Empathy is crucial for communication and survival for individuals. Whether empathy in pain contagion shows sex differences and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report that pain contagion can occur in stranger female rats, but not in stranger males. Blocking oxytocin receptors in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) suppressed pain contagion in female strangers, while oxytocin administration induced pain contagion in male strangers. In vitro, corticosterone reduces neuronal activation by oxytocin. During male stranger interactions, higher corticosterone decreased oxytocin receptor-positive neuronal activity in the ACC, suppressing pain contagion. These findings highlight the role of oxytocin in pain contagion and suggest that sex differences in empathy may be determined by the balance of oxytocin and corticosterone in the ACC. This study suggests an approach for the treatment of certain mental disorders associated with abnormal empathy, such as autism and depression.
Animals ; Oxytocin/pharmacology* ; Gyrus Cinguli/drug effects* ; Male ; Female ; Corticosterone/pharmacology* ; Empathy/drug effects* ; Sex Characteristics ; Receptors, Oxytocin/antagonists & inhibitors* ; Pain/psychology* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Neurons/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the sequential mediating roles of body pain and self-reported health in the association between sleep duration and self-reported life satisfaction among elderly Chinese adults. METHODS: Data from the fifth wave of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) were used to analyse the relationships between sleep duration and body pain, self-reported health, and life satisfaction through logistic regression and Restricted Cubic Spline (RCS) analyses. The sequential mediation effects of body pain and self-reported health status were examined via chain mediation analysis. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis showed that sleeping fewer than 6 hours or 6-7 hours was linked to higher risks of body pain, poor health, and dissatisfaction with life compared to sleeping 7-8 hours (all P < 0.05). Additionally, those sleeping more than 9 hours also had increased risks of poor health and dissatisfaction with life compared to those sleeping 7-8 hours (all P < 0.05). Chain mediation analysis showed that body pain and self-reported health status sequentially mediated 46.15% of the association between sleep duration and life satisfaction. CONCLUSION Body pain and self-reported health may shape the relationship between sleep duration and life satisfaction in elderly Chinese adults.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Personal Satisfaction ; Sleep ; Health Status ; Self Report ; China ; Middle Aged ; Longitudinal Studies ; Pain/psychology* ; Sleep Duration

The article presents an original method for the automatic assessment of the quality of event-related potentials (ERPs), based on the calculation of the coefficient ε, which describes the compliance of recorded ERPs with some statistically significant parameters. This method was used to analyze the neuropsychological EEG monitoring of patients suffering from migraines. The frequency of migraine attacks was correlated with the spatial distribution of the coefficients ε, calculated for EEG channels. More than 15 migraine attacks per month was accompanied by an increase in calculated values in the occipital region. Patients with infrequent migraines exhibited maximum quality in the frontal areas. The automatic analysis of spatial maps of the coefficient ε demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the two analyzed groups with different means of migraine attack numbers per month.
Humans ; Chronic Pain ; Evoked Potentials ; Migraine Disorders/psychology* ; Occipital Lobe ; Electroencephalography

Increasing studies have provided cognitive and neuron evidence for not only the similarities, but also the differences between physical pain and social pain in the brain basis. Comparing the similarities and differences of the brain basis of physical pain and social pain helps us to clarify the mechanism of the occurrence and change of pain, and provide theoretical evidence for clinical pain treatment. In this review, we summarized studies to delineate the brain mechanisms of physical pain and social pain. Through the review of existing studies, we found that both physical pain and social pain can invoke the same brain regions that process emotional experience (the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula), emotion regulation (lateral prefrontal cortex) and somatosensory (the posterior insula, secondary sensory cortex). However, the voxel-level activated patterns of physical and social pain differ in the same brain region (dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, etc.), and the overlapping brain regions (for example, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex) have varied effect on these two types of pain. In addition, studies have shown that the brain activation pattern for social pain may be influenced by the experimental paradigm. Future studies should actively adopt a data-driven way to examine the brain basis of physical pain and social pain, especially the nerve activation mode, aiming to consummate the theory of pain.
Brain ; Gyrus Cinguli ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Pain/psychology* ; Prefrontal Cortex/physiology*

People as third-party observers, without direct self-interest, may punish norm violators to maintain social norms. However, third-party judgment and the follow-up punishment might be susceptible to the way we frame (i.e., verbally describe) a norm violation. We conducted a behavioral and a neuroimaging experiment to investigate the above phenomenon, which we call the "third-party framing effect". In these experiments, participants observed an anonymous perpetrator deciding whether to keep her/his economic benefit while exposing a victim to a risk of physical pain (described as "harming others" in one condition and "not helping others" in the other condition), then they had a chance to punish that perpetrator at their own cost. Our results showed that the participants were more willing to execute third-party punishment under the harm frame compared to the help frame, manifesting a framing effect. Self-reported anger toward perpetrators mediated the relationship between empathy toward victims and the framing effect. Meanwhile, activation of the insula mediated the relationship between mid-cingulate cortex activation and the framing effect; the functional connectivity between these regions significantly predicted the size of the framing effect. These findings shed light on the psychological and neural mechanisms of the third-party framing effect.
Empathy ; Female ; Gyrus Cinguli ; Humans ; Neuroimaging ; Pain ; Punishment/psychology*

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the effect of acupuncture on emotional disorder in the patients with migraine and knee osteoarthritis and its effect time limit. METHODS: The randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for migraine or knee osteoarthritis were retrieved from the databases, starting from the time of establishment through to December, 2018, i.e. the Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMbase, CNKI, SinoMed, VIP and Wanfang. The bias risk assessment tool of Cochrane Review Manual 5.1.0 was adopted to evaluate the quality of trials in methodology. RevMan 5.3 software was used for the Meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 12 articles were included, with 2450 cases. Regarding the immediate effect, the score of the emotional function subscale of migraine-specific quality-of-life questionnaire (MSQ) in the acupuncture group was higher than the control group (6.38[2.78,9.98], =25%). In view of the emotional function subscale of the short-form of health survey (SF-36/SF-12), and the scores of the mental function and negative mode scale in Spain's index of quality of life (PQLC), there were no significant differences in the scores between the acupuncture group and the control group. In 3 months of treatment, the score of the emotional function subscale of MSQ in the acupuncture group was higher than the control group (9.66 [3.06,16.25], =44%). The difference in the score of the mental health subscale of SF-36 and SF-12 was not significant between the acupuncture group and the control group. In 3 to 6 months of treatment, as well as in over 6 months of treatment, the score of every scale was not different statistically between the acupuncture group and the control group. CONCLUSION Acupuncture effectively maintains the healthy emotion in the patients with migraine and the effect is sustainable for 3 months after treatment. But the improvement of acupuncture is not remarkable in emotional disorder induced by knee osteoarthritis.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Chronic Pain ; psychology ; therapy ; Emotions ; Humans ; Migraine Disorders ; psychology ; therapy ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; psychology ; therapy ; Quality of Life ; Treatment Outcome

Excessive weight gain in children diagnosed with celiac disease (CD) is becoming more common. We describe 2 siblings (9-year and 6 months-old female and 6-year and 9 months-old male) with obesity showing attenuated gastrointestinal and atypical symptoms in which CD was diagnosed in the absence of a known family history of CD. After children's diagnosis, CD in their parents was also investigated. It was detected in their father affected by overweight. The presentation of patients with CD has changed. While patients with overweight and obesity commonly have symptoms such as abdominal pain, reflux, headache, and constipation due to lifestyle factors, CD should also be considered in patients with or without a family history of CD. Careful nutritional status assessment and follow-up monitoring after the diagnosis of CD are mandatory, especially in subjects who are already overweight at the presentation of this disease.
Abdominal Pain ; Celiac Disease ; Child ; Constipation ; Diagnosis ; Fathers ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Headache ; Humans ; Life Style ; Nutritional Status ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Parents ; Recognition (Psychology) ; Siblings ; Weight Gain

This review aimed to identify risk factors for occupational accidents and illnesses among young workers in the Nordic countries and to attain knowledge on specific vulnerable groups within the young working force that may need special attention. We conducted a systematic review from 1994 to 2014 using five online databases. Of the 12,528 retrieved articles, 54 met the review criteria and were quality assessed, in which data were extracted focusing on identifying occupational safety, health risk factors, and vulnerable groups among the young workers. The review shows that mechanical factors such as heavy lifting, psychosocial factors such as low control over work pace, and organizational factors such as safety climate are all associated with increased injury risk for young Nordic workers. Results show that exposures to chemical substances were associated with skin reactions, e.g., hand eczema. Heavy lifting and awkward postures were risk factors for low back pain, and high job demands were risk factors for mental health outcomes. The review identified young unskilled workers including school drop-out workers as particularly vulnerable groups when it comes to occupational accidents. In addition, apprentices and young skilled workers were found to be vulnerable to work-related illnesses. It is essential to avoid stereotyping young Nordic workers into one group using only age as a factor, as young workers are a heterogeneous group and their vulnerabilities to occupational safety and health risks are contextual. Politicians, researchers, and practitioners should account for this complexity in the education, training and organization of work, and workplace health and safety culture.
Accidents, Occupational ; Adolescent ; Climate ; Eczema ; Education ; Hand ; Humans ; Lifting ; Low Back Pain ; Mental Health ; Occupational Health ; Posture ; Psychology ; Risk Factors ; Safety Management ; Scandinavian and Nordic Countries ; Skin ; Stereotyping

