Seeing pain and pleasure on self and others: behavioral and psychophysiological reactivity in immersive virtual reality (original) (raw)
Related papers
Consciousness and Cognition, 2019
Observing others' pain may induce a reaction called personal distress that may be influenced by top-down (imagine self or other in pain, i.e., self-vs other-oriented stance) and bottom-up (physical perspective of those who suffer, i.e., first vs third person perspective-1PP vs 3PP) processes. The different contributions of these processes have not been teased apart. By capitalizing on the power of Immersive Virtual Reality, we explored how behavioural (subjective ratings) and physiological reactivity (skin conductance reactivity, SCR) to pain and pleasure delivered to an avatar was influenced by Cognitive stance and Physical perspective. Taking an Other-Oriented stance leads to attributing higher congruent valence (i.e. pain rated as unpleasant and pleasure as pleasant) and intensity to the stimuli and induces reduced SCR. Ownership over the virtual limb was maximal in 1PP where physiological reactivity to the stimuli was comparable. Our results highlight different components underpinning reactivity to pain and pleasure. 1. Introduction The inter-individual sharing of emotions, feelings and beliefs characterize human social interactions, a condition that is constitutive of empathy. This multidimensional construct includes a variety of components ranging from the automatic and involuntary reactivity that occurs on the self when we see others (e.g. sensorimotor contagion) to the other-oriented stance that allows us to understand others through cognition (e.g. perspective-taking) (Davis, 1980; Decety & Jackson, 2004). Studies on empathy for pain indicate that people who see or imagine others in pain tend to empathically share what others feel at both behavioral and neural levels (Betti and Aglioti, 2016; Lamm, Decety, & Singer, 2011). Contrary to empathic concern (which maintains a clear self-other distinction), sensorimotor contagion is likely to (1) increase the personal distress in the observer (e.g. when witnessing painful stimuli being delivered to others) (Batson et al., 1997) and (2) lead to ego-centered reactivity. In contrast, perspective-taking, i.e. the mechanism that allows one to project self upon another individual (Davis, 1980), may allow one to take a distinct stance and
Seeing and identifying with a virtual body decreases pain perception
European Journal of Pain, 2011
Pain and the conscious mind (or the self) are experienced in our body. Both are intimately linked to the subjective quality of conscious experience. Here, we used virtual reality technology and visuo-tactile conflicts in healthy subjects to test whether experimentally induced changes of bodily self-consciousness (self-location; self-identification) lead to changes in pain perception. We found that visuo-tactile stroking of a virtual body but not of a control object led to increased pressure pain thresholds and self-location. This increase was not modulated by the synchrony of stroking as predicted based on earlier work. This differed for self-identification where we found as predicted that synchrony of stroking increased self-identification with the virtual body (but not a control object), and positively correlated with an increase in pain thresholds. We discuss the functional mechanisms of self-identification, self-location, and the visual perception of human bodies with respect to pain perception.
Modulation of pain threshold by virtual body ownership
Background: Appropriate sensorimotor correlations can result in the illusion of ownership of exogenous body parts. Nevertheless, whether and how the illusion of owning a new body part affects human perception, and in particular pain detection, is still poorly investigated. Recent findings have shown that seeing one's own body is analgesic, but it is not known whether this effect is transferable to newly embodied, but exogenous, body parts. In recent years, results from our laboratory have demonstrated that a virtual body can be felt as one's own, provided realistic multisensory correlations. Methods: The current work aimed at investigating the impact of virtual body ownership on pain threshold. An immersive virtual environment allowed a first-person perspective of a virtual body that replaced the own. Passive movement of the index finger congruent with the movement of the virtual index finger was used in the 'synchronous' condition to induce ownership of the virtual arm. The pain threshold was tested by thermal stimulation under four conditions: (1) synchronous movements of the real and virtual fingers; (2) asynchronous movements; (3) seeing a virtual object instead of an arm; and (4) not seeing any limb in real world. Results: Our results show that, independently of attentional and stimulus adaptation processes, the ownership of a virtual arm per se can significantly increase the thermal pain threshold. Conclusions: This finding may be relevant for the development and improvement of digital solutions for rehabilitation and pain treatment.
