“…Long-standing research has implicated psychological factors in the aetiology and pathogenesis of hypertension (Rutledge & Hogan, 2002). While existing research has focused on links between elevated blood pressure (BP) and personality traits (Yan et al, 2003) and BP and negative mood states (James, Yee, Harshfield, Blank, & Pickering, 1986;Lal, Ahuja, & Madhukar, 1982), recent studies have demonstrated reduced processing of affective stimuli amongst individuals with elevated BP (albeit in the normotensive range; Elbert et al, 1988;Pury, McCubbin, Helfer, Galloway, & McMullen, 2004;McCubbin et al, 2011;McCubbin et al, 2013). Described as "emotional dampening," these findings have been used to inform (a) mechanisms within the central nervous system responsible for controlling BP during the initial stages of essential hypertension development (McCubbin et al, 2011), and (b)…”