BACKGROUND: Biportal endoscopic spine surgery (BESS) is a recent addition to minimally invasive spine surgery treatments. It boasts excellent magnification and fine discrimination of neural structures. Selective decompression with preservation of facet joints for structural stability is also feasible owing to access to the spinal canal and foramen deeper inside. This study has a purpose to investigate clinical benefits of BESS for spinal stenosis in comparison to the other common surgical treatments such as microscopic decompression-only (DO) and fusion and instrumentation (FI). METHODS: From December 2013 to March 2015, 30 cases of DO, 48 cases of FI, and 66 consecutive cases of BESS for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) were enrolled to evaluate the relative clinical efficacy of BESS. Visual analog scale (VAS) for back pain and leg pain, postoperative hemoglobin, C-reactive protein (CRP) changes, transfusion, and postoperative complications were examined. RESULTS: All the patients were followed up until 6 months, and 98 patients (86.7%) for 2 years. At the 6-month follow-up, VAS for back pain improved from 6.8 to 2.8, 6.8 to 3.2, and 6.8 to 2.8 (p = 0.078) for BESS, DO, and FI, respectively; VAS for leg pain improved from 6.3 to 2.2, 7.0 to 2.5, and 7.2 to 2.5 (p = 0.291), respectively. Two cases in the BESS group underwent additional foraminal decompression, but no fusion surgery was performed. Postoperative hemoglobin changes for BESS, DO, and FI were −2.5, −2.4, and −1.3 mL, respectively. The BESS group had no transfusion cases, whereas 10 cases (33.3%) in DO and 41 cases (85.4%) in FI had transfusion (p = 0.000). CRP changes for BESS, DO, and FI were 0.32, 6.53, and 6.00, respectively, at day 2 postoperatively (p = 0.000); the complication rate for each group was 8.6% (two dural tears and one root injury), 6.7% (two dural tears), and 8.3% (two dural tears and two wound infections), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: BESS for LSS showed clinical results not inferior to those of the other open surgery methods in the short-term. Stable hemodynamic changes with no need for blood transfusion and minimal changes in CRP were thought to cause less injury to the back muscles with minimal bleeding. Foraminal stenosis decompression should be simultaneously conducted with central decompression to avoid an additional surgery.
Back Muscles ; Back Pain ; Blood Transfusion ; C-Reactive Protein ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Decompression ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Endoscopy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemodynamics ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Leg ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Pain, Postoperative ; Postoperative Complications ; Spinal Canal ; Spinal Stenosis ; Spine ; Tears ; Treatment Outcome ; Visual Analog Scale ; Wounds and Injuries ; Zygapophyseal Joint

BACKGROUND: It is difficult for surgeons to reconstruct soft tissue defects of the great toe. This report aims to evaluate the utility and efficacy of innervated distally based first dorsal metatarsal artery (FDMA) flap with a wide pedicle for reconstruction of soft tissue defects of the great toe. METHODS: This is a retrospective report. Between January 2015 and December 2017, six cases of skin defect of the great toe were reconstructed with an innervated distally based FDMA flap with a wide pedicle. One case was excluded in this report because of chronic pain on the metatarsophalangeal joint due to osteoarthritis before the injury. A total of five cases were evaluated for flap survival and sensory recovery. The sensory recovery was investigated by two-point discrimination and Semmes-Weinstein monofilament tests. The average age of the selected patients was 40 years (range, 36 to 56 years), and the average size of the defect in the toe was 8.3 cm2 (range, 4 to 13.8 cm2). The average follow-up period was 29.4 months (range, 18 to 38 months). RESULTS: All patients survived without any complications. The average two-point discrimination test value was 8.0 ± 0.89 mm (range, 7 to 9 mm), and the average value obtained from the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament test was 4.53 ± 0.33 (range, 4.17 to 4.93). The average residual pain score evaluated with a visual analog scale was 1 (range, 0 to 2). Two patients complained of stiffness in the great toe below 30° of total range of motion during the early stages after surgery, but this stiffness gradually improved after rehabilitation. The average range of motion of three patients with a remaining metatarsophalangeal joint after surgery was 80° (range, 70° to 90°). All five cases could walk regularly without any unique footwear at the final follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The innervated distally based FDMA flap with a wide pedicle could be a good alternative method for repair of soft tissue defects of the great toe.
Arteries ; Chronic Pain ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Metatarsal Bones ; Metatarsophalangeal Joint ; Methods ; Osteoarthritis ; Perforator Flap ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Rehabilitation ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin ; Surgeons ; Toes ; Visual Analog Scale