WHEN observing people in pain, doctors suppress the brain circuits associated with feelings of empathy, and bump up activity in areas linked to self-control.
Jean Decety at the University of Chicago, Illinois, and colleagues asked 14 doctors and a group of non-medical volunteers to watch video clips of people undergoing acupuncture or being touched with harmless cotton swabs. Their brain activity was scanned throughout using functional MRI.
Neither group reacted when watching patients being touched with cotton. When the control group watched needles being inserted, however, brain areas associated with pain and empathy 鈥渓it up鈥�. Those areas remained inactive in the doctors watching acupuncture, but there was increased activity in their frontal brain areas, which are involved in regulating emotions and cognition.
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This is the first study to suggest that people can learn to control their 鈥渆mpathy circuits鈥� (Current Biology, ). It supports the intuitive idea that physicians 鈥渢oughen up鈥� to avoid feeling personal distress, which could hinder their effectiveness.
The Human Brain 鈥� With one hundred billion nerve cells, the complexity is mind-boggling. Learn more in our cutting edge special report.
