Spruyt A, De Houwer J, Hermans D, Eelen P.
Experimental Psychology, 54, 44-53
Recent studies have shown that robust affective priming effects can be obtained when participants are required to categorize the targets on the basis of their valence, but not when participants are asked to categorize the targets on the basis of nonaffective features. On the basis of this pattern of results, it has been argued that affective priming is due to processes that operate at a response selection stage rather than to processes that operate at an encoding stage. We demonstrate (a) that affective priming of nonaffective semantic categorization responses can be obtained when participants assign attention to the affective stimulus dimension, and (b) that affective priming in the standard evaluative categorization task is strongly reduced when participants assign attention to nonaffective stimulus features. On the basis of these findings, we argue (a) that processes operating at an encoding stage do contribute to the affective priming effect, and (b) that automatic affective stimulus processing is reduced when participants selectively attend to nonaffective stimulus features.
Friday, March 09, 2007
ARTICLE UPDATE - Seeing fearful body language overcomes attentional deficits in patients with neglect.Tamietto M, Geminiani G, Genero R, de Gelder B.
Tamietto M, Geminiani G, Genero R, de Gelder B.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19, 445-454
Survival depends to some extent on the ability to detect salient signals and prepare an appropriate response even when attention is engaged elsewhere. Fearful body language is a salient signal of imminent danger, easily observable from a distance and indicating to the observer which adaptive action to prepare for. Here we investigated for the first time whether fearful body language modulates the spatial distribution of attention and enhances visual awareness in neurological patients with severe attentional disorders. Patients with visual extinction and hemispatial neglect following right parietal injury have a rightward attentional bias accompanied by loss of awareness for contralesional left stimuli, especially when competing stimuli appear to the right. Three such patients were tested with pictures of fearful, happy, and neutral bodily expressions briefly presented either unilaterally in the left or right visual field, or to both fields simultaneously. On bilateral trials, unattended and task-irrelevant fearful bodily expressions modulated attentional selection and visual awareness. Fearful bodily expressions presented in the contralesional unattended visual field simultaneously with neutral bodies in the ipsilesional field were detected more often than left-side neutral or happy bodies. This demonstrates that despite pathological inattention and parietal damage, emotion and action-related information in fearful body language may be extracted automatically, biasing attentional selection and visual awareness. Our findings open new perspectives on the role of bodily expressions in attentional selection and suggest that a neural network in intact fronto-limbic and visual areas may still mediate reorienting of attention and preparation for action upon perceiving fear in others.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19, 445-454
Survival depends to some extent on the ability to detect salient signals and prepare an appropriate response even when attention is engaged elsewhere. Fearful body language is a salient signal of imminent danger, easily observable from a distance and indicating to the observer which adaptive action to prepare for. Here we investigated for the first time whether fearful body language modulates the spatial distribution of attention and enhances visual awareness in neurological patients with severe attentional disorders. Patients with visual extinction and hemispatial neglect following right parietal injury have a rightward attentional bias accompanied by loss of awareness for contralesional left stimuli, especially when competing stimuli appear to the right. Three such patients were tested with pictures of fearful, happy, and neutral bodily expressions briefly presented either unilaterally in the left or right visual field, or to both fields simultaneously. On bilateral trials, unattended and task-irrelevant fearful bodily expressions modulated attentional selection and visual awareness. Fearful bodily expressions presented in the contralesional unattended visual field simultaneously with neutral bodies in the ipsilesional field were detected more often than left-side neutral or happy bodies. This demonstrates that despite pathological inattention and parietal damage, emotion and action-related information in fearful body language may be extracted automatically, biasing attentional selection and visual awareness. Our findings open new perspectives on the role of bodily expressions in attentional selection and suggest that a neural network in intact fronto-limbic and visual areas may still mediate reorienting of attention and preparation for action upon perceiving fear in others.
ARTICLE UPDATE - Role of anticipated reward in cognitive behavioral control
Masataka Watanabe
Current Opinion in Neurobiology, in press
The lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), which is important for higher cognitive activity, is also concerned with motivational operations; this is exemplified by its activity in relation to expectancy of rewards. In the LPFC, motivational information is integrated with cognitive information, as demonstrated by the enhancement of working-memory-related activity by reward expectancy. Such activity would be expected to induce changes in attention and, subsequently, to modify behavioral performance. Recently, the effects of motivation and emotion on neural activities have been examined in several areas of the brain in relation to cognitive-task performance. Of these areas, the LPFC seems to have the most important role in adaptive goal-directed behavior, by sending top-down attention-control signals to other areas of the brain.
