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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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2
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Lisi MP, Fusaro M, Aglioti SM. Visual perspective and body ownership modulate vicarious pain and touch: A systematic review. Psychon Bull Rev 2024:10.3758/s13423-024-02477-5. [PMID: 38429591 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-024-02477-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
We conducted a systematic review investigating the influence of visual perspective and body ownership (BO) on vicarious brain resonance and vicarious sensations during the observation of pain and touch. Indeed, the way in which brain reactivity and the phenomenological experience can be modulated by blurring the bodily boundaries of self-other distinction is still unclear. We screened Scopus and WebOfScience, and identified 31 articles, published from 2000 to 2022. Results show that assuming an egocentric perspective enhances vicarious resonance and vicarious sensations. Studies on synaesthetes suggest that vicarious conscious experiences are associated with an increased tendency to embody fake body parts, even in the absence of congruent multisensory stimulation. Moreover, immersive virtual reality studies show that the type of embodied virtual body can affect high-order sensations such as appropriateness, unpleasantness, and erogeneity, associated with the touched body part and the toucher's social identity. We conclude that perspective plays a key role in the resonance with others' pain and touch, and full-BO over virtual avatars allows investigation of complex aspects of pain and touch perception which would not be possible in reality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo P Lisi
- CLN2S@Sapienza, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) and Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161, Rome, Italy.
- IRCCS, Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy.
| | - Martina Fusaro
- CLN2S@Sapienza, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) and Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS, Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- CLN2S@Sapienza, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) and Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS, Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy
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3
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Iosifyan M, Sidoroff-Dorso A, Wolfe J. Cross-modal associations between paintings and sounds: Effects of embodiment. Perception 2022; 51:871-888. [PMID: 36217800 PMCID: PMC9720465 DOI: 10.1177/03010066221126452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The present study investigated cross-modal associations between a series of paintings and sounds. We studied the effects of sound congruency (congruent vs. non-congruent sounds) and embodiment (embodied vs. synthetic sounds) on the evaluation of abstract and figurative paintings. Participants evaluated figurative and abstract paintings paired with congruent and non-congruent embodied and synthetic sounds. They also evaluated the perceived meaningfulness of the paintings, aesthetic value and immersive experience of the paintings. Embodied sounds (sounds associated with bodily sensations, bodily movements and touch) were more strongly associated with figurative paintings, while synthetic sounds (non-embodied sounds) were more strongly associated with abstract paintings. Sound congruency increased the perceived meaningfulness, immersive experience and aesthetic value of paintings. Sound embodiment increased immersive experience of paintings.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Judith Wolfe
- University of St
Andrews, School of Divinity, UK
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4
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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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5
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Zhou Z, Chen S, Li Y, Zhao J, Li G, Chen L, Wu Y, Zhang S, Shi X, Chen X, Xu S, Ren M, Chang S, Shan C. Comparison of Sensory Observation and Somatosensory Stimulation in Mirror Neurons and the Sensorimotor Network: A Task-Based fMRI Study. Front Neurol 2022; 13:916990. [PMID: 35847217 PMCID: PMC9279701 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.916990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective This study aimed to investigate brain plasticity by somatosensory stimulation (SS) and sensory observation (SO) based on mirror neuron and embodied cognition theory. Action observation therapy has been widely adopted for motor function improvement in post-stroke patients. However, it is uncertain whether the SO approach can also contribute to the recovery of sensorimotor function after stroke. In this study, we explored the therapeutic potential of SO for sensorimotor dysfunction and provided new evidence for neurorehabilitation. Methods Twenty-six healthy right-handed adults (12 men and 14 women), aged 18–27 (mean, 22.12; SD, 2.12) years were included. All subjects were evaluated with task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to discover the characteristics and differences in brain activation between SO and SS. We adopted a block design with two conditions during fMRI scanning: observing a sensory video of brushing (task condition A, defined as SO) and brushing subjects' right forearms while they watched a nonsense string (task condition B, defined as SS). One-sample t-tests were performed to identify brain regions and voxels activated for each task condition. A paired-sample t-test and conjunction analysis were performed to explore the differences and similarities between SO and SS. Results The task-based fMRI showed that the bilateral postcentral gyrus, left precentral gyrus, bilateral middle temporal gyrus, right supramarginal gyrus, and left supplementary motor area were significantly activated during SO or SS. In addition to these brain regions, SO could also activate areas containing mirror neurons, like the left inferior parietal gyrus. Conclusion SO could activate mirror neurons and sensorimotor network-related brain regions in healthy subjects like SS. Therefore, SO may be a promising novel therapeutic approach for sensorimotor dysfunction recovery in post-stroke patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqing Zhou
- Center of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Songmei Chen
- School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai No. 3 Rehabilitation Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuanli Li
- Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine Intelligent Rehabilitation, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China
| | - Jingjun Zhao
- Center of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Guanwu Li
