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Ioumpa K, Gallo S, Keysers C, Gazzola V. Neural mechanisms of costly helping in the general population and mirror-pain synesthetes. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11617. [PMID: 38773183 PMCID: PMC11109206 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62422-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
It has been argued that experiencing the pain of others motivates helping. Here, we investigate the contribution of somatic feelings while witnessing the pain of others onto costly helping decisions, by contrasting the choices and brain activity of participants that report feeling somatic feelings (self-reported mirror-pain synesthetes) against those that do not. Participants in fMRI witnessed a confederate receiving pain stimulations whose intensity they could reduce by donating money. The pain intensity could be inferred either from the facial expressions of the confederate in pain (Face condition) or from the kinematics of the pain-receiving hand (Hand condition). Our results show that self-reported mirror-pain synesthetes increase their donation more steeply, as the intensity of the observed pain increases, and their somatosensory brain activity (SII and the adjacent IPL) was more tightly associated with donation in the Hand condition. For all participants, activation in insula, SII, TPJ, pSTS, amygdala and MCC correlated with the trial by trial donation made in the Face condition, while SI and MTG activation was correlated with the donation in the Hand condition. These results further inform us about the role of somatic feelings while witnessing the pain of others in situations of costly helping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kalliopi Ioumpa
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Selene Gallo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Christian Keysers
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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2
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Santiesteban I, Hales C, Bowling NC, Ward J, Banissy MJ. Atypical emotion sharing in individuals with mirror sensory synaesthesia. Cogn Neuropsychol 2024:1-14. [PMID: 38755953 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2024.2353581] [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: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Being able to empathise with others is a crucial ability in everyday life. However, this does not usually entail feeling the pain of others in our own bodies. For individuals with mirror-sensory synaesthesia (MSS), however, this form of empathic embodiment is a common feature. Our study investigates the empathic ability of adults who experience MSS using a video-based empathy task. We found that MSS participants did not differ from controls on emotion identification and affective empathy; however, they showed higher affect sharing (degree to which their affect matches what they attribute to others) than controls. This finding indicates difficulties with self-other distinction, which our data shows results in fewer signs of prosocial behaviour. Our findings are in line with the self-other control theory of MSS and highlight how the use of appropriate empathy measures can contribute to our understanding of this important socio-affective ability, both in typical and atypical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Clare Hales
- Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Natalie C Bowling
- Institute for Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich, Greenwich, London, UK
| | - Jamie Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
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3
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Racey C, Kampoureli C, Bowen-Hill O, Bauer M, Simpson I, Rae C, Del Rio M, Simner J, Ward J. An Open Science MRI Database of over 100 Synaesthetic Brains and Accompanying Deep Phenotypic Information. Sci Data 2023; 10:766. [PMID: 37925503 PMCID: PMC10625562 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02664-4] [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: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023] Open
Abstract
We provide a neuroimaging database consisting of 102 synaesthetic brains using state-of-the-art 3 T MRI protocols from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) which is freely available to researchers. This database consists of structural (T1- and T2-weighted) images together with approximately 24 minutes of resting state data per participant. These protocols are designed to be inter-operable and reproducible so that others can add to the dataset or directly compare it against other normative or special samples. In addition, we provide a 'deep phenotype' of our sample which includes detailed information about each participant's synaesthesia together with associated clinical and cognitive measures. This behavioural dataset, which also includes data from (N = 109) non-synaesthetes, is of importance in its own right and is openly available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Racey
- School of Psychology and Sussex Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Christina Kampoureli
- School of Psychology and Sussex Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Oscar Bowen-Hill
- School of Psychology and Sussex Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Mathilde Bauer
- School of Psychology and Sussex Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Ivor Simpson
- School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Charlotte Rae
- School of Psychology and Sussex Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Magda Del Rio
- School of Psychology and Sussex Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Julia Simner
- School of Psychology and Sussex Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Jamie Ward
- School of Psychology and Sussex Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
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4
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Smit S, Moerel D, Zopf R, Rich AN. Vicarious touch: Overlapping neural patterns between seeing and feeling touch. Neuroimage 2023; 278:120269. [PMID: 37423272 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120269] [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: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Simulation theories propose that vicarious touch arises when seeing someone else being touched triggers corresponding representations of being touched. Prior electroencephalography (EEG) findings show that seeing touch modulates both early and late somatosensory responses (measured with or without direct tactile stimulation). Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies have shown that seeing touch increases somatosensory cortical activation. These findings have been taken to suggest that when we see someone being touched, we simulate that touch in our sensory systems. The somatosensory overlap when seeing and feeling touch differs between individuals, potentially underpinning variation in vicarious touch experiences. Increases in amplitude (EEG) or cerebral blood flow response (fMRI), however, are limited in that they cannot test for the information contained in the neural signal: seeing touch may not activate the same information as feeling touch. Here, we use time-resolved multivariate pattern analysis on whole-brain EEG data from people with and without vicarious touch experiences to test whether seen touch evokes overlapping neural representations with the first-hand experience of touch. Participants felt touch to the fingers (tactile trials) or watched carefully matched videos of touch to another person's fingers (visual trials). In both groups, EEG was sufficiently sensitive to allow decoding of touch location (little finger vs. thumb) on tactile trials. However, only in individuals who reported feeling touch when watching videos of touch could a classifier trained on tactile trials distinguish touch location on visual trials. This demonstrates that, for people who experience vicarious touch, there is overlap in the information about touch location held in the neural patterns when seeing and feeling touch. The timecourse of this overlap implies that seeing touch evokes similar representations to later stages of tactile processing. Therefore, while simulation may underlie vicarious tactile sensations, our findings suggest this involves an abstracted representation of directly felt touch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Smit
- Perception in Action Research Centre & School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, 16 University Ave, NSW 2109, Australia.
| | - Denise Moerel
- Perception in Action Research Centre & School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, 16 University Ave, NSW 2109, Australia; School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Griffith Taylor Building A19, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia
| | - Regine Zopf
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, Jena 07743, Federal Republic of Germany
| | - Anina N Rich
- Perception in Action Research Centre & School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, 16 University Ave, NSW 2109, Australia
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5
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Leng X, Zhou X, Wang S, Xiang Y. Can visual language convey tactile experience? A study of the tactile compensation effect of visual language for online products. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1034872. [PMID: 36600710 PMCID: PMC9807036 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1034872] [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: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction There is a common phenomenon of tactile missing in online retail. How to realize consumer tactile compensation is a consensus problem in the field of e-commerce. More and more marketeers and scholars convey their ideas via visual display, but few researches have focused on the tactile compensatory effect of visual language. Methods Study 1 collected data from nearly 13,000 online purchases to analyze the impact of haptic cues on sales in real online shopping platforms; Study 2 used a experimental research method to design three experimental groups: hand haptic cue group vs. Object haptic cue group vs. control group (N = 165) to investigate whether the main effect of haptic cues and the dual mediating effect of mental simulation held. Study 3 also adopted a simulated experimental research approach to design a two-factor group: 2 (haptic cue: hand vs. object) × 2 (product type: tactile functional product vs. tactile experiential product) (N = 198). To further explore whether the moderating effect of product type holds based on Study 2. Results Therefore, based