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He J, Bore MC, Jiang H, Gan X, Wang J, Li J, Xu X, Wang L, Fu K, Li L, Zhou B, Kendrick K, Becker B. Neural Basis of Pain Empathy Dysregulations in Mental Disorders - A Pre-registered Neuroimaging Meta-Analysis. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024:S2451-9022(24)00267-2. [PMID: 39260566 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.08.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2024] [Revised: 08/09/2024] [Accepted: 08/29/2024] [Indexed: 09/13/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pain empathy represents a fundamental building block of several social functions, which have been demonstrated to be impaired across various mental disorders by accumulating evidence from case-control functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. However, it remains unclear whether the dysregulations are underpinned by robust neural alterations across mental disorders. METHODS This study utilized coordinate-based meta-analyses to quantitatively determine robust markers of altered pain empathy across mental disorders. To support the interpretation of the findings exploratory network-level and behavioral meta-analyses were conducted. RESULTS Quantitative analysis of eleven case-control fMRI studies with data from 296 patients and 229 controls revealed patients with mental disorders exhibited increased pain empathic reactivity in the left anterior cingulate gyrus, adjacent medial prefrontal cortex, and right middle temporal gyrus, yet decreased activity in the left cerebellum IV/V and left middle occipital gyrus compared to controls. The hyperactive regions showed network-level interactions with the core default mode network (DMN) and were associated with affective and social cognitive domains. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that pain-empathic alterations across mental disorders are underpinned by excessive empathic reactivity in brain systems involved in empathic distress and social processes, highlighting a shared therapeutic target to normalize basal social dysfunctions in mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingxian He
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Mercy Chepngetich Bore
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Heng Jiang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Xianyang Gan
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Junjie Wang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Jialin Li
- Max Planck School of Cognition, Stephanstrasse 1a, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Xiaolei Xu
- School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
| | - Lan Wang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Kun Fu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Liyuan Li
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Bo Zhou
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Keith Kendrick
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
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2
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Rütgen M, Lamm C. Dissecting shared pain representations to understand their behavioral and clinical relevance. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 163:105769. [PMID: 38879099 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2024] [Revised: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Accounts of shared representations posit that the experience of pain and pain empathy rely on similar neural mechanisms. Experimental research employing novel analytical and methodological approaches has made significant advances in both the identification and targeted manipulation of such shared experiences and their neural underpinnings. This revealed that painful experiences can be shared on different representational levels, from pain-specific to domain-general features, such as negative affect and its regulation. In view of direct links between such representations and social behaviors such as prosocial behavior, conditions characterized by aberrant pain processing may come along with heavy impairments in the social domain, depending on the affected representational level. This has wide potential implications in light of the high prevalence of pain-related clinical conditions, their management, and the overuse of pain medication. In this review and opinion paper, we aim to chart the path toward a better understanding of the link between shared affect and prosocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Rütgen
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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3
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Scandola M, Beccherle M, Togni R, Caffini G, Ferrari F, Aglioti SM, Moro V. Topographic mapping of the sensorimotor qualities of empathic reactivity: A psychophysiological study in people with spinal cord injuries. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14547. [PMID: 38372443 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
The experience of empathy for pain is underpinned by sensorimotor and affective dimensions which, although interconnected, are at least in part behaviorally and neurally distinct. Spinal cord injuries (SCI) induce a massive, below-lesion level, sensorimotor body-brain disconnection. This condition may make it possible to test whether sensorimotor deprivation alters specific dimensions of empathic reactivity to observed pain. To explore this issue, we asked SCI people with paraplegia and healthy controls to observe videos of painful or neutral stimuli administered to a hand (intact) or a foot (deafferented). The stimuli were displayed by means of a virtual reality set-up and seen from a first person (1PP) or third person (3PP) visual perspective. A number of measures were recorded ranging from explicit behaviors like explicit verbal reports on the videos, to implicit measures of muscular activity (like EMG from the corrugator and zygomatic muscles that may represent a proxy of sensorimotor empathy) and of autonomic reactivity (like the electrodermal response and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia that may represent a general proxy of affective empathy). While no across group differences in explicit verbal reports about the pain stimuli were found, SCI people exhibited reduced facial muscle reactivity to the stimuli applied to the foot (but not the hand) seen from the 1PP. Tellingly, the corrugator activity correlated with SCI participants' neuropathic pain. There were no across group differences in autonomic reactivity suggesting that SCI lesions may affect sensorimotor dimensions connected to empathy for pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Scandola
- NPSY.Lab-VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Maddalena Beccherle
- NPSY.Lab-VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
- CLN2S@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Giulia Caffini
