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Subscribe to RSSIt’s no secret that high blood pressure ups your risk for heart attack and stroke. But now scientists are saying it could also affect how you perceive emotions.
In a new study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, researchers found that individuals with higher than normal blood pressures not only had a tough time assigning emotions to text passages they read but also had problems recognizing angry, fearful, sad and happy faces when looking at photographs.
The phenomenon is called “emotional dampening,” a kind of reduced response to both positive and negative life events, explains lead author James McCubbin, professor of psychology at Clemson University.
In previous studies, individuals with emotional dampening showed reduced responses to both pain and stress.
According to McCubbin, missing emotional cues is like “... living in a world of email without smiley faces.”
“We put smiley faces in emails to show when we are just kidding,” he says. “Otherwise some people may misinterpret our humor and get angry.”
Indeed, folks who have a problem putting both verbal and non-verbal cues like expressions into the correct context, can have problems understanding subtleties in conversation, which can lead to poor job performance, communication problems and distrust of others. Since emotional dampening also applies to positive emotions, these folks may not reap the “restorative benefits” of hobbies, vacations, or even the support of friends and family, McCubbin says.
For the study, the researchers asked 106 African-American men and women, average age 53, to evaluate emotional expressions in faces and sentences using a special gauge called the Perception of Affect Test.
Blood pressure and other cardiac-related readings were measured continuously during the test.
After controlling for medication use, body mass index and mental state, folks with high blood pressure readings scored the lowest when it came to their ability to recognize emotions.
The scientists suspect that higher blood pressure and emotional dampening may have something to do with subtle changes in brain function.
Medications to reduce blood pressure may help people get their emotion-reading meters back on track, says McCubbin, but don’t expect it to happen overnight. He and his colleagues are now looking at how emotional dampening may influence risk-taking behaviors.
“We believe that people with emotional dampening problems have a harder time appraising threats,” says McCubbin, which could cause people not to follow a doctor’s advice about diet and exercise -- two good ways to help lower blood pressure.
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Leave a Comment:
Emotions are usually overrated anyway. They get lots of people into lots of trouble.
All this sounds like me except for the high blood pressure part...
Every1 has lost their empathy gene.
Is there any reason why this study focused stricly on african-americans? I'm curious to see these results on an all white group of people. Then an equally mixed group. Then a blind study where the researchers do not know if the subject is man/woman white/black/yellow/green/blue/purple...
I found that curious as well, MJZeigler. It's possible that the sample being comprised entirely of African American subjects could skew the results due to distinct cultural/social tendencies relative to an ethnically diverse sample.
I also wonder if the photographs these subjects were shown were comprised entirely of African Americans. I know it's often viewed as racist, but I believe the concept of "they all look alike" has been proven valid among most ethnic groups in terms of how they view other ethnicities. In short, there seem to be a lot of limitations in the design of this study, which could render the "results" all but worthless.
Is there any reason why this study focused stricly on african-americans? I'm curious to see these results on an all white group of people. Then an equally mixed group. Then a blind study where the researchers do not know if the subject is man/woman white/black/yellow/green/blue/purple...
I wonder about that too, Zeigler, since I have had high BP for over 15 years and have recently realized that I lack some of those cues (esp. in relationships) and have wondered if I am mildly autistic or something. I'm "white." A boss in college once suspected me of stealing money out of the safe because I didn't "react emotionally enough" when they asked me about it.
Er, this is a coded response to stress. When your life is in danger, emotional/social information is extraneous. A raise in blood pressure is the first thing that happens in a stress-reaction situation.
I was wondering about the African American thing too.
I've had high bp since I was 25 and I wonder if it is the medication which causes this "emotional dampening" more so than the high bp. I've been on long enough that I've had my meds switched a few times, and I don't believe I have ever suffered from this "emotional dampening". I can still read the physical ques of others, and have always been an empathetic/sympathetic person. Although, I am also curious as to why ony African Americans were used in this study.
I am African American and I have been hypertensive and uncontrolled ever since diagnosis despite meds, and I can tell you, my emotional and sensitivity states are the same as before becoming hypertensive; maybe more so.
I can read people's emotional state and energies very well and have not experienced what they describe. This emotional dampening can be seen in people with dementia and depression. Of course chronic hypertension could lead to this,as it may damage the microvasculature of the brain.
This study is completely flawed as MJZeigler and PDK noted. Their sample group was taken from the population where hypertension is highest, with worse outcomes. There are many factors that could cause this emotional response, just like there are many factors that can cause hypertension (yet to be discovered).
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I'm an African American who is also curious as to why this study was just
used on one race and group of people. I'm a professional, and most of my
colleagues are white and i'm probably the healthiest at 50 years old.
High blood pressure isn't an issue with me.Why can't the group study be
of mixed groups and races?. Sometimes it's a diet,demographic thing,especially
in the South.