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Placebo Effect on Modulating Empathic Pain: Reduced Activation in Posterior Insula
Yili Zhao1,2, Ruixuan Liu1,2, Jianxin Zhang1,2
1CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
|March 3, 2020
Summary
The placebo effect can reduce sensory brain responses to observing others in pain. This finding suggests the posterior insula
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Pain Research
Background:
- Limited evidence exists on sensory neural activity during empathy for pain.
- Investigating interventions for empathy modulation is crucial for clinical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore if the placebo effect can modulate sensory regional activation when viewing others in pain.
- To investigate the role of the posterior insula in empathic pain processing.
Main Methods:
- Screening behavioral experiment to identify placebo responders.
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess brain activity.
- Placebo manipulation paradigm with transferable effects on empathy for pain.
Main Results:
- Significant activation in sensory areas (posterior insula, postcentral gyrus) and middle cingulate cortex when viewing others in pain.
- Placebo effect significantly reduced activation in the posterior insula specifically for pain pictures, not for no-pain pictures.
- Demonstrated a transferable placebo effect on empathy for pain.
Conclusions:
- Sensory activity in the posterior insula is involved in processing empathic pain.
- The placebo effect can modulate neural responses related to empathy for pain.
- This study introduces a novel approach for research and clinical applications in pain management.
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