Associations among Financial Well-Being, Daily Relationship Tension, and Daily Affect in Two Adult Cohorts Separated by the Great Recession.

Financial well-being may be an important context for daily emotional reactivity to relationship tension (e.g., arguments) whose salience varies across historical time or as a function of exposure to economic downturns. This study investigated how emotional reactivity, operationalized as daily fluctuations in negative and positive affect associated with the occurrence of daily relationship tension, varied by financial well-being among those who were and were not exposed to the Great Recession of 2008. Two matched, independent subsamples of partnered individuals from the National Study of Daily Experiences completed identical 8-day diary protocols, one before the Great Recession (n = 587) and one after (n = 351). Individuals reported higher negative affect and lower positive affect on days when relationship tension occurred. Further, results indicated that negative affect reactivity, but not positive affect reactivity, was moderated by both financial well-being and cohort status. For the pre-recession cohort, negative affect reactivity was stronger among those with lower financial well-being. However, among the post-recession cohort, financial well-being did not moderate negative affect reactivity to relationship tension. Findings highlight the utility of considering major societal events, such as economic downturns, to understand variability in emotional reactivity to day-to-day relationship tension in the context of financial well-being, as the salience of financial well-being in the ways relationship tension and negative affect are related on a daily basis appears to vary by historical context.

Size, skull shape and age influence the temperament of domestic dogs.

Studies have investigated the relationship between dogs' morphological characteristics and behavioural dimensions, but little is discussed about this relationship in the context of dogs' responses to emotion eliciting stimuli and temperament. Based on the assumption that the developmental trajectory of behaviour and emotion processing is impacted by the interaction between organisms and environment, we analysed whether dogs' characteristics - that determine how they perceive and interact with their surroundings - affect temperament profiles. We looked at size, height, weight, skull morphology, age, sex, reproductive status, and breed of a sample of Brazilian domestic dogs' and their temperament (measured as Positive and Negative Activation), obtained via the PANAS questionnaire for dogs. We tested possible main effects and first-order interactions in linear mixed models. Younger dogs showed higher positive activation (i.e. sensitivity to positive stimuli; play and treats). For short snouted dogs, the older the dog, less was the negative activation (i.e. sensitivity to negative stimuli; punishment). And for long snouted dogs, larger dogs showed lower negative activation. Weight alone also showed an effect, with heavier dogs having less sensitivity to negative stimuli. Overall, our study demonstrated how morphology and age are important factors that influence temperament expression and emotional reactivity in dogs.

The prefrontal cortex conscious and unconscious response to social/emotional facial expressions involve sex, hemispheric laterality, and selective activation of the central cardiac modulation.

The human prefrontal cortex (PFC) processes complex sensory information for the elaboration of social behaviors. The non-invasive neuroimaging technique near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) identifies hemodynamic changes and concentration of oxygenated (HbO2) and deoxygenated (HHb) hemoglobin in the cerebral cortex. We studied the responses detected by NIRS in the right and left PFC activation of 28 participants (n = 14 adult young females and males) while processing social/emotional facial expressions, i.e., in conscious perception of different expressions (neutral, happy, sad, angry, disgust, and fearful) and in unconscious/masked perception of negative expressions (fearful and disgust overlapped by neutral). The power spectral analysis from concomitant ECG signals revealed the sympathetic and parasympathetic modulation of cardiac responses. We found higher HbO2 values in the right PFC of females than in males during, and in the left PFC after, following the conscious perception of the happy face. In males, the left PFC increased and the right PFC decreased HbO2 while viewing the happy expression. In both sexes, HHb values were higher during the masked presentation of disgust than fearful expression, and after the masked presentation of fearful expression than during it. Higher sympathetic and lower parasympathetic activity (LF/ HF components) occurred in females when consciously and unconsciously processing negative emotions (p < 0.05 in all cases). These results demonstrate that the human PFC displays a selective activation depending on sex, hemispheric laterality, attention, time for responding to conscious and unconscious emotionally loaded stimuli with simulataneous centrally modulated cardiovascular responses.

Spatial distance and reactivity traits alter the positive perception of brushing by ewes.

