Unravelling the role of the opioid system in pain empathy

This project investigates the neural bases of empathy, the ability to understand and re- experience the emotions of others. According to contemporary accounts of empathy, the same brain regions are active during both the empathic and direct experience of an emotion. In the special case of empathy for pain, previous research also demonstrated a key role of the bodys own opioid system. However, previous studies in this research area have left some key questions unanswered, which we intend to clarify by employing a novel experimental approach. Thereby, we want to take the understanding of the neural bases of empathy to the next level. We will apply two types of pharmacological manipulations of the bodys opioid system in two experiments with human participants: we will administer both opioids and pharmacological compounds that inhibit the action of the bodys own opioids. This will result in opposite effects on the opioid system in the two experiments. After administration of these drugs, participants` responses to self-perceived and empathic pain will be measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Using different state-of-the-art methods of analysis, we will be able to precisely investigate and describe the similarity of neuronal processes during self-perceived and empathic pain. The combination of our experimental approach with a range of analytical techniques and the measurement of drug effects on the interactions of different brain regions shall significantly advance the understanding of the role of the opioid system in empathy for pain. Apart from the relevance for basic research in the field of social neuroscience, our project could also make an important contribution to an increasingly relevant topic: understanding the impact of opiates on empathy and our social interactions seems to be highly important in light of the prescription opiate crisis in the United States.