Increasing self-other similarity modulates ethnic bias in sensorimotor resonance to others' pain.

ABSTRACT: The tendency to simulate the pain of others within our own sensorimotor systems is a vital component of empathy. However, this sensorimotor resonance is modulated by a multitude of social factors including similarity in bodily appearance, e.g. skin colour. The current study investigated whether increasing self-other similarity via virtual transfer to another colour body reduced ingroup bias in sensorimotor resonance. A sample of 58 white participants was momentarily transferred to either a black or a white body using virtual reality technology. We then employed electroencephalography to examine event-related desynchronization (ERD) in the sensorimotor beta (13-23 Hz) oscillations while they viewed black, white and violet photorealistic virtual agents being touched with a noxious or soft ob

SUBMITTER: Harjunen VJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9250302 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature