Transcranial direct current stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex increased pain empathy

No effect of transcranial direct current stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on short‐term memory

“…Direct current stimulation was delivered by a battery‐driven, constant‐current stimulator (DC‐STIMULATOR, NeuroConn GmbH, Ilmenau, Germany). Similar to previous research, a pair of rubber electrodes covered by saline‐soaked sponges (7 × 5 = 35 cm 2 ) connected the head and the stimulator. For anodal stimulation of the DLPFC, the anodal electrode was placed on F3, according to the international 10‐20 system for Electroencephalography (EEG) electrode placement, which has been validated for DLPFC by a previous neuronavigational study .…”

The stimulated social brain: effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on social cognition

“…found that anodal tDCS applied over the left DLPFC while confronting participants with emotionally aversive images of human pain led them to perceive these images as less unpleasant and lowered feelings of emotional discomfort/pain, as compared to baseline pre‐tDCS assessment, sham tDCS, and anodal tDCS applied over two control areas. Inconsistent results were observed by Wang et al . They found that participants who received left DLPFC anodal tDCS before being presented with pictures of other persons experiencing painful situations judged other's pain as more intense (i.e., they showed increased pain empathy) than those who received sham or cathodal tDCS, while pain‐related self‐unpleasantness scores were left unaffected.…”

“…However, because of the heterogeneity of the observed effects, the specific contribution of the left and right DLPFC is still far from being clear. Several reasons for these heterogeneous effects may be identified, mostly related to differences pertaining to the stimulation protocol (online vs. offline), electrode placement and montage, the specific task implemented to address tDCS effects, and the extremely low sample size that especially the last two studies rely on. On the basis of these considerations and taking in mind the previously mentioned methodological shortcomings associated with the use of bilateral bipolar (balanced and nonbalanced) cortical electrode montage, more research is still needed to provide unequivocal support for the hypothesis that the DLPFC is causally involved in modulating affective reactions to others’ pain and to shed light on its lateralized role.…”

Empathy in Negative and Positive Interpersonal Interactions. What is the Relationship Between Central (EEG, fNIRS) and Peripheral (Autonomic) Neurophysiological Responses?

“…In fact, previous research mainly focalized on the emotional response to generic emotional cues and it did not include a specific empathic task (Balconi & Bortolotti, 2014 ; Balconi, Grippa, & Vanutelli, 2015a; Herrmann et al, 2008), or it explored facial expressions of emotions (Balconi & Canavesio, 2013; Herrmann et al, 2008) or empathy in specific domains (such as empathic responses to pain conditions, Avenanti, Sirigu, & Aglioti, 2010; Rêgo et al, 2015; Wang, Wang, Hu, & Li, 2014). In addition, exiguous research monitored analytically the effect induced by different types of empathic situations—that is, the positive versus negative valence of the situations in which the subjects were required to empathize (Balconi & Bortolotti, 2014; Herrmann et al, 2008; Silani & Singer, 2015).…”