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Shukla M, Pandey R. Emotional dampening in hypertension: Impaired recognition of implicit emotional content in auditory and cross-modal stimuli. Psych J 2024; 13:124-138. [PMID: 37942991 PMCID: PMC10917100 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
Research shows a reduced responsivity to implicit as well as explicit facial emotion recognition (emotional dampening) in prehypertensives and hypertensives. This study explored auditory and audiovisual emotion recognition in prehypertensives and hypertensives. Participants (N = 175) who were normotensives, prehypertensives, and hypertensives (n = 57, 58, and 60, respectively) completed an auditory implicit task (matching auditory target with auditory distractors) and two cross-modal implicit tasks (matching visual target with auditory distractors, and vice-versa), and an auditory explicit task (labelling emotions in audio-clips). Findings showed an aberrant speed-accuracy trade-off, where prehypertensives focused more on accuracy at the cost of speed while hypertensives showed the opposite. Discriminant function analysis revealed that blood pressure (BP)-associated emotional dampening is a highly specific but moderately sensitive correlate of hypertension. Our study highlights that prehypertensives and hypertensives demonstrate emotional dampening in implicit (but not explicit) auditory emotion recognition and a greater deficit for auditory than visual recognition of implicit emotions. Findings show emotional dampening as an observable correlate of elevated BP and hypertension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meenakshi Shukla
- Department of PsychologyBanaras Hindu UniversityVaranasiIndia
- Present address:
Department of PsychologyUniversity of AllahabadPrayagrajIndia
| | - Rakesh Pandey
- Department of PsychologyBanaras Hindu UniversityVaranasiIndia
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Loveless JP, Sullivan SN, Hall H, Danford J, Farley A, Trogdon N, Baldwin J. Linking Blood Pressure-Associated Emotional Dampening to Trait Empathy. Percept Mot Skills 2023; 130:2305-2326. [PMID: 37632294 DOI: 10.1177/00315125231197839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Gradual and sustained increases in resting blood pressure are accompanied by gradual and sustained reductions in the capacity to consciously experience several affective and somatosensory processes. Burgeoning theory suggests that this phenomenon, termed cardiovascular emotional dampening, contributes to heart disease risk by interfering with our ability to effectively respond to environmental demands. Interpersonal relationships are contexts in which this risk cascade likely occurs, but prior researchers have paid little attention to how emotional dampening might influence these relationships. As empathy is a construct used to describe facets of emotion-linked responding that facilitate interpersonal relationships, if emotional dampening influences interpersonal relationships, then we might expect resting blood pressure to covary with measures of empathy as it does with other previously studied aspects of affective responding. We recruited 175 healthy undergraduate college student participants (120 Women; M age = 19.17, SD age = 2.08) to complete a counterbalanced procedure in which we measured resting blood pressure and related it to participants' responses on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy, and a demographic survey. Bivariate comparisons revealed a significant inverse relationship between average resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) and cognitive empathy, as well as a significant inverse relationship between SBP and affective empathy. Multiple regression analyses revealed that SBP remained a significant predictor of cognitive empathy, but not affective empathy, after controlling for related covariates (i.e., sex, age, and alexithymia). SBP predicted cognitive empathy such that higher SBP was associated with lower cognitive empathy. Thus, people with higher resting blood pressures might experience increased interpersonal distress because of a reduced capacity for empathetic accuracy and perspective-taking. We discuss the implications and future directions of these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P Loveless
- Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
| | - S Nichole Sullivan
- Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
| | - Hailey Hall
- Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
| | - Jamie Danford
- Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
| | - Ally Farley
- Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
| | - Nicholas Trogdon
- Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
| | - Jameson Baldwin
- Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
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Shukla M, Lau JYF, Pandey R. Behavioural approach-avoidance tendencies among individuals with elevated blood pressure. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 43:1-9. [PMID: 36788977 PMCID: PMC9912239 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-023-04337-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
Emotional dampening (blunted responses to affective stimuli or experiences) has been reported in individuals with clinical and subclinical levels of elevated blood pressure (BP). Our aim in the present study was to explore how the basic motivational systems of approach and avoidance to positively- and negatively-valenced stimuli are affected in elevated BP. High BP (n = 27) and Low BP (n = 29) participants completed an approach-avoidance task. In this task, participants pulled the joystick towards them when viewing a happy face (approach) and pushing it away when viewing an angry face (avoid) in the congruent condition, and reversed these action-to-emotion pairings in the incongruent condition. A mixed-design ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of condition, such that overall participants were faster across trials in the congruent than trials of the incongruent condition. There was also an emotion x BP interaction. Among the Low BP group, there were no RT differences to happy and angry expressions (across congruent and incongruent conditions) but those with High BP were quicker to respond to actions paired with angry than happy facial expressions (across conditions). Findings suggest that valence-specific motivational reactions are not dampened with an increase in BP, and are rather sensitized for the negative emotion of anger. Supplementary information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04337-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meenakshi Shukla
