Exploring the relationship between frontal asymmetry and emotional dampening

Loveless, James P.; Nicoletta, Alexandra J.; Winters, Andrea; Carels, Robert A.; Wuensch, Karl L.; Whited, Matthew C.; McCubbin, James A.; Everhart, D. Erik

doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2017.12.003

Cited by 5 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…It is also worth considering that, while this study examined typical/chronic pain levels, somewhat distinct results might be expected if instead measuring acute pain intensity. For example, sustained high blood pressure has been associated with analgesia for acute pain as well as with reduced awareness of both interoceptive and exteroceptive emotional cues—effects that may relate to autonomic dysregulation and altered interoceptive function (Delgado, Vila, & Reyes del Paso, 2014; Loveless et al., 2018; McCubbin et al., 2014, 2018). Given such findings, it would be useful for future studies of EA in IBS to include both acute and chronic pain measures—as one might expect EA to be related to acute and chronic pain intensity in different ways.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Higher Emotional Awareness Is Associated With Reduced Pain in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients: Preliminary Results

et al. 2019

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Objective Recent evidence indicates that interventions designed to improve emotional awareness reduce pain in irritable bowel syndrome. This preliminary study sought to determine whether trait emotional awareness is associated with typical pain in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Methods Healthy volunteers ( n = 66) and irritable bowel syndrome patients ( n = 50) were asked to self-report their typical levels of pain intensity and complete both the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale and the Somatization Scale of the Brief Symptom Inventory. Results Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale scores in irritable bowel syndrome patients did not differ from scores in healthy participants; however, higher Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale scores in irritable bowel syndrome patients predicted lower levels of typical pain intensity ( r(45) = −.36, p = .01, 95% CI [−.59, −.08]) and lower levels of somatization ( r(45)= −.31, p = .03, 95% CI [−.55, −.02]). Conclusions This inverse relationship between emotional awareness and both pain and somatization symptoms is consistent with evidence that irritable bowel syndrome patients experience reduced pain from therapies designed to improve emotional awareness. The Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale could potentially be used to identify patients who could benefit from such therapy and could potentially be a moderator of response to efficacious psychological therapies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Higher Emotional Awareness Is Associated With Reduced Pain in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients: Preliminary Results

et al. 2019

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“…Due to its properties, Frontal Asymmetry Index has been extensively used in emotional protocols as an indicator of the implicit value that the subject assigns to the stimuli [ 52 ]. Most of the studies have focused on how this index correlates with emotional and motivational processing associated to human faces [ 53 ].…”

Section: Methods and Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Frontal asymmetry is commonly extracted from Alpha power values of F4 and F3 electrodes that respectively represent the right-prefrontal and left-prefrontal lobe; nevertheless, the use of clusters around those main electrodes is widely accepted and employed [51]. Frontal Asymmetry Index was then extracted using the formula: ln( right pre f rontal cortex al pha power le f t pre f rontal cortex al pha power ) Due to its properties, Frontal Asymmetry Index has been extensively used in emotional protocols as an indicator of the implicit value that the subject assigns to the stimuli [52]. Most of the studies have focused on how this index correlates with emotional and motivational processing associated to human faces [53].…”

Section: Frontal Asymmetry Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Recognition of Cross-Cultural Emotional Faces Is Affected by Intensity and Ethnicity in a Japanese Sample

Bonassi

Ghilardi

Gabrieli

et al. 2021

Behavioral Sciences

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Human faces convey a range of emotions and psychobiological signals that support social interactions. Multiple factors potentially mediate the facial expressions of emotions across cultures. To further determine the mechanisms underlying human emotion recognition in a complex and ecological environment, we hypothesized that both behavioral and neurophysiological measures would be influenced by stimuli ethnicity (Japanese, Caucasian) in the context of ambiguous emotional expressions (mid-happy, angry). We assessed the neurophysiological and behavioral responses of neurotypical Japanese adults (N = 27, 13 males) involved in a facial expression recognition task. Results uncover an interaction between universal and culturally-driven mechanisms. No differences in behavioral responses are found between male and female participants, male and female faces, and neutral Japanese versus Caucasian faces. However, Caucasian ambiguous emotional expressions which require more energy-consuming processing, as highlighted by neurophysiological results of the Arousal Index, were judged more accurately than Japanese ones. Additionally, a differential Frontal Asymmetry Index in neuronal activation, the signature of an approach versus avoidance response, is found in male participants according to the gender and emotional valence of the stimuli.

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“…Multiple past investigations have provided evidence that gradual and sustained increases in resting blood pressure accompany reductions in the capacity to consciously experience affective and somatosensory processes (Delgado et al, 2014, Inagaki et al, 2018, Loveless et al, 2018, McCubbin et al, 2011, 2014, 2018, Pury et al, 2004, Saccò et al, 2013, Shukla et al, 2018, 2019, 2020, Yoris et al, 2020). Researchers have termed this phenomenon, “cardiovascular emotional dampening,” and they have proposed that it contributes to heart disease risk by hindering effective responses to environmental demands (Delgado et al, 2014, McCubbin et al, 2014, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cardiovascular emotional dampening is a psychophysiological phenomenon wherein sustained increases in resting blood pressure have seemed to co-occur with (a) a restricted capacity to experience emotion, whether evoked explicitly or implicitly (Delgado et al, 2014, Loveless et al, 2018, McCubbin et al, 2011, 2014, Pury et al, 2004, Shukla et al, 2019, 2020), (b) reduced sensitivity to acute physical pain and interoceptive cuing (Saccò et al, 2013, Yoris et al, 2020), (c) reduced sensitivity to emotional pain (Inagaki et al, 2018), and (d) an increased propensity to engage in appetitive as well as risky behavior (Loveless et al, 2018, McCubbin et al, 2018, 2020). While researchers have studied this phenomenon across a variety of adult-aged samples, they and have not consistently observed any apparent moderating influences of health status, sex, age, socioeconomic status, or cultural background.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking Blood Pressure-Associated Emotional Dampening to Trait Empathy

Loveless,

Sullivan,

Hall

et al. 2023

Percept Mot Skills

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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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Exploring the relationship between frontal asymmetry and emotional dampening

Cited by 5 publications

References 72 publications

Higher Emotional Awareness Is Associated With Reduced Pain in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients: Preliminary Results

Higher Emotional Awareness Is Associated With Reduced Pain in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients: Preliminary Results

The Recognition of Cross-Cultural Emotional Faces Is Affected by Intensity and Ethnicity in a Japanese Sample

Linking Blood Pressure-Associated Emotional Dampening to Trait Empathy

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