Is your pain my pain? A study exploring the relation between pain sensitivity, pain thresholds and empathy for somatic and psychological pain

IF 3.8 3区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL British Journal of Clinical Psychology Pub Date : 2023-08-21 DOI:10.1111/bjc.12436

Vera Flasbeck, Annegret Matthiessen, Anne Alabowitz, Adina Carmen Rusu, Martin Brüne

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Abstract

Objectives

Research has shown that empathy for both somatic and psychological pain recruits affective components of the so-called pain matrix, a set of brain regions that is activated during the perception of somatic pain. In addition, the subjective evaluation of experimentally induced somatic pain is related to empathy for somatic pain. In contrast, it is unclear whether or not the subjective sensitivity to somatic pain impacts on empathy for psychological pain.

Methods

In the present study, 55 healthy participants conducted a pain-pressure-test (PPT) and a cold-pressor test (CPT) in order to assess pain thresholds, pain tolerance and evaluation of pain during the task. They further conducted the social interaction empathy task (SIET), which investigates empathy for somatic as well as psychological pain. All participants completed the interpersonal-reactivity index (IRI) and the pain-sensitivity questionnaire (PSQ).

Results

Participants who are in general more sensitive to somatic pain, as indicated by high-PSQ scores, showed higher empathy, that is, higher pain ratings, for both somatic and psychological painful situations observed in others as compared to those with low-PSQ scores. High-PSQ scores and high pain and unpleasantness ratings during the CPT were correlated with empathy for pain (both pain conditions), whereas pain thresholds (PPT) and pain tolerance thresholds (CPT) did not correlate with empathy. The IRI subscore ‘personal distress’ correlated with psychological pain ratings.

Conclusions

Thus, empathy for both somatic and psychological pain were related to the subjective evaluation of somatic pain and general pain sensitivity.

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你的痛苦是我的痛苦吗?躯体痛和心理痛的疼痛敏感性、疼痛阈值与共情关系的研究

研究表明，对躯体疼痛和心理疼痛的共情会调动所谓疼痛基质的情感成分，这是一组在感知躯体疼痛时被激活的大脑区域。此外，实验诱发的躯体痛的主观评价与躯体痛的共情有关。而躯体疼痛的主观敏感性是否会影响心理疼痛的共情，目前尚不清楚。方法采用疼痛压力测试(PPT)和冷压力测试(CPT)对55名健康被试进行疼痛阈值、疼痛耐受性和疼痛评价。他们进一步进行了社会互动共情任务(SIET)，调查身体和心理疼痛的共情。所有被试均完成了人际反应指数(IRI)和疼痛敏感性问卷(PSQ)。结果高psq分数的参与者对躯体疼痛更敏感，与低psq分数的参与者相比，他们对他人的躯体和心理疼痛情况表现出更高的同理心，即更高的疼痛评级。在CPT过程中，高psq分数和高疼痛和不愉快评分与对疼痛的共情(两种疼痛状态)相关，而疼痛阈值(PPT)和疼痛耐受阈值(CPT)与共情无关。IRI分值“个人痛苦”与心理疼痛等级相关。结论对躯体疼痛和心理疼痛的共情与躯体疼痛的主观评价和一般疼痛敏感性有关。

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来源期刊

British Journal of Clinical Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

5.80

自引率

3.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： The British Journal of Clinical Psychology publishes original research, both empirical and theoretical, on all aspects of clinical psychology: - clinical and abnormal psychology featuring descriptive or experimental studies - aetiology, assessment and treatment of the whole range of psychological disorders irrespective of age group and setting - biological influences on individual behaviour - studies of psychological interventions and treatment on individuals, dyads, families and groups