Journal
PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY
Volume 52, Issue 12, Pages 1551-1558Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12522
Keywords
Mu activity; Empathy; Perspective taking; Mirror neuron system; Pain perception
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In accordance with simulation theories of empathy, the somatosensory cortex is involved in the perception of pain of others. Cognitive processes, like perspective taking, can alter empathy-related activity within the somatosensory cortex. The current study investigates whether this modulation is caused by the imagined sensation of pain or by the cognitive load of a perspective-taking task. Applying a within-subject design, participants (N = 30) watched pictures of painful and nonpainful actions, while imagining reduced, normal, or increased pain perception of the observed individual. Mu activity (8-13 Hz), which is inversely correlated with sensorimotor-cortex activity, was measured via EEG. To calculate mu activity (central electrodes) and alpha activity (occipital electrodes), which served as a control for effects of cognitive load, a fast Fourier transform was applied. Mu suppression linearly increased from reduced to normal to increased imagined pain (p < .05), while alpha activity was unaffected by the imagined pain (p > .80). Suppression of the 8-13 Hz band at central and occipital electrodes was stronger in response to painful actions compared to nonpainful actions (p < .01). These results indicate that modulation of mu activity through perspective taking reflects the imagined pain intensity and not the cognitive load induced by the task.
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