Mechanisms supporting the social regulation of neural threat responding with marital partners: A test of the opioid hypothesis
| Autor: | Lane Beckes, Sara E. Medina‐DeVilliers, Erik W. Gunderson, James A. Coan |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Cognitive Neuroscience General Neuroscience Emotions Experimental and Cognitive Psychology Magnetic Resonance Imaging Naltrexone Analgesics Opioid Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology Developmental Neuroscience Neurology Double-Blind Method Humans Biological Psychiatry |
| Zdroj: | PsychophysiologyREFERENCES. 59(10) |
| ISSN: | 1540-5958 |
| Popis: | Positive social contact predicts better health, but the mechanisms for this association remain debated. One way to explore this link is through the social regulation of emotion, particularly anticipatory anxiety. Previous research finds less neural threat response during partner handholding than when people are alone or stranger handholding. Various mechanistic accounts have been forwarded, including the hypothesis that this effect is mediated by endogenous opioid activity. This experiment critically tested the opioid hypothesis in 60 married participants and their partners. The study used a naltrexone opioid blockade in a double-blind placebo control with functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine whether endogenous opioids were necessary for handholding effects. Regulatory effects of supportive handholding manifested in threat network regions during opioid blockade, but not with placebo. Despite a surprising lack of effect in the placebo group, the overall study findings provide initial evidence that endogenous opioids may not be necessary for the social regulation of neural threat responding. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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