The article is clear that the purpose of the research was not empathy study, but pain study.<p><i>&quot;Though he hurts mice for a living, Mogil says it&#x27;s not for a lack of his own empathy. He research is about understanding why two people may experience pain in different ways, with the hope of developing better pharmaceuticals for managing it. &quot;My sympathy is mostly reserved for chronic pain patients,&quot; Mogil tells me. For decades, Mogil and his team have conducted experiments testing the pain threshold of mice in order to see what role genetics play in pain tolerance.&quot;</i><p>There are human studies on pain reception where people are exposed to cold water, where extreme cold water is reported to use similar pain receptors as heated water but cause less damage to the skin. Researchers also injects subjects with capsaicin (Mythbusters did this on camera in one episode), and I wonder why vinegar was used here.