Mind over matter: can belief alone reduce empathic pain?

NCT ID NCT07367672

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study looks at how our beliefs and expectations influence the pain we feel when watching others suffer. Healthy adults will be placed in one of three groups: no treatment, a placebo nasal spray, or a spray with oxytocin. All participants in the spray groups are told they are getting oxytocin, a pain reliever. While in an MRI scanner, they watch videos of people in pain and rate their own discomfort. The goal is to understand how the brain processes empathic pain and how expectation can change it.

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Contacts and locations

Study contacts

  • Contact

    Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••

  • Contact

    Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••

Locations

  • University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

    ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION

    Chengdu, China

  • Weihua Zhao

    RECRUITING

    Chengdu, Sichuan, 611731, China

    Contact

    Contact Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••