title: Effects of 25 mg oxazepam on emotional mimicry and empathy for pain: a randomized controlled experiment.
abstract: Emotional mimicry and empathy are mechanisms underlying social interaction. Benzodiazepines have been proposed to inhibit empathy and promote antisocial behaviour. First, we aimed to investigate the effects of oxazepam on emotional mimicry and empathy for pain, and second, we aimed to investigate the association of personality traits to emotional mimicry and empathy. Participants (n=76) were randomized to 25 mg oxazepam or placebo. Emotional mimicry was examined using video clips with emotional expressions. Empathy was investigated by pain stimulating the participant and a confederate. We recorded self-rated experience, activity in major zygomatic and superciliary corrugator muscles, skin conductance, and heart rate. In the mimicry experiment, oxazepam inhibited corrugator activity. In the empathy experiment, oxazepam caused increased self-rated unpleasantness and skin conductance. However, oxazepam specifically inhibited neither emotional mimicry nor empathy for pain. Responses in both experiments were associated with self-rated empathic, psychopathic and alexithymic traits. The present results do not support a specific effect of 25 mg oxazepam on emotional mimicry or empathy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Gustav
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5273-0150
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nilsonne
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5371-9631
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tamm
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Armita
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3077-0391
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Golkar
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Karolina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sörman
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Katarina
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5373-2756
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Howner
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9448-7643
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kristiansson
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Neuroradiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm Sweden.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9041-5714
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ingvar
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Predrag
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Petrovic
keywords: benzodiazepines; emotional contagion; emotional mimicry; empathy; psychopathic traits