疼痛表征在自我和他人间的一致性效应

在以往研究中“pain matrix”被认为是加工自我和他人疼痛信息的特异性神经机制, 也可能是个体对他人疼痛共情的原因。但是最近的研究发现非疼痛的感觉刺激也能激活该脑区, 因此疼痛表征在自我和他人间是否存在一致性受到质疑。研究采用启动范式从两个方面入手探索自身疼痛和疼痛共情间是否存在一致性关系。实验一使用疼痛和非疼痛图片为启动刺激, 疼痛或热刺激为靶刺激, 发现相对于非疼痛图片, 疼痛图片启动下被试对自身疼痛刺激的反应时减少, 疼痛水平和情绪反应增强。实验二使用疼痛和热刺激为启动刺激, 疼痛或非疼痛图片为靶刺激, 发现相对于热刺激, 疼痛刺激启动下被试对疼痛图片的反应时减少。同时, 在两个实验中非疼痛的靶刺激都不受启动刺激的影响。这说明疼痛表征在自我和他人间存在一致性效应。

Pain Representations in the Self and Others:A Behavioral Study of the Congruency Effect

Overlapping neural circuits labeled as the "pain matrix" have been implicated in brain responses to both subjective pain perception and response to others' pain. However, evidence suggests brain structures with a spatial con?guration similar to that of the "pain matrix" are also activated by non-nociceptive stimuli, thus questioning the specificity of pain matrix activation to noxious stimulation. This research assessed the extent to behavioral responses to subjective pain perception and the detection of pain in others were congruent with each other compared to non-noxious alternatives. In Experiment 1, pain and heat stimuli previously primed with painful or non-painful pictures were applied to an undergraduate sample. Participants (15 men and 15 women) were instructed to respond to the pain or heat stimuli, judging as quickly and accurately as possible whether stimuli were painful or not painful, and rating pain intensities and unpleasantness of stimuli. Shorter reaction times as well as higher pain intensity and unpleasantness ratings were found in response to pain stimulation following painful priming pictures than non-painful pictures. However, responses to heat stimuli were not influenced by painful and non-painful primes. In Experiment 2, the same participants completed an identical task with the exception that either painful or heat stimulation was used to prime responses to painful and non-painful depictions. Once again, shorter reaction times were found in response to painful pictures following pain stimuli than heat stimuli yet responses to non-painful pictures were not influenced by pain and heat stimuli. Together, findings suggested that the processing of pain representations leads to congruent behavioral responses to subjectively experienced pain and pain in others.