on the visualization theory and mental simulation theory, and through a second-hand data experiment and two simulated experiments, this study confirmed that visual language did have a compensation effect on tactile missing specifically. Haptic cues in metaphorical visual language can actively compensate for consumers' tactile loss, thus affecting the purchase intention. Mental simulation plays a mediating role in the tactile compensation effect. Product type has a moderating effect, and the use of hand (object) haptic cues in metaphorical visual language in tactile functional products (tactile experiential products) can lead to a more active purchase intention. Discussion This study not only enriches the theoretical research on the tactile compensation effect of visual language, but also provides valuable management enlightenment for e-commerce enterprises to improve the effectiveness of online product display and online sensory marketing strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xionghui Leng
- School of Economics and Management, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zhou
- School of Economics and Management, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Shuting Wang
- Jiangxi Academy of Social Sciences, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China,*Correspondence: Shuting Wang,
| | - Yibin Xiang
- School of Economics and Management, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
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6
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Gillmeister H, Succi A, Romei V, Poerio GL. Touching you, touching me: Higher incidence of mirror-touch synaesthesia and positive (but not negative) reactions to social touch in Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Conscious Cogn 2022; 103:103380. [PMID: 35853396 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2022.103380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The characterisation of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) as an audio-visual phenomenon overlooks how tactile experiences are not just perceptual concurrents of ASMR (i.e., tingling) but also commonly strong ASMR inducers. Here we systematically investigated whether ASMR-responders show altered tactile processing compared to controls. Using a screening measure of vicarious touch with a predefined cut-off for mirror-touch synaesthesia (MTS; a condition where tactile sensations are experienced when viewing, but not receiving, touch), we found that ASMR-responders had more frequent and intense vicarious touch experiences, as well as a strikingly higher incidence of MTS, than non-responders. ASMR-responders also reported greater reactivity to positive, but not negative, interpersonal touch. Correlations further showed these patterns to be more prevalent in those responders with stronger ASMR. We discuss the implications of our findings in terms of heightened sensory sensitivity, bodily awareness, and the underlying neuro-cognitive mechanisms driving vicarious tactile perception in ASMR and MTS.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Angelica Succi
- University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK; Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Romei
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
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7
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Botan V, Salisbury A, Critchley HD, Ward J. Vicarious pain is an outcome of atypical body ownership: Evidence from the rubber hand illusion and enfacement illusion. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 74:1888-1899. [PMID: 34049467 PMCID: PMC8450990 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211024822] [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: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Some people report localised pain on their body when seeing other people in pain (sensory-localised vicarious pain responders). In this study, we assess whether this is related to atypical computations of body ownership which, in paradigms such as the rubber hand illusion (RHI), can be conceptualised as a Bayesian inference as to whether multiple sources of sensory information (visual, somatosensory) belong together on a single body (one's own) or are distributed across several bodies (vision = other, somatosensory = self). According to this model, computations of body ownership depend on the degree (and precision) of sensory evidence, rather than synchrony per se. Sensory-localised vicarious pain responders exhibit the RHI following synchronous stroking and-unusually-also after asynchronous stroking. Importantly, this occurs only in asynchronous conditions in which the stroking is predictable (alternating) rather than unpredictable (random). There was no evidence that their bottom-up proprioceptive signals are less precise, suggesting individual differences in the top-down weighting of sensory evidence. Finally, the enfacement illusion (EI) was also employed as a conceptually related bodily illusion paradigm that involves a completely different response judgement (based on vision rather than proprioception). Sensory-localised responders show a comparable pattern on this task after synchronous and asynchronous stroking. This is consistent with the idea that they have top-down (prior) differences in the way body ownership is inferred that transcends the exact judgement being made (visual or proprioceptive).