Scientific Reports
Severe pain is a widespread health problem in need of novel treatment approaches. In the current study we used real water to give virtual objects (i.e., animated virtual water) more realistic physical properties (wet liquid qualities). Healthy volunteers aged 18–34 participated in a within-subject randomized study comparing participants’ worst pain during brief thermal stimuli with (1) No Immersive Virtual Reality (VR), versus (2) during VR + no tactile feedback versus (3) VR + real water (with tactile feedback from co-located real objects). Tactile feedback significantly decreased pain intensity (VR analgesia, p < 0.01), compared to VR with no tactile feedback, and compared to No VR (baseline). Tactile feedback made the virtual water feel significantly more real, increased participant’s sense of presence, and both VR conditions were distracting (significantly reduced accuracy on an attention demanding task). As a non-pharmacologic analgesic, mixed reality reduced pain by 35% in ...
The feeling of " ownership " over an external dummy/virtual body (or body part) has been proven to have both physiological and behavioural consequences. For instance, the vision of an " embodied " dummy or virtual body can modulate pain perception. However, the impact of partial or total invisibility of the body on physiology and behaviour has been hardly explored since it presents obvious difficulties in the real world. In this study we explored how body transparency affects both body ownership and pain threshold. By means of virtual reality, we presented healthy participants with a virtual co-located body with four different levels of transparency, while participants were tested for pain threshold by increasing ramps of heat stimulation. We found that the strength of the body ownership illusion decreases when the body gets more transparent. Nevertheless, in the conditions where the body was semi-transparent, higher levels of ownership over a see-through body resulted in an increased pain sensitivity. Virtual body ownership can be used for the development of pain management interventions. However, we demonstrate that providing invisibility of the body does not increase pain threshold. Therefore, body transparency is not a good strategy to decrease pain in clinical contexts, yet this remains to be tested. Visual feedback has been shown to effectively modulate pain sensations in experimental studies with both healthy participants and chronic pain patients 1–4. In particular, there is increasing evidence from pain studies showing how vision of the body may lead to effective pain relief 5–10. For instance, in a seminal study by Longo and co-workers, it was shown that the vision of one's hand produces analgesic effects compared to when the gaze is oriented toward an object or another's hand 5. In the same study the authors demonstrated that the attenuated behavioural response was paralleled by a significant decrease in the brain response elicited by the nociceptive stimuli. Further experimental research has confirmed that there is an effective interaction between the vision of the body and the sensation of pain. For example Mancini and co-workers demonstrated that the visual size of someone's own hand manipulated through mirrors leads to modulation of the pain threshold. In particular these authors reported that the vision of a smaller hand seen through a concave mirror leads to a higher pain threshold, while the vision of
Manipulating presence influences the magnitude of virtual reality analgesia
Pain, 2004
Excessive pain during medical procedures performed in unanesthetized patients is frequently reported, but can be reduced with virtual reality (VR) distraction. Increasing the person's illusion of going into the virtual world may increase how effectively VR distracts pain. Healthy volunteers aged 18-20 years participated in a double-blind between-groups design. Each subject received a brief baseline thermal pain stimulus, and the same stimulus again minutes later with either a Low Tech or a High Tech VR distraction. Each subject provided subjective 0-10 ratings of cognitive, sensory and affective components of pain, and rated their illusion of going inside the virtual world. Subjects in the High Tech VR group reported a stronger illusion of going into the virtual world (VR presence) than subjects in the Low Tech VR group, (4.2 vs. 2.5, respectively, P ¼ 0:009) and more pain reduction (reduction of worst pain is 3.1 for High Tech VR vs. 0.7 for Low Tech VR, P , 0:001). Across groups, the amount of pain reduction was positively and significantly correlated with VR presence levels reported by subjects (r ¼ 0:48 for 'worst pain', P , 0:005).
