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已发表论文
高清晰经颅直流电刺激可改善疼痛共情：一项基于事件相关电位（ERP）的随机、双盲、假刺激对照研究
Authors Hu Z, Wen Y, Feng B, Wang Y, Lin Y, Shi J, Gong C , Wang Y
Received 12 June 2025
Accepted for publication 12 September 2025
Published 8 October 2025 Volume 2025:18 Pages 5223—5234
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S540255
Checked for plagiarism Yes
Review by Single anonymous peer review
Peer reviewer comments 2
Editor who approved publication: Dr Jonathan Greenberg
Zhengyu Hu,1,2,* Yurong Wen,3,4,* Beibei Feng,1,5,6,* Yafei Wang,1,5,6 Yangyang Lin,1,5,6 Jian Shi,1 Chen Gong,1,5,6 Yuling Wang1,5,6
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rehabilitation and Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Rehabilitation, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 4Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 5Biomedical Innovation Center, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 6Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
*These authors contributed equally to this work
Correspondence: Yuling Wang, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 26, Yuancun 2nd Cross Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-20-38476737, Fax 86-20-38254221, Email wangyul@mail.sysu.edu.cn Chen Gong, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China, Email gongch33@mail.sysu.edu.cn
Abstract: The impact of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on pain empathy is a subject of debate and controversy. The variations in the results could be attributed to differences in the stimulus parameters. This study aimed to examine the impact of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) with different intensities on pain empathy through event-related potentials (ERPs). Thirty-nine participants were recruited for the experiment, and a parallel control design was used. The participants were randomly assigned to the sham group, 1 mA stimulation group, or 2 mA stimulation group. Before the experiment, all the participants provided basic information, completed relevant questionnaires and then wore an EEG cap for the first pain empathy task. After completing the task, each group received 20 minutes of HD-tDCS stimulation over the left DLPFC region at different intensities (2 mA, 1 mA, or sham), followed by a second pain empathy task. The findings from the pain-judgment and hands-counting tasks (task 1) demonstrated that both 1- and 2-mA stimulation increased Δ-N1 amplitudes, suggesting that anodal stimulation enhances early empathic responses. The results of the pain rating task (task 2) indicate that HD-tDCS stimulation did not improve the ratings of others’ pain. However, the application of 2-mA tDCS significantly increased the Δ-intensity of unpleasantness compared with that of the other two groups. This suggests that 2-mA tDCS stimulation had a notable effect on the affective dimension of empathy, specifically the perception of unpleasantness. This finding indicates that 2mA stimulation primarily enhances affective empathy, whereas its influence on cognitive empathy appears to be limited. By employing different intensities of HD-tDCS, our findings build upon and extend previous findings in the field of pain empathy. These results have the potential to offer dose recommendations for future studies employing tDCS as an intervention to increase pain empathy.
Plain Language Summary: Why was the study done?
Previous studies have shown inconsistent results concerning the impact of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on pain empathy, which might be due to differences in stimulation parameters. Therefore, Dr Wang’s team explored how high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) with different current intensities affects a human’s ability to feel others’ pain (“pain empathy”).
What did the researchers do and find?
Thirty-nine healthy adults were recruited and received either sham stimulation, lower-intensity (1 mA), or higher-intensity (2 mA) anodal HD-tDCS for 20 minutes over the brain area linked to empathy (the left DLPFC region). Dr Wang’s team measured brain activity and responses to images of people in pain and reported that both the 1 mA and 2 mA doses increased very early brain signals linked to spontaneous feelings of others’ pain; neither dose changed how much pain participants thought others were feeling; only the 2 mA dose made participants feel significantly more unpleasant when seeing others in pain.
What do these results mean?
The results show that the current intensity of anodal tDCS over the left DLPFC matters for modulating human pain empathy. Both lower-intensity (1 mA) and higher-intensity (2 mA) stimulation enhance spontaneous empathic responses at the early stage. However, only 2 mA HD-tDCS affects the emotional side of sharing others’ pain. These results potentially indicate dose-dependent responses for future studies employing tDCS as an intervention to improve pain empathy.
Keywords: pain empathy, transcranial direct current stimulation, event-related potential, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rehabilitation and Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Rehabilitation, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 4Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 5Biomedical Innovation Center, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 6Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
*These authors contributed equally to this work
Correspondence: Yuling Wang, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 26, Yuancun 2nd Cross Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-20-38476737, Fax 86-20-38254221, Email wangyul@mail.sysu.edu.cn Chen Gong, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China, Email gongch33@mail.sysu.edu.cn
Abstract: The impact of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on pain empathy is a subject of debate and controversy. The variations in the results could be attributed to differences in the stimulus parameters. This study aimed to examine the impact of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) with different intensities on pain empathy through event-related potentials (ERPs). Thirty-nine participants were recruited for the experiment, and a parallel control design was used. The participants were randomly assigned to the sham group, 1 mA stimulation group, or 2 mA stimulation group. Before the experiment, all the participants provided basic information, completed relevant questionnaires and then wore an EEG cap for the first pain empathy task. After completing the task, each group received 20 minutes of HD-tDCS stimulation over the left DLPFC region at different intensities (2 mA, 1 mA, or sham), followed by a second pain empathy task. The findings from the pain-judgment and hands-counting tasks (task 1) demonstrated that both 1- and 2-mA stimulation increased Δ-N1 amplitudes, suggesting that anodal stimulation enhances early empathic responses. The results of the pain rating task (task 2) indicate that HD-tDCS stimulation did not improve the ratings of others’ pain. However, the application of 2-mA tDCS significantly increased the Δ-intensity of unpleasantness compared with that of the other two groups. This suggests that 2-mA tDCS stimulation had a notable effect on the affective dimension of empathy, specifically the perception of unpleasantness. This finding indicates that 2mA stimulation primarily enhances affective empathy, whereas its influence on cognitive empathy appears to be limited. By employing different intensities of HD-tDCS, our findings build upon and extend previous findings in the field of pain empathy. These results have the potential to offer dose recommendations for future studies employing tDCS as an intervention to increase pain empathy.
Plain Language Summary: Why was the study done?
Previous studies have shown inconsistent results concerning the impact of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on pain empathy, which might be due to differences in stimulation parameters. Therefore, Dr Wang’s team explored how high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) with different current intensities affects a human’s ability to feel others’ pain (“pain empathy”).
What did the researchers do and find?
Thirty-nine healthy adults were recruited and received either sham stimulation, lower-intensity (1 mA), or higher-intensity (2 mA) anodal HD-tDCS for 20 minutes over the brain area linked to empathy (the left DLPFC region). Dr Wang’s team measured brain activity and responses to images of people in pain and reported that both the 1 mA and 2 mA doses increased very early brain signals linked to spontaneous feelings of others’ pain; neither dose changed how much pain participants thought others were feeling; only the 2 mA dose made participants feel significantly more unpleasant when seeing others in pain.
What do these results mean?
The results show that the current intensity of anodal tDCS over the left DLPFC matters for modulating human pain empathy. Both lower-intensity (1 mA) and higher-intensity (2 mA) stimulation enhance spontaneous empathic responses at the early stage. However, only 2 mA HD-tDCS affects the emotional side of sharing others’ pain. These results potentially indicate dose-dependent responses for future studies employing tDCS as an intervention to improve pain empathy.
Keywords: pain empathy, transcranial direct current stimulation, event-related potential, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex