Li Yanting, Wei Zilong, Shao Min, Hong Mingyu, Yang Di, Luo Longli, Meng Jing
Key Laboratory of Applied Psychology, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China.
Research Center for Brain and Cognitive Science, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2022 Nov 16;13:1022087. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1022087. eCollection 2022.
Previous studies have reported that individuals with autistic traits, like those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), may have impaired empathic responses when observing static stimuli of others' pain. However, it remains unclear whether individuals with autistic traits exhibit impaired empathy for pain in response to dynamic stimuli. The present study addressed this question by recruiting 529 individuals whose autistic traits were assessed using the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) questionnaire. Thirty participants who scored within the top 10% and bottom 10% on the AQ were selected into High-AQ and Low-AQ groups, respectively. This study employed painful whole-body action pictures and videos as static and dynamic stimuli. Both groups were instructed to judge whether the models in the stimuli were experiencing pain, and their reaction times, accuracy and event-related potential (ERP) data were recorded. Results showed that the P2 amplitudes were larger in the High-AQ group than in the Low-AQ group when viewing painful static stimuli, while no difference between the two groups was found when viewing painful dynamic stimuli. These results suggest that autistic traits influenced the emotional processing of others' pain in response to static stimuli.
以往的研究报告称，具有自闭症特质的个体，如同患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的人一样，在观察他人疼痛的静态刺激时，可能会出现共情反应受损的情况。然而，尚不清楚具有自闭症特质的个体在面对动态刺激时，对疼痛的共情是否也会受损。本研究通过招募529名使用自闭症谱系商数（AQ）问卷评估其自闭症特质的个体来解决这个问题。在AQ得分处于前10%和后10%的30名参与者分别被选入高AQ组和低AQ组。本研究采用痛苦的全身动作图片和视频作为静态和动态刺激。两组均被要求判断刺激中的模型是否正在经历疼痛，并记录他们的反应时间、准确性和事件相关电位（ERP）数据。结果显示，在观看痛苦的静态刺激时，高AQ组的P2波幅大于低AQ组，而在观看痛苦的动态刺激时，两组之间未发现差异。这些结果表明，自闭症特质会影响对他人疼痛的静态刺激的情绪处理。
