Mind over matter: can belief alone reduce empathic pain?
NCT ID NCT07367672
First seen Jan 29, 2026 · Last updated May 15, 2026 · Updated 16 times
Summary
This study looks at how our beliefs and expectations can change the pain we feel when watching others suffer. Healthy adults will be placed into one of three groups: no treatment, a placebo nasal spray, or a spray with oxytocin. Everyone in the spray groups will be told they are getting oxytocin, a pain reliever. While in an MRI scanner, they will watch videos of people in pain and rate their own discomfort. The goal is to understand how the brain processes empathy and how belief can alter that experience.
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Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.
This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.
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Study contacts
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Contact
Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••
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Contact
Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
ENROLLING_BY_INVITATIONChengdu, China
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Weihua Zhao
RECRUITINGChengdu, Sichuan, 611731, China
Contact
Contact Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••
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