- NPSY.Lab-VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | | | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- CLN2S@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Moro
- NPSY.Lab-VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
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4
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Raghuraman N, White JN, Watson L, Belleï-Rodriguez CÉ, Shafir R, Wang Y, Colloca L. Neuropsychological mechanisms of observational learning in human placebo effects. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024:10.1007/s00213-024-06608-7. [PMID: 38743108 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06608-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Scientific evidence indicates that placebo effects are psychoneurobiological events involving the contribution of distinct central nervous systems and peripheral physiological mechanisms that influence pain perception and other symptoms. Placebo effects can occur without formal conditioning and direct prior experience because crucial information can be acquired through observational learning. Observation of benefits in another person results in placebo effects of a magnitude like those induced by directly experiencing an analgesic benefit. Understanding the psychological mechanisms of observationally induced placebo effects is a complex and multifaceted endeavor. While previous reviews have highlighted various frameworks and models to understand these phenomena, the underlying biological mechanisms have been overlooked. We summarize critically current understanding of its behavioral and neural mechanisms. Understanding the neural mechanisms of hypoalgesia driven by observation can serve as a foundation for future development of novel theoretical and methodological approaches and ultimately, applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nandini Raghuraman
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Graduate Program in Life Sciences, Program in Epidemiology and Human Genetics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Placebo Beyond Opinions Center, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, USA
| | - Jewel N White
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Placebo Beyond Opinions Center, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, USA
- Graduate Program in Life Sciences, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Lakota Watson
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Graduate Program in Life Sciences, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | | | - Roni Shafir
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Placebo Beyond Opinions Center, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, USA
| | - Yang Wang
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Placebo Beyond Opinions Center, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, USA
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
| | - Luana Colloca
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Placebo Beyond Opinions Center, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, USA.
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA.
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5
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Gamble RS, Henry JD, Decety J, Vanman EJ. The role of external factors in affect-sharing and their neural bases. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 157:105540. [PMID: 38211739 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Affect-sharing, the ability to vicariously feel another person's emotions, is the primary component of empathy that is typically thought to rely on the observer's capacity to feel the emotions of others. However, external signals, such as the target's physical characteristics, have been demonstrated to influence affect-sharing in the neuroscientific literature that speaks to the underappreciated role of external factors in eliciting affect-sharing. We consider factors that influence affect-sharing, including physical cues, emotional cues, situational factors, and observer-target relationships, as well as the neural circuits involved in these processes. Our review reveals that, while neural network activation is primarily responsible for processing affect-sharing, external factors also co-activate a top-down cognitive processing network to modulate the conscious process of affect-sharing. From this knowledge, an integrative framework of external factor interactions with affect-sharing are explained in detail. Finally, we identify critical areas for future research in social and affective neuroscience, including research gaps and incorporation of ecologically valid paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger S Gamble
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
| | - Julie D Henry
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Eric J Vanman
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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6
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Forbes PAG, Aydogan G, Braunstein J, Todorova B, Wagner IC, Lockwood PL, Apps MAJ, Ruff CC, Lamm C. Acute stress reduces effortful prosocial behaviour. eLife 2024; 12:RP87271. [PMID: 38180785 PMCID: PMC10942768 DOI: 10.7554/elife.87271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Acute stress can change our cognition and emotions, but what specific consequences this has for human prosocial behaviour is unclear. Previous studies have mainly investigated prosociality with financial transfers in economic games and produced conflicting results. Yet a core feature of many types of prosocial behaviour is that they are effortful. We therefore examined how acute stress changes our willingness to exert effort that benefits others. Healthy male participants - half of whom were put under acute stress - made decisions whether to exert physical effort to gain money for themselves or another person. With this design, we could independently assess the effects of acute stress on prosocial, compared to self-benefitting, effortful behaviour. Compared to controls (n = 45), participants in the stress group (n = 46) chose to exert effort more often for self- than for other-benefitting rewards at a low level of effort. Additionally, the adverse effects of stress on prosocial effort were particularly pronounced in more selfish participants. Neuroimaging combined with computational modelling revealed a putative neural mechanism underlying these effects: more stressed participants showed increased activation to subjective value in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula when they themselves could benefit from their exerted effort relative to when someone else could. By using an effort-based task that better approximates real-life prosocial behaviour and incorporating trait differences in prosocial tendencies, our study provides important insights into how acute stress affects prosociality and its associated neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul AG Forbes
