The pain of a model in the personality of an onlooker: Influence of state-reactivity and personality traits on embodied empathy for pain

Avenanti, Alessio; Minio-Paluello, Ilaria; Bufalari, Ilaria; Aglioti, Salvatore Maria

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.08.001

Cited by 138 publications

(139 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…In this sense, the not-exerting-control condition is similar to observing others in pain without any possibility to prepare an avoidance reaction to this pain. In support of this view and consistent with previous research Avenanti et al, 2010), a correlation was found in our study between this inhibitory effect and the individual ratings of perspective taking, a cognitive marker of empathy, in the not-exerting-control condition. It seems that, the more a participant feels able to cognitively change his/her perspective to adopt others' point of view, the more he/ she experiences motor inhibition during pain observation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Practical constraints (including timing of the experiment) detained us from using additional control conditions in which hands are innocuously touched by similar objects. Although several studies have shown that CSE is modulated by observation of pain, but not of touch stimuli , Avenanti et al, 2010, we cannot exclude the possibility that our modulations are not specific for pain and can be extended to any hand-object interaction.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…More recently, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have investigated how our motor system responds when perceiving pain in others. Interestingly, these studies have shown that the observation of painful stimulation delivered to the hand of a human model induces a decrease in corticospinal excitability (CSE) in the hand of the observer Avenanti et al, 2006). It has been argued that this inhibitory effect is similar to what happens on the motor level when experiencing pain oneself (Le Pera et al, 2001;Farina et al, 2003;Urban et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Being Imitated on Motor Responses Evoked by Pain Observation: Exerting Control Determines Action Tendencies When Perceiving Pain in Others

2014

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Brain-imaging research has shown that experiencing pain oneself and perceiving pain in others lead to a similar pattern of activation, suggesting that the latter is based on internal simulation of the observed pain. Further evidence for this idea stems from transcranial magnetic stimulation measuring corticospinal excitability (CSE). It has been demonstrated that our motor cortex is involved whenever we observe another person receiving painful stimulation to the hand (Avenanti et al., 2005). However, both decreases and increases of CSE have been described during pain observation, so the exact nature of these CSE changes has remained unclear so far. In the present study, we hypothesized that CSE changes are determined by the control that the observer has over the hand that receives painful stimulation. To test this hypothesis, we manipulated the control over the observed hand using a paradigm in which participants' movements are being imitated by a hand on screen-giving them full control over the hand-or not. Consistent with previous results, we evidenced a decrease in CSE when participants experienced no control over the hand that received painful stimulation. In contrast, inducing control resulted in an increase in CSE. We conclude that exerting control over the observed hand leads to a completely altered action tendency. Whereas an anesthetic response is typically observed in the absence of control, increasing control induces motor facilitation reminiscent of preparation of an avoidance response.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Being Imitated on Motor Responses Evoked by Pain Observation: Exerting Control Determines Action Tendencies When Perceiving Pain in Others

2014

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“…Both unpleasant and pleasant stimuli led to a greater force production and attenuated force decay, as compared with neutral stimuli. More direct evidence that emotional stimuli prime or facilitate action has been provided by studies using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-a noninvasive tool that discharges a magnetic pulse at the scalp surface (Avenanti, Bueti, Galati, & Aglioti, 2005;Avenanti, Minio-Paluello, Bufalari, & Aglioti, 2009;Baumgartner, Willi, & Jäncke, 2007;Fecteau, Pascual-Leone, & Théoret, 2008;Hajcak et al, 2007;Oliveri et al, 2003;Schutter, Hofman, & Van Honk, 2008). Underneath the scalp, the magnetic pulse induces electric fields that cause neurons to depolarize (Bohning, 2000).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional stimuli modulate readiness for action: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Loon

Wildenberg

Stegeren

et al. 2010

Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience

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Emotional stimuli may prime the motor system and facilitate action readiness. Direct evidence for this effect has been shown by recent studies using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). When administered over the primary motor cortex involved in responding, TMS pulses elicit motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in the represented muscles. The amplitudes of these MEPs reflect the state of corticospinal excitability. Here, we investigated the dynamic effects of induced emotions on action readiness, as reflected by corticospinal excitability. Subjects performed a choice task while viewing task-irrelevant emotional and neutral pictures. The pattern of MEP amplitudes showed a typical increase as the TMS pulse was presented closer in time to the imminent response. This dynamic pattern was amplified by both pleasant and unpleasant emotional stimuli, but more so when unpleasant pictures were viewed. These patterns present novel evidence in support of the notion that emotional stimuli modulate action readiness.

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“…Yet the effectiveness of a moral model based purely on affective empathy is limited by the health of dedicated emotional systems, including the capacity to regulate these (e.g. psychopathic traits; [64]). Likewise, the consistent application of empathy to high level morality relies on reasoning which is not itself adaptive.…”

Section: Consequences Of the Evolutionary Development Of An Internal mentioning

confidence: 99%

Valuation of Morality and Mind: Morality as a Metacognitive Byproduct

Baxter¹

2017

Preprint

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The organism has evolved to view itself as a sentient being. It is theorised that morality is a byproduct of the high valuation of mental properties (the nature of its theory of mind). Five studies were conducted with 2675 participants. A positive association was confirmed between valuation of explicit morality, neutral (general) mind as measured by sentience, and significance of (specific) mind as measured by integrity (1). The moral worth ratings of a protagonist were affected by manipulating perceived significance of mind as expressed by scope and intensity of thought (2). 50% of participants thought morality applies exclusively to creatures with minds (3). A positive association was found between the self-awareness and moral worth ratings of a variety of creatures and human characters (4). Furthermore, the moral worth ratings of a human being and 'philosophical phantom' (sentient inanimate object) were greater than those of a philosophical zombie and rock (5). Like H. Gray et al. [1], this research suggests that morality is based on the belief in mind (1-5). Specifically, the results suggest that valuation of experience (sentience) and agency (significance of mind) are not independent, as assignment of morality appears preconditioned upon the perception of (or assumption of) sentience (5). Furthermore, contrary to dyadic models [2], preliminary analysis supported the prediction of self and other-directed morality (1).

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The pain of a model in the personality of an onlooker: Influence of state-reactivity and personality traits on embodied empathy for pain

Cited by 138 publications

References 77 publications

Effects of Being Imitated on Motor Responses Evoked by Pain Observation: Exerting Control Determines Action Tendencies When Perceiving Pain in Others

Effects of Being Imitated on Motor Responses Evoked by Pain Observation: Exerting Control Determines Action Tendencies When Perceiving Pain in Others

Emotional stimuli modulate readiness for action: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Valuation of Morality and Mind: Morality as a Metacognitive Byproduct

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