- Department of Radiology, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Lei Chen
- Department of Radiology, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuwei Wu
- Center of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Sicong Zhang
- Center of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaolong Shi
- Center of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xixi Chen
- Center of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Shutian Xu
- Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine Intelligent Rehabilitation, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China
| | - Meng Ren
- Center of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Shixin Chang
- Department of Radiology, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Shixin Chang
| | - Chunlei Shan
- Center of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine Intelligent Rehabilitation, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China
- Chunlei Shan
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6
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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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7
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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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8
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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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9
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Increasing self-other bodily overlap increases sensorimotor resonance to others' pain. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 20:19-33. [PMID: 31190136 PMCID: PMC7012796 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-019-00724-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Empathy for another person’s pain and feeling pain oneself seem to be accompanied by similar or shared neural responses. Such shared responses could be achieved by mapping the bodily states of others onto our own bodily representations. We investigated whether sensorimotor neural responses to the pain of others are increased when experimentally reducing perceived bodily distinction between the self and the other. Healthy adult participants watched video clips of the hands of ethnic ingroup or outgroup members being painfully penetrated by a needle syringe or touched by a cotton swab. Manipulating the video presentation to create a visuospatial overlap between the observer’s and the target’s hand increased the perceived bodily self-attribution of the target’s hand. For both ingroup and outgroup targets, this resulted in increased neural responses to the painful injections (compared with nonpainful contacts), as indexed by desynchronizations of central mu and beta scalp rhythms recorded using electroencephalography. Furthermore, these empathy-related neural activations were stronger in participants who reported stronger bodily self-attribution of the other person’s hand. Our findings provide further evidence that empathy for pain engages sensorimotor resonance mechanisms. They also indicate that reducing bodily self-other distinction may increase such resonance for ingroup as well as outgroup targets.
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10
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Niven EC, Scott SK. Careful whispers: when sounds feel like a touch. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:645-647. [PMID: 34144894 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
There are anatomical and functional links between auditory and somatosensory processing. We suggest that these links form the basis for the popular internet phenomenon where people enjoy a sense of touch from auditory (and often audiovisual) stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Efe C Niven
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AZ, UK
| | - Sophie K Scott
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AZ, 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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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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13
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Penton T, Catmur C, Banissy MJ, Bird G, Walsh V. Non-invasive stimulation in the social brain: the methodological challenges. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 17:15-25. [PMID: 32734295 PMCID: PMC9083106 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Use of non-invasive brain stimulation methods (NIBS) has become a common approach to study social processing in addition to behavioural, imaging and lesion studies. However, research using NIBS to investigate social processing faces challenges. Overcoming these is important to allow valid and reliable interpretation of findings in neurotypical cohorts, but also to allow us to tailor NIBS protocols to atypical groups with social difficulties. In this review, we consider the utility of brain stimulation as a technique to study and modulate social processing. We also discuss challenges that face researchers using NIBS to study social processing in neurotypical adults with a view to highlighting potential solutions. Finally, we discuss additional challenges that face researchers using NIBS to study and modulate social processing in atypical groups. These are important to consider given that NIBS protocols are rarely tailored to atypical groups before use. Instead, many rely on protocols designed for neurotypical adults despite differences in brain function that are likely to impact response to NIBS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tegan Penton
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, SE14 6NW, UK.,MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Caroline Catmur
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Michael J Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, SE14 6NW, UK
| | - Geoffrey Bird
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PH
| | - Vincent Walsh
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
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14
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Abstract
Exceptional experiences (ExE) incorporate a range of phenomena including subjective paranormal and transpersonal experiences. Synesthesia and synesthetic experiences are discussed as important variables in understanding the etiologies of ExE. The neural and psychological correlates of synesthetic experiences (associated with hyperconnectivity) are discussed in relation to ExE. It is argued that synesthetic processes enable both the detection and conscious perception of information from a range of sources that are usually unseen or inaccessible, including abstract, unlanguaged, preconscious, and potentially other nonlocal sources.