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Gökhan Aydogan
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Julia Braunstein
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Boryana Todorova
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Isabella C Wagner
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Patricia L Lockwood
- Centre for Human Brain Health, Institute of Mental Health and School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
- Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Matthew AJ Apps
- Centre for Human Brain Health, Institute of Mental Health and School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
- Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Christian C Ruff
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Claus Lamm
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
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7
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Corradi‐Dell'Acqua C, Hofstetter C, Sharvit G, Hugli O, Vuilleumier P. Healthcare experience affects pain-specific responses to others' suffering in the anterior insula. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:5655-5671. [PMID: 37608624 PMCID: PMC10619377 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Medical students and professional healthcare providers often underestimate patients' pain, together with decreased neural responses to pain information in the anterior insula (AI), a brain region implicated in self-pain processing and negative affect. However, the functional significance and specificity of these neural changes remains debated. Across two experiments, we recruited university medical students and emergency nurses to test the role of healthcare experience on the brain reactivity to other's pain, emotions, and beliefs, using both pictorial and verbal cues. Brain responses to self-pain was also assessed and compared with those to observed pain. Our results confirmed that healthcare experience decreased the activity in AI in response to others' suffering. This effect was independent from stimulus modality (pictures or texts), but specific for pain, as it did not generalize to inferences about other mental or affective states. Furthermore, representational similarity and multivariate pattern analysis revealed that healthcare experience impacted specifically a component of the neural representation of others' pain that is shared with that of first-hand nociception, and related more to AI than to other pain-responsive regions. Taken together, our study suggests a decreased propensity to appraise others' suffering as one's own, associated with a reduced recruitment of pain-specific information in AI. These findings provide new insights into neural mechanisms leading to pain underestimation by caregivers in clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corrado Corradi‐Dell'Acqua
- Theory of Pain Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE)University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Geneva Neuroscience CenterUniversity of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Christoph Hofstetter
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Gil Sharvit
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Balgrist University Hospital and University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Olivier Hugli
- Emergency Department, University Hospital of Lausanne (UHL)LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Geneva Neuroscience CenterUniversity of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
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8
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Lengersdorff LL, Wagner IC, Mittmann G, Sastre-Yagüe D, Lüttig A, Olsson A, Petrovic P, Lamm C. Neuroimaging and behavioral evidence that violent video games exert no negative effect on human empathy for pain and emotional reactivity to violence. eLife 2023; 12:e84951. [PMID: 37975654 PMCID: PMC10791126 DOI: 10.7554/elife.84951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Influential accounts claim that violent video games (VVGs) decrease players' emotional empathy by desensitizing them to both virtual and real-life violence. However, scientific evidence for this claim is inconclusive and controversially debated. To assess the causal effect of VVGs on the behavioral and neural correlates of empathy and emotional reactivity to violence, we conducted a prospective experimental study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We recruited 89 male participants without prior VVG experience. Over the course of two weeks, participants played either a highly violent video game or a non-violent version of the same game. Before and after this period, participants completed an fMRI experiment with paradigms measuring their empathy for pain and emotional reactivity to violent images. Applying a Bayesian analysis approach throughout enabled us to find substantial evidence for the absence of an effect of VVGs on the behavioral and neural correlates of empathy. Moreover, participants in the VVG group were not desensitized to images of real-world violence. These results imply that short and controlled exposure to VVGs does not numb empathy nor the responses to real-world violence. We discuss the implications of our findings regarding the potential and limitations of experimental research on the causal effects of VVGs. While VVGs might not have a discernible effect on the investigated subpopulation within our carefully controlled experimental setting, our results cannot preclude that effects could be found in settings with higher ecological validity, in vulnerable subpopulations, or after more extensive VVG play.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Leopold Lengersdorff
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Isabella C Wagner
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Gloria Mittmann
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - David Sastre-Yagüe
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Andre Lüttig
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Andreas Olsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska InstituteStockholmSweden
| | - Pedrag Petrovic
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska InstituteStockholmSweden
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
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9
