Review
Positive affect and psychobiological processes

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.01.006Get rights and content

Abstract

Positive affect has been associated with favourable health outcomes, and it is likely that several biological processes mediate the effects of positive mood on physical health. There is converging evidence that positive affect activates the neuroendocrine, autonomic and immune systems in distinct and functionally meaningful ways. Cortisol, both total output and the awakening response, has consistently been shown to be lower among individuals with higher levels of positive affect. The beneficial effects of positive mood on cardiovascular function, including heart rate and blood pressure, and the immune system have also been described. The influence of positive affect on these psychobiological processes is independent of negative affect, suggesting that positive affect may have characteristic biological correlates. The duration and conceptualisation of positive affect may be important considerations in understanding how different biological systems are activated in association with positive affect.

The association of positive affect and psychobiological processes has been established, and these biological correlates may be partly responsible for the protective effects of positive affect on health outcomes.

Introduction

There is accumulating evidence that feelings of positive affect confer benefit to the individual beyond the intrinsic value of being happier. Higher levels of positive affect are associated with better concurrent and future health prospects (Pressman and Cohen, 2005), even after other known influences on health are accounted for (Kubzansky and Thurston, 2007, Chida and Steptoe, 2008). There are several plausible pathways through which positive psychological wellbeing may confer better health prospects; positive affect has been associated with healthy lifestyles (Grant et al., 2009); there may be a common genetic substrate that influences both affect and health or health behaviors; alternatively, positive affect may be an alias measure for other psychosocial factors known to influence health, for example social support and coping style. There is also emerging evidence that there is a direct pathway between positive affect and health, involving reduced psychobiological activation of neuroendocrine, autonomic, immune and inflammatory pathways. This review will discuss the nature of the association of positive affect with the activation of autonomic, neuroendocrine and immune systems.

Section snippets

Positive affect and wellbeing

In the positive psychology literature two types of positive wellbeing are conceptualised, eudaimonic and hedonic wellbeing. Hedonic wellbeing describes positive feelings such as happiness and contentment, and hedonic psychology examines what makes life pleasant or unpleasant (Diener et al., 1999, Kahneman et al., 1999). Measures of hedonic wellbeing determine the presence and intensity of positive affect. In contrast, eudaimonic wellbeing describes the emotions that accompany movement towards

Positive affect and physical health

Much of the impetus for examining the biological correlates of positive affect comes from the association of positive wellbeing with health, and the research literature showing that psychological wellbeing is related to better physical health is growing (Pressman and Cohen, 2005, Howell et al., 2007). Establishing the causal link between positive wellbeing and health is challenged by the same feasibility and ethical constraints as studies of other emotions and health. However, studies using

Methods of investigating physiological pathways

There are two main approaches to examining positive wellbeing and physiological parameters and function; one is to examine intra-individual change and the other is to examine inter-individual differences. Testing within-person associations usually involves repeated assessment of mood and serial measures of markers of physiological function, and often uses multi-level modeling strategies in analyses. Between person or individual difference research compares biomarkers in people with higher

Cardiovascular function

Changes in cardiovascular function, especially increases in heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP), represent normal responses to challenge. Changes in the degree of arousal or in affective states are associated with changes in cardiovascular activity via the sympathetic nervous system (Lovallo, 2004). Higher levels of cardiovascular activity are generally posited as a health risk, conversely, lower levels of basal cardiovascular activity may represent lower risk. The direction of association

Cortisol

The release of pituitary and adrenal hormones is associated with emotional states through the neuroanatomical connections of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) system, involving subcortical brain regions responsible for affect regulation. Most studies of positive affect have studied changes in salivary cortisol levels, as these provide a convenient window through which the emotional correlates of the HPA axis function can be explored (Biondi and Picardi, 1999). There are two distinct

Immune system

The immune system is a crucial defence against infection and other threats to health. Direct anatomical and functional links between the central nervous system and the immune system provide a biological pathway by which positive affect may influence the immune system. It is also plausible that there are indirect pathways through which positive affect influences immunity, including health behaviors. Positive affect has been associated with changes in the number of immune system cells, and also

Conclusion

The biological correlates of positive affect are only beginning to be described but there is converging evidence that positive affect has an effect on biology, and that it is correlated with health-protective biological responses. Many of the studies of the patterns of biological activation associated with positive affect have used mood induction paradigms, and it is possible that observed associations are at least partly explained by the level of arousal engendered by positive emotions.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Medical Research Council (G9701801), Economic and Social Research Council (RES-177-25-005), British Heart Foundation (PG/03/029), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (EFH16042) and the National Institute of Aging (2RO1AG13196).

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