Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012;7(7):e41631.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041631. Epub 2012 Jul 23.

Viewing loved faces inhibits defense reactions: a health-promotion mechanism?

Pedro Guerra  1 , Alicia Sánchez-Adam, Lourdes Anllo-Vento, Isabel Ramírez, Jaime Vila
Affiliations

Viewing loved faces inhibits defense reactions: a health-promotion mechanism?

Pedro Guerra et al. PLoS One. 2012.

Abstract

We have known for decades that social support is associated with positive health outcomes. And yet, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying this association remain poorly understood. The link between social support and positive health outcomes is likely to depend on the neurophysiological regulatory mechanisms underlying reward and defensive reactions. The present study examines the hypothesis that emotional social support (love) provides safety cues that activate the appetitive reward system and simultaneously inhibit defense reactions. Using the startle probe paradigm, 54 undergraduate students (24 men) viewed black and white photographs of loved (romantic partner, father, mother, and best friend), neutral (unknown), and unpleasant (mutilated) faces. Eye-blink startle, zygomatic major activity, heart rate, and skin conductance responses to the faces, together with subjective ratings of valence, arousal, and dominance, were obtained. Viewing loved faces induced a marked inhibition of the eye-blink startle response accompanied by a pattern of zygomatic, heart rate, skin conductance, and subjective changes indicative of an intense positive emotional response. Effects were similar for men and women, but the startle inhibition and the zygomatic response were larger in female participants. A comparison between the faces of the romantic partner and the parent who shares the partner's gender further suggests that this effect is not attributable to familiarity or arousal. We conclude that this inhibitory capacity may contribute to the health benefits associated with social support.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Startle reflex response to the faces.
Magnitude of the startle reflex to the acoustic noise while participants viewed faces. Left: Loved vs. neutral vs. unpleasant faces (top: females; bottom: males). Right: Romantic partner (boyfriend/girlfriend) vs. same-sex parent (father/mother) faces (top: females; bottom: males). Bars are standard errors.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Zygomatic muscle response to the faces.
Zygomatic muscle activity while participants viewed faces. Left: Loved vs. neutral vs. unpleasant faces (top: females; bottom: males). Right: Romantic partner (boyfriend/girlfriend) vs. same-sex parent (father/mother) faces (top: females; bottom: males).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Heart rate response to the faces.
Heart-rate changes while participants viewed faces. Left: Loved vs. neutral vs. unpleasant faces. Right: Romantic partner (boyfriend/girlfriend) vs. same-sex parent (father/mother) faces.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Skin conductance response to the faces.
Skin conductance changes while participants viewed faces. Left: Loved vs. neutral vs. unpleasant faces. Right: Romantic partner (boyfriend/girlfriend) vs. same-sex parent (father/mot her) faces.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cacioppo JT, Berntson GG, Sheridan JF, McClintock MC. Multilevel integrative analyses of human behavior: Social Neuroscience and the complementing nature of social and biological approaches. Psychol Bull. 2000;126:829–843. - PubMed
    1. Amodio DM, Frith CD. Meeting minds: The medial frontal cortex and social cognition. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2006;7:268–277. - PubMed
    1. Reblin M, Uchino BN. Social and emotional support and its implication for health. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2008;21:201–205. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Xu J, Roberts RE. The power of positive emotions: It’s a matter of life or death-Subjective well-being and longevity over 28 years in a general population. Health Psychol. 2010;29:9–19. - PubMed
    1. Mikulincer M, Goodman GS, editors. Dynamics of romantic love: Attachment, caregiving and sex. New York: Guilford Press. 2006. (Eds) (

Publication types