ATD effects on facial expressions of pain
reduced social behavior, pain
CORTEX
We hypothesized that facial responses to painful stimuli are increased after ATD, given previous findings that ATD can lead to heightened pain sensitivity (Martin et al. One possible explanation might be found in the effect of serotonin on social behavior. In human and rodent studies, low 5-HT levels have been shown to be linked to decreased social play, to dampened perception of social cues and to reduced social behavior (Kiser et al. Another possible explanation might be the linkage between 5-HT and motoneuron activity in the brainstem. There is a widespread network of brain areas involved in generating facial responses to pain, including motor areas (M1, striatum), pain-related areas (S1, insula, anterior cingulate cortex), and areas involved in regulation of prosocial behavior (prefrontal areas) (Kunz et al. 