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Empathy skill-dependent modulation of working memory by painful scene
Mo Chen1,2, Yuan-Zheng Wang1,2, Chen-Chen Ma1,2
1Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, 221004, China.
Scientific Reports
|July 5, 2017
Summary
Empathic pain's effect on working memory depends on individual empathy levels. Higher empathy can impair working memory, while lower empathy may show facilitation, revealing a novel link between empathy and cognitive function.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Working memory is crucial for cognitive functions.
- Long-term factors impair working memory, but short-term influences like pain and emotion are less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of empathic pain on working memory.
- To explore how individual empathy skills modulate this effect.
Main Methods:
- Subjects viewed painful or neutral scenes.
- Participants were grouped by empathy levels using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI).
- Working memory performance was assessed in relation to empathic pain stimuli.
Main Results:
- Empathic pain modulated working memory, with effects varying based on personal empathy skills.
- Facilitation or impairment of working memory was observed, correlated with empathy levels.
- Female subjects showed greater vulnerability to these effects than male subjects.
Conclusions:
- Working memory is modulated by empathic pain in an empathy skill-dependent manner.
- Empathy traits influence the direction and magnitude of working memory changes.
- This study highlights a novel pathway influencing working memory through empathy and pain perception.
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