Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Emotion, physiology, and expression in old age.

R W Levenson1, L L Carstensen, W V Friesen

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley 94720.

Psychology and Aging
|March 1, 1991
PubMed
Summary

Elderly individuals exhibit emotion-specific autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity patterns similar to younger adults. However, the intensity of ANS responses was lower in older adults, with no sex differences in physiology or facial expressions.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Immunogenicity of subcutaneous TNF inhibitors and its clinical significance in real-life setting in patients with spondyloarthritis.

Rheumatology international·2021
Same author

Minor effect of loss to follow-up on outcome interpretation in the Swedish spine register.

European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society·2019
Same author

Long-term outcome after spinal fusion for isthmic spondylolisthesis in adults.

The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society·2018
Same author

Three out of four disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug-naïve rheumatoid arthritis patients meet 28-joint Disease Activity Score remission at 12 months: results from the FIN-ERA cohort.

Scandinavian journal of rheumatology·2017
Same author

Standardization in pathologic assessment of transitional cell cancer of the bladder.

Urologic oncology·2011
Same author

[Can finasteride reverse the progress of benign prostatic hyperplasia? A two-year placebo-controlled study.].

Laeknabladid·2010

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Gerontology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Understanding the physiological basis of emotion processing in aging is crucial.
  • Previous research has established emotion-specific autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity patterns in younger populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate emotion-specific ANS activity in elderly individuals.
  • To compare emotional responses in older adults to those previously observed in younger adults.
  • To examine potential sex differences in emotional physiology and experience among the elderly.

Main Methods:

  • Twenty elderly participants (71-83 years) constructed facial prototypes of emotional expressions.
  • Participants relived past emotional experiences.
  • Autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity was measured.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Emotion self-reports and spontaneous facial expressions were recorded.

    • Main Results:

    • Emotion-specific ANS activity patterns in the elderly mirrored those of younger adults.
    • The magnitude of ANS response changes was smaller in older compared to younger individuals.
    • Emotion self-reports and facial expressions during relived memories were comparable across age groups.
    • No significant differences were found in emotional physiology or facial expression between elderly men and women.
    • Elderly women reported more intense emotional experiences than elderly men.

    Conclusions:

    • Elderly individuals maintain emotion-specific ANS activity patterns, suggesting preserved emotional processing mechanisms.
    • While patterns are preserved, the intensity of physiological responses to emotions may diminish with age.
    • Emotional experience and expression during memory recall are comparable between older and younger adults, with women reporting greater intensity.
    • Age and sex do not appear to significantly alter the fundamental patterns of emotional autonomic nervous system activity.