Gentle handling seems to elicit positive states in sheep. The study investigated whether spatial distance alters sheep responses to brushing and whether spatial distance is influenced by reactivity. Twenty Romane ewes were assessed in three sessions: in Sessions 1 and 3, one grid separated the test animal from pen mates, with no distance between them, and in Session 2 two grids separated the test animal from pen mates by a distance of about 1.7 m. Ewes had been genetically selected for low (R-) or high (R+) behavioural reactivity to social isolation. Body postures, head orientation, ear postures, closed and half-closed eyes, tail wagging and feeding behaviour, in addition to heart rate (HR) and HR variability, as the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), standard deviation of all normal-to-normal (NN) intervals (SDNN), RMSSD/SDNN ratio and ratio between low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) powers (LF/HF) were assessed. Data were analysed using generalized linear models and linear mixed models. Session, genetic line and phase (pre-, brushing and post-brushing) were considered fixed effects. Increased distance in Session 2 might not have influenced ewes' responses. Fewer changes in ear postures were noted in Session 3 than 1 (P<0.01), suggesting that ewes were more relaxed in Session 3. The RMSSD/SDNN ratio was higher mainly during brushing in Sessions 1 and 3 (P<0.05), indicating that ewes were more relaxed during brushing, and at no distance between pen mates. However, spatial distance influenced R- and R+ ewes' responses; R+ ewes performed more asymmetric ear postures in Session 2 than 1 and 3 (P<0.01), and in Session 3 than 1 (P<0.01), indicating that spatial distance had a negative effect on R+ ewes. Low reactive ewes spent less time on horizontal ear postures in Session 2 than 1 and 3 (P<0.01), and R+ ewes spent more time on horizontal postures in Session 1 than 3 (P<0.01). Curiously, R- ewes spent more time eating and ruminating in Session 3 than 1 (P<0.01), and in Session 2 than 1 and 3 (P<0.01), whereas R+ ewes ate and ruminated more in Session 1 than 3 (P<0.05). Higher HR was found among R- ewes in Session 2 than 1 and 3, and in Session 3 than 1 (P<0.01). High reactive ewes showed higher HR in Session 1 than 3 (P<0.01). The findings suggest that the social context might influence sheep responses to gentle handling, and the effects depend on their reactivity traits.

Self-compassion is associated with less stress and depression and greater attention and brain response to affective stimuli in women managers.

BACKGROUND: Women have been assuming more responsibilities and higher positions in major companies, which exposes them to high levels of stress. Higher perceived work stress is related to higher emotional reactivity. Difficulties with emotional regulation can lead to anxiety and mood disorders, which are more prevalent in women than men. Indeed, women leaders are more likely to experience emotional fatigue than men due to excessive empathy. Our aim was to evaluate the associations between self-compassion (SC) scores to depression symptoms, perceived stress and mindfulness, as well as with brain responses to high-arousal unpleasant and pleasant pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), as measured through functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in women managers. METHODS: Forty-six participants were selected for the study. All participants filled the Self Compassion Scale (SCS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Mindful Awareness Attention Scale (MAAS) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). After that they were scanned during an fMRI affective response paradigm. Correlation analysis were performed among these variables. RESULTS: Our data suggest that women with higher SC scores respond to affective stimuli with higher activation of the precuneus (a brain region related to self-referential processing), lower levels of stress and depression and show greater attention in everyday activities. CONCLUSION: SC may be an important characteristic for women leaders because of its association with higher sensitivity to emotional stimuli and mindfulness. These skills may allow them to be more aware of others while being less susceptible for stress and depression symptoms.

Does Meditation Alter Brain Responses to Negative Stimuli? A Systematic Review.

Background: Despite several attempts to review and explain how meditation alters the brain and facilitates emotion regulation, the extent to which meditation and emotion regulation strategies share the same neural mechanisms remains unclear. Objective: We aim to understand the influence of meditation on the neural processing of negative emotional stimuli in participants who underwent meditation interventions (naive meditators) and long-term meditators. Methodology: A systematic review was conducted using standardized search operators that included the presence of terms related to emotion, meditation and neuro-imaging techniques in PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Results: Searches identified 882 papers, of which 11 were eligible for inclusion. Results showed a predominance of greater prefrontal/frontal activity related to meditation, which might indicate the increased recruitment of cognitive/attentional control resources in naïve and long-term meditators. This increased frontal activity was also observed when participants were asked to simply react to negative stimuli. Findings from emotion-related areas were scarce but suggested increased insular activity in meditators, potentially indicating that meditation might be associated with greater bodily awareness. Conclusions: Meditation practice prompts regulatory mechanisms when participants face aversive stimuli, even without an explicit request. Moreover, some studies reported increased insular activity in meditators, consistent with the hypothesis that meditation helps foster an interoceptive awareness of bodily and emotional states.

