Unravelling the role of the opioid system in pain empathy
Unravelling the role of the opioid system in pain empathy
Disciplines
Medical-Theoretical Sciences, Pharmacy (70%); Psychology (30%)
Keywords
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging,
Empathy,
Pain,
Shared Representations,
Psychopharmacology
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.
- Universität Wien - 100%
- Matthäus Willeit, Medizinische Universität Wien , associated research partner
Research Output
- 688 Citations
- 18 Publications
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2024
Title Dissecting shared pain representations to understand their behavioral and clinical relevance DOI 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105769 Type Journal Article Author Rütgen M Journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews Pages 105769 Link Publication -
2023
Title To respond or not to respond: exploring empathy-related psychological and structural brain differences between placebo analgesia responders and non-responders DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1257522 Type Journal Article Author Hartmann H Journal Frontiers in Psychology Pages 1257522 Link Publication -
2019
Title Pattern similarity and connectivity of hippocampal-neocortical regions support empathy for pain DOI 10.1101/811935 Type Preprint Author Wagner I Pages 811935 Link Publication -
2019
Title Variability in the analysis of a single neuroimaging dataset by many teams DOI 10.1101/843193 Type Preprint Author Botvinik-Nezer R Pages 843193 Link Publication -
2023
Title An active inference perspective for the amygdala complex DOI 10.1016/j.tics.2023.11.004 Type Journal Article Author Sladky R Journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences Pages 223-236 Link Publication -
2021
Title Neural dynamics between anterior insular cortex and right supramarginal gyrus dissociate genuine affect sharing from perceptual saliency of pretended pain DOI 10.7554/elife.69994 Type Journal Article Author Zhao Y Journal eLife Link Publication -
2020
Title Pharmacological fMRI provides evidence for opioidergic modulation of discrimination of facial pain expressions DOI 10.1111/psyp.13717 Type Journal Article Author Zhao Y Journal Psychophysiology Link Publication -
2022
Title Placebo Analgesia Reduces Costly Prosocial Helping to Lower Another Person’s Pain DOI 10.1177/09567976221119727 Type Journal Article Author Hartmann H Journal Psychological Science Pages 1867-1881 Link Publication -
2022
Title Effective connectivity reveals distinctive patterns in response to others’ genuine affective experience of disgust DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119404 Type Journal Article Author Zhao Y Journal NeuroImage Pages 119404 Link Publication -
2020
Title Pharmacological fMRI provides evidence for opioidergic modulation of discrimination of facial pain expressions DOI 10.31234/osf.io/uj75y Type Preprint Author Rütgen M -
2020
Title Beyond sharing unpleasant affect – evidence for pain-specific opioidergic modulation of empathy for pain DOI 10.1101/2020.06.10.143495 Type Preprint Author Rütgen M Pages 2020.06.10.143495 Link Publication -
2020
Title Pattern similarity and connectivity of hippocampal-neocortical regions support empathy for pain DOI 10.1093/scan/nsaa045 Type Journal Article Author Wagner I Journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Pages 273-284 Link Publication -
2019
Title Using reinforcement learning models in social neuroscience: frameworks, pitfalls, and suggestions of best practices DOI 10.31234/osf.io/uthw2 Type Preprint Author Lengersdorff L -
2020
Title Variability in the analysis of a single neuroimaging dataset by many teams DOI 10.1038/s41586-020-2314-9 Type Journal Article Author Botvinik-Nezer R Journal Nature Pages 84-88 Link Publication -
2020
Title Using reinforcement learning models in social neuroscience: frameworks, pitfalls, and suggestions of best practices DOI 10.1093/scan/nsaa089 Type Journal Article Author Zhang L Journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Link Publication -
2021
Title Variability in Brain Structure and Function Reflects Lack of Peer Support DOI 10.1093/cercor/bhab109 Type Journal Article Author Schurz M Journal Cerebral Cortex Pages 4612-4627 Link Publication -
2021
Title Beyond Sharing Unpleasant Affect—Evidence for Pain-Specific Opioidergic Modulation of Empathy for Pain DOI 10.1093/cercor/bhaa385 Type Journal Article Author Rütgen M Journal Cerebral Cortex Pages 2773-2786 Link Publication -
2021
Title The administration of the opioid buprenorphine decreases motivational error signals DOI 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105199 Type Journal Article Author Pfabigan D Journal Psychoneuroendocrinology Pages 105199 Link Publication