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Botan
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, Brighton, UK
| | | | - Hugo D Critchley
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, Brighton, UK
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK
| | - Jamie Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, Brighton, UK
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8
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Ward J. Synaesthesia as a model system for understanding variation in the human mind and brain. Cogn Neuropsychol 2021; 38:259-278. [PMID: 34266374 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2021.1950133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this article is to reposition synaesthesia as model system for understanding variation in the construction of the human mind and brain. People with synaesthesia inhabit a remarkable mental world in which numbers can be coloured, words can have tastes, and music is a visual spectacle. Key questions remain unanswered about why it exists, and how the study of synaesthesia might inform theories of the human mind. This article argues we need to rethink synaesthesia as not just representing exceptional experiences, but as a product of an unusual neurodevelopmental cascade from genes to brain to cognition of which synaesthesia is only one outcome. Specifically, differences in the brains of synaesthetes support a distinctive way of thinking (enhanced memory, imagery etc.) and may also predispose towards particular clinical vulnerabilities. In effect, synaesthesia can act as a paradigmatic example of a neuropsychological approach to individual differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
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9
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Hagenberg A, Lambert DG, Jussab S, Maltby J, Robinson TG. Inter-lateral Referral of Sensation in Health and Disease Using a Mirror Illusion-A Scoping Review. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2021; 37:849-864. [PMID: 34152397 PMCID: PMC9113492 DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acab039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Perception of touch is expected at the location where it is applied. However, there are indications that being touched may be perceived on the contralateral side when seen as a reflection in a mirror at midline. Such inter-lateral referral of sensation (RS) lacks evidence, as mirror therapy research usually focusses on movement-based techniques. This study aimed to map out existing research across disciplines regarding the effect of RS in health and disease, and to understand whether there is rehabilitation potential in RS. METHOD A scoping review was conducted to map out concepts and keywords across disciplines interested in this topic, using keywords in several languages, and a wide range of databases and additional sources. RESULTS The review revealed mostly cross-sectional experiments and included over 486 participants: healthy, or with stroke, complex regional pain syndrome, amputation, nerve graft surgery or radial fracture. Procedures varied regarding stimulation tool, time and location, with two stimulating replacements, one the face and one a variety of areas. Response rates ranged from 0 to 100%.In general, RS was regarded as a phenomenon or even as a predictor of maladaptive neuroplasticity. There was little research into using RS stimulation as a modulatory tool to improve sensory perception. CONCLUSIONS RS challenges the understanding of touch perception and elicits a range of questions regarding neuro-processing. A modulatory approach using RS has not been described, requires investigation and, if promising, development as an intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annegret Hagenberg
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.,Department of Health and Social Sciences, Hochschule Fresenius, University of Applied Sciences Idstein, Munich, Germany.,Department of Informatics, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Dave G Lambert
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Shifa Jussab
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - John Maltby
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Thompson G Robinson
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
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10
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Swart TR, Bowling NC, Banissy MJ. ASMR-Experience Questionnaire (AEQ): A data-driven step towards accurately classifying ASMR responders. Br J Psychol 2021; 113:68-83. [PMID: 34120330 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) describes an atypical multisensory experience of calming, tingling sensations that originate in the crown of the head in response to a specific subset of audio-visual triggers. There is currently no tool that can accurately classify both ASMR-Responders and non-responders, while simultaneously identifying False-Positive cases that are similar sensory-emotional experiences. This study sought to fill this gap by developing a new online psychometric tool - the ASMR-Experiences Questionnaire (AEQ). Participants watched a series of short ASMR videos and answered sensory-affective questions immediately afterwards. Using a k-means clustering approach, we identified five data-driven groupings, based on tingle- and affect-related scores. ASMR-Responders differentiate based on ASMR propensity and intensity (ASMR-Strong; ASMR-Weak); non-responders differentiate based on response valence (Control+; Control-; False-Positive). Recommendations for how the AEQ and the respective output groups can be best utilized to enhance ASMR research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas R Swart
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
| | | | - Michael J Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.,School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, UK
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11
