Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Cognitive exertion affects the appraisal of one’s own and other people’s pain

Riontino Laura, Fournier Raphael, Lapteva Alexandra, Silvestrini Nicolas, Schwartz Sophie, Corradi-Dell’Acqua Corrado
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.06.09.495450
Riontino Laura
1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
2Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: Laura.Riontino@unige.ch
Fournier Raphael
2Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Lapteva Alexandra
2Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Silvestrini Nicolas
1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Schwartz Sophie
2Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
3Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
4Geneva Neuroscience Center, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Corradi-Dell’Acqua Corrado
1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
2Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
4Geneva Neuroscience Center, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Evaluating correctly others’ pain is a crucial prosocial ability, especially relevant for the healthcare system. In clinical settings, caregivers assess their patients’ pain under high workload and fatigue, often while dealing with competing information/tasks. However, the effect played by such cognitive strain in the appraisal of others’ pain remains unclear. Following embodied accounts that posit a shared representational code between self and others’ states, it could be hypothesized that the representation of people’s pain might be influenced by cognitive exertion similarly to first-hand experiences.

Fifty participants underwent one of two demanding tasks, involving either working memory (Experiment 1: N-Back task) or cognitive interference (Experiment 2: Stroop task). After each task, participants were exposed to painful laser stimulations at three intensity levels (low, medium, high), or video-clips of patients experiencing three intensity levels of pain (low, medium, high). Participants rated the intensity of each pain event on a visual analogue scale.

We found that the two tasks influenced rating of both one’s own and others’ pain, by decreasing the sensitivity to medium and high events. This was observed either when comparing the demanding condition to a control (Stroop), or when modelling linearly the difficulty/performance of each depleting task (N-Back). These effects were mirrored by the analysis of physiological responses (Heart Variability and Skin Conductance) evoked by one’s own pain.

We provide converging evidence that cognitive exertion affects the subsequent appraisal of one’s own and likewise others’ pain. Healthcare personnel should be aware that high workload might alter their cognitive abilities.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted June 12, 2022.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Cognitive exertion affects the appraisal of one’s own and other people’s pain
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Cognitive exertion affects the appraisal of one’s own and other people’s pain
Riontino Laura, Fournier Raphael, Lapteva Alexandra, Silvestrini Nicolas, Schwartz Sophie, Corradi-Dell’Acqua Corrado
bioRxiv 2022.06.09.495450; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.06.09.495450
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Cognitive exertion affects the appraisal of one’s own and other people’s pain
Riontino Laura, Fournier Raphael, Lapteva Alexandra, Silvestrini Nicolas, Schwartz Sophie, Corradi-Dell’Acqua Corrado
bioRxiv 2022.06.09.495450; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.06.09.495450

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Neuroscience
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (3703)
  • Biochemistry (7828)
  • Bioengineering (5705)
  • Bioinformatics (21362)
  • Biophysics (10611)
  • Cancer Biology (8217)
  • Cell Biology (11982)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (6792)
  • Ecology (10430)
  • Epidemiology (2065)
  • Evolutionary Biology (13916)
  • Genetics (9734)
  • Genomics (13116)
  • Immunology (8181)
  • Microbiology (20081)
  • Molecular Biology (7882)
  • Neuroscience (43201)
  • Paleontology (321)
  • Pathology (1285)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2270)
  • Physiology (3367)
  • Plant Biology (7262)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1317)
  • Synthetic Biology (2012)
  • Systems Biology (5551)
  • Zoology (1135)