Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.
Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Psychophysiology. 2022 Jun;59(6):e13997. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13997. Epub 2022 Mar 4.
Humans have evolved to seek the proximity of attachment figures during times of threat in order to obtain a sense of safety. In this context, we examined whether or not the voice of an intimate partner (termed "attachment voice") could reduce fear-learning of conditioned stimuli (CS+) and enhance learning of safety signals (CS-). Although the ability to learn safety signals is vital for human survival, few studies have explored how attachment voices affect safety learning. To test our hypothesis, we recruited thirty-five young couples and performed a classic Pavlovian conditioning experiment, recording behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) data. The results showed that compared with a stranger's voice, the voices of the partners reduced expectancy of the unconditioned stimulus (a shock) during fear-conditioning, as well as the magnitude of P2 event-related potentials within the EEG responses, provided the voices were safety signals. Additionally, behavioral and EEG responses to the CS+ and CS- differed more when the participants heard their partner's voice than when they heard the stranger's voice. Thus, attachment voices, even as pure vowel sounds without any semantic information, enhanced acquisition of conditioned safety (CS-). These findings may provide implications for investigating other new techniques to improve clinical treatments for fear- and anxiety-related disorders and for psychological interventions against the mental health effects of the public health emergency.
人类在面临威胁时会进化到寻求依恋对象的亲近，以获得安全感。在这种情况下，我们研究了亲密伴侣的声音（称为“依恋声音”）是否可以减少条件刺激（CS+）的恐惧学习，并增强安全信号（CS-）的学习。尽管学习安全信号的能力对人类生存至关重要，但很少有研究探讨依恋声音如何影响安全学习。为了验证我们的假设，我们招募了 35 对年轻夫妇，并进行了经典的巴甫洛夫条件反射实验，记录了行为和脑电图（EEG）数据。结果表明，与陌生人的声音相比，伴侣的声音在恐惧条件反射中降低了对非条件刺激（电击）的预期，同时在 EEG 反应中 P2 事件相关电位的幅度也降低了，前提是这些声音是安全信号。此外，当参与者听到自己的伴侣的声音时，他们对 CS+和 CS-的行为和 EEG 反应比听到陌生人的声音时差异更大。因此，即使是没有任何语义信息的纯元音声音的依恋声音也能增强条件性安全（CS-）的获得。这些发现可能为研究其他新技术以改善对恐惧和焦虑相关障碍的临床治疗以及针对突发公共卫生事件对心理健康影响的心理干预提供启示。