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15
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Fisher SE, Tilot AK. Bridging senses: novel insights from synaesthesia. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20190022. [PMID: 31630657 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Simon E Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Amanda K Tilot
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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16
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Hyperalgesia when observing pain-related images is a genuine bias in perception and enhances autonomic responses. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15266. [PMID: 31649286 PMCID: PMC6813318 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51743-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Observing pain in others can enhance our own pain. Two aspects of this effect remain unknown or controversial: first, whether it depends on the 'painfulness' of the visual stimulus; second, whether it reflects a genuine bias in perception or rather a bias in the memory encoding of the percept. Pain ratings and vegetative skin responses were recorded while 21 healthy volunteers received electric nociceptive shocks under three experimental conditions: (i) observing a painful contact between the body and a harmful object; (ii) observing a non-painful body contact, (iii) observing a control scene where the body and the object are not in contact. Pain reports and vegetative responses were enhanced exclusively when the subjects observed a painful body contact. The effect on perception was immediate, abated 3 sec after the shock, and positively correlated with the magnitude of vegetative arousal. This suggests that (a) hyperalgesia during observation of painful scenes was induced by their pain-related nature, and not by the simple body contact, and (b) hyperalgesia emerged from a very rapid bias in the perceptual encoding of the stimulus, and was not the result of a retrospective bias in memory recollection. Observing pain-depicting scenes can modify the processing of concomitant somatic stimuli, increasing their arousal value and shifting perception toward more painful levels.
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17
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Bowling NC, Botan V, Santiesteban I, Ward J, Banissy MJ. Atypical bodily self-awareness in vicarious pain responders. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180361. [PMID: 31630646 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Vicarious perception refers to the ability to co-represent the experiences of others. Prior research has shown considerable inter-individual variability in vicarious perception of pain, with some experiencing conscious sensations of pain on their own body when viewing another person in pain (conscious vicarious perception/mirror-pain synaesthesia). Self-Other Theory proposes that this conscious vicarious perception may result from impairments in self-other distinction and maintaining a coherent sense of bodily self. In support of this, individuals who experience conscious vicarious perception are more susceptible to illusions of body ownership and agency. However, little work has assessed whether trait differences in bodily self-awareness are associated with conscious vicarious pain. Here we addressed this gap by examining individual difference factors related to awareness of the body, in conscious vicarious pain responders. Increased self-reported depersonalization and interoceptive sensibility was found for conscious vicarious pain responders compared with non-responders, in addition to more internally oriented thinking (associated with lower alexithymia). There were no significant differences in trait anxiety. Results indicate that maintaining a stable sense of the bodily self may be important for vicarious perception of pain, and that vicarious perception might also be enhanced by attention towards internal bodily states. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Bridging senses: novel insights from synaesthesia'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie C Bowling
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK.,Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London SE14 6NW, UK
| | - Vanessa Botan
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
| | - Idalmis Santiesteban
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Jamie Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
| | - Michael J Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London SE14 6NW, UK
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18
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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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19
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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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20
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Interpersonal representations of touch in somatosensory cortex are modulated by perspective. Biol Psychol 2019; 146:107719. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2018] [Revised: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 06/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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21
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Duffy KA, Luber B, Adcock RA, Chartrand TL. Enhancing activation in the right temporoparietal junction using theta-burst stimulation: Disambiguating between two hypotheses of top-down control of behavioral mimicry. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0211279. [PMID: 30682141 PMCID: PMC6347431 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Whereas previous research has focused on the role of the rTPJ when consciously inhibiting mimicry, we test the role of the rTPJ on mimicry within a social interaction, during which mimicking occurs nonconsciously. We wanted to determine whether higher rTPJ activation always inhibits the tendency to imitate (regardless of the context) or whether it facilitates mimicry during social interactions (when mimicking is an adaptive response). Participants received either active or sham intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS: a type of stimulation that increases cortical activation) to the rTPJ. Next, we measured how much participants mimicked the hair and face touching of another person. Participants in the active stimulation condition engaged in significantly less mimicry than those in the sham stimulation condition. This finding suggests that even in a context in which mimicking is adaptive, rTPJ inhibits mimicry rather than facilitating it, supporting the hypothesis that rTPJ enhances representations of self over other regardless of the goals within a given context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Korrina A. Duffy
