Matsunaga Masahiro, Isowa Tokiko, Yamakawa Kaori, Tsuboi Hirohito, Kawanishi Yoko, Kaneko Hiroshi, Kasugai Kunio, Yoneda Masashi, Ohira Hideki
Department of Cerebral Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Aichi, Japan.
Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2011;32(4):458-63.
The idea that perceived happiness may be associated with health and well-being is a recent topic of focus. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the positive effects of happiness on psychological and physiological wellness remain obscure. In this study, we attempted to clarify the association between systemic inflammation and happiness.
We recruited 160 healthy volunteers for experiment 1 and compared peripheral inflammatory markers, namely the concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the serum, between perceived high-happiness and low-happiness groups. Subsequently, we recruited 7 romantic couples for experiment 2 and investigated changes in peripheral pro-inflammatory cytokine levels after the evocation of happiness, which was induced by warm physical contact with the partner.
We found that circulating levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), which can affect brain functions and induce depressive symptoms, were lower in the high-happiness group than in the low-happiness group. A negative correlation between the levels of perceived happiness and IFN-γ concentrations was also observed. Furthermore, we also found that experimentally induced happiness could reduce peripheral IFN-γ levels.
These results revealed an association between the perception of happiness and systemic inflammation. Increased happiness may suppress the peripheral circulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines.
感知到的幸福可能与健康和幸福相关这一观点是近期的关注焦点。然而，幸福对心理和生理健康产生积极影响的神经生物学机制仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们试图阐明全身炎症与幸福之间的关联。
我们招募了160名健康志愿者参与实验1，比较了高幸福感组和低幸福感组的外周炎症标志物，即血清中促炎细胞因子的浓度。随后，我们招募了7对浪漫情侣参与实验2，研究了与伴侣进行温暖身体接触诱发幸福后外周促炎细胞因子水平的变化。
我们发现，能够影响脑功能并诱发抑郁症状的γ-干扰素（IFN-γ）的循环水平在高幸福感组中低于低幸福感组。还观察到感知幸福水平与IFN-γ浓度之间存在负相关。此外，我们还发现实验诱发的幸福可以降低外周IFN-γ水平。
这些结果揭示了幸福感知与全身炎症之间的关联。幸福感增加可能会抑制促炎细胞因子的外周循环。
