Linkage between pain sensitivity and empathic response in adolescents with autism spectrum conditions and conduct disorder symptoms.
Teens with autism feel pain faster and empathize less, and the two traits track together.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Chenyi and team tested 45 teens. Fifteen had autism, fifteen had conduct problems, and fifteen were typical kids.
They used a cold-pressor task. Each teen held a hand in ice water until it hurt. The team timed how long each teen lasted.
They also gave the teens the Empathy Quotient. This 40-item form asks how strongly you feel for others.
What they found
The autism group pulled their hands out first. They felt pain sooner than the other two groups.
They also scored lowest on the Empathy Quotient. They said they felt less for others.
The link between: teens who felt pain sooner also felt less empathy, but only in the autism group.
How this fits with other research
Baron-Cohen et al. (2004) built the Empathy Quotient used here. Their adult sample also scored low, so the tool still works in teens.
Bhaumik et al. (2009) reviewed brain-wave studies that show sensory and social gaps in autism. Chenyi’s pain task gives a simple, cheap way to spot the same gaps without wires.
Smith et al. (2010) found many adults with ID live with untreated pain. Chenyi shows that even high-functioning autistic teens may under-report pain, so screen early.
Huang et al. (2020) says adult autism diagnosis is messy. Adding a quick pain test could give clinicians one more clear data point.
Why it matters
If a teen with autism says “that hurts,” believe them sooner. Their pain threshold is truly lower. Pair this with empathy-building tasks. Start with clear labels: “I see you frown. That might hurt.” Use cold spray or ice cubes in role-play to teach cause and effect. Track both pain reports and empathy scores to see if one improves the other.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Lack of empathy is one of the behavioral hallmarks in individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) as well as youth with conduct disorder symptoms (CDS). Previous research has reliably documented considerable overlap between the perception of others' pain and first-hand experience of pain. However, the linkage between empathy for pain and sensitivity to physical pain needs to be empirically determined, particularly in individuals with empathy deficits. This study measured the pressure pain threshold, which indexes sensitization of peripheral nociceptors, and assessed subjective ratings of unpleasantness and pain intensity in response to empathy-eliciting stimuli depicting physical bodily injuries in three age- and sex-matched participant groups: ASC, CDS, and typically developing controls (TDC). The results indicated that the pain threshold was lowest in the ASC group and highest in the CDS group. The ASC group displayed lower ratings of unpleasantness and pain intensity than did the TDC and CDS groups. Within the ASC and CDS, pain intensity ratings were significantly correlated with unpleasantness ratings to others' pain. Moreover, the ASC significantly differed from the TDC in the correlation between pain threshold values and unpleasantness ratings. These findings may cast some light on the linkage between atypical low-level sensory functioning, for instance altered pain sensitivity, and high-level empathic processing. Autism Res 2017, 10: 267-275. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2017 · doi:10.1002/aur.1653