Section for Cognitive Systems, DTU Compute, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby 2800, Denmark.
Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2023 Jun 12;18(1). doi: 10.1093/scan/nsad030.
The space surrounding the body [i.e. peripersonal space (PPS)] has a crucial impact on individuals' interactions with the environment. Research showed that the interaction within the PPS increases individuals' behavioral and neural responses. Furthermore, individuals' empathy is affected by the distance between them and the observed stimuli. This study investigated empathic responses to painfully stimulated or gently touched faces presented within the PPS depending on the presence vs absence of a transparent barrier erected to prevent the interaction. To this aim, participants had to determine whether faces were painfully stimulated or gently touched, while their electroencephalographic signals were recorded. Brain activity [i.e. event-related potentials (ERPs) and source activations] was separately compared for the two types of stimuli (i.e. gently touched vs painfully stimulated faces) across two barrier conditions: (i) no-barrier between participants and the screen (i.e. no-barrier) and (ii) a plexiglass barrier erected between participants and the screen (i.e. barrier). While the barrier did not affect performance behaviorally, it reduced cortical activation at both the ERP and source activation levels in brain areas that regulate the interpersonal interaction (i.e. primary, somatosensory, premotor cortices and inferior frontal gyrus). These findings suggest that the barrier, precluding the possibility of interacting, reduced the observer's empathy.
人体周围的空间（即个人空间 (PPS)）对个体与环境的相互作用有至关重要的影响。研究表明，PPS 内的相互作用会增加个体的行为和神经反应。此外，个体的同理心会受到他们与观察到的刺激之间距离的影响。本研究旨在根据是否存在防止互动的透明屏障，调查 PPS 内呈现的受疼痛刺激或轻柔触摸的面部所引起的同理心反应。为此，参与者必须确定面孔是受到疼痛刺激还是轻柔触摸，同时记录他们的脑电图信号。分别比较了两种刺激（即轻柔触摸和疼痛刺激的面孔）在两种屏障条件下的脑活动（即事件相关电位 (ERP) 和源激活）：(i) 参与者和屏幕之间没有屏障（即无屏障）和 (ii) 参与者和屏幕之间竖起的有机玻璃屏障（即屏障）。虽然屏障没有影响行为表现，但它降低了调节人际互动的大脑区域（即初级、体感、运动前皮质和下额回）在 ERP 和源激活水平上的皮质激活。这些发现表明，这种屏障排除了互动的可能性，从而降低了观察者的同理心。
