Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Parma, Parma, Italy.
Neurosci Lett. 2010 Mar 31;473(1):28-31. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.02.012. Epub 2010 Feb 10.
Intersubjectivity entails the taking of another's perspective in order to understand their experience of the world. This perspective taking capacity extends to the intra-individual sharing of tactile experience. Previous studies have shown modulation of motor cortex excitability in response to the observation of aversive tactile stimulation to the hand of another person. Here we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and peripheral stimulation to induce a short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) effect, which we then sought to modulate via observation of non-noxious tactile stimulation to the hand of a model. Side congruency between the observed (model) and the recorded (participant) hand induced an increase of SAI and this effect was found to hold for motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) recorded from both left and right hands. Inhibition was not found with MEPs evoked using unconditioned pulses of TMS. These results demonstrate a sensorimotor response to observed non-noxious stimulation and suggest an empathic matching system for the tactile experiences of others.
主体间性需要从他人的角度出发，以理解他们对世界的体验。这种视角的能力延伸到个体内部对触觉体验的共享。先前的研究表明，在观察到另一个人手上的不愉快触觉刺激时，运动皮层的兴奋性会发生调节。在这里，我们使用经颅磁刺激（TMS）和外周刺激来诱导短潜伏期传入抑制（SAI）效应，然后试图通过观察模型手上的非伤害性触觉刺激来调节该效应。观察到的（模型）手和记录到的（参与者）手之间的侧一致性诱导 SAI 增加，并且发现这种效应适用于从左手和右手记录的运动诱发电位（MEP）。使用 TMS 的未条件脉冲诱发的 MEP 中未发现抑制作用。这些结果表明对观察到的非伤害性刺激存在感觉运动反应，并提示存在用于他人触觉体验的共情匹配系统。