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Bruce Luber
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - R. Alison Adcock
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Tanya L. Chartrand
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
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22
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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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23
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Hardwick RM, Caspers S, Eickhoff SB, Swinnen SP. Neural correlates of action: Comparing meta-analyses of imagery, observation, and execution. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 94:31-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 289] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Revised: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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24
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Cortical dynamics underpinning the self-other distinction of touch: A TMS-EEG study. Neuroimage 2018; 178:475-484. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.05.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Revised: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
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25
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Ward J, Schnakenberg P, Banissy MJ. The relationship between mirror-touch synaesthesia and empathy: New evidence and a new screening tool. Cogn Neuropsychol 2018; 35:314-332. [DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2018.1457017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | | | - Michael J Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK
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26
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Botan V, Fan S, Critchley H, Ward J. Atypical susceptibility to the rubber hand illusion linked to sensory-localised vicarious pain perception. Conscious Cogn 2018. [PMID: 29529588 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2018.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI) paradigm has been widely used to investigate the sense of body ownership. People who report experiencing the pain of others are hypothesised to have differences in computing body ownership and, hence, we predicted that they would perform atypically on the RHI. 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-localised responders (report sensory qualities and a localised feeling of pain) and (3) affective-general responders (report a generalised and emotional feeling of pain). The sensory-localised group, showed susceptibility to the RHI (increased proprioceptive drift) irrespective of whether stimulation was synchronous or asynchronous, whereas the other groups only showed the RHI in the synchronous condition. This is not a general bias to always incorporate the dummy hand as we did not find increased susceptibility in other conditions (seeing touch without feeling touch, or feeling touch without seeing touch), but there was a trend for this group to incorporate the dummy hand when it was stroked with a laser light. Although individual differences in the RHI have been noted previously, this particular pattern is rare. It suggests a greater malleability (i.e. insensitivity to asynchrony) in the conditions in which other bodies influence own-body judgments.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Botan
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, UK; Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, UK.
| | - S Fan
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, UK
| | - H Critchley
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, UK; Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, UK; Brighton and Sussex Medical School, UK
| | - J Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, UK; Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, UK
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27
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Phantom Acupuncture Induces Placebo Credibility and Vicarious Sensations: A Parallel fMRI Study of Low Back Pain Patients. Sci Rep 2018; 8:930. [PMID: 29343693 PMCID: PMC5772373 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18870-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Although acupuncture is an effective therapeutic intervention for pain reduction, the exact difference between real and sham acupuncture has not been clearly understood because a somatosensory tactile component is commonly included in the existing sham acupuncture protocols. In an event-related fMRI experiment, we implemented a novel form of sham acupuncture, phantom acupuncture, that reproduces the acupuncture needling procedure without somatosensory tactile stimulation while maintaining the credibility of the acupuncture treatment context. Fifty-six non-specific low back pain patients received either real (REAL) or phantom (PHNT) acupuncture stimulation in a parallel group study. The REAL group exhibited greater activation in the posterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex, reflecting the needling-specific components of acupuncture. We demonstrated that PHNT could be delivered credibly. Interestingly, the PHNT-credible group exhibited bilateral activation in SI/SII and also reported vicarious acupuncture sensations without needling stimulation. The PHNT group showed greater activation in the bilateral dorsolateral/ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC/vlPFC). Moreover, the PHNT group exhibited significant pain reduction, with a significant correlation between the subjective fMRI signal in the right dlPFC/vlPFC and a score assessing belief in acupuncture effectiveness. These results support an expectation-related placebo analgesic effect on subjective pain intensity ratings, possibly mediated by right prefrontal cortex activity.
