Pizarro-Campagna Elizabeth, Terrett Gill, Jovev Martina, Rendell Peter G, Henry Julie D, Chanen Andrew M
Cognition and Emotion Research Centre, School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia.
Cognition and Emotion Research Centre, School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia.
J Affect Disord. 2020 Apr 1;266:14-21. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.01.097. Epub 2020 Jan 21.
Empathy is a complex and multifaceted construct comprising cognitive and affective components. Abnormal empathic responses are implicated in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Specifically, unconscious motor mimicry (a primitive component of affective empathy evident from infancy) is theorized to be heightened and to contribute to the heightened emotional contagion often seen in people with BPD. Yet, no study has directly tested whether abnormally heightened unconscious motor mimicry is associated with BPD features or whether this is present early in the course of BPD.
In the present study, facial electromyography was used to assess the rapid facial mimicry responses (a form of unconscious motor mimetic responding) of 32 outpatient youths (aged 15-25 years) with early stage BPD features and 47 demographically matched healthy control participants (HC).
The results showed no group differences in rapid facial mimetic responses to either positive (happy) or negative (angry) facial emotions.
Co-occurring psychopathology and the potential impact of state affect on rapid facial mimicry were considered and discussed.
These data indicate that there is no evidence for abnormally heightened rapid motor mimicry in youth early in the course of BPD, suggesting that rapid facial mimicry is preserved in this group. It is thus unlikely that abnormally heightened unconscious simulation contributes to heightened emotional contagion in youth with first presentation BPD. Future research should explore alternative mechanisms for this phenomenon and also whether abnormalities in motor mimetic responses are evident in later stages of the disorder.
共情是一个复杂且多维度的概念，包含认知和情感成分。异常的共情反应与边缘型人格障碍（BPD）有关。具体而言，无意识的运动模仿（情感共情的一种原始成分，从婴儿期就很明显）被认为会增强，并导致BPD患者中常见的情绪感染增强。然而，尚无研究直接测试异常增强的无意识运动模仿是否与BPD特征相关，或者这种现象是否在BPD病程早期就存在。
在本研究中，面部肌电图被用于评估32名具有早期BPD特征的门诊青少年（年龄在15 - 25岁之间）和47名人口统计学匹配的健康对照参与者（HC）的快速面部模仿反应（无意识运动模仿反应的一种形式）。
结果显示，对正面（快乐）或负面（愤怒）面部情绪的快速面部模仿反应在两组之间没有差异。
考虑并讨论了共病的精神病理学以及状态影响对快速面部模仿反应的潜在影响。
这些数据表明，在BPD病程早期的青少年中，没有证据表明存在异常增强的快速运动模仿，这表明该组中快速面部模仿功能保留。因此，异常增强的无意识模仿不太可能导致首次出现BPD的青少年情绪感染增强。未来的研究应该探索这一现象的其他机制，以及运动模仿反应异常在该疾病后期是否明显。
