of Brain-Inspired Intelligence (ISTBI), Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Frauke Nees
- Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein, Kiel University, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Herta Flor
- Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, 68131 Mannheim, Germany
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Yao G, Wei L, Jiang T, Dong H, Baeken C, Wu GR. Neural mechanisms underlying empathy during alcohol abstinence: evidence from connectome-based predictive modeling. Brain Imaging Behav 2022; 16:2477-2486. [PMID: 35829876 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-022-00702-0] [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: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Empathy impairments have been linked to alcohol dependence even during abstinent periods. Nonetheless, the neural underpinnings of abstinence-induced empathy deficits remain unclear. In this study, we employed connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) by using whole brain resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) to predict empathy capability of abstinent alcoholics (n = 47) versus healthy controls (n = 59). In addition, the generalizability of the predictive model (i.e., one group treated as a training dataset and another one treated as a test dataset) was performed to determine whether healthy controls and abstinent alcoholics share common neural fingerprints of empathy. Our results showed that abstinent alcoholics relative to healthy controls had decreased empathy capacity. Although no predictive models were observed in the abstinence group, we found that individual empathy scores in the healthy group can be reliably predicted by functional connectivity from the default mode network (DMN) to the sensorimotor network (SMN), occipital network, and cingulo-opercular network (CON). Moreover, the identified connectivity fingerprints of healthy controls could be generalized to predict empathy in the abstinence group. These findings indicate that neural circuits accounting for empathy may be disrupted by alcohol use and the impaired degree varies greatly among abstinent individuals. The large inter-individual variation may impede identification of the predictive model of empathy in alcohol abstainers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanzhong Yao
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Luqing Wei
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
| | - Ting Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hui Dong
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Chris Baeken
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital (UZBrussel), Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
| | - Guo-Rong Wu
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China. .,Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
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