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28
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Grice-Jackson T, Critchley HD, Banissy MJ, Ward J. Consciously Feeling the Pain of Others Reflects Atypical Functional Connectivity between the Pain Matrix and Frontal-Parietal Regions. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:507. [PMID: 29104537 PMCID: PMC5655021 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2017] [Accepted: 10/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Around a quarter of the population report “mirror pain” experiences in which bodily sensations of pain are elicited in response to viewing another person in pain. We have shown that this population of responders further fractionates into two distinct subsets (Sensory/localized and Affective/General), which presents an important opportunity to investigate the neural underpinnings of individual differences in empathic responses. Our study uses fMRI to determine how regions involved in the perception of pain interact with regions implicated in empathic regulation in these two groups, relative to controls. When observing pain in others (minor injuries to the hands and feet), the two responder groups show activation in both the sensory/discriminative and affective/motivational components of the pain matrix. The control group only showed activation in the latter. The two responder groups showed clear differences in functional connectivity. Notably, Sensory/Localized responders manifest significant coupling between the right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ) and bilateral anterior insula. We conclude that conscious experiences of vicarious pain is supported by specific patterns of functional connectivity between pain-related and regulatory regions, and not merely increased activity within the pain matrix itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Grice-Jackson
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom.,Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom
| | - Hugo D Critchley
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom.,Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmith's College, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jamie Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom.,Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom
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29
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Bowling NC, Banissy MJ. Modulating vicarious tactile perception with transcranial electrical current stimulation. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 46:2355-2364. [PMID: 28921774 PMCID: PMC5900887 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2017] [Revised: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Our capacity to share the experiences of others is a critical part of social behaviour. One process thought to be important for this is vicarious perception. Passively viewing touch activates some of the same network of brain regions as the direct experience of touch. This vicarious experience is usually implicit, but for some people, viewing touch evokes conscious tactile sensations (mirror-touch synaesthesia). Recent work has attempted to induce conscious vicarious touch in those that do not normally experience these sensations, using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Anodal tDCS applied to primary somatosensory cortex (SI) was found to induce behavioural performance akin to mirror-touch synaesthesia on a visuotactile interference task. Here, we conducted two experiments that sought to replicate and extend these findings by examining: (i) the effects of tDCS and high-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) targeted at SI and temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) on vicarious tactile perception, (ii) the extent to which any stimulation effects were specific to viewing touch to humans vs. inanimate agents and (iii) the influence of visual perspective (viewing touch from one's own vs. another's perspective) on vicarious perception. In Experiment 1, tRNS targeted at SI did not modulate vicarious perception. In Experiment 2, tDCS targeted at SI, but not TPJ, resulted in some modulation of vicarious perception, but there were important caveats to this effect. Implications regarding mechanisms of vicarious perception are discussed. Collectively, the findings do not provide convincing evidence for the potential to modulate vicarious tactile perception with transcranial electrical current stimulation.
