The DOI matches its Crossref record; 30 of the 30 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
To what extent do we share the pain of others? Insight from the neural bases of pain empathy.
Abstract
In the representationalist framework generally adopted in cognitive neuroscience, pain is conceived as a subjective experience triggered by the activation of a mental representation of actual or potential tissue damage (nociception). This representation may involve somatic sensory features, as well as affective-motivational reactions associated with the promotion of protective or recuperative visceromotor and behavioral responses. Mental representation of nociception may provide the primary referent from which a rich associative network can be established to evoke the notion of pain in the absence of a nociceptive stimulus. Here, we adopt the notion of a mental representation of pain as a means to relate the experience of pain in oneself to the perception of pain in others. We review the functional neuroimaging studies supporting the hypothesis that the perception of pain in others relies at least partly on the activation of a mental representation of pain in the Self, and thus on common neural systems. However, we also demonstrate that there are systematic differences in activation sites within painrelated areas that must be considered for a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying pain empathy
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“A growing number of neuroimaging studies reliably documents that witnessing pain in others activates a similar network as the first-hand experience of pain [12], [34 for reviews].”
From What are you feeling? Using functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the modulation of sensory and affective responses during empathy for pain (2007) · cites this paper as [34]
In the citing paper
“Taken together, the results of fMRI experiment I replicate and extend previous findings concerning empathy for pain by showing a stronger involvement of neural structures involved in action anticipation and somatosensation when focusing on the sensory consequences of mechanically induced pain [34], [54], [55].”
From What are you feeling? Using functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the modulation of sensory and affective responses during empathy for pain (2007) · cites this paper as [34]
Citations
Cites
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Craig, A. D. (2002) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn894 · Cited by 6,006
Empathy: its ultimate and proximate bases
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Empathy for Pain Involves the Affective but not Sensory Components of Pain
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“Other forms of pain or suffering, such as that associated with social exclusion (e.g., Eisenberger et al., 2003), might also be characterized by a similar functional organization.”
BackgroundMeeting of minds: the medial frontal cortex and social cognition
Amodio, D. M., & Frith, C. D. (2006) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn1884 · Cited by 3,782 · cited 1×
“Our interpretation for a rostro-caudal functional organization of the ACC and IC is also compatible with the bulk of evidence from studies on mentalizing (Amodio and Frith, 2006).”
ResultThe functional architecture of human empathy
Decety, J., & Jackson, P. L. (2004) · Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews · doi:10.1177/1534582304267187 · Cited by 3,407 · cited 1×
“These shared neural circuits between self and other prompt the observer to resonate2 with the emotional state of others, and constitute one important component of the cognitive architecture underlying empathy (Preston and de Waal, 2002; Decety and Jackson, 2004; Goubert et al., 2005).”
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Evaluation of third-party punishment depends on its type and severity
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Harnessing the Neurobiology of Empathy and Compassion to Alleviate Burnout in Neurology
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Lonelier people feel less empathic despite intact neural empathy responses after meditation training
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Jean Decety, un pensador de la empatía
González, D. R. M., Torres, M. F. R., & Cáceres, R. G. A. (2026) · Revista Filosofía UIS · doi:10.18273/revfil.v25n2-2026008
Pain Overexposure Affects Self-Pain and Empathy in Athletes
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Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Jackson, P. L., Rainville, P., & Decety, J.
- Affiliations
- Université Laval (CA)
- Université de Montréal (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Jackson, Philip L.
- Venue
- Pain
- Published
- 2006-11
- Volume
- 125
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5-9
- ISSN
- 0304-3959 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1986150374
- Cited by
- 326
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 27.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Pain (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Corpus Université Laval (Université Laval) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Treatment
- Keywords
- empathy for pain, nociception, functional neuroimaging
- MeSH terms
- Brain, Emotions, Empathy, Humans, Pain, Perception, Self Concept
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