Romero-Martínez Ángel, Sarrate-Costa Carolina, Moya-Albiol Luis
Department of Psychobiology, University of Valencia, Avenida Blasco Ibañez, 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
Biology (Basel). 2021 Dec 15;10(12):1334. doi: 10.3390/biology10121334.
A topic of interest is the way decoding and interpreting facial emotional expressions can lead to mutual understanding. Facial emotional expression is a basic source of information that guarantees the functioning of other higher cognitive processes (e.g., empathy, cooperativity, prosociality, or decision-making, among others). In this regard, hormones such as oxytocin, cortisol, and/or testosterone have been found to be important in modifying facial emotion processing. In fact, brain structures that participate in facial emotion processing have been shown to be rich in receptors for these hormones. Nonetheless, much of this research has been based on correlational designs. In recent years, a growing number of researchers have tried to carry out controlled laboratory manipulation of these hormones by administering synthetic forms of these hormones. The main objective of this study was to carry out a systematic review of studies that assess whether manipulation of these three hormones effectively promotes significant alterations in facial emotional processing. To carry out this review, PRISMA quality criteria for reviews were followed, using the following digital databases: PsycINFO, PubMed, Dialnet, Psicodoc, Web of Knowledge, and the Cochrane Library, and focusing on manuscripts with a robust research design (e.g., randomized, single- or double-blind, and/or placebo-controlled) to increase the value of this systematic review. An initial identification of 6340 abstracts and retrieval of 910 full texts led to the final inclusion of 101 papers that met all the inclusion criteria. Only about 18% of the manuscripts included reported a direct effect of hormone manipulation. In fact, emotional accuracy seemed to be enhanced after oxytocin increases, but it diminished when cortisol and/or testosterone increased. Nonetheless, when emotional valence and participants' gender were included, hormonal manipulation reached significance (in around 53% of the articles). In fact, these studies offered a heterogeneous pattern in the way these hormones altered speed processing, attention, and memory. This study reinforces the idea that these hormones are important, but not the main modulators of facial emotion processing. As our comprehension of hormonal effects on emotional processing improves, the potential to design good treatments to improve this ability will be greater.
一个有趣的话题是解码和解读面部情绪表达如何能够促成相互理解。面部情绪表达是一种基本的信息来源，它保障了其他更高层次认知过程（如共情、合作性、亲社会性或决策等）的运作。在这方面，已发现诸如催产素、皮质醇和/或睾酮等激素在改变面部情绪处理方面很重要。事实上，参与面部情绪处理的脑结构已被证明富含这些激素的受体。然而，这项研究大多基于相关性设计。近年来，越来越多的研究人员试图通过施用这些激素的合成形式来对这些激素进行可控的实验室操作。本研究的主要目的是对评估这三种激素的操作是否能有效促进面部情绪处理的显著改变的研究进行系统综述。为了进行这项综述，遵循了综述的PRISMA质量标准，使用了以下数字数据库：心理学文摘数据库（PsycINFO）、医学期刊数据库（PubMed）、西班牙学术期刊数据库（Dialnet）、心理学文献数据库（Psicodoc）、科学引文索引数据库（Web of Knowledge）和考科蓝图书馆（Cochrane Library），并专注于具有稳健研究设计（如随机、单盲或双盲和/或安慰剂对照）的手稿，以提高这项系统综述的价值。初步识别出6340篇摘要并检索到910篇全文，最终纳入了101篇符合所有纳入标准的论文。纳入的手稿中只有约18%报告了激素操作的直接效果。事实上，催产素增加后情绪准确性似乎增强，但皮质醇和/或睾酮增加时情绪准确性则降低。然而，当纳入情绪效价和参与者性别时，激素操作具有显著性（在约53%的文章中）。事实上，这些研究在这些激素改变速度处理、注意力和记忆的方式上呈现出一种异质性模式。这项研究强化了这样一种观点，即这些激素很重要，但不是面部情绪处理的主要调节因素。随着我们对激素对情绪处理影响的理解不断提高，设计出改善这种能力的良好治疗方法的潜力将会更大。
