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Aims: Alcohol consumption is known to be associated with risky sexual behaviours, but this relati... more Aims: Alcohol consumption is known to be associated with risky sexual behaviours, but this relationship
may be complex and bidirectional. We explored whether alcohol consumption leads to the
consumer being rated as more attractive than sober individuals.
Methods: Heterosexual social alcohol consumers completed an attractiveness-rating task, in which
they were presented with pairs of photographs depicting the same individual, photographed while
sober and after having consumed alcohol (either 0.4 or 0.8 g/kg), and required to decide which image
was more attractive.
Results: Photographs of individuals who had consumed a low dose of alcohol (equivalent to 250 ml
of wine at 14% alcohol by volume for a 70 kg individual) were rated as more attractive than photographs
of sober individuals. This was not observed for photographs of individuals who had consumed
a low dose of alcohol.
Conclusion: In addition to perceiving others as more attractive, a mildly intoxicated alcohol consumer
may also be perceived as more attractive by others. This in turn may play a role in the relationship
between alcohol consumption and risky sexual behaviour.
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Many studies have explored associations between depression and facial emotion recognition (ER). H... more Many studies have explored associations between depression and facial emotion recognition (ER). However, these studies have used various paradigms and multiple stimulus sets, rendering comparisons difficult. Few studies have attempted to determine the magnitude of any effect and whether studies are properly powered to detect it. We conducted a meta-analysis to synthesize the findings across studies on ER in depressed individuals compared to controls. Studies of ER that included depressed and control samples and published before June 2013 were identified in PubMed and Web of Science. Studies using schematic faces, neuroimaging studies and drug treatment studies were excluded. Meta-analysis of k = 22 independent samples indicated impaired recognition of emotion [k = 22, g = -0.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.25 to -0.07, p < 0.001]. Critically, this was observed for anger, disgust, fear, happiness and surprise (k's = 7-22, g's = -0.42 to -0.17, p's < 0.08), but not sadness (k = 21, g = -0.09, 95% CI -0.23 to +0.06, p = 0.23). Study-level characteristics did not appear to be associated with the observed effect. Power analysis indicated that a sample of approximately 615 cases and 615 controls would be required to detect this association with 80% power at an alpha level of 0.05. These findings suggest that the ER impairment reported in the depression literature exists across all basic emotions except sadness. The effect size, however, is small, and previous studies have been underpowered.
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The serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) duloxetine is an effective treatment for ma... more The serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) duloxetine is an effective treatment for major depression and generalised anxiety disorder. Neuropsychological models of antidepressant drug action suggest therapeutic effects might be mediated by the early correction of maladaptive biases in emotion processing, including the recognition of emotional expressions. Sub-chronic administration of duloxetine (for two weeks) produces adaptive changes in neural circuitry implicated in emotion processing; however, its effects on emotional expression recognition are unknown. Forty healthy participants were randomised to receive either 14 days of duloxetine (60 mg/day, titrated from 30 mg after three days) or matched placebo (with sham titration) in a double-blind, between-groups, repeated-measures design. On day 0 and day 14 participants completed a computerised emotional expression recognition task that measured sensitivity to the six primary emotions. Thirty-eight participants (19 per group) completed their course of tablets and were included in the analysis. Results provide evidence that duloxetine, compared to placebo, may reduce the accurate recognition of sadness. Drug effects were driven by changes in participants' ability to correctly detect subtle expressions of sadness, with greater change observed in the placebo relative to the duloxetine group. These effects occurred in the absence of changes in mood. Our preliminary findings require replication, but complement recent evidence that sadness recognition is a therapeutic target in major depression, and a mechanism through which SNRIs could resolve negative biases in emotion processing to achieve therapeutic effects.
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2014
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jan 7, 2014
A large literature proposes that preferences for exaggerated sex typicality in human faces (mascu... more A large literature proposes that preferences for exaggerated sex typicality in human faces (masculinity/femininity) reflect a long evolutionary history of sexual and social selection. This proposal implies that dimorphism was important to judgments of attractiveness and personality in ancestral environments. It is difficult to evaluate, however, because most available data come from large-scale, industrialized, urban populations. Here, we report the results for 12 populations with very diverse levels of economic development. Surprisingly, preferences for exaggerated sex-specific traits are only found in the novel, highly developed environments. Similarly, perceptions that masculine males look aggressive increase strongly with development and, specifically, urbanization. These data challenge the hypothesis that facial dimorphism was an important ancestral signal of heritable mate value. One possibility is that highly developed environments provide novel opportunities to discern relat...
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Biology letters, 2014
Recently, associations between facial structure and aggressive behaviour have been reported. Spec... more Recently, associations between facial structure and aggressive behaviour have been reported. Specifically, the facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is thought to link to aggression, although it is unclear whether this association is related to a specific dimension of aggression, or to a more generalized concept of dominance behaviour. Similarly, an association has been proposed between facial masculinity and dominant and aggressive behaviour, but, to date, this has not been formally tested. Because masculinity and fWHR are negatively correlated, it is unlikely that both signal similar behaviours. Here, we thus tested these associations and show that: (i) fWHR is related to both self-reported dominance and aggression; (ii) physical aggression, verbal aggression and anger, but not hostility are associated with fWHR; (iii) there is no evidence for a sex difference in associations between fWHR and aggression; and (iv) the facial masculinity index does not predict dominance or aggression....
