Articles: empathy.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Reduction of empathy for pain by placebo analgesia suggests functional equivalence of empathy and first-hand emotion experience.
Previous research in social neuroscience has consistently shown that empathy for pain recruits brain areas that are also activated during the first-hand experience of pain. This has been interpreted as evidence that empathy relies upon neural processes similar to those underpinning the first-hand experience of emotions. However, whether such overlapping neural activations imply that equivalent neural functions are engaged by empathy and direct emotion experiences remains to be demonstrated. ⋯ Moreover, these effects were specific for pain, as self-report and ERP measures of control conditions unrelated to pain were not affected by placebo analgesia. Together, the present results suggest that empathy seems to rely on neural processes that are (partially) functionally equivalent to those engaged by first-hand emotion experiences. Moreover, they imply that analgesics may have the unwanted side effect of reducing empathic resonance and concern for others.
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J. Psychopharmacol. (Oxford) · Jun 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialProsocial effects of MDMA: A measure of generosity.
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) produces "prosocial" effects that contribute to its recreational use. Few studies have examined the cognitive and behavioral mechanisms by which MDMA produces these effects. Here we examined the effect of MDMA on a specific prosocial effect, i.e. generosity, using a task in which participants make decisions about whether they or another person will receive money (Welfare Trade-Off Task; WTT). ⋯ These data indicate that the WTT is a valuable, novel tool to assess a component of prosocial behavior, i.e. generosity to others. The findings support growing evidence that MDMA produces prosocial effects, but, as with oxytocin, these appear to depend on the social proximity of the relationships. The brain mechanisms underlying the construct of generosity, or the effects of MDMA on this measure, remain to be determined.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Patient Perception of Physician Compassion After a More Optimistic vs a Less Optimistic Message: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Information regarding treatment options and prognosis is essential for patient decision making. Patient perception of physicians as being less compassionate when they deliver bad news might be a contributor to physicians' reluctance in delivering these types of communication. ⋯ Patients perceived a higher level of compassion and preferred physicians who provided a more optimistic message. More research is needed in structuring less optimistic message content to support health care professionals in delivering less optimistic news.
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Social neuroscience · Jan 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialOxytocin increases empathy to pain when adopting the other- but not the self-perspective.
There is growing evidence that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) facilitates various forms of sensitivity to others, but the mechanism by which OT enhances empathy in humans is unclear. In this study, we examined whether OT increases empathy by the way of blurring the distinction between self and other, or by enhancing the difference between self and other. ⋯ This was in contrast to the placebo condition where there were no differences between the empathic responses during the self- and the other-perspective. We propose that the modulatory effect of OT on empathy when taking the other-perspective may be mediated by its role in self- and other-distinctiveness and corollary by its role in increasing salience to social agents and cues.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Neural Correlates of Empathy with Pain Show Habituation Effects. An fMRI Study.
Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the actual experience of pain and the perception of another person in pain share common neural substrates, including the bilateral anterior insular cortex and the anterior midcingulate cortex. As many fMRI studies include the exposure of participants to repeated, similar stimuli, we examined whether empathic neural responses were affected by habituation and whether the participants' prior pain experience influenced these habituation effects. ⋯ Neural structures showed a decrease of the BOLD signal, indicating habituation over the course of 45 minutes. This can be interpreted as a neuronal mechanism responding to the repeated exposure to pain depictions, which may be regarded as functional in a range of contexts.