Psychophysiological responses to emotional stimuli and their alterations in stress-related mental

124 Pages·2014·0.75 MB·English

by  Sonja Schumacher

Psychophysiological responses to emotional stimuli and

their alterations in stress-related mental disorders

Dissertation submitted for the degree of
Doctor of Natural Sciences

Presented by
Sonja Schumacher

at the

Faculty of Sciences
Department of Psychology

Date of the oral examination: 10 October 2014
First referee: Prof. Dr. Thomas Elbert
Second referee: Prof. Dr. Chantal Martin Sölch

DANK

Zunächst möchte ich mich ganz herzlich bedanken bei Chantal Martin Sölch und Ueli Schnyder für
meine erste Stelle nach dem Studium und für die Förderung in den vergangenen Jahren. Thomas
Elbert möchte ich herzlich danken für die Möglichkeit, in Konstanz zu promovieren und für seine
unkomplizierte Unterstützung.
Des Weiteren geht mein Dank an Annette Brühl und Monique Pfaltz für die Unterstützung beim
Schreiben der Artikel und an Hanspeter Mörgeli für die vielen Statistik-Besprechungen in den letzten
Jahren. Ein besonderer Dank geht auch an Misari Oe für die Zusammenarbeit und den spannenden
Kulturaustausch. Auch allen übrigen an den Projekten beteiligten möchte ich danken für die
Zusammenarbeit und meinen Mitdoktoranden für den Austausch.
Nicht zuletzt geht ein grosses Dankeschön an meine Familie – ganz besonders an meine Eltern –
und an meine Freunde für die moralische Unterstützung in dieser wie auch in anderen Zeiten. Danke
dafür, dass ihr immer hinter mir steht.

Sonja Schumacher
Konstanz/Zürich, im Mai 2014

Contents

Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................................... 1
Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 3
Zusammenfassung .................................................................................................................................. 4
1. General introduction ............................................................................................................................ 7
1.1. Emotion theories ........................................................................................................................... 7
1.1.1. Evolutionary perspective ........................................................................................................ 8
1.1.2. Learning perspective .............................................................................................................. 8
1.1.3. Physiological perspective ....................................................................................................... 9
1.1.4. Cognitive perspective ............................................................................................................. 9
1.2. Stress theories ............................................................................................................................ 10
1.2.1. Evolutionary perspective ...................................................................................................... 11
1.2.2. Physiological perspective ..................................................................................................... 11
1.2.3. Cognitive perspective ........................................................................................................... 12
1.3. Psychophysiology of stress and emotions .................................................................................. 13
1.3.1. Orienting, defensive and startle responses .......................................................................... 13
1.3.2. Hormones ............................................................................................................................. 15
1.3.3. Emotions, stress, and health ................................................................................................ 16
1.4. Emotional processing in mental disorders .................................................................................. 17
1.4.1. Posttraumatic stress disorder ............................................................................................... 18
1.4.2. Borderline personality disorder ............................................................................................ 19
1.5. Research questions .................................................................................................................... 20
1.6. Assessment methods .................................................................................................................. 21
1.6.1. Emotional stimuli .................................................................................................................. 21
1.6.2. Measurement of peripheral physiological parameters ......................................................... 22
1.6.3. Heart rate ............................................................................................................................. 23
1.6.4. Electrodermal activity ........................................................................................................... 23
1.6.5. Electromyogram ................................................................................................................... 24
1.7. Studies description ...................................................................................................................... 24
2. Study 1 - Psychophysiological responses during the anticipation of emotional pictures .................. 26
2.1. Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 26
2.2. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 27
2.3. Methods ...................................................................................................................................... 28
2.3.1. Participants ........................................................................................................................... 28
2.3.2. Physiological measures ....................................................................................................... 29
2.3.3. Procedure and materials ...................................................................................................... 29
2.3.4. Data reduction ...................................................................................................................... 30
2.3.5. Data analysis ........................................................................................................................ 31
2.4. Results ........................................................................................................................................ 31
2.5. Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 36
3. Study 2 - Oxytocin, trait anxiety, and affective modulation of the startle reflex: a double-blind
placebo-controlled crossover study ....................................................................................................... 39
3.1. Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 39
3.2. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 40
3.3. Methods ...................................................................................................................................... 42
3.3.1. Participants ........................................................................................................................... 42
3.3.2. Procedure ............................................................................................................................. 43
3.3.3. Physiological measurement and data reduction .................................................................. 45
3.3.4. Data analysis ........................................................................................................................ 46
3.4. Results ........................................................................................................................................ 46
3.4.1. Baseline startle ..................................................................................................................... 46
3.4.2. Affective modulation of startle .............................................................................................. 47
3.4.3. Picture ratings ...................................................................................................................... 48
3.5. Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 50
4. Study 3 - Startle reactivity in the long-term after severe accidental injury: Preliminary data ............ 53
4.1. Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 53
4.2. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 54
4.3. Methods ...................................................................................................................................... 56
4.3.1. Participants ........................................................................................................................... 56
4.3.2. Psychometrics ...................................................................................................................... 58
4.3.3. Physiological measures ....................................................................................................... 58
4.3.4. Procedure ............................................................................................................................. 58
4.3.5. Data reduction ...................................................................................................................... 59
4.3.6. Data analysis ........................................................................................................................ 59
4.4. Results ........................................................................................................................................ 60
4.5. Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 61
5. Study 4 - Acoustic emotional processing in patients with borderline personality disorder: hyper- or
hypoarousal? ......................................................................................................................................... 64
5.1 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ 64
5.2 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 65
5.3. Methods ...................................................................................................................................... 67
5.3.1. Participants ........................................................................................................................... 67
5.3.2. Psychometrics ...................................................................................................................... 68
5.3.3. Physiological Measures ....................................................................................................... 68
5.3.4. Procedure ............................................................................................................................. 69
5.3.5. Data reduction ...................................................................................................................... 70
5.3.6. Data analysis ........................................................................................................................ 70
5.4 Results ......................................................................................................................................... 71
5.4.1. Psychometric measures ....................................................................................................... 71
5.4.2. Physiological measures ....................................................................................................... 71
5.4.3. Ratings ................................................................................................................................. 74
5.4.4. Sound recognition ................................................................................................................ 75
5.5 Discussion .................................................................................................................................... 76
6. General discussion ............................................................................................................................ 80
6.1. Studies results ............................................................................................................................ 80
6.2. Interpretation ............................................................................................................................... 81
6.3. Outlook ........................................................................................................................................ 82
6.4. Concluding remarks .................................................................................................................... 83
References ............................................................................................................................................ 85
Appendix A .......................................................................................................................................... 109
Record of achievement ........................................................................................................................ 111
Table Index .......................................................................................................................................... 112
Figure Index ......................................................................................................................................... 113