Analysis of Behavioural Profile of Hens with the Use of Computer Software

The aim of the study was to evaluate the emotional reactivity of hens with the use of physical parameters such as movement velocity and position of the selected parts of the body analysed by computer software - Tracker®. 200 Rhode Island White hens kept individually in a laying hen breeding farm were used in the study. The analysis of hens behaviour was performed with the use of Novel Object Test. Afterwards the video clips were analysed to determine behavioural reactivity with the use of Tracker® software by analysis of two control points: the upper part of the head and the peak of the tail. The results suggest that it is possible to use Tracker® software for evaluation of hens behavioural profile and this sort of analysis enables to classify hens to the groups of timid or curious/courageous birds based on the parameters of movement velocity of the upper part of the head and the peak of the tail and on the basis of the ratio between the position of the head and the tail.

Analysis of Behavioural Profile of Hens with the Use of Computer Software

The aim of the study was to evaluate the emotional reactivity of hens with the use of physical parameters such as movement velocity and position of the selected parts of the body analysed by computer software - Tracker®. 200 Rhode Island White hens kept individually in a laying hen breeding farm were used in the study. The analysis of hens behaviour was performed with the use of Novel Object Test. Afterwards the video clips were analysed to determine behavioural reactivity with the use of Tracker® software by analysis of two control points: the upper part of the head and the peak of the tail. The results suggest that it is possible to use Tracker® software for evaluation of hens behavioural profile and this sort of analysis enables to classify hens to the groups of timid or curious/courageous birds based on the parameters of movement velocity of the upper part of the head and the peak of the tail and on the basis of the ratio between the position of the head and the tail.(AU)

Analysis of Behavioural Profile of Hens with the Use of Computer Software

ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to evaluate the emotional reactivity of hens with the use of physical parameters such as movement velocity and position of the selected parts of the body analysed by computer software - Tracker®. 200 Rhode Island White hens kept individually in a laying hen breeding farm were used in the study. The analysis of hens behaviour was performed with the use of Novel Object Test. Afterwards the video clips were analysed to determine behavioural reactivity with the use of Tracker® software by analysis of two control points: the upper part of the head and the peak of the tail. The results suggest that it is possible to use Tracker® software for evaluation of hens behavioural profile and this sort of analysis enables to classify hens to the groups of timid or curious/courageous birds based on the parameters of movement velocity of the upper part of the head and the peak of the tail and on the basis of the ratio between the position of the head and the tail.

Emotion Reactivity and Cerebrovascular Burden in Late-Life GAD: A Neuroimaging Study.

OBJECTIVE: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in older adults is associated with persistent deficits in emotion reactivity (ER) and regulation, yet the neural basis of these deficits has not been explored. This study focuses on the neural basis of ER deficits in late-life GAD and the association with cerebrovascular burden. METHODS: Twenty elderly nonanxious participants and 17 late-life GAD participants were included. The faces-shapes functional magnetic resonance imaging task was used to assess ER; the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire to measure global anxiety and worry, respectively; linear regression models to examine the association between ER and global anxiety severity and between ER and worry severity; and mediation analysis to explore the effect of ER on the relationship between global anxiety/worry severity and cerebrovascular burden. RESULTS: A positive association was found between ER and global anxiety in the left parahippocampus, left and right precuneus, and right superior occipital gyrus. A negative association was found between ER and worry severity in the left and right precuneus. The association between cerebrovascular burden and anxiety/worry severity was indirectly mediated by increased ER in limbic and paralimbic areas and by decreased ER in prefrontal regulatory regions. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that ER is associated with different neural activation patterns for worry and global anxiety and that ER-related functional connectivity indirectly mediates the relationship between cerebrovascular burden and late-life GAD. This latter result supports a yet-unexplored cerebrovascular pathway involved in the pathophysiology of late-life anxiety.