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Banwinkler M, Rütgen M, Lamm C, Hartmann H. A pill as a quick solution: association between painkiller intake, empathy, and prosocial behavior. Sci Rep 2023; 13:18320. [PMID: 37884594 PMCID: PMC10603176 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45267-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated a link between the administration of analgesic drugs and the reduction of empathy levels in humans. This apparent blunting effect of pain medication has been explained through shared neural mechanisms for the first-hand and the empathic experience of pain (simulation theory). Considering that analgesics are among the most consumed drugs in the world and the ability to empathize with others is fundamental to human social interactions, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether the typical day-to-day analgesic consumption rate in Austria and Germany is associated with a reduction in empathy and prosocial behavior. We therefore collected self-reports of analgesic consumption behavior as well as empathy for pain and prosocial behavior measures in an online survey (n = 940). Analyses revealed no significant association between the analgesic intake frequency and measures of empathy or prosocial behavior. However, liberal intake of analgesics (i.e. mind-set of "a pill is a quick solution") was linked to lower empathic concern and helping behavior, which may hint towards a negative effect in people who take pain medication for non-pain related issues or episodes of low pain. Nevertheless, further research is needed to investigate the effects of analgesic drugs in high frequency users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Banwinkler
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne Germany, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Markus Rütgen
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Claus Lamm
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Helena Hartmann
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Clinical Neurosciences, Department for Neurology and Center for Translational and Behavioral Neuroscience, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
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Hartmann H, Banwinkler M, Riva F, Lamm C. To respond or not to respond: exploring empathy-related psychological and structural brain differences between placebo analgesia responders and non-responders. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1257522. [PMID: 37849473 PMCID: PMC10577216 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1257522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Placebo responsiveness is highly variable across individuals. In the domain of pain, it may range from pronounced hypoalgesia to no response at all. Which factors predict such variation awaits clarification, as the available literature is characterized by mixed and inconclusive results. Particularly interesting in this case are social factors such as empathy or prosocial behavior, as prior work has stressed the connection between feeling pain yourself and empathizing with pain observed in others. Methods In a mixed confirmatory and exploratory approach, this study investigated potential psychological and structural brain differences between placebo responders and non-responders in the domain of pain. We aggregated data of four behavioral and neuroimaging studies that had been designed to investigate the effects of placebo analgesia on empathy. Results Analyses comparing groups of placebo responders and non-responders showed significant group differences in trait characteristics, with responders reporting increased helping behavior and lower psychopathic traits compared to non-responders. Uncorrected results further showed higher pain-related empathic concern in responders vs. non-responders. These results were accompaniedby tentative group differences in brain structure: placebo analgesia non-responders exhibited increased gray matter volume in left inferior temporal and parietal supramarginal cortical areas, and an increased cortical surface area in bilateral middle temporal cortex. Discussion Together, our findings suggest that modifiability of one's pain perception by means of placebo effects is linked to personality traits characterizing social emotions and behavior. They also hint that these psychological as well as brain structural characteristics might be beneficial for the identification of placebo responders. At the same time, they stress the importance of considering contextual factors such as the study setting or paradigm when investigating the association between individual characteristics and placebo responding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Hartmann
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Clinical Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Magdalena Banwinkler
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Federica Riva
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Troncoso A, Soto V, Gomila A, Martínez-Pernía D. Moving beyond the lab: investigating empathy through the Empirical 5E approach. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1119469. [PMID: 37519389 PMCID: PMC10374225 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1119469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathy is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that plays a crucial role in human social interactions. Recent developments in social neuroscience have provided valuable insights into the neural underpinnings and bodily mechanisms underlying empathy. This methodology often prioritizes precision, replicability, internal validity, and confound control. However, fully understanding the complexity of empathy seems unattainable by solely relying on artificial and controlled laboratory settings, while overlooking a comprehensive view of empathy through an ecological experimental approach. In this article, we propose articulating an integrative theoretical and methodological framework based on the 5E approach (the "E"s stand for embodied, embedded, enacted, emotional, and extended perspectives of empathy), highlighting the relevance of studying empathy as an active interaction between embodied agents, embedded in a shared real-world environment. In addition, we illustrate how a novel multimodal approach including mobile brain and body imaging (MoBi) combined with phenomenological methods, and the implementation of interactive paradigms in a natural context, are adequate procedures to study empathy from the 5E approach. In doing so, we present the Empirical 5E approach (E5E) as an integrative scientific framework to bridge brain/body and phenomenological attributes in an interbody interactive setting. Progressing toward an E5E approach can be crucial to understanding empathy in accordance with the complexity of how it is experienced in the real world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Troncoso
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Vicente Soto
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Antoni Gomila
- Department of Psychology, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - David Martínez-Pernía
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