The feeling of " ownership " over an external dummy/virtual body (or body part) has been proven to have both physiological and behavioural consequences. For instance, the vision of an " embodied " dummy or virtual body can modulate pain perception. However, the impact of partial or total invisibility of the body on physiology and behaviour has been hardly explored since it presents obvious difficulties in the real world. In this study we explored how body transparency affects both body ownership and pain threshold. By means of virtual reality, we presented healthy participants with a virtual co-located body with four different levels of transparency, while participants were tested for pain threshold by increasing ramps of heat stimulation. We found that the strength of the body ownership illusion decreases when the body gets more transparent. Nevertheless, in the conditions where the body was semi-transparent, higher levels of ownership over a see-through body resulted in an increased pain sensitivity. Virtual body ownership can be used for the development of pain management interventions. However, we demonstrate that providing invisibility of the body does not increase pain threshold. Therefore, body transparency is not a good strategy to decrease pain in clinical contexts, yet this remains to be tested. Visual feedback has been shown to effectively modulate pain sensations in experimental studies with both healthy participants and chronic pain patients 1–4. In particular, there is increasing evidence from pain studies showing how vision of the body may lead to effective pain relief 5–10. For instance, in a seminal study by Longo and co-workers, it was shown that the vision of one's hand produces analgesic effects compared to when the gaze is oriented toward an object or another's hand 5. In the same study the authors demonstrated that the attenuated behavioural response was paralleled by a significant decrease in the brain response elicited by the nociceptive stimuli. Further experimental research has confirmed that there is an effective interaction between the vision of the body and the sensation of pain. For example Mancini and co-workers demonstrated that the visual size of someone's own hand manipulated through mirrors leads to modulation of the pain threshold. In particular these authors reported that the vision of a smaller hand seen through a concave mirror leads to a higher pain threshold, while the vision of
Triberti (2014) Psychological Factors in VR for Pain
The experience of pain is affected by remarkable psychological factors. The concept of neuromatrix suggests that pain is an amalgam of affect, cognition, and sensation mediated through diverse brain regions. Moreover, the experience of pain appears to be reduced by environmental stimuli that drive attention away from the noxious events. Accordingly, immersion in a computer-generated, three-dimensional virtual environment has been used as an efficient distraction tool in a number of studies on pain management. However, no systematic approaches have explored the psychological factors that influence the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) as a distraction technology. This review aims to outline the fundamental psychological factors involved in the use of VR to provide pain management. An analysis of the literature revealed some important elements associated with the patients' subjective experience. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The results suggest the importance of different psychological factors in the effectiveness of the analgesic distraction. While sense of presence influence the effectiveness of VR as a distraction tool, anxiety as well as positive emotions directly affect the experience of pain. Future challenges for pain management via VR include adopting properly validated measures to assess psychological factors and using different experimental conditions to better understand their complex effects.
Interactivity Influences the Magnitude of Virtual Reality Analgesia
Journal of cyber therapy and rehabilitation, 2009
Despite medication with opioids and other powerful pharmacologic pain medications, most patients rate their pain during severe burn wound care as severe to excruciating. Excessive pain is a widespread medical problem in a wide range of patient populations. Immersive virtual reality (VR) distraction may help reduce pain associated with medical procedures. Recent research manipulating immersiveness has shown that a high tech VR helmet reduces pain more effectively than a low tech VR helmet. The present study explores the effect of interactivity on the analgesic effectiveness of virtual reality. Using a double blind design, in the present study, twenty-one volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two groups, and received a thermal pain stimulus during either interactive VR, or during non-interactive VR. Subjects in both groups individually glided through the virtual world, but one group could look around and interact with the environment using the trackball, whereas participants in ...
Manipulating the Perceived Shape and Color of a Virtual Limb Can Modulate Pain Responses
Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2020
Changes in body representation may affect pain perception. The effect of a distorted body image, such as the telescoping effect in amputee patients, on pain perception, is unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether distorting an embodied virtual arm in virtual reality (simulating the telescoping effect in amputees) modulated pain perception and anticipatory responses to pain in healthy participants. Twenty-seven right-handed participants were immersed in virtual reality and the virtual arm was shown with three different levels of distortion with a virtual threatening stimulus either approaching or contacting the virtual hand. We evaluated pain/discomfort ratings, ownership, and skin conductance responses (SCRs) after each condition. Viewing a distorted virtual arm enhances the SCR to a threatening event with respect to viewing a normal control arm, but when viewing a reddened-distorted virtual arm, SCR was comparatively reduced in response to the threat. There was a positive r...