Empathy for pain is at the basis of altruistic behaviors and is known to be modulated by variables such as group membership, pleasantness or unpleasantness of situations and social relationships. Also, face attractiveness and aesthetic judgment might play a role when observing a person in painful conditions, by increasing individuals’ empathic responsiveness. Indeed, physical attractiveness can modify both the perception of the face itself and its reception in a social context. In the present study, we aimed to assess cortical activity when attention is focused on the aesthetic features of an individual showing painful feelings. Brain activity (optical imaging: functional near-infrared spectroscopy, fNIRS), considered in its hemodynamic components (oxygenated [oxy-Hb] and deoxygenated hemoglobin [deoxy-Hb]) was monitored when 22 subjects (M_age = 24.9; SD = 3.6) observed faces (attractive; unattractive) that received painful stimulations (pain; no pain) and were asked to judge the attractiveness and pain condition of the face. Specifically, we targeted the left and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), sensory cortex, and temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). Analyses revealed significant lower oxy-Hb levels in left IFG compared to right hemispheric channels when asking participants to rate faces attractiveness independently from the stimulus features. Besides, lower levels of deoxy-Hb were detected in the right TPJ for unattractive faces compared to attractive faces. Overall, present findings highlighted that the formulation of an aesthetic judgment and face attractiveness plays a relevant role in empathic concerns and this seems to be able to overlay painful appraisal.

对痛苦的同情是利他行为的基础，并且已知会受到诸如小组成员，情况与社会关系的愉悦或不愉快之类的变量的调节。而且，在痛苦的情况下观察人时，面部吸引力和审美判断可能会通过增加人的移情反应来发挥作用。的确，在社会背景下，身体的吸引力可以改变对脸部本身的感知以及对脸部的感知。在本研究中，我们旨在评估当注意力集中于表现出痛苦感觉的人的审美特征时的皮质活动。当有22位受试者（中号_时代 = 24.9; SD = 3.6）观察到的面孔（有吸引力；不有吸引力）受到痛苦刺激（疼痛；无疼痛），并被要求判断面孔的吸引力和疼痛状况。具体来说，我们针对左和右下额回（IFG），感觉皮层和颞顶交界处（TPJ）。分析显示，当要求参与者对面部吸引力的评估独立于刺激功能时，与右侧半球通道相比，左侧IFG的氧合血红蛋白水平显着降低。此外，与有吸引力的脸部相比，对于没有吸引力的脸部，在正确的TPJ中检测到的脱氧Hb含量较低。总体而言，目前的研究结果强调，审美判断和面部吸引力的制定在移情方面起着重要作用，这似乎能够覆盖痛苦的评估。