Hemispheric dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lateralization in the regulation of empathy for pain

NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS

卷:594

Article

Rego, Gabriel G.^1,2  Lapenta, Olivia M.^1,2  Marques, Lucas M.^1,2  Costa, Thiago L.^1,2  Leite, Jorge^3,6  Carvalho, Sandra^3,6  Goncalves, Oscar F.^3,6  Brunoni, Andre R.^4,5  Fregni, Felipe^7,8  Boggio, Paulo S.^1,2 

[1] Univ Prebiteriana Mackenzie, Ctr Hlth & Biol Sci, Social & Cognit Neurosci Lab, BR-01241001 Sao Paulo, Brazil

[2] Univ Prebiteriana Mackenzie, Ctr Hlth & Biol Sci, Dev Disorders Program, BR-01241001 Sao Paulo, Brazil

[3] Northeastern Univ, Bouve Coll Hlth Sci, Dept Counseling & Appl Educ Psychol, Boston, MA 02115 USA

[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept & Inst Psychiat, SIN, Sao Paulo, Brazil

[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Univ Hosp, Sao Paulo, Brazil

[6] Univ Minho, CIPsi Sch Psychol, Neuropsychophysiol Lab, Braga, Portugal

[7] Harvard Univ, Sch Med, Spaulding Rehabil Hosp, Spaulding Neuromodulat Ctr, Boston, MA USA

[8] Harvard Univ, Massachusetts Gen Hosp, Sch Med, Boston, MA USA

关键词: Physical pain;    Pain empathy;    Emotion regulation;    Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex;    Transcranial direct current stimulation;    Pupil dilation;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.neulet.2015.03.042

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is involved in the cognitive appraisal and modulation of the pain experience. In this sham-controlled study, with healthy volunteers, we used bi-hemispheric transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the DLPFC to assess emotional reactions elicited by pain observation. Left-cathodal/right-anodal tDCS decreased valence and arousal evaluations compared to other tDCS conditions. Compared to sham condition, both left-cathodal/right-anodal and left-anodal/right-cathodal tDCS decreased hostility, sadness and self-pain perception. These decreased sensations after both active tDCS suggest a common role for left and right DLPFC in personal distress modulation. However, the differences in arousal and valence evaluations point to distinct roles of lateralized DLPFC in cognitive empathy, probably through distinct emotion regulation mechanisms. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

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