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Rhoads SA, O'Connell K, Berluti K, Ploe ML, Elizabeth HS, Amormino P, Li JL, Dutton MA, VanMeter AS, Marsh AA. Neural responses underlying extraordinary altruists' generosity for socially distant others. PNAS NEXUS 2023; 2:pgad199. [PMID: 37416875 PMCID: PMC10321390 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Most people are much less generous toward strangers than close others, a bias termed social discounting. But people who engage in extraordinary real-world altruism, like altruistic kidney donors, show dramatically reduced social discounting. Why they do so is unclear. Some prior research suggests reduced social discounting requires effortfully overcoming selfishness via recruitment of the temporoparietal junction. Alternatively, reduced social discounting may reflect genuinely valuing strangers' welfare more due to how the subjective value of their outcomes is encoded in regions such as rostral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and amygdala. We tested both hypotheses in this pre-registered study. We also tested the hypothesis that a loving-kindness meditation (LKM) training intervention would cause typical adults' neural and behavioral patterns to resemble altruists. Altruists and matched controls (N = 77) completed a social discounting task during functional magnetic resonance imaging; 25 controls were randomized to complete LKM training. Neither behavioral nor imaging analyses supported the hypothesis that altruists' reduced social discounting reflects effortfully overcoming selfishness. Instead, group differences emerged in social value encoding regions, including rostral ACC and amygdala. Activation in these regions corresponded to the subjective valuation of others' welfare predicted by the social discounting model. LKM training did not result in more generous behavioral or neural patterns, but only greater perceived difficulty during social discounting. Our results indicate extraordinary altruists' generosity results from the way regions involved in social decision-making encode the subjective value of others' welfare. Interventions aimed at promoting generosity may thus succeed to the degree they can increase the subjective valuation of others' welfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn A Rhoads
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Katherine O'Connell
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Kathryn Berluti
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Montana L Ploe
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Hannah S Elizabeth
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Paige Amormino
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Joanna L Li
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Mary Ann Dutton
- Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Ashley Skye VanMeter
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Department of Neurology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Abigail A Marsh
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
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Vickers BD, Seidler RD, Stansfield RB, Weissman DH, Preston SD. Altruistic responses to the most vulnerable involve sensorimotor processes. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1140986. [PMID: 36970269 PMCID: PMC10036353 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1140986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
IntroductionWhy do people help strangers? Prior research suggests that empathy motivates bystanders to respond to victims in distress. However, this work has revealed relatively little about the role of the motor system in human altruism, even though altruism is thought to have originated as an active, physical response to close others in immediate need. We therefore investigated whether a motor preparatory response contributes to costly helping.MethodsTo accomplish this objective, we contrasted three charity conditions that were more versus less likely to elicit an active motor response, based on the Altruistic Response Model. These conditions described charities that (1) aided neonates versus adults, (2) aided victims requiring immediate versus preparatory support, and (3) provided heroic versus nurturant aid. We hypothesized that observing neonates in immediate need would elicit stronger brain activation in motor-preparatory regions.ResultsConsistent with an evolutionary, caregiving-based theory of altruism, participants donated the most to charities that provided neonates with immediate, nurturant aid. Critically, this three-way donation interaction was associated with increased BOLD signal and gray matter volume in motor-preparatory regions, which we identified in an independent motor retrieval task.DiscussionThese findings advance the field of altruism by shifting the spotlight from passive emotional states toward action processes that evolved to protect the most vulnerable members of our group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D. Vickers
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Rachael D. Seidler
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - R. Brent Stansfield
- Department of Medical Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Daniel H. Weissman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Stephanie D. Preston
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- *Correspondence: Stephanie D. Preston,
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Weiß M, Iotzov V, Zhou Y, Hein G. The bright and dark sides of egoism. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:1054065. [PMID: 36506436 PMCID: PMC9729783 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1054065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite its negative reputation, egoism - the excessive concern for one's own welfare - can incite prosocial behavior. So far, however, egoism-based prosociality has received little attention. Here, we first provide an overview of the conditions under which egoism turns into a prosocial motive, review the benefits and limitations of egoism-based prosociality, and compare them with empathy-driven prosocial behavior. Second, we summarize studies investigating the neural processing of egoism-based prosocial decisions, studies investigating the neural processing of empathy-based prosocial decisions, and the small number of studies that compared the neural processing of prosocial decisions elicited by the different motives. We conclude that there is evidence for differential neural networks involved in egoism and empathy-based prosocial decisions. However, this evidence is not yet conclusive, because it is mainly based on the comparison of different experimental paradigms which may exaggerate or overshadow the effect of the different motivational states. Finally, we propose paradigms and research questions that should be tackled in future research that could help to specify how egoism can be used to enhance other prosocial behavior and motivation, and the how it could be tamed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Weiß
- Translational Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Center of Mental Health, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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