Dissociated Deficits between Explicit and Implicit Empathetic Pain Perception in Neurofibromatosis Type 1
Cognitive impairments and social-function deficits are severe complaints in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients. Empathetic pain perception may be disrupted in NF1 patients because of high-level cognitive deficits. This study investigated the empathy profiles of adult patients with NF1, especial...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Brain Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/12/1591 |
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| author | Hai Xue Qiong Wu Zhijun Yang Bo Wang Xingchao Wang Pinan Liu |
| author_facet | Hai Xue Qiong Wu Zhijun Yang Bo Wang Xingchao Wang Pinan Liu |
| author_sort | Hai Xue |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cognitive impairments and social-function deficits are severe complaints in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients. Empathetic pain perception may be disrupted in NF1 patients because of high-level cognitive deficits. This study investigated the empathy profiles of adult patients with NF1, especially concerning whether explicit and implicit empathetic pain perception are abnormal in this population. We examined empathetic pain perception through a paradigm based on perceiving another person’s pain; in this task, patients were required to make judgments about the presence of pain or the laterality of the body part, as shown in a picture. Twenty NF1 patients without obvious social or communication difficulties completed the task, and the results were compared with results from the normal controls (NCs). Regarding explicit empathetic pain processing, i.e., judging the presence of “pain” or “no pain”, there were no significant differences between patients and controls in accuracy or reaction time. However, in implicit empathetic processing, i.e., judging the laterality of “pain” or “no-pain” pictures, NF1 patients had significantly lower accuracy (<i>p</i> = 0.038) and significantly higher reaction times (<i>p</i> = 0.004) than the NCs. These results were consistent with those of a previous study showing that high-level cognitive deficits were prominent in NF1 patients when performing challenging tasks. The mechanisms and related brain network activity underlying these deficits should receive attention in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:34:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-41d1b3390cc14642bdca0dc267492f5a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:34:43Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-41d1b3390cc14642bdca0dc267492f5a2023-12-03T13:29:24ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252021-11-011112159110.3390/brainsci11121591Dissociated Deficits between Explicit and Implicit Empathetic Pain Perception in Neurofibromatosis Type 1Hai Xue0Qiong Wu1Zhijun Yang2Bo Wang3Xingchao Wang4Pinan Liu5Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100070, ChinaBeijing Key Lab of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100070, ChinaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100070, ChinaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100070, ChinaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100070, ChinaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100070, ChinaCognitive impairments and social-function deficits are severe complaints in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients. Empathetic pain perception may be disrupted in NF1 patients because of high-level cognitive deficits. This study investigated the empathy profiles of adult patients with NF1, especially concerning whether explicit and implicit empathetic pain perception are abnormal in this population. We examined empathetic pain perception through a paradigm based on perceiving another person’s pain; in this task, patients were required to make judgments about the presence of pain or the laterality of the body part, as shown in a picture. Twenty NF1 patients without obvious social or communication difficulties completed the task, and the results were compared with results from the normal controls (NCs). Regarding explicit empathetic pain processing, i.e., judging the presence of “pain” or “no pain”, there were no significant differences between patients and controls in accuracy or reaction time. However, in implicit empathetic processing, i.e., judging the laterality of “pain” or “no-pain” pictures, NF1 patients had significantly lower accuracy (<i>p</i> = 0.038) and significantly higher reaction times (<i>p</i> = 0.004) than the NCs. These results were consistent with those of a previous study showing that high-level cognitive deficits were prominent in NF1 patients when performing challenging tasks. The mechanisms and related brain network activity underlying these deficits should receive attention in the future.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/12/1591neurofibromatosis type 1empathetic pain perceptioncognitive impairmentsocial function deficits |
| spellingShingle | Hai Xue Qiong Wu Zhijun Yang Bo Wang Xingchao Wang Pinan Liu Dissociated Deficits between Explicit and Implicit Empathetic Pain Perception in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 Brain Sciences neurofibromatosis type 1 empathetic pain perception cognitive impairment social function deficits |
| title | Dissociated Deficits between Explicit and Implicit Empathetic Pain Perception in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 |
| title_full | Dissociated Deficits between Explicit and Implicit Empathetic Pain Perception in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 |
| title_fullStr | Dissociated Deficits between Explicit and Implicit Empathetic Pain Perception in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dissociated Deficits between Explicit and Implicit Empathetic Pain Perception in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 |
| title_short | Dissociated Deficits between Explicit and Implicit Empathetic Pain Perception in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 |
| title_sort | dissociated deficits between explicit and implicit empathetic pain perception in neurofibromatosis type 1 |
| topic | neurofibromatosis type 1 empathetic pain perception cognitive impairment social function deficits |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/12/1591 |
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