High-quality marriages are the best stress-busters for women
A new study has found that all women need to lower their stress levels is a strong and happy marriage.
A new study has found that all women need to lower their stress levels is a strong and happy marriage.
A team of researchers led by James A. Coan, a University of Virginia neuroscientist has found that women under threat who hold their husbands' hands show signs of immediate relief, which can clearly be seen on their brain scans.
Coan, an assistant professor in the U.Va. Neuroscience Graduate Program and the Department of Psychology, and his team conducted a study involving several couples who rated themselves as highly satisfied with their marriages.
The researchers designed a functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) study in which 16 married women were subjected to the threat of a very mild electric shock while they by turns held their husband's hand, the hand of a stranger (male) or no hand at all.
They found that the MRI was able to show how these women's brains responded to this handholding while in a threatening situation.
The researchers noted a large decrease in the brain response to threat as a function of spouse handholding, and a limited decrease in this response as a function of stranger handholding.
Moreover, spouse handholding effects varied as a function of marital quality, with women in the very highest quality marriages benefiting from a very powerful decrease in threat-related brain activity.
"This is the first study of the neurological reactions to human touch in a threatening situation." said Dr. Coan.
The study is published in the December 2006 issue of the journal Psychological Science.
一项最新研究发现，牢固美满的婚姻有助于缓解女性的压力。
弗吉尼亚大学神经学家詹姆斯·A·可恩负责的一个研究小组通过脑部扫描发现，女性在受到威胁的情况下如果抓住丈夫的手，压力会立刻缓解。
可恩是弗吉尼亚大学神经系统科学硕士项目和心理学系的副教授，他所负责的研究小组对几对婚姻很美满的夫妇进行了一项研究。
研究人员设计了一项功能磁共振成像研究，他们让16名已婚女性在受到弱电击时分别握住丈夫的手、握住一位陌生男性的手以及不握手。
结果发现，功能磁共振成像可以显示出这些女性在受到威胁的情况下，握住不同人的手时的大脑反应。
研究人员发现，受到威胁的女性抓住丈夫的手时，脑部反应明显减弱；而抓住陌生男性的手时，脑部反应的变化则没有那么明显。
此外，这种握手所起到的效果受到婚姻质量的影响，婚姻很美满的女性握手时压力明显缓解。
可恩博士说：“这一研究首次对人在受到威胁的情况下进行身体接触所产生的神经学反应进行了探究。”
这项研究结果在《心理科学》的12月刊上发表。
Vocabulary:
by turns : 轮流；交替
