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Citation |
Wilhelm FH, Rattel JA, Wegerer M, Liedlgruber M, Schweighofer S, Kreibig SD, Kolodyazhniy V, Blechert J. Biol. Psychol. 2017; 130: 30-40. |
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Affiliation |
Clinical Stress & Emotion Lab, Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
29054817 |
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Abstract |
Sex differences in emotional reactivity have been studied primarily for negative but less so for positive stimuli; likewise, sex differences in the psychophysiological response-patterning during such stimuli are poorly understood. Thus, the present study examined sex differences in response to negative/positive and high/low arousing films (classified as threat-, loss-, achievement-, and recreation-related, vs. neutral films), while measuring 18 muscular, autonomic, and respiratory parameters. Sex differences emerged for all films, but were most prominent for threat-related films: Despite equivalent valence and arousal ratings, women displayed more facial-muscular and respiratory responding than men and pronounced sympathetic activation (preejection period, other cardiovascular and electrodermal measures), while men showed coactivated sympathetic/parasympathetic responding (including increased respiratory sinus arrhythmia). This indicates a prototypical threat-related defense response in women, while men showed a pattern of sustained orienting, which can be understood as a shift toward less threat proximity in the defense cascade model. Language: en |
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Keywords |
affective neuroscience; anxiety disorder; autonomic nervous system; cardiovascular system; circumplex model; defense cascade; electrodermal system; emotion; fear; gender differences; heart rate variability; impedance cardiography; mental stress; parasympathetic nervous system; pre-ejection period; psychophysiology; respiration; respiratory sinus arrhythmia; sympathetic nervous system |