Current Opinion in Neurobiology, in press
The lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), which is important for higher cognitive activity, is also concerned with motivational operations; this is exemplified by its activity in relation to expectancy of rewards. In the LPFC, motivational information is integrated with cognitive information, as demonstrated by the enhancement of working-memory-related activity by reward expectancy. Such activity would be expected to induce changes in attention and, subsequently, to modify behavioral performance. Recently, the effects of motivation and emotion on neural activities have been examined in several areas of the brain in relation to cognitive-task performance. Of these areas, the LPFC seems to have the most important role in adaptive goal-directed behavior, by sending top-down attention-control signals to other areas of the brain.
ARTICLE UPDATE - Contrasting roles for cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex in decisions and social behaviour.
.F.S. Rushworth, T.E.J. Behrens, P.H. Rudebeck and M.E. Walton
Trends in Cognitive Sciences, in press
There is general acknowledgement that both the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex are implicated in reinforcement-guided decision making, and emotion and social behaviour. Despite the interest that these areas generate in both the cognitive neuroscience laboratory and the psychiatric clinic, ideas about the distinctive contributions made by each have only recently begun to emerge. This reflects an increasing understanding of the component processes that underlie reinforcement-guided decision making, such as the representation of reinforcement expectations, the exploration, updating and representation of action values, and the appreciation that choices are guided not just by the prospect of reward but also by the costs that action entails. Evidence is emerging to suggest that the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex make distinct contributions to each of these aspects of decision making.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences, in press
There is general acknowledgement that both the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex are implicated in reinforcement-guided decision making, and emotion and social behaviour. Despite the interest that these areas generate in both the cognitive neuroscience laboratory and the psychiatric clinic, ideas about the distinctive contributions made by each have only recently begun to emerge. This reflects an increasing understanding of the component processes that underlie reinforcement-guided decision making, such as the representation of reinforcement expectations, the exploration, updating and representation of action values, and the appreciation that choices are guided not just by the prospect of reward but also by the costs that action entails. Evidence is emerging to suggest that the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex make distinct contributions to each of these aspects of decision making.
Friday, March 02, 2007
ARTICLE UPDATE - As Time Goes By: Temporal Constraints on Emotional Activation of Inferior Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Jacob Geday, Ron Kupers and Albert Gjedde
Cerebral Cortex, in press
To investigate the influence of stimulus duration on emotional processing, we measured changes of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in 14 healthy subjects who viewed neutral or emotional images presented for 3 or 6 s. Presentation for 3 s reproduced the previous result of higher rCBF in inferior medial prefrontal cortex (IMPC) during neutral than emotional stimulation. Six-second presentation reverted this relationship, with activity in IMPC being higher during emotional stimulation. Prolonged stimulus presentation attenuated the rise of rCBF associated with emotions in left parietal cortex and cerebellar hemisphere. We speculate that the different rCBF during neutral and emotional stimulation for 6 s is a consequence of attention divided between the emotional stimuli and their associations. Thus, prefrontal activity rises when a cognitive task accompanies emotional stimulation because several cognitive processes compete for attention. The IMPC may serve the mechanism of attention underlying the concept of a default mode of brain function, selecting among competitive inputs from multiple brain regions rather than just processing emotions. The results emphasize the importance of implicit cognitive processing during emotional activation, however, unintended.
Cerebral Cortex, in press
To investigate the influence of stimulus duration on emotional processing, we measured changes of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in 14 healthy subjects who viewed neutral or emotional images presented for 3 or 6 s. Presentation for 3 s reproduced the previous result of higher rCBF in inferior medial prefrontal cortex (IMPC) during neutral than emotional stimulation. Six-second presentation reverted this relationship, with activity in IMPC being higher during emotional stimulation. Prolonged stimulus presentation attenuated the rise of rCBF associated with emotions in left parietal cortex and cerebellar hemisphere. We speculate that the different rCBF during neutral and emotional stimulation for 6 s is a consequence of attention divided between the emotional stimuli and their associations. Thus, prefrontal activity rises when a cognitive task accompanies emotional stimulation because several cognitive processes compete for attention. The IMPC may serve the mechanism of attention underlying the concept of a default mode of brain function, selecting among competitive inputs from multiple brain regions rather than just processing emotions. The results emphasize the importance of implicit cognitive processing during emotional activation, however, unintended.
ARTICLE UPDATE - Event-related potential study of attention capture by affective sounds.
Thierry G, Roberts MV.
NeuroReport, 18, 245-248
Affective pictures trigger attentional responses in humans but very little is known about the processing of affective environmental sounds. Here, we used an oddball event-related potential paradigm to determine the saliency of unpleasant sounds presented among affectively neutral sounds. Participants performed a one-back task while listening to pseudo-randomized sound sequences comprising 70% neutral sounds, 15% unpleasant sounds of matched peak intensity, and 15% louder neutral sounds. Louder neutral sounds elicited a larger N1 component and a significant P3a variation with a central distribution. Unpleasant sounds did not affect early components but elicited a significant frontocentral P3a modulation. We conclude that affective environmental sounds spontaneously capture human attention but fail to modulate early perceptual processing when sound peak intensity is controlled.
NeuroReport, 18, 245-248
Affective pictures trigger attentional responses in humans but very little is known about the processing of affective environmental sounds. Here, we used an oddball event-related potential paradigm to determine the saliency of unpleasant sounds presented among affectively neutral sounds. Participants performed a one-back task while listening to pseudo-randomized sound sequences comprising 70% neutral sounds, 15% unpleasant sounds of matched peak intensity, and 15% louder neutral sounds. Louder neutral sounds elicited a larger N1 component and a significant P3a variation with a central distribution. Unpleasant sounds did not affect early components but elicited a significant frontocentral P3a modulation. We conclude that affective environmental sounds spontaneously capture human attention but fail to modulate early perceptual processing when sound peak intensity is controlled.
ARTICLE UPDATE - Enhancement of activity of the primary visual cortex during processing of emotional stimuli as measured with event-related functional
Martin J. Herrmann, Theresa Huter, Michael Plichta, Ann-Christine Ehlis, Georg W. Alpers, Andreas Mühlberger, Andreas J. Fallgatter
Human Brain Mapping, in press
In this study we investigated whether event-related near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is suitable to measure changes in brain activation of the occipital cortex modulated by the emotional content of the visual stimuli. As we found in a previous pilot study that only positive but not negative stimuli differ from neutral stimuli (with respect to oxygenated haemoglobin), we now measured the event-related EEG potentials and NIRS simultaneously during the same session. Thereby, we could evaluate whether the subjects (n = 16) processed the positive as well as the negative emotional stimuli in a similar way. During the task, the subjects passively viewed positive, negative, and neutral emotional pictures (40 presentations were shown in each category, and pictures were taken from the International Affective Picture System, IAPS). The stimuli were presented for 3 s in a randomized order (with a mean of 3 s interstimulus interval). During the task, we measured the event-related EEG potentials over the electrode positions O1, Oz, O2, and Pz and the changes of oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin by multichannel NIRS over the occipital cortex. The EEG results clearly show an increased early posterior negativity over the occipital cortex for both positive as well as negative stimuli compared to neutral. The results for the NIRS measurement were less clear. Although positive as well as negative stimuli lead to significantly higher decrease in deoxygenated haemoglobin than neutral stimuli, this was not found for the oxygenated haemoglobin.
Human Brain Mapping, in press
In this study we investigated whether event-related near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is suitable to measure changes in brain activation of the occipital cortex modulated by the emotional content of the visual stimuli. As we found in a previous pilot study that only positive but not negative stimuli differ from neutral stimuli (with respect to oxygenated haemoglobin), we now measured the event-related EEG potentials and NIRS simultaneously during the same session. Thereby, we could evaluate whether the subjects (n = 16) processed the positive as well as the negative emotional stimuli in a similar way. During the task, the subjects passively viewed positive, negative, and neutral emotional pictures (40 presentations were shown in each category, and pictures were taken from the International Affective Picture System, IAPS). The stimuli were presented for 3 s in a randomized order (with a mean of 3 s interstimulus interval). During the task, we measured the event-related EEG potentials over the electrode positions O1, Oz, O2, and Pz and the changes of oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin by multichannel NIRS over the occipital cortex. The EEG results clearly show an increased early posterior negativity over the occipital cortex for both positive as well as negative stimuli compared to neutral. The results for the NIRS measurement were less clear. Although positive as well as negative stimuli lead to significantly higher decrease in deoxygenated haemoglobin than neutral stimuli, this was not found for the oxygenated haemoglobin.
ARTICLE UPDATE - Reduced specificity of autobiographical memory and depression: the role of executive control.
Dalgleish T, Golden AM, Barrett LF, Au Yeung C, Murphy V, Tchanturia K, Williams JM, Perkins N, Barnard PJ, Elward R, Watkins E.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 136, 23-42.
