Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Department of Physical Therapy, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Neuropsychologia. 2018 Jul 31;116(Pt A):68-74. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.04.026. Epub 2017 Apr 22.
The aim of the present study was to examine the mechanisms of empathy for pain that contribute to consoling touch, a distress-alleviating contact behavior carried out by an observer in response to the suffering of a target. We tested romantic couples in a paradigm that involves consoling touch and examined the attenuation of the mu/alpha rhythm (8-13Hz) in the consoling partner. During the task, the toucher either held the consoled partner's right hand (human touch) or held onto the armrest of the chair (non-human touch), while the consoled partner experienced inflicted pain (pain condition) or did not experience any pain (no-pain condition). In accordance with our hypotheses, the results revealed an interaction between touch and pain at in mu/alpha rhythms in all central sites (C3, C4, Cz). Specifically, we found that the toucher's mu suppression was higher in the consoling touch condition, i.e., while touching the partner who is in pain, compared to the three control conditions. Additionally, we found that in the consoling touch condition, mu suppression at electrode C4 of the toucher correlated with a measure of situational empathy. Our findings suggest that electrophysiological and behavioral measures that have been associated with empathy for pain are modulated during consoling touch.
本研究旨在探讨同理心对疼痛的作用机制，同理心是观察者为减轻目标的痛苦而进行的安慰性触摸行为。我们在涉及安慰性触摸的范式中测试了浪漫伴侣，并检查了安慰者的 mu/alpha 节律（8-13Hz）的衰减。在任务中，触摸者要么握住被安慰者的右手（人类触摸），要么握住椅子的扶手（非人类触摸），而被安慰者则经历施加的疼痛（疼痛条件）或不经历任何疼痛（无疼痛条件）。根据我们的假设，结果显示在所有中央部位（C3、C4、Cz）的 mu/alpha 节律中，触摸和疼痛之间存在相互作用。具体来说，我们发现触摸者在安慰性触摸条件下的 mu 抑制更高，即在触摸处于疼痛状态的伴侣时，与三个对照条件相比。此外，我们发现，在安慰性触摸条件下，触摸者 C4 电极的 mu 抑制与情境同理心的一个衡量标准相关。我们的研究结果表明，与同理心疼痛相关的电生理和行为测量在安慰性触摸过程中被调节。
