Effects of 25 mg oxazepam on emotional mimicry and empathy for pain: a randomized controlled experiment

Nilsonne, Gustav; Tamm, Sandra; Golkar, Armita; Sörman, Karolina; Howner, Katarina; Kristiansson, Marianne; Olsson, Andreas; Ingvar, Martin; Petrović, Predrag

doi:10.1098/rsos.160607

Cited by 11 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Oxazepam caused lower ratings of unpleasantness to negative stimuli, but no interaction between oxazepam and reappraisal was observed. As we have previously described in a report on the empathy for pain paradigm using the full sample of this experiment, [21], efficacy of drug effects was verified by longer response times and lower rated anxiety after the experiment in the oxazepam group. As noted above, upregulation of negative-valence images caused increased unpleasantness ratings, corrugator activity, and heart rate.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

“…This experiment formed part of a larger study on the effects of oxazepam on social emotional processes. For a detailed description, see [21]. Briefly, participants were randomised to 25 mg oxazepam or placebo in a double-blind between-groups design, and underwent experiments on emotional mimicry, empathy for pain, and cognitive reappraisal.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rating scales in this study have been described in [21]. The interpersonal reactivity index (IRI) has four subscales which measure different dimensions of trait empathy: empathic concern (EC), perspective taking (PT), personal distress (PD) and fantasy (FS) [24,25].…”

Section: Rating Scalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Oxazepam and cognitive reappraisal: a randomised experiment

Nilsonne

Tamm

Golkar

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background: Cognitive reappraisal is a strategy for emotional regulation, important in the context of anxiety disorders. It is not known whether anxiolytic effects of benzodiazepines affect cognitive reappraisal. Aims: We aimed to investigate the effect of 25 mg oxazepam on cognitive reappraisal. Methods: Participants (n = 33) were randomised to oxazepam or placebo, and then underwent an experiment where they were asked to use cognitive reappraisal to upregulate or downregulate their emotional response to images with negative or neutral emotional valence. We recorded unpleasantness ratings, skin conductance, superciliary corrugator muscle activity, and heart rate. Participants completed rating scales measuring empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index, IRI), anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI), alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, TAS-20), and psychopathy (Psychopathy Personality Inventory-Revised, PPI-R). Results: Upregulation to negative-valence images in the cognitive reappraisal task caused increased unpleasantness ratings, corrugator activity, and heart rate compared to downregulation. Upregulation to both negative-and neutral-valence images caused increased skin conductance responses. Oxazepam caused lower unpleasantness ratings to negative-valence stimuli, but did not interact with reappraisal instruction on any outcome. Self-rated trait empathy was associated with stronger responses to negative-valence stimuli, whereas self-rated psychopathic traits were associated with weaker responses to negative-valence stimuli. Conclusions: While 25 mg oxazepam caused lower unpleasantness ratings in response to negative-valence images, we did not observe an effect of 25 mg oxazepam on emotional reappraisal.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Oxazepam and cognitive reappraisal: a randomised experiment

Nilsonne

Tamm

Golkar

et al. 2019

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…In this experiment, participants received pain stimulation by electrical shocks to the forearm alternately with a confederate seated next to them, and we recorded their rated unpleasantness, skin conductance responses (SCRs), heart rate (only in a subsample), and activity of the superciliary corrugator muscle using electromyography (EMG). Detailed methods and main results have been reported elsewhere [ 28 ]. Empathic responses refer here to responses to viewing painful stimuli to the other person, compared with receiving shocks oneself.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, the construct validity of the PPI-R was investigated in relation to self-report measures of theoretically relevant criterion variables: primarily empathy; but also alexithymia and anxiety-proneness in subgroups of participants. Associations between psychopathic traits and empathic ability were further investigated in relation to behavioral and physiological measures in an experiment examining empathy for pain [ 28 ]. The investigation of relations among measures drawn from different domains (e.g., self-report and interview based, behavioral and biological variables) is in line with a contemporary movement in broader personality research emphasizing the need to explore neurobiologically influenced transdiagnostic mechanisms [ 29 – 30 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reliability and Construct Validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised in a Swedish Non-Criminal Sample – A Multimethod Approach including Psychophysiological Correlates of Empathy for Pain

et al. 2016

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Cross-cultural investigation of psychopathy measures is important for clarifying the nomological network surrounding the psychopathy construct. The Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) is one of the most extensively researched self-report measures of psychopathic traits in adults. To date however, it has been examined primarily in North American criminal or student samples. To address this gap in the literature, we examined PPI-R’s reliability, construct validity and factor structure in non-criminal individuals (N = 227) in Sweden, using a multimethod approach including psychophysiological correlates of empathy for pain. PPI-R construct validity was investigated in subgroups of participants by exploring its degree of overlap with (i) the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV), (ii) self-rated empathy and behavioral and physiological responses in an experiment on empathy for pain, and (iii) additional self-report measures of alexithymia and trait anxiety. The PPI-R total score was significantly associated with PCL:SV total and factor scores. The PPI-R Coldheartedness scale demonstrated significant negative associations with all empathy subscales and with rated unpleasantness and skin conductance responses in the empathy experiment. The PPI-R higher order Self-Centered Impulsivity and Fearless Dominance dimensions were associated with trait anxiety in opposite directions (positively and negatively, respectively). Overall, the results demonstrated solid reliability (test-retest and internal consistency) and promising but somewhat mixed construct validity for the Swedish translation of the PPI-R.

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Negative emotionality downregulation affects moral choice but not moral judgement of harm: a pharmacological study

Martinez,

Chou,

Fan

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Previous neuroscientific research has expounded on the fundamental role played by emotion during moral decision-making. Negative emotionality has been observed to exert a general inhibitory effect towards harmful behaviors against others. Nevertheless, the downregulation of negative affects at different levels of moral processing (e.g. impersonal versus personal moral dilemmas) alongside its possible interactions with other factors (e.g. perspective taking) hasn’t been directly assessed; both of which can assist in predicting future moral decision-making. In the present research, we empirically test (Study 1, N = 41) whether downregulating negative emotionality through pharmacological interventions using lorazepam (a GABA receptor agonist), modulate the permissibility of harm to others –i.e. if participants find it more morally permissible to harm others when harm is unavoidable (inevitable harm moral dilemmas), than when it may be avoided (evitable harm moral dilemmas). Furthermore, using another sample (Study 2, N = 31), we assess whether lorazepam’s effect is modulated by different perspective-taking conditions during a moral dilemma task –e.g. “is it morally permissible for you to […]?” (1st person perspective), relative to “is it morally permissible for [x individual] to […]?” (3rd person perspective)–, where the outcome of the different scenarios is controlled. The results of both studies converge, revealing an emotion-dependent, rather than an outcome-dependent, pharmacological modulation. Lorazepam only influenced interpersonal moral judgments when not modulated by the evitable/inevitable condition. Furthermore, there was a significant interaction between perspective-taking and drug administration, as lorazepam exerted a larger effect in modulating moral choices rather than moral judgements.

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Effects of 25 mg oxazepam on emotional mimicry and empathy for pain: a randomized controlled experiment

Cited by 11 publications

References 70 publications

Oxazepam and cognitive reappraisal: a randomised experiment

Oxazepam and cognitive reappraisal: a randomised experiment

Reliability and Construct Validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised in a Swedish Non-Criminal Sample – A Multimethod Approach including Psychophysiological Correlates of Empathy for Pain

Negative emotionality downregulation affects moral choice but not moral judgement of harm: a pharmacological study

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