Positive emotional reactions to loved names.

Studies concerning personal attachment have successfully used loved familiar faces to prompt positive affective and physiological reactions. Moreover, the processing of emotional words shows similar physiological patterns to those found with affective pictures. The objective of this study was to assess whether the passive viewing of loved names would produce a pattern of subjective and physiological reactivity similar to that produced by the passive viewing of loved faces. The results showed that, compared to neutral (unknown) and famous names, loved names produced a biphasic pattern of heart rate deceleration-acceleration, heightened skin conductance and zygomaticus muscle activity, inhibition of corrugator muscle activity, and potentiation of the startle reflex response. This pattern of physiological responses was accompanied by subjective reports of higher positive affect and arousal for loved names than for neutral and famous ones. These findings highlight not only the similarity but also the differences between the affective processing of identity recognition by loved faces and names.

Heart rate and P300: Integrating peripheral and central indices of cognitive processing.

To assess the integration of peripheral (heart rate, HR) and central (event-related potential, P300) measures of cognition, the present study varied inter-stimulus presentation time (ISI) and employed comparable data reduction methods for the HR and ERP data. Young adults (n=33) performed an auditory oddball count task in which the ISI was varied (short vs. long, to maximize target detection for both measures) and task condition (single stimulus, short-ISI oddball, long-ISI oddball, to assay stimulus presentation condition between HR and P300). The off-line cardiotachometer method parallels signal averaging and was applied to HR data reduction. The main goal was to characterize target vs. standard processing in each measurement type using appropriate recording approaches with respect to differentiating the two stimuli in each task (target vs. silence, target vs. standard short-ISI, target vs. standard long-ISI). Results demonstrated reliable differences between target/standard stimuli for both the biphasic HR (deceleration/acceleration) signal and for P300 amplitude production, with larger amplitudes for target than standard. The short and long ISIs yielded no reliable initial HR deceleration differences, but the late acceleration was observed for the long-ISI condition only. Correlational analysis between HR and P300 measures indicated that people with smaller HR deceleration had larger P300 amplitude suggesting that the larger target/standard differences for HR deceleration and P300 amplitude, observed at an experimental level, are reversed at an individual level. The contributions of simultaneously recording HR and P300 to characterize cognition and theoretical implications are discussed.

Viewing loved faces inhibits defense reactions: a health-promotion mechanism?

We have known for decades that social support is associated with positive health outcomes. And yet, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying this association remain poorly understood. The link between social support and positive health outcomes is likely to depend on the neurophysiological regulatory mechanisms underlying reward and defensive reactions. The present study examines the hypothesis that emotional social support (love) provides safety cues that activate the appetitive reward system and simultaneously inhibit defense reactions. Using the startle probe paradigm, 54 undergraduate students (24 men) viewed black and white photographs of loved (romantic partner, father, mother, and best friend), neutral (unknown), and unpleasant (mutilated) faces. Eye-blink startle, zygomatic major activity, heart rate, and skin conductance responses to the faces, together with subjective ratings of valence, arousal, and dominance, were obtained. Viewing loved faces induced a marked inhibition of the eye-blink startle response accompanied by a pattern of zygomatic, heart rate, skin conductance, and subjective changes indicative of an intense positive emotional response. Effects were similar for men and women, but the startle inhibition and the zygomatic response were larger in female participants. A comparison between the faces of the romantic partner and the parent who shares the partner's gender further suggests that this effect is not attributable to familiarity or arousal. We conclude that this inhibitory capacity may contribute to the health benefits associated with social support.