Andreano Joseph M, Dickerson Bradford C, Barrett Lisa Feldman
Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129 and Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129 and Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2014 Sep;9(9):1388-94. doi: 10.1093/scan/nst127. Epub 2013 Sep 12.
Previous studies have indicated that men and women have different amygdala responses to novel (vs familiar) and valenced (positive vs negative) material. It is not known, however, whether these affective sex differences are related. In this study, we tested whether women have more persistent amygdala responses to familiar, negative material than men do. During fMRI, male and female participants viewed evocative images that varied in novelty and valence. Women and men showed equivalent responses to novel negative material, but women showed a sustained amygdala response to familiar negative material relative to men, indicating that women's amygdala responses were more persistent over multiple repetitions of negative material. Individuals with more persistent amygdala responses also reported greater levels of negative effect. These findings have implications for sex differences in the incidence of affective disorders.
先前的研究表明，男性和女性的杏仁核对于新奇（相对于熟悉）和有情感效价（积极相对于消极）的材料有不同的反应。然而，尚不清楚这些情感方面的性别差异是否相关。在本研究中，我们测试了女性对熟悉的负面材料是否比男性有更持久的杏仁核反应。在功能磁共振成像（fMRI）过程中，男性和女性参与者观看了在新奇性和情感效价方面有所不同的引发情绪的图像。女性和男性对新奇的负面材料表现出相同的反应，但相对于男性，女性对熟悉的负面材料表现出持续的杏仁核反应，这表明在多次重复负面材料时，女性的杏仁核反应更持久。杏仁核反应更持久的个体也报告了更高水平的负面影响。这些发现对情感障碍发病率的性别差异具有启示意义。
