Nostalgia enhances detection of death threat: neural and behavioral evidence
Nostalgia enhances detection of death threat: neural and behavioral evidence
An experiment examined the potency of nostalgia—a sentimental longing for one’s past—to facilitate detection of death-related stimuli, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral techniques (i.e., judgmental accuracy, reaction times). We hypothesized and found that, at the neural level, nostalgic (relative to control) participants evinced more intense activation in right amygdala in response to death-related (vs. neutral) words. We also hypothesized and found that, at the behavioral level, nostalgic (relative to control) participants manifested greater accuracy in judging whether two death-related (vs. neutral) words belonged in the same category. Exploratory analyses indicated that nostalgic (relative to control) participants did not show faster reaction times to death-related (vs. neutral) words. In all, nostalgia appeared to aid in death threat detection. We consider implications for the relevant literatures.
amygdala, death threat, mortality salience, nostalgia, threat detection
Yang, Ziyan
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Sedikides, Constantine
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Izuma, Keise
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Wildschut, Tim
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Kashima, Emiko S.
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Luo, Yu L.L.
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Chen, Jun
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Cai, Huajian
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16 June 2021
Yang, Ziyan
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Sedikides, Constantine
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Izuma, Keise
07f45d8b-a7a6-40ae-8957-009cef2a0683
Wildschut, Tim
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Kashima, Emiko S.
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Luo, Yu L.L.
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Chen, Jun
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Cai, Huajian
09530234-7db9-4831-89a1-6b2edfbcfdaf
Yang, Ziyan, Sedikides, Constantine, Izuma, Keise, Wildschut, Tim, Kashima, Emiko S., Luo, Yu L.L., Chen, Jun and Cai, Huajian
(2021)
Nostalgia enhances detection of death threat: neural and behavioral evidence.
Scientific Reports, 11 (1), [12662].
(doi:10.1038/s41598-021-91322-z).
Abstract
An experiment examined the potency of nostalgia—a sentimental longing for one’s past—to facilitate detection of death-related stimuli, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral techniques (i.e., judgmental accuracy, reaction times). We hypothesized and found that, at the neural level, nostalgic (relative to control) participants evinced more intense activation in right amygdala in response to death-related (vs. neutral) words. We also hypothesized and found that, at the behavioral level, nostalgic (relative to control) participants manifested greater accuracy in judging whether two death-related (vs. neutral) words belonged in the same category. Exploratory analyses indicated that nostalgic (relative to control) participants did not show faster reaction times to death-related (vs. neutral) words. In all, nostalgia appeared to aid in death threat detection. We consider implications for the relevant literatures.
Text
Yang et al., in press, Scientific Reports
- Accepted Manuscript
Text
s41598-021-91322-z
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 25 May 2021
Published date: 16 June 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The research was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China [17ZDA324], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [32000775] and the Scientific Foundation of Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences [Y9CX183005].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords:
amygdala, death threat, mortality salience, nostalgia, threat detection
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 450997
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/450997
ISSN: 2045-2322
PURE UUID: 0d2f647f-7fda-4273-9bd8-a09d8eb2f53e
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Date deposited: 01 Sep 2021 16:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:53
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Contributors
Author:
Ziyan Yang
Author:
Keise Izuma
Author:
Emiko S. Kashima
Author:
Yu L.L. Luo
Author:
Jun Chen
Author:
Huajian Cai
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