La condivisione empatica del dolore

La condivisione empatica del dolore - Pain is a complex subjective experience associated to actual or potential tissue damage. Sensory-discriminative components (e.g. evaluation of locus, duration and intensity of a noxious stimulus) and affective-motivational components (e.g unpleasantness of the noxious stimulus) contribute to the experience of pain. These two components are represented in distinct brain areas referred to as the pain ma-trix. Empathy implies that perceptual, motor or emotional states of a given individual activates correspondent neural representations in another individuals who observes that state. This phenomenon plays a fundamental social role insofar as it allows the inter-individual sharing of experiences, beliefs, aims and inner states. Here we highlight experimental data in humans. It will be shown that re-presentating others" pain brings about the activation of neural structures largely overlapping with those activated during the experience of pain on oneself. Further, it will described as the direct experience of pain influences the way we react to other's pain.;

Elia Valentini, Viviana Betti, La condivisione empatica del dolore in "DiPAV - QUADERNI" 23/2008, pp 89-102, DOI: