Instant messages vs. speech: hormones and why we still need to hear each other.-猫眼课题宝

即时消息与语音：荷尔蒙以及为什么我们仍然需要互相倾听。

DOI：

10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2011.05.004

发表时间：

2012

期刊：

Evolution and human behavior : official journal of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society

影响因子：

通讯作者：

中科院分区：

文献类型：

作者：

Seltzer,LeslieJ;Prososki,AshleyR;Ziegler,ToniE;Pollak,SethD

人类语言显然传达了一种适应性优势，因为它显然在古代世界中迅速传播，并在今天得到全球使用。因此，言语必须能够以积极的方式改变人类的生物学，可能是通过那些负责加强个人之间社会纽带的神经内分泌机制。事实上，相互信任的人之间的交谈能够降低唾液皮质醇的水平，增加尿液中催产素的水平，前者通常被认为是压力的生物标志物，后者是一种参与形成和维持积极关系的荷尔蒙。然而，目前还不清楚是人类特有的语法、句法、内容和/或词语的选择导致了这些生理变化，还是存在于许多其他物种的声音提示中的语音韵律元素是造成这些变化的原因。为了梳理出人类交流的这些因素，我们研究了在经历了压力源后即时给母亲发信息的女孩子的荷尔蒙反应。我们发现，与面对面或通过电话与母亲互动的孩子不同，即时通讯的女孩不会释放催产素；相反，这些参与者的唾液皮质醇水平与根本不与父母互动的对照组一样高。我们的结论是，熟悉的声音令人安慰的声音是所观察到的荷尔蒙差异的原因，因此，在使用声音提示进行交流的其他物种中也可以看到类似的差异。

Human speech evidently conveys an adaptive advantage, given its apparently rapid dissemination through the ancient world and global use today. As such, speech must be capable of altering human biology in a positive way, possibly through those neuroendocrine mechanisms responsible for strengthening the social bonds between individuals. Indeed, speech between trusted individuals is capable of reducing levels of salivary cortisol, often considered a biomarker of stress, and increasing levels of urinary oxytocin, a hormone involved in the formation and maintenance of positive relationships. It is not clear, however, whether it is the uniquely human grammar, syntax, content and/or choice of words that causes these physiological changes, or whether the prosodic elements of speech, which are present in the vocal cues of many other species, are responsible. In order to tease apart these elements of human communication, we examined the hormonal responses of female children who instant messaged their mothers after undergoing a stressor. We discovered that unlike children interacting with their mothers in person or over the phone, girls who instant messaged did not release oxytocin; instead, these participants showed levels of salivary cortisol as high as control subjects who did not interact with their parents at all. We conclude that the comforting sound of a familiar voice is responsible for the hormonal differences observed and, hence, that similar differences may be seen in other species using vocal cues to communicate.