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30
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Common and distinct neural mechanisms associated with the conscious experience of vicarious pain. Cortex 2017; 94:152-163. [PMID: 28759805 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2016] [Revised: 01/05/2017] [Accepted: 06/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Vicarious pain perception has been an influential paradigm for investigating the social neuroscience of empathy. This research has highlighted the importance of both shared representations (i.e., involved in both experiencing first-hand physical pain and observing pain) and mechanisms that discriminate between self and other. The majority of this research has been conducted in healthy younger adults using a group-average approach. There are, however, known inter-individual differences that can contribute to vicarious experience. One factor relates to the degree to which individuals experience reportable pain-like sensations/feelings in response to seeing others in pain. Here we conduct the first systematic investigation of the neural basis of conscious vicarious pain in a large sample of participants. Using cluster analysis, we firstly demonstrate that consciously experiencing the pain of others is surprisingly prevalent and, exists in two forms: one group experiences sensory and localised pain whilst the other group report affective and non-localised experiences. Building on this, we used electroencephalography (EEG) and structural brain imaging to examine the neural correlates of vicarious pain in the three different groups. We find that the dominant electrophysiological marker used to index vicarious pain in previous studies (mu and beta suppression) was only found to be significant in the sensory and localised pain responder group (with a sensitive null result in the 'neurotypical' group). Finally, using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) we identify a common differences in the two pain responder groups relative to typical adults; namely increased grey-matter in insula and somatosensory cortex and reduced grey matter in the right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ). We suggest that the latter reflects a reduced ability to distinguish bodily self and other, and may be a common factor distinguishing conscious from unconscious vicarious experience.
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31
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Ward J, Banissy MJ. From mirror-touch synesthesia to models of vicarious experience: A reply to commentaries. Cogn Neurosci 2017; 8:224-227. [PMID: 28524804 DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2017.1332020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
In this reply to the eight commentaries to our article, we discuss three important challenges. First, we discuss the relationship of mirror-touch to other forms of synesthesia. We note that synesthetic experiences are generally not mistaken as veridical but this does not mean that they lack percept-like qualities. We acknowledge that neither Threshold Theory nor Self-Other Theory offer a direct account of other forms of synesthesia, although we discuss how the latter could. Second, we discuss alternative explanations. Notably predictive coding offers a different way of framing our current theory, and extending it to related phenomena. Finally, we discuss how mirror-touch synesthesia may relate to other atypical experiences of body ownership such as the rubber hand illusion, and somatoparaphrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Ward
- a School of Psychology , University of Sussex , Brighton , UK
| | - Michael J Banissy
- b Department of Psychology , Goldsmiths, University of London , London , UK
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32
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Young KA, Gandevia SC, Giummarra MJ. Vicarious pain responders and emotion: Evidence for distress rather than mimicry. Psychophysiology 2017; 54:1081-1095. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2016] [Revised: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kurtis A. Young
- School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences; Monash University; Clayton Victoria Australia
| | - Simon C. Gandevia
- Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA); Randwick New South Wales Australia
- Prince of Wales Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine; University of New South Wales; Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Melita J. Giummarra
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine; Monash University; Melbourne Victoria Australia
- Caulfield Pain Management & Research Centre, Caulfield Hospital; Caulfield Victoria Australia
- Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research, Monash University; Melbourne Victoria Australia
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33
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Medina J, DePasquale C. Influence of the body schema on mirror-touch synesthesia. Cortex 2017; 88:53-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2016] [Revised: 10/20/2016] [Accepted: 12/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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34
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Mas-Casadesús A, Gherri E. Ignoring Irrelevant Information: Enhanced Intermodal Attention in Synaesthetes. Multisens Res 2017; 30:253-277. [PMID: 31287079 DOI: 10.1163/22134808-00002566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Accepted: 03/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Despite the fact that synaesthetes experience additional percepts during their inducer-concurrent associations that are often unrelated or irrelevant to their daily activities, they appear to be relatively unaffected by this potentially distracting information. This might suggest that synaesthetes are particularly good at ignoring irrelevant perceptual information coming from different sensory modalities. To investigate this hypothesis, the performance of a group of synaesthetes was compared to that of a matched non-synaesthete group in two different conflict tasks aimed at assessing participants' abilities to ignore irrelevant information. In order to match the sensory modality of the task-irrelevant distractors (vision) with participants' synaesthetic attentional filtering experience, we tested only synaesthetes experiencing at least one synaesthesia subtype triggering visual concurrents (e.g., grapheme-colour synaesthesia or sequence-space synaesthesia). Synaesthetes and controls performed a classic flanker task (FT) and a visuo-tactile cross-modal congruency task (CCT) in which they had to attend to tactile targets while ignoring visual distractors. While no differences were observed between synaesthetes and controls in the FT, synaesthetes showed reduced interference by the irrelevant distractors of the CCT. These findings provide the first direct evidence that synaesthetes might be more efficient than non-synaesthetes at dissociating conflicting information from different sensory modalities when the irrelevant modality correlates with their synaesthetic concurrent modality (here vision).