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Botan V, Critchley HD, Ward J. Different psychophysiological and clinical symptoms are linked to affective versus sensory vicarious pain experiences. Psychophysiology 2021; 58:e13826. [PMID: 33942318 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13826] [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: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
For some people, seeing pain in others triggers a pain-like experience in themselves: these experiences can either be described in sensory terms and localized to specific body parts (sensory-localized, or S/L) or in affective terms and nonlocalized or whole-body experiences (affective-general, or A/G). In two studies, it is shown that these are linked to different clinical and psychophysiological profiles relative to controls. Study 1 shows that the A/G profile is linked to symptoms of Blood-Injection-Injury Phobia whereas the S/L profile shows some tendency toward eating disorders. Study 2 shows that the A/G profile is linked to poor interoceptive accuracy (for heartbeat detection) whereas the S/L profile is linked to higher heart-rate variability (HRV) when observing pain, which is typically regarded as an index of good autonomic emotion regulation. Neither group showed significant differences in overall heart rate, systolic blood pressure (SBP), or skin conductance response (SCR) when observing pain, and no overall differences in state or trait anxiety. Overall, the research points to different underlying mechanisms linked to different manifestations of vicarious pain response. Affective-General pain responders have strong subjective bodily experiences (likely of central origin given the absence of major differences in autonomic responsiveness) coupled with a worse ability to read objective interoceptive signals. Sensory-localized pain responders have differences in their ability to construct a multi-sensory body schema (as evidenced by prior research on the Rubber Hand Illusion) coupled with enhanced cardiovagal (parasympathetic) reactivity often indicative of better stress adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Botan
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, East Sussex, UK.,Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - H D Critchley
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, East Sussex, UK.,Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.,Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK
| | - J Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, East Sussex, UK.,Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
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12
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Fusaro M, Lisi MP, Tieri G, Aglioti SM. Heterosexual, gay, and lesbian people's reactivity to virtual caresses on their embodied avatars' taboo zones. Sci Rep 2021; 11:2221. [PMID: 33500486 PMCID: PMC7838160 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81168-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Embodying an artificial agent through immersive virtual reality (IVR) may lead to feeling vicariously somatosensory stimuli on one's body which are in fact never delivered. To explore whether vicarious touch in IVR reflects the basic individual and social features of real-life interpersonal interactions we tested heterosexual men/women and gay men/lesbian women reacting subjectively and physiologically to the observation of a gender-matched virtual body being touched on intimate taboo zones (like genitalia) by male and female avatars. All participants rated as most erogenous caresses on their embodied avatar taboo zones. Crucially, heterosexual men/women and gay men/lesbian women rated as most erogenous taboo touches delivered by their opposite and same gender avatar, respectively. Skin conductance was maximal when taboo touches were delivered by female avatars. Our study shows that IVR may trigger realistic experiences and ultimately allow the direct exploration of sensitive societal and individual issues that can otherwise be explored only through imagination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Fusaro
- Sapienza, Università degli Studi di Roma & CLNS@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy.
- Social Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
| | - Matteo P Lisi
- Sapienza, Università degli Studi di Roma & CLNS@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy
- Social Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Gaetano Tieri
- Social Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Virtual Reality Lab, University of Rome Unitelma Sapienza, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Sapienza, Università degli Studi di Roma & CLNS@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy.
- Social Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
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13
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Lush P, Botan V, Scott RB, Seth AK, Ward J, Dienes Z. Trait phenomenological control predicts experience of mirror synaesthesia and the rubber hand illusion. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4853. [PMID: 32978377 PMCID: PMC7519080 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18591-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In hypnotic responding, expectancies arising from imaginative suggestion drive striking experiential changes (e.g., hallucinations) - which are experienced as involuntary - according to a normally distributed and stable trait ability (hypnotisability). Such experiences can be triggered by implicit suggestion and occur outside the hypnotic context. In large sample studies (of 156, 404 and 353 participants), we report substantial relationships between hypnotisability and experimental measures of experiential change in mirror-sensory synaesthesia and the rubber hand illusion comparable to relationships between hypnotisability and individual hypnosis scale items. The control of phenomenology to meet expectancies arising from perceived task requirements can account for experiential change in psychological experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Lush
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RH, UK.
