Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Voßstr. 2, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2012 Apr;37(4):475-81. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.07.015. Epub 2011 Sep 19.
Previous studies have shown that oxytocin improves the encoding and recognition of facial expressions, which has been proposed to be mediated by an increased exploration of the eye region during face processing. In the present study, we used eye tracking to assess visual attention to the eye region while participants performed a dynamic facial emotion recognition task. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled between-subjects design participants received 24 IU intranasal oxytocin (n = 23) or a placebo (n = 24). Although oxytocin administration had no effect on participants' visual scanning of emotional faces, it generally enhanced recognition performance, as the oxytocin group recognized emotional expressions at lower intensity levels. These findings suggest that oxytocin-induced improvement of facial emotion recognition is independent of modulations in overt visual attention.
先前的研究表明，催产素可改善面部表情的编码和识别，这被认为是通过在面部处理过程中增加对眼部区域的探索来介导的。在本研究中，我们使用眼动追踪技术评估了参与者在进行动态面部情绪识别任务时对眼部区域的视觉注意力。在一项双盲、安慰剂对照的被试间设计中，参与者接受了 24IU 鼻内催产素（n=23）或安慰剂（n=24）的治疗。尽管催产素给药对参与者对情绪面孔的视觉扫描没有影响，但它通常会增强识别性能，因为催产素组在较低的强度水平上识别出情绪表达。这些发现表明，催产素诱导的面部情绪识别改善与明显的视觉注意力调节无关。