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Allahabad, 211002 Prayagraj, India
| | - Jennifer Y. F. Lau
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- Youth Resilience Unit, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Rakesh Pandey
- Department of Psychology, Banaras Hindu University, 221005 Varanasi, India
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Kumari V, Antonova E, Mahmood S, Shukla M, Saifullah A, Pandey R. Dispositional mindfulness, alexithymia and sensory processing: Emerging insights from habituation of the acoustic startle reflex response. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 184:20-27. [PMID: 36513183 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
There is growing evidence of beneficial effects of mindfulness developed through engaging in mindfulness training/practices on sensory and cognitive processing, emotion regulation and mental health. Mindfulness has also been conceptualised as a dispositional 'trait', i.e. the naturally-occurring ability of meditation-naïve individuals to display, in varying degree, a non-judgmental non-reactive present-moment awareness in everyday life. In this study we examined possible associations between dispositional mindfulness, alexithymia and sensory processing. Eye-blink startle responses to acoustic stimuli of varying intensity [90-dB or 100-dB over 70-dB (A) background] were assessed in 26 meditation-naïve adults (50 % men) using electromyographic recordings of the orbicularis muscle. All participants completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. A negative association was found between dispositional mindfulness and alexithymia (r = -0.513). There was stronger startle habituation to 100-dB, compared to 90-dB probes. Stronger startle habituation (larger negative habitation slope values) to 100-dB probes was significantly associated with higher dispositional mindfulness (r = -0.528) and with lower alexithymia at trend level (r = 0.333). As indicated by commonality analysis, 10.6 % of explained variance in habituation (100-dB probes) was common to both alexithymia and mindfulness, 17.3 % was unique to mindfulness, but alexithymia made negligible unique contribution (0.5 %). These findings indicate similar startle habituation pattern in people with a high level of dispositional mindfulness to that reported previously by Antonova et al. (2015) in people with moderate mindfulness meditation practice intensity. Future studies should investigate the mechanisms, such as interoceptive awareness, that might underly these relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Kumari
- Divison of Psychology, Department of Life Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, UK; Centre for Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, UK.
| | - E Antonova
- Divison of Psychology, Department of Life Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, UK; Centre for Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, UK
| | - S Mahmood
- Divison of Psychology, Department of Life Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, UK
| | - M Shukla
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, India
| | - A Saifullah
- Divison of Psychology, Department of Life Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, UK; Centre for Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, UK
| | - R Pandey
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, India
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McCubbin JA, Switzer FS, LaDue MN, Ogle JH, Bendigeri V. Blood pressure-associated emotional dampening and risky behavior: Elevated resting blood pressure predicts risky simulated driving in women. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 155:72-77. [PMID: 32504652 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 05/31/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Elevated resting blood pressure (BP) is associated with dampened responses to emotionally meaningful stimuli. This BP-associated emotional dampening may also influence threat appraisal and, hence, motivation to avoid risk. The present study was designed to determine if resting BP is associated with risky driving behavior assessed in a high fidelity driving simulator. Fifty-one healthy women (n = 20) and men (n = 31) rested for BP determinations both before and after a simulated driving scenario in a DriveSafety automotive simulator with six visual channels, single-axis motion, and functioning controls and instrumentation. Resting systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BPs were obtained systematically with a calibrated GE Dinamap Pro V100. Risky driving was assessed by speed relative to the posted speed limit, and a speed-adjusted time to collision index of tailgating. Regression analyses indicated that sex interacted with resting BP, with significant associations between BP and risk in women, but not men. For example, risky driving in women was associated with higher resting DBP (p = .006), with similar but less reliable effects for resting SBP (p = .058). These results provide some partial, preliminary support for the notion that BP-associated emotional dampening may reduce threat appraisal and thereby decrease motivation for risk avoidance, but these effects are confined to women in this simulated driving scenario. Interacting central nervous system (CNS) mechanisms controlling BP and emotional responsivity may mediate the relationship between BP and risk-taking behavior. Relative expression of this relationship in women and men may depend on multiple psychosocial and physiological mechanisms. The association of higher BP with increased risk-taking behaviors may have relevance to the early pathogenesis of essential hypertension.
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Affiliation(s)
- James A McCubbin
- Department of Psychology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
| | - Fred S Switzer
- Department of Psychology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Meredith N LaDue
- Department of Civil Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Jennifer H Ogle
- Department of Civil Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Vijay Bendigeri
- Department of Civil Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
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