Colonnello Valentina, Domes Gregor, Heinrichs Markus
Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.
Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2016 Jun;68:69-73. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.02.015. Epub 2016 Feb 24.
Time perception depends on an event's emotional relevance to the beholder; a subjective time dilation effect is associated with self-relevant, emotionally salient stimuli. Previous studies have revealed that oxytocin modulates the salience of social stimuli and attention to social cues. However, whether the oxytocin system is involved in human subjective time perception is unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether increased oxytocin levels would induce a time dilation effect for self-relevant, positive social cues. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-subject design, heterosexual men were administered intranasal oxytocin or placebo. After about 50min, participants completed a time-bisection task in which they estimated lengths of exposure to happy female faces (self-relevant positive stimuli, based on sexual orientation), emotionally neutral and negative female faces (control), and happy, neutral, and negative male faces (control). Oxytocin induced a subjective time dilation effect for happy female faces and a time compression effect for happy male faces. Our results provide evidence that oxytocin influences time perception, a primary form of human subjectivity.
时间感知取决于事件与观察者的情感关联；主观时间膨胀效应与自我相关的、情感突出的刺激有关。先前的研究表明，催产素会调节社会刺激的显著性以及对社会线索的注意力。然而，催产素系统是否参与人类主观时间感知尚不清楚。本研究的目的是调查催产素水平升高是否会对自我相关的积极社会线索产生时间膨胀效应。在一项双盲、安慰剂对照、受试者间设计中，给异性恋男性鼻内注射催产素或安慰剂。约50分钟后，参与者完成一项时间二等分任务，在该任务中，他们估计观看快乐女性面孔（基于性取向的自我相关积极刺激）、情感中性和负面女性面孔（对照）以及快乐、中性和负面男性面孔（对照）的时长。催产素对快乐女性面孔产生了主观时间膨胀效应，对快乐男性面孔产生了时间压缩效应。我们的结果提供了证据，证明催产素会影响时间感知，这是人类主观性的一种主要形式。
