This study brings more clarity on the inconsistent findings on emotional reactivity differences between older (OA) and younger (YA) adults, by examining the influence of (mal)adaptive personality traits on emotional reactivity and by applying several assessment methods. We recruited 60 YA (25-50 years) and 60 OA (65+ years) from a nonclinical population. We used Visual Analogue Scales to measure subjective reactivity, and facial electromyography (corrugator and zygomaticus reactivity), heart rate, heart rate variability, and skin conductance level to assess physiological reactivity during happy and sad film clips. Results showed that personality influences on emotional reactivity in OA were largely comparable to YA, although the influence of negative emotionality and neuroticism on subjective reactivity in response to the sad film was significantly stronger in OA. It is thus important to assess both subjective and physiological reactivity when comparing age-related differences in OA and YA given the differential relation with personality features.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1073191117719510 | DOI Listing |
PeerJ
January 2025
Department of Psychology, Aichi University of Education, Kariya, Aichi, Japan.
Background: Depression, a widespread mental health issue, is often marked by impaired cognitive control, particularly in managing proactive and reactive processes. The Dual Mechanisms of Control (DMC) framework differentiates between these two modes of cognitive control: proactive control involves sustained goal maintenance, while reactive control is more stimulus-driven and transient. Stress, known to exacerbate cognitive dysfunction in depression, may influence the balance between these control processes, though the specific effects remain poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmotion
January 2025
Department of Culture, Cognition and Computation, Interacting Minds Center, Aarhus University.
Crying in infancy is an important emotional signal that elicits care from adults, and women are often assumed to be more sensitive and reactive to infant crying than men. In a series of studies, we tested whether preparenthood gender differences in sensitivity to infant cries are a potential driver of the unequal share of early parenting. In Study 1, we tested for differences in men and women's awakening to infant crying and alarms among nonparents in an overnight experiment ( = 142).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Trauma Stress
January 2025
Department of Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
The processing of positive memories technique (PPMT) entails detailed narration and processing of specific positive autobiographical memories (AM) and has shown promise in improving posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. We examined whether participants receiving PPMT reported decreases in PTSD and depressive symptom severity, negative affect levels/reactivity, posttrauma cognitions, and positive emotion dysregulation, as well as increases in positive affect levels/reactivity and the number of retrieved positive AMs across four PPMT sessions. Individuals (N = 70) recruited from the community completed surveys at baseline (pre-PPMT), each PPMT session, and after completing all four PPMT sessions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuropharmacology
January 2025
Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy. Electronic address:
Anhedonia, a transdiagnostic symptom prevalent in depressive and psychotic disorders, poses a significant challenge for pharmacological intervention due to its association with impaired motivation. Understanding how psychotropic drugs can modulate this pathological domain and elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying such effects are crucial endeavors in psychiatric research. In this study, we aimed to investigate the pro-motivational properties of lurasidone in a rat (Sprague Dawley males) model of anhedonia and to unravel the interplay between lurasidone and the brain regions critical for reward processing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurobiol Stress
January 2025
Stanford University, Department of Psychology, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
Researchers have documented that exposure to different kinds of psychosocial stressors can lead to emotional difficulties and, further, that heightened reactivity to stress can moderate these associations. Recently, investigators have distinguished among threat, deprivation, and unpredictability as different dimensions of early life stress (ELS). It is not clear, however, whether reactivity in specific stress response systems functions as a diathesis to lead to emotional difficulties following exposure to these dimensions of ELS.
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