Fear-Pleasure Paradox in Recreational Fear: Neural Correlates and Therapeutic Potential in Depression.

IF 3.2 3区 心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL
Psychology Research and Behavior Management Pub Date : 2025-06-27 eCollection Date: 2025-01-01 DOI:10.2147/PRBM.S529004
Yuting Zhan, Xu Ding
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Recreational fear, voluntary exposure to frightening stimuli in safe contexts (eg, horror films), elicits both distress and pleasure. Although paradoxical enjoyment of fear has been documented in healthy populations, its neural and psychological mechanisms, and potential therapeutic value for depression, remain unclear.

Methods: In a mixed-methods design, Study 1 (N = 216) assessed psychological and physiological responses to standardized fear stimuli across a continuum of depressive symptoms, using heart rate variability, salivary cortisol, and validated self-report measures. Study 2 (N = 84) employed functional MRI to characterize brain activation during and after exposure to the same stimuli in individuals with mild-to-moderate depression.

Results: An inverted-U-shaped curve linked fear intensity to enjoyment, with depression severity significantly moderating this relationship (β = -0.42, p <0.001): higher symptom levels required stronger stimuli for peak pleasure. Depressed participants showed greater ventromedial prefrontal cortex activation and attenuated amygdala responses, suggesting enhanced engagement of regulatory circuits. fMRI analyses also revealed transient normalization of default-mode and salience-network connectivity following fear exposure (t(83) = 3.87, p <0.001, d = 0.84).

Conclusion: Controlled recreational fear may transiently engage emotion-regulatory networks and modify maladaptive connectivity patterns in depression, offering a novel adjunctive strategy. These findings are preliminary and correlational; future studies should examine causal effects and long-term clinical impact.

娱乐性恐惧中的恐惧-快乐悖论:抑郁症的神经关联及其治疗潜力。
背景:娱乐性恐惧,即在安全环境中自愿暴露于令人恐惧的刺激(如恐怖电影),会引起痛苦和快乐。尽管在健康人群中发现了对恐惧的矛盾享受,但其神经和心理机制以及对抑郁症的潜在治疗价值仍不清楚。方法:在混合方法设计中,研究1 (N = 216)评估了对标准化恐惧刺激的心理和生理反应,采用心率变异性、唾液皮质醇和有效的自我报告测量。研究2 (N = 84)采用功能性MRI来表征轻度至中度抑郁症患者在暴露于相同刺激期间和之后的大脑激活。结果:恐惧强度与享受之间呈倒u型曲线,抑郁严重程度显著调节了这种关系(β = -0.42, p t(83) = 3.87, p d = 0.84)。结论:控制性娱乐恐惧可能会短暂参与抑郁症患者的情绪调节网络并改变其适应不良的连接模式,为抑郁症患者提供了一种新的辅助策略。这些发现是初步的和相关的;未来的研究应检查因果关系和长期临床影响。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
4.50
自引率
4.70%
发文量
341
审稿时长
16 weeks
期刊介绍: Psychology Research and Behavior Management is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal focusing on the science of psychology and its application in behavior management to develop improved outcomes in the clinical, educational, sports and business arenas. Specific topics covered in the journal include: -Neuroscience, memory and decision making -Behavior modification and management -Clinical applications -Business and sports performance management -Social and developmental studies -Animal studies The journal welcomes submitted papers covering original research, clinical studies, surveys, reviews and evaluations, guidelines, expert opinion and commentary, case reports and extended reports.
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