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Aims: Alcohol consumption is known to be associated with risky sexual behaviours, but this relati... more Aims: Alcohol consumption is known to be associated with risky sexual behaviours, but this relationship
may be complex and bidirectional. We explored whether alcohol consumption leads to the
consumer being rated as more attractive than sober individuals.
Methods: Heterosexual social alcohol consumers completed an attractiveness-rating task, in which
they were presented with pairs of photographs depicting the same individual, photographed while
sober and after having consumed alcohol (either 0.4 or 0.8 g/kg), and required to decide which image
was more attractive.
Results: Photographs of individuals who had consumed a low dose of alcohol (equivalent to 250 ml
of wine at 14% alcohol by volume for a 70 kg individual) were rated as more attractive than photographs
of sober individuals. This was not observed for photographs of individuals who had consumed
a low dose of alcohol.
Conclusion: In addition to perceiving others as more attractive, a mildly intoxicated alcohol consumer
may also be perceived as more attractive by others. This in turn may play a role in the relationship
between alcohol consumption and risky sexual behaviour.
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Many studies have explored associations between depression and facial emotion recognition (ER). H... more Many studies have explored associations between depression and facial emotion recognition (ER). However, these studies have used various paradigms and multiple stimulus sets, rendering comparisons difficult. Few studies have attempted to determine the magnitude of any effect and whether studies are properly powered to detect it. We conducted a meta-analysis to synthesize the findings across studies on ER in depressed individuals compared to controls. Studies of ER that included depressed and control samples and published before June 2013 were identified in PubMed and Web of Science. Studies using schematic faces, neuroimaging studies and drug treatment studies were excluded. Meta-analysis of k = 22 independent samples indicated impaired recognition of emotion [k = 22, g = -0.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.25 to -0.07, p < 0.001]. Critically, this was observed for anger, disgust, fear, happiness and surprise (k's = 7-22, g's = -0.42 to -0.17, p's < 0.08), but not sadness (k = 21, g = -0.09, 95% CI -0.23 to +0.06, p = 0.23). Study-level characteristics did not appear to be associated with the observed effect. Power analysis indicated that a sample of approximately 615 cases and 615 controls would be required to detect this association with 80% power at an alpha level of 0.05. These findings suggest that the ER impairment reported in the depression literature exists across all basic emotions except sadness. The effect size, however, is small, and previous studies have been underpowered.
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The serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) duloxetine is an effective treatment for ma... more The serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) duloxetine is an effective treatment for major depression and generalised anxiety disorder. Neuropsychological models of antidepressant drug action suggest therapeutic effects might be mediated by the early correction of maladaptive biases in emotion processing, including the recognition of emotional expressions. Sub-chronic administration of duloxetine (for two weeks) produces adaptive changes in neural circuitry implicated in emotion processing; however, its effects on emotional expression recognition are unknown. Forty healthy participants were randomised to receive either 14 days of duloxetine (60 mg/day, titrated from 30 mg after three days) or matched placebo (with sham titration) in a double-blind, between-groups, repeated-measures design. On day 0 and day 14 participants completed a computerised emotional expression recognition task that measured sensitivity to the six primary emotions. Thirty-eight participants (19 per group) completed their course of tablets and were included in the analysis. Results provide evidence that duloxetine, compared to placebo, may reduce the accurate recognition of sadness. Drug effects were driven by changes in participants' ability to correctly detect subtle expressions of sadness, with greater change observed in the placebo relative to the duloxetine group. These effects occurred in the absence of changes in mood. Our preliminary findings require replication, but complement recent evidence that sadness recognition is a therapeutic target in major depression, and a mechanism through which SNRIs could resolve negative biases in emotion processing to achieve therapeutic effects.
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2014
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jan 7, 2014
A large literature proposes that preferences for exaggerated sex typicality in human faces (mascu... more A large literature proposes that preferences for exaggerated sex typicality in human faces (masculinity/femininity) reflect a long evolutionary history of sexual and social selection. This proposal implies that dimorphism was important to judgments of attractiveness and personality in ancestral environments. It is difficult to evaluate, however, because most available data come from large-scale, industrialized, urban populations. Here, we report the results for 12 populations with very diverse levels of economic development. Surprisingly, preferences for exaggerated sex-specific traits are only found in the novel, highly developed environments. Similarly, perceptions that masculine males look aggressive increase strongly with development and, specifically, urbanization. These data challenge the hypothesis that facial dimorphism was an important ancestral signal of heritable mate value. One possibility is that highly developed environments provide novel opportunities to discern relat...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Biology letters, 2014
Recently, associations between facial structure and aggressive behaviour have been reported. Spec... more Recently, associations between facial structure and aggressive behaviour have been reported. Specifically, the facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is thought to link to aggression, although it is unclear whether this association is related to a specific dimension of aggression, or to a more generalized concept of dominance behaviour. Similarly, an association has been proposed between facial masculinity and dominant and aggressive behaviour, but, to date, this has not been formally tested. Because masculinity and fWHR are negatively correlated, it is unlikely that both signal similar behaviours. Here, we thus tested these associations and show that: (i) fWHR is related to both self-reported dominance and aggression; (ii) physical aggression, verbal aggression and anger, but not hostility are associated with fWHR; (iii) there is no evidence for a sex difference in associations between fWHR and aggression; and (iv) the facial masculinity index does not predict dominance or aggression....
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