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Mas-Casadesús
- School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences, Department of Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Elena Gherri
- School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences, Department of Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
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Gillmeister H, Bowling N, Rigato S, Banissy MJ. Inter-Individual Differences in Vicarious Tactile Perception: a View Across the Lifespan in Typical and Atypical Populations. Multisens Res 2017; 30:485-508. [DOI: 10.1163/22134808-00002543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Touch is our most interpersonal sense, and so it stands to reason that we represent not only our own bodily experiences, but also those felt by others. This review will summarise brain and behavioural research on vicarious tactile perception (mirror touch). Specifically, we will focus on vicarious touch across the lifespan in typical and atypical groups, and will identify the knowledge gaps that are in urgent need of filling by examining what is known about how individuals differ within and between typical and atypical groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helge Gillmeister
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Natalie Bowling
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK
| | - Silvia Rigato
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Michael J. Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK
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Fusaro M, Tieri G, Aglioti SM. Seeing pain and pleasure on self and others: behavioral and psychophysiological reactivity in immersive virtual reality. J Neurophysiol 2016; 116:2656-2662. [PMID: 27655965 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00489.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Accepted: 09/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies have explored behavioral and neural responses to the observation of pain in others. However, much less is known about how taking a physical perspective influences reactivity to the observation of others' pain and pleasure. To explore this issue we devised a novel paradigm in which 24 healthy participants immersed in a virtual reality scenario observed a virtual: needle penetrating (pain), caress (pleasure), or ball touching (neutral) the hand of an avatar seen from a first (1PP)- or a third (3PP)-person perspective. Subjective ratings and physiological responses [skin conductance responses (SCR) and heart rate (HR)] were collected in each trial. All participants reported strong feelings of ownership of the virtual hand only in 1PP. Subjective measures also showed that pain and pleasure were experienced as more salient than neutral. SCR analysis demonstrated higher reactivity in 1PP than in 3PP. Importantly, vicarious pain induced stronger responses with respect to the other conditions in both perspectives. HR analysis revealed equally lower activity during pain and pleasure with respect to neutral. SCR may reflect egocentric perspective, and HR may merely index general arousal. The results suggest that behavioral and physiological indexes of reactivity to seeing others' pain and pleasure were qualitatively similar in 1PP and 3PP. Our paradigm indicates that virtual reality can be used to study vicarious sensation of pain and pleasure without actually delivering any stimulus to participants' real body and to explore behavioral and physiological reactivity when they observe pain and pleasure from ego- and allocentric perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Fusaro
- SCNLab, Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza," Rome, Italy.,Fondazione Santa Lucia, Instituto Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Rome, Italy; and
| | - G Tieri
- SCNLab, Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza," Rome, Italy.,Fondazione Santa Lucia, Instituto Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Rome, Italy; and.,BrainTrends, Applied Neuroscience, Rome, Italy
| | - S M Aglioti
- SCNLab, Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza," Rome, Italy; .,Fondazione Santa Lucia, Instituto Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Rome, Italy; and
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Abstract
Since mirror neurons were introduced to the neuroscientific community more than 20 years ago, they have become an elegant and intuitive account for different cognitive mechanisms (e.g., empathy, goal understanding) and conditions (e.g., autism spectrum disorders). Recently, mirror neurons were suggested to be the mechanism underlying a specific type of synesthesia. Mirror-touch synesthesia is a phenomenon in which individuals experience somatosensory sensations when seeing someone else being touched. Appealing as it is, careful delineation is required when applying this mechanism. Using the mirror-touch synesthesia case, we put forward theoretical and methodological issues that should be addressed before relying on the mirror-neurons account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omer Linkovski
- Department of Psychology and Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
- Department of Psychiatry, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Naama Katzin