- Department of Informatics, Chichester Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RH, UK.
| | - V Botan
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RH, UK
- School of Psychology, Pevensey Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RH, UK
| | - R B Scott
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RH, UK
- School of Psychology, Pevensey Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RH, UK
| | - A K Seth
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RH, UK
- Department of Informatics, Chichester Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RH, UK
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Program on Brain, Mind, and Consciousness, Toronto, ON, M5G 1M1, Canada
| | - J Ward
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RH, UK
- School of Psychology, Pevensey Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RH, UK
| | - Z Dienes
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RH, UK
- School of Psychology, Pevensey Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RH, UK
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Minio-Paluello I, Porciello G, Gandolfo M, Boukarras S, Aglioti SM. The enfacement illusion boosts facial mimicry. Cortex 2020; 123:113-123. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Revised: 08/19/2019] [Accepted: 10/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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15
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Smit S, Rich AN, Zopf R. Visual body form and orientation cues do not modulate visuo-tactile temporal integration. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0224174. [PMID: 31841510 PMCID: PMC6913941 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Body ownership relies on spatiotemporal correlations between multisensory signals and visual cues specifying oneself such as body form and orientation. The mechanism for the integration of bodily signals remains unclear. One approach to model multisensory integration that has been influential in the multisensory literature is Bayesian causal inference. This specifies that the brain integrates spatial and temporal signals coming from different modalities when it infers a common cause for inputs. As an example, the rubber hand illusion shows that visual form and orientation cues can promote the inference of a common cause (one's body) leading to spatial integration shown by a proprioceptive drift of the perceived location of the real hand towards the rubber hand. Recent studies investigating the effect of visual cues on temporal integration, however, have led to conflicting findings. These could be due to task differences, variation in ecological validity of stimuli and/or small samples. In this pre-registered study, we investigated the influence of visual information on temporal integration using a visuo-tactile temporal order judgement task with realistic stimuli and a sufficiently large sample determined by Bayesian analysis. Participants viewed videos of a touch being applied to plausible or implausible visual stimuli for one's hand (hand oriented plausibly, hand rotated 180 degrees, or a sponge) while also being touched at varying stimulus onset asynchronies. Participants judged which stimulus came first: viewed or felt touch. Results show that visual cues do not modulate visuo-tactile temporal order judgements. This is not in line with the idea that bodily signals indicating oneself influence the integration of multisensory signals in the temporal domain. The current study emphasises the importance of rigour in our methodologies and analyses to advance the understanding of how properties of multisensory events affect the encoding of temporal information in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Smit
- Perception in Action Research Centre & Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Anina N. Rich
- Perception in Action Research Centre & Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
- Centre for Elite Performance, Expertise & Training, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Regine Zopf
- Perception in Action Research Centre & Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
- Body Image and Ingestion Group, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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16
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Ioumpa K, Graham SA, Clausner T, Fisher SE, van Lier R, van Leeuwen TM. Enhanced self-reported affect and prosocial behaviour without differential physiological responses in mirror-sensory synaesthesia. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20190395. [PMID: 31630658 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Mirror-sensory synaesthetes mirror the pain or touch that they observe in other people on their own bodies. This type of synaesthesia has been associated with enhanced empathy. We investigated whether the enhanced empathy of people with mirror-sensory synesthesia influences the experience of situations involving touch or pain and whether it affects their prosocial decision making. Mirror-sensory synaesthetes (N = 18, all female), verified with a touch-interference paradigm, were compared with a similar number of age-matched control individuals (all female). Participants viewed arousing images depicting pain or touch; we recorded subjective valence and arousal ratings, and physiological responses, hypothesizing more extreme reactions in synaesthetes. The subjective impact of positive and negative images was stronger in synaesthetes than in control participants; the stronger the reported synaesthesia, the more extreme the picture ratings. However, there was no evidence for differential physiological or hormonal responses to arousing pictures. Prosocial decision making was assessed with an economic game assessing altruism, in which participants had to divide money between themselves and a second player. Mirror-sensory synaesthetes donated more money than non-synaesthetes, showing enhanced prosocial behaviour, and also scored higher on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index as a measure of empathy. Our study demonstrates the subjective impact of mirror-sensory synaesthesia and its stimulating influence on prosocial behaviour. This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Bridging senses: novel insights from synaesthesia'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kalliopi Ioumpa
