Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion regulation, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
PLoS One. 2018 Sep 24;13(9):e0204556. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204556. eCollection 2018.
Anhedonia (loss of pleasure) is characterized by low responsiveness to rewards and, by virtue of being one of the two core symptoms of depression, by altered responses to stress. We investigated the effect of an acute stress experience (i.e., a tandem skydive) that was expected to elicit both intense fear and intense euphoria in a sample of anhedonic young adults.
(1) To examine individual differences in alpha-amylase reactivity to and recovery from a tandem skydive in anhedonic young adults; (2) to investigate whether trait depressive and anxiety problems, trait positive affect (PA), i.e., level of pleasure and reward responsiveness, and state anxiety, PA and self-esteem prior to the skydive were associated with alpha-amylase reactivity and recovery patterns; (3) to investigate whether alpha-amylase reactivity and recovery patterns were associated with pre- to post-jump changes in state anxiety, PA, and self-esteem.
Participants were 61 individuals with persistent anhedonia (Mage = 21.38, 78.7% female), who filled out a baseline questionnaire at the start of the study, and momentary questionnaires (3 times per day) before and after the tandem skydive. Alpha-amylase was measured at four time points by means of salivettes (2 before and 2 after the skydive).
Alpha-amylase reactivity and recovery patterns were highly similar across individuals, although mean levels varied greatly. No associations were found between any of the trait and state measures and reactivity and recovery. Only state self-esteem was affected by the reactivity and recovery patterns, in that individuals who showed high reactivity and low recovery experienced decreases in self-esteem after the skydive.
Alpha-amylase patterns following a tandem skydive in anhedonic individuals are highly similar to patterns previously found in healthy individuals. Although replication is warranted, our findings tentatively suggest that a strong stress response that cannot be downregulated well predicts a decrease in self-esteem.
快感缺失（失去愉悦感）的特点是对奖励的反应迟钝，而且作为抑郁的两个核心症状之一，对压力的反应也发生了改变。我们研究了急性应激体验（即双人跳伞）对快感缺失的年轻成年人样本的影响，预计这种体验会引起强烈的恐惧和强烈的欣快。
（1）研究快感缺失的年轻成年人在双人跳伞中对淀粉酶反应性的个体差异，以及从跳伞中恢复的情况；（2）探讨特质性抑郁和焦虑问题、特质性积极情绪（PA），即愉悦和奖励反应水平，以及跳伞前的状态焦虑、PA 和自尊，与淀粉酶反应性和恢复模式的关系；（3）探讨淀粉酶反应性和恢复模式是否与跳伞前后状态焦虑、PA 和自尊的变化有关。
参与者为 61 名持续快感缺失的个体（Mage=21.38，78.7%为女性），在研究开始时填写基线问卷，并在双人跳伞前和后进行了三次每日的即时问卷调查。通过唾液采样管（跳伞前 2 次，跳伞后 2 次）测量了 4 个时间点的淀粉酶。
尽管个体之间的平均水平差异很大，但淀粉酶的反应性和恢复模式非常相似。在反应性和恢复方面，没有发现任何特质和状态测量值之间的关联。只有状态自尊受到反应性和恢复模式的影响，即表现出高反应性和低恢复性的个体在跳伞后自尊降低。
在快感缺失的个体中，双人跳伞后的淀粉酶模式与以前在健康个体中发现的模式非常相似。虽然需要进一步验证，但我们的发现初步表明，强烈的应激反应不能很好地被下调，这预示着自尊的下降。
