Di Bello Maria, Ottaviani Cristina, Petrocchi Nicola
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
Front Neurosci. 2021 Mar 12;15:617443. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2021.617443. eCollection 2021.
Recent studies have linked compassion with higher vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV), a measure of parasympathetic activity, and meta-analytic evidence confirmed significant and positive associations. Compassion, however, is not to be confused with soothing positive emotions: in order to engage in actions aimed to alleviate (self or others) suffering, the pain should resonate, and empathic sensitivity should be experienced first. The present study examined the association between vmHRV and the empathic sensitivity and action components of trait and state compassion. To do so, several dispositional questionnaires were administered and two videos inducing empathic sensitivity (video 1) and compassionate actions (video 2) were shown, while the ECG was continuously recorded, and momentary affect was assessed. Results showed that (i) scores on subscales assessing the empathic component of trait compassion were inversely related to resting vmHRV; (ii) vmHRV decreased after video 1 but significantly increased after video 2. As to momentary affect, video 1 was accompanied with an increase in sadness and a decrease in positive affect, whereas video 2 was characterized by an increase in anger, a parallel decrease in sadness, and an increase (although non-significant) in positive affect. Overall, present findings support the notion that it is simplistic to link compassion with higher vmHRV. Compassion encompasses increased sensitivity to emotional pain, which is naturally associated with lower vmHRV, and action to alleviate others' suffering, which is ultimately associated with increased vmHRV. The importance of adopting a nuanced perspective on the complex physiological regulation that underlies compassionate responding to suffering is discussed.
最近的研究将同情心与较高的迷走神经介导的心率变异性（vmHRV，一种副交感神经活动的指标）联系起来，荟萃分析证据证实了两者之间存在显著的正相关。然而，同情心不应与舒缓的积极情绪相混淆：为了采取旨在减轻（自我或他人）痛苦的行动，痛苦应该引起共鸣，并且首先应该体验到共情敏感性。本研究考察了vmHRV与特质同情心和状态同情心的共情敏感性及行动成分之间的关联。为此，发放了几份性格调查问卷，并播放了两段分别诱发共情敏感性（视频1）和同情行动（视频2）的视频，同时持续记录心电图，并评估即时情绪。结果显示：（i）评估特质同情心共情成分的子量表得分与静息vmHRV呈负相关；（ii）视频1播放后vmHRV降低，但视频2播放后显著升高。至于即时情绪，视频1伴随着悲伤情绪增加和积极情绪减少，而视频2的特点是愤怒情绪增加、悲伤情绪同时减少以及积极情绪增加（尽管不显著）。总体而言，目前的研究结果支持这样一种观点，即把同情心与较高的vmHRV联系起来是过于简单化的。同情心包括对情感痛苦的敏感性增加，这自然与较低的vmHRV相关，以及减轻他人痛苦的行动，这最终与较高的vmHRV相关。本文讨论了对同情应对痛苦背后复杂生理调节采取细致入微观点的重要性。
