Department of Psychology, Universität Osnabrück, Seminarstrasse 20, 49069 Osnabrück, Germany.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2012 Feb;7(2):193-8. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsq106. Epub 2011 Jan 25.
A considerable body of evidence derived from terror management theory indicates that the awareness of mortality represents a potent psychological threat engendering various forms of psychological defense. However, extant research has yet to examine the neurological correlates of cognitions about one's inevitable death. The present study thus investigated in 17 male participants patterns of neural activation elicited by mortality threat. To induce mortality threat, participants answered questions arranged in trial blocks that referred to fear of death and dying. In the control condition participants answered questions about fear of dental pain. Neural responses to mortality threat were greater than to pain threat in right amygdala, left rostral anterior cingulate cortex, and right caudate nucleus. We discuss implications of these findings for stimulating further research into the neurological correlates of managing existential fear.
大量来自死亡管理理论的证据表明，对死亡的意识代表着一种强大的心理威胁，引发了各种形式的心理防御。然而，现有研究尚未探讨对不可避免的死亡的认知的神经相关物。因此，本研究在 17 名男性参与者中调查了由死亡威胁引起的神经激活模式。为了引发死亡威胁，参与者在试验块中回答问题，这些问题涉及对死亡和死亡的恐惧。在对照条件下，参与者回答了关于对牙痛恐惧的问题。对死亡威胁的神经反应大于对疼痛威胁的神经反应，表现在右杏仁核、左额前扣带回皮质和右尾状核。我们讨论了这些发现对激发进一步研究管理存在恐惧的神经相关物的意义。
