PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Previous research on coercion has neglected the fact that agents under authoritative pressure may also suffer from coercive power, which can trigger anxiety-like emotional negativity on its victims. Furthermore, high levels of neuroticism and/or anxiety have been found to be associated with the compliance of various forms of social pressure. In this study, we investigate the effects of the anxiolytic GABA A (gamma-Aminobutyric acid) modulator, lorazepam, on behavioral and neural responses to coercive power. Here, we applied a virtual obedience to authority paradigm alongside lorazepam administration (versus placebo), and during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Our results show that lorazepam administration exerted differential effects on the reaction times (RTs) when initiating harming versus helping behaviors, with longer harming RTs compared to helping RTs, despite comparable subjective ratings regarding perceived coercion. Coercive harming significantly increased activity in the amygdala, hippocampus, orbitofrontal cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Lorazepam administration decreased amygdala and hippocampus activity, but increased dlPFC and right temporoparietal junction activations. The lower activity in the hippocampus predicted higher ratings for perceived coercion. Furthermore, lorazepam significantly decreased the functional connectivity of the hippocampus with the dlPFC during coercive harming. In conclusion, we provide evidence -by incorporating multimodal indices, including neuroimaging, neuropharmacological interventions, and behavioral assessments- to posit that the GABA A agonist, lorazepam, might aid as a possible intervention in service of coping strategies against coercion.
摘要：
以往关于强制的研究忽视了这样一个事实,即在权威压力下的代理人也可能遭受强制权力,这会引发受害者焦虑般的情绪消极情绪。此外，已经发现高水平的神经质和/或焦虑与各种形式的社会压力的依从性有关。在这项研究中,我们研究抗焦虑GABAA（γ-氨基丁酸）调节剂的作用，劳拉西泮,关于对强制力的行为和神经反应。这里,我们将虚拟服从与劳拉西泮管理（相对于安慰剂）一起应用于权威范式，在功能磁共振成像扫描期间。我们的结果表明，劳拉西m给药对启动伤害与帮助行为时的反应时间（RT）产生不同的影响，与帮助RT相比，伤害RT更长，尽管在感知到的胁迫方面有可比的主观评级。胁迫伤害显著增加杏仁核的活性，海马体,眶额叶皮质,和背外侧前额叶皮层（dlPFC）。劳拉西泮给药减少杏仁核和海马活动，但增加了dlPFC和右颞顶交界处的激活。海马中较低的活动预示着对感知到的胁迫的较高评级。此外，劳拉西m在强制伤害期间显着降低了海马与dlPFC的功能连通性。总之,我们提供证据-通过纳入多峰指数，包括神经成像,神经药理学干预措施，和行为评估-假设GABAA激动剂，劳拉西泮,可能有助于作为一种可能的干预措施，为应对胁迫的策略服务。
