Individuals who engage in binge drinking behaviors may show evidence of impaired cognitive function and emotional dysregulation. Impaired empathy, characterized by a reduced ability to understand and respond appropriately to feelings of others, is increasingly recognized for its role in Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD). The present study examined a population of young adult social drinkers to compare individuals who show binge drinking behavior to those who do not on measures of empathic processing and associated neural responses. A secondary aim explored similarities and differences between binge drinkers living in the UK and France. Alcohol drinking history and impulsivity ratings were recorded from seventy-one participants [(37 UK (Binge drinkers N = 19); 34 France (Binge drinkers N = 17)], who then underwent a neuroimaging study. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants viewed images of bodily pain (vs. no-pain), while adopting the perspective of self (pain recipient) or other (observer of someone else experiencing pain). Anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) and insula activation distinguished pain from no-pain conditions. Binge drinkers showed stronger regional neural activation than non-binge drinkers within a cluster spanning fusiform gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus, encompassing the Fusiform Body Area. Binge drinkers compared to non-binge drinkers also took longer to respond when viewing pictures depicting pain, in particular when adopting the perspective of self. Relationships between changes in brain activation and behavioural responses in pain versus no pain conditions (self or other perspective) indicated that whereas non-binge drinkers engage areas supporting self to other distinction, binge drinkers do not. Our findings suggest that alcohol binge drinking is associated with different empathy-related behavioral and brain responses, consistent with the proposed importance of empathy in the development of AUD.

进行暴饮酒行为的个人可能会显示出认知功能受损和情绪失调的证据。移情障碍的特点是理解能力不足，无法适当地回应他人的感受，其在酒精使用障碍（AUD）中的作用日益得到认可。本研究检查了一群年轻的成年社交饮酒者，以比较那些表现出暴饮暴食行为的人与那些没有表现出同情加工和相关神经反应的人。第二个目的是探索生活在英国和法国的狂欢饮酒者之间的异同。记录了71位参与者的饮酒史和冲动评分[（37英国（宾果饮酒者N = 19）； 34法国（宾果饮酒者N = 17）]，然后他们进行了神经影像学研究。在功能性磁共振成像过程中，参与者以自我（疼痛接受者）或其他（观察到正在经历疼痛的其他人）的观点观看身体疼痛（相对于无痛）的图像。前扣带回皮层（aMCC）和岛突激活将疼痛与无痛症状区分开来。在跨越梭形回和颞下回的整个簇状体区域中，暴饮酒者表现出比非暴饮者更强的区域神经激活作用。与非暴饮酒者相比，暴饮酒者在观看描述疼痛的图片时，尤其是从自我角度出发时，响应时间也更长。疼痛与没有疼痛状况（自我或其他观点）相比，大脑活动的变化与行为反应之间的关系表明，尽管非暴饮者会参与支持自我的区域以实现其他区分，但暴饮酒者不会。我们的发现表明，酗酒与不同的与移情相关的行为和大脑反应有关，这与移情在澳元发展中的重要性相一致。