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy for Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sarah A Graham
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Tommy Clausner
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Simon E Fisher
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Rob van Lier
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Tessa M van Leeuwen
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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17
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Ward J. Synaesthesia: a distinct entity that is an emergent feature of adaptive neurocognitive differences. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180351. [PMID: 31630648 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In this article, I argue that synaesthesia is not on a continuum with neurotypical cognition. Synaesthesia is special: its phenomenology is different; it has distinct causal mechanisms; and is likely to be associated with a distinct neurocognitive profile. However, not all synaesthetes are the same, and there are quantifiable differences between them. In particular, the number of types of synaesthesia that a person possesses is a hitherto underappreciated variable that predicts cognitive differences along a number of dimensions (mental imagery, sensory sensitivity, attention to detail). Together with enhanced memory, this may constitute a common core of abilities that may go some way to explaining why synaesthesia might have evolved. I argue that the direct benefits of synaesthesia are generally limited (i.e. the synaesthetic associations do not convey novel information about the world) but, nevertheless, synaesthesia may develop due to other adaptive functions (e.g. perceptual ability, memory) that necessitate changes to design features of the brain. The article concludes by suggesting that synaesthesia forces us to reconsider what we mean by a 'normal' mind/brain. There may be multiple 'normal' neurodevelopmental trajectories that can sculpt very different ways of experiencing the world, of which synaesthesia is but one. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Bridging senses: novel insights from synaesthesia'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
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18
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Abstract
People with mirror-touch synaesthesia report tactile experiences on their body when seeing other people touched. Although this has been referred to as a type of synaesthesia, it is unknown whether it co-occurs with more commonly accepted variants of synaesthesia (e.g., grapheme-colour). If it did, then this would imply a common or partly shared causal mechanism. To this end, a sample of verified grapheme-colour synaesthetes ( N = 80) were given a recently developed online diagnostic measure of mirror-touch. The prevalence in this group (∼20%) was around 10 times higher than the general population. Moreover, performance on this measure was significantly related to the self-report of mirror-touch given, on average, 3 years earlier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
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19
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Botan V, Bowling NC, Banissy MJ, Critchley H, Ward J. Individual Differences in Vicarious Pain Perception Linked to Heightened Socially Elicited Emotional States. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2355. [PMID: 30564167 PMCID: PMC6288400 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
For some people (vicarious pain responders), seeing others in pain is experienced as pain felt on their own body and this has been linked to differences in the neurocognitive mechanisms that support empathy. Given that empathy is not a unitary construct, the aim of this study was to establish which empathic traits are more pronounced in vicarious pain responders. The Vicarious Pain Questionnaire (VPQ) was used to divide participants into three groups: (1) non-responders (people who report no pain when seeing someone else experiencing physical pain), (2) sensory-localized responders (report sensory qualities and a localized feeling of pain) and (3) affective-general responders (report a generalized and emotional feeling of pain). Participants completed a series of questionnaires including the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Empathy Quotient (EQ), the Helping Attitudes Scale (HAS), and the Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS) as well as The Individualism – Collectivism Interpersonal Assessment Inventory (ICIAI) and a self-other association task. Both groups of vicarious pain responders showed significantly greater emotional contagion and reactivity, but there was no evidence for differences in other empathic traits or self-other associations. Subsequently, the variables were grouped by a factor analysis and three main latent variables were identified. Vicarious pain responders showed greater socially elicited emotional states which included the ECS, the Emotional Reactivity Subscale of EQ and the HAS. These results show that consciously feeling the physical pain of another is mainly linked to heightened emotional contagion and reactivity which together with the HAS loaded on the socially elicited emotional states factor indicating that, in our population, these differences lead to a more helpful rather than avoidant behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Botan
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.,Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Natalie C Bowling
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Hugo Critchley
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.,Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, Brighton, United Kingdom.,Brighton and Sussex Medical School, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jamie Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.,Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, Brighton, United Kingdom
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