- Department of Psychology and Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Moti Salti
- Department of Psychology and Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
- Soroka University Medical Center, Beer Sheva, Israel
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Kuang S. Toward a Unified Social Motor Cognition Theory of Understanding Mirror-Touch Synaesthesia. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:246. [PMID: 27303282 PMCID: PMC4885875 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2015] [Accepted: 05/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Shenbing Kuang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China
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Cioffi MC, Banissy MJ, Moore JW. 'Am I moving?' An illusion of agency and ownership in mirror-touch synaesthesia. Cognition 2015; 146:426-30. [PMID: 26550800 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2015.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2015] [Revised: 10/23/2015] [Accepted: 10/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Mirror-touch synaesthesia (MTS) is a condition that leads people to experience tactile sensations on their own body when watching at someone else being touched. Recent accounts postulate that MTS is linked with atypical self-other representations. It has been suggested that this may be associated with disturbances in two main components of self-awareness: sense of agency and sense of ownership. This study investigates changes in sense of agency and sense of ownership in MTS. Using a paradigm that deliberately blurs the boundaries between the self and the other, we not only found that MTS affects sense of agency and sense of ownership, but that these aspects of self-awareness are affected differently. We suggest that alterations in sense of agency can be linked to more profound disturbances in sense of ownership in MTS, and that MTS may be characterised by underlying difficulties in self-other processing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael J Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK
| | - James W Moore
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK
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Nazarewicz J, Verdejo-Garcia A, Giummarra MJ. Sympathetic pain? A role of poor parasympathetic nervous system engagement in vicarious pain states. Psychophysiology 2015; 52:1529-37. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2015] [Accepted: 07/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Julia Nazarewicz
- School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences; Monash University; Clayton Australia
| | - Antonio Verdejo-Garcia
- School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences; Monash University; Clayton Australia
| | - Melita J. Giummarra
- School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences; Monash University; Clayton Australia
- Caulfield Pain Management & Research Centre, Caulfield Hospital; Caulfield Australia
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Mirror-touch synaesthesia: Difficulties inhibiting the other. Cortex 2015; 71:116-21. [PMID: 26188789 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.06.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2015] [Revised: 05/25/2015] [Accepted: 06/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with mirror touch synaesthesia (MTS) experience touch on their own body when observing others being touched. A recent account proposes that such rare experiences could be linked to impairment in self-other representations. Here we tested participants with MTS on a battery of social cognition tests and found that compared to non-synaesthete controls, the MTS group showed impairment in imitation-inhibition but not in visual perspective taking or theory of mind. Although all of these socio-cognitive abilities rely on the control of self-other representations, they differ as to whether the self, or the other, should be preferentially represented. For imitation-inhibition, representations of the other should be inhibited and self-representations should be enhanced, whereas the opposite is true for visual perspective taking and theory of mind. These findings suggest that MTS is associated with a specific deficit in inhibiting representation of other individuals and shed light on the fractionability of processes underlying typical social cognition.
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Bufalari I, Porciello G, Aglioti SM. “Atypical touch perception in MTS may derive from an abnormally plastic self-representation”. Cogn Neurosci 2015; 6:139-41. [DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2015.1057486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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Abstract
Ward and Banissy's illuminating discussion of mirror-touch synesthesia (MTS) encourages research testing two alternatives to Threshold Theory: Their own Self-Other Theory, and "Task Control Theory". MTS may be due to abnormal mirror activity plus a domain-general, rather than a specifically social, impairment in the ability to privilege processing of task-relevant over task-irrelevant information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Heyes
- a All Souls College & Department of Experimental Psychology , University of Oxford , United Kingdom
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