Henderson Robert R, Bradley Margaret M, Lang Peter J
Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
Psychophysiology. 2014 Sep;51(9):815-8. doi: 10.1111/psyp.12236. Epub 2014 May 22.
An initial reflexive constriction of the pupil to stimulation-the light reflex-is primarily modulated by brightness, but is attenuated when participants are under threat of shock (i.e., fear-inhibited light reflex). The present study assessed whether the light reflex is similarly attenuated when viewing emotional pictures. Pupil diameter was recorded while participants viewed erotic, violent, and neutral scenes that were matched in brightness; scrambled versions identical in brightness were also presented as an additional control. Compared to viewing neutral scenes, the light reflex was reliably modulated by hedonic content, with significant attenuation both when viewing unpleasant as well as pleasant pictures. No differences in the light reflex were found among scrambled versions. Thus, emotional modulation of the initial light reflex is not confined to a context of fear and is not indicative of brightness differences when viewing pictures of natural scenes.
瞳孔对刺激的初始反射性收缩——光反射——主要受亮度调节，但当参与者面临休克威胁时（即恐惧抑制光反射）会减弱。本研究评估了在观看情绪图片时，光反射是否同样会减弱。在参与者观看亮度匹配的色情、暴力和中性场景时记录瞳孔直径；还呈现了亮度相同的打乱版本作为额外对照。与观看中性场景相比，光反射可靠地受到享乐内容的调节，在观看不愉快和愉快图片时均有显著减弱。在打乱版本之间未发现光反射的差异。因此，初始光反射的情绪调节并不局限于恐惧情境，且在观看自然场景图片时并非由亮度差异所致。
