Motor preparation during pain observation does not influence event-related Mu and Beta desynchronization

Previous EEG research has shown that observing others in pain increases sensorimotor activity, as indexed by Mu (7-12 Hz) and Beta (13-30 Hz) desynchronization. Such activity is often interpreted as reflecting empathic processing through shared neural representations between the observer and target. In everyday life, observing another in pain can trigger a range of potential action tendencies (e.g., withdrawing, helping, or protecting oneself), …