Conectar
by Ya-Chun Feng, Bo-Cheng Kuo, Wen-Yau Hsu
Previous studies have demonstrated that emotional facial expressions influence attention and perception in individuals with social anxiety. However, the relative influence of positive versus negative expressions on distinct subprocesses of attention and perception remains unclear. This event-related potential (ERP) study investigates the temporal dynamics of electrophysiological responses to emotional faces in high (HSA; N = 56) or low (LSA; N = 47) social anxiety individuals using a dot-probe task. Four face pairs (angry-neutral, happy-neutral, angry-happy, and neutral-neutral) were presented to probe the influence of positive and negative expressions. While behavioural results showed no significant group differences in attention bias, ERP results showed a reduced N170 amplitude for the HSA vs. LSA group in angry-neutral, happy-neutral, and angry-happy face pairs. Furthermore, enhanced N2pc effects to emotional expressions were found only in the HSA group when angry-neutral and happy-neutral face pairs were presented. No N2pc effect emerged when both positive and negative expressions were presented simultaneously. Finally, no significant P1 effect was found. Together, both positive and negative expressions influenced attentional deployment and face-specific processing in relation to social anxiety. Socially anxious individuals perceived less emotional facial information, yet their attention was biased by both negative and positive expressions.The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is rapidly increasing across Asia, with the burden particularly high among individuals aged ≥50 years. Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level is a well-established causal risk factor for CVDs. Mediterranean-Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet is a cardioprotective diet, which is rich in plant-based foods. Combining it with stress-reducing practices, including forest bathing (FB), which involves immersive exposure to forest environments, has been shown to reduce LDL-C levels and other cardiovascular risk factors by modulating pro-inflammatory responses. However, existing evidence is limited due to small sample sizes and poor study design. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether the MIND diet combined with FB can reduce CVD risks among Chinese adults in Hong Kong. It also compares the effects of the MIND diet combined with FB on cardiovascular and mental health.
A single-blind, randomised controlled trial involving three groups will be used to assess the impact of the MIND diet combined with FB on LDL-C levels in adults aged 50–75 years with elevated LDL-C levels. Participants (n=273) from local community centres will be randomly assigned to the MIND-plus-FB (who will receive nutrition education, follow the MIND diet for 12 weeks and participate in regular FB sessions), MIND-alone (who will receive nutrition education and follow the MIND diet for 12 weeks) or routine care (who will continue their usual activities and receive a general health talk along with pamphlets on cardiovascular risks) group. The change in LDL-C levels will be measured at weeks 4 and 12 (primary outcome). Additionally, changes in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, triglyceride level, glucose level, systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index, anxiety levels and emotional state will also be assessed at weeks 4 and 12. Statistical analyses will include intent-to-treat, 2 test, analysis of variance and generalised estimating equations.
This study has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Tung Wah College, Hong Kong (reference number: REC2023164). Research findings will be disseminated through publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at academic and primary healthcare conferences.
ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT06222632, registered on 25 January 2024. The ClinicalTrials.gov data are available at:
FreshRSS 