It has been widely established that depressed mood states and clinical depression, as well as a range of other psychiatric disorders, are associated with a relative difficulty in accessing specific autobiographical information in response to emotion-related cue words on an Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT; J. M. G. Williams & K. Broadbent, 1986). In 8 studies the authors examined the extent to which this relationship is a function of impaired executive control associated with these mood states and clinical disorders. Studies 1-4 demonstrated that performance on the AMT is associated with performance on measures of executive control, independent of depressed mood. Furthermore, Study 1 showed that executive control (as measured by verbal fluency) mediated the relationship between both depressed mood and a clinical diagnosis of eating disorder and AMT performance. Using a stratified sample in Study 5, the authors confirmed the positive association between depressed mood and impaired performance on the AMT. Studies 6-8 involved experimental manipulations of the parameters of the AMT designed to further indicate that reduced executive control is to a significant extent driving the relationship between depressed mood and AMT performance. The potential role of executive control in accounting for other aspects of the AMT literature is discussed.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 136, 23-42.
It has been widely established that depressed mood states and clinical depression, as well as a range of other psychiatric disorders, are associated with a relative difficulty in accessing specific autobiographical information in response to emotion-related cue words on an Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT; J. M. G. Williams & K. Broadbent, 1986). In 8 studies the authors examined the extent to which this relationship is a function of impaired executive control associated with these mood states and clinical disorders. Studies 1-4 demonstrated that performance on the AMT is associated with performance on measures of executive control, independent of depressed mood. Furthermore, Study 1 showed that executive control (as measured by verbal fluency) mediated the relationship between both depressed mood and a clinical diagnosis of eating disorder and AMT performance. Using a stratified sample in Study 5, the authors confirmed the positive association between depressed mood and impaired performance on the AMT. Studies 6-8 involved experimental manipulations of the parameters of the AMT designed to further indicate that reduced executive control is to a significant extent driving the relationship between depressed mood and AMT performance. The potential role of executive control in accounting for other aspects of the AMT literature is discussed.
ARTICLE UPDATE - Emotion and consciousness
Tsuchiya N, Adolphs R.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences, in press
Consciousness and emotion feature prominently in our personal lives, yet remain enigmatic. Recent advances prompt further distinctions that should provide more experimental traction: we argue that emotion consists of an emotion state (functional aspects, including emotional response) as well as feelings (the conscious experience of the emotion), and that consciousness consists of level (e.g. coma, vegetative state and wakefulness) and content (what it is we are conscious of). Not only is consciousness important to aspects of emotion but structures that are important for emotion, such as brainstem nuclei and midline cortices, overlap with structures that regulate the level of consciousness. The intersection of consciousness and emotion is ripe for experimental investigation, and we outline possible examples for future studies.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences, in press
Consciousness and emotion feature prominently in our personal lives, yet remain enigmatic. Recent advances prompt further distinctions that should provide more experimental traction: we argue that emotion consists of an emotion state (functional aspects, including emotional response) as well as feelings (the conscious experience of the emotion), and that consciousness consists of level (e.g. coma, vegetative state and wakefulness) and content (what it is we are conscious of). Not only is consciousness important to aspects of emotion but structures that are important for emotion, such as brainstem nuclei and midline cortices, overlap with structures that regulate the level of consciousness. The intersection of consciousness and emotion is ripe for experimental investigation, and we outline possible examples for future studies.
ARTICLE UPDATE - Emotion recognition from dynamic emotional displays following anterior cingulotomy and anterior capsulotomy for chronic depression
Nathan Ridout, Ronan E. O’Carroll, Barbara Dritschel, David Christmasd, Muftah Eljamel and Keith Matthews
Neuropsychologia, in press
Four patients that had received an anterior cingulotomy (ACING) and five patients that had received both an ACING and an anterior capsulotomy (ACAPS) as an intervention for chronic, treatment refractory depression were presented with a series of dynamic emotional stimuli and invited to identify the emotion portrayed. Their performance was compared with that of a group of non-surgically treated patients with major depression (n = 17) and with a group of matched, never-depressed controls (n = 22). At the time of testing, four of the nine neurosurgery patients had recovered from their depressive episode, whereas five remained depressed. Analysis of emotion recognition accuracy revealed no significant differences between depressed and non-depressed neurosurgically treated patients. Similarly, no significant differences were observed between the patients treated with ACING alone and those treated with both ACING and ACAPS. Comparison of the emotion recognition accuracy of the neurosurgically treated patients and the depressed and healthy control groups revealed that the surgically treated patients exhibited a general impairment in their recognition accuracy compared to healthy controls. Regression analysis revealed that participants’ emotion recognition accuracy was predicted by the number of errors they made on the Stroop colour-naming task. It is plausible that the observed deficit in emotion recognition accuracy was a consequence of impaired attentional control, which may have been a result of the surgical lesions to the anterior cingulate cortex.
Neuropsychologia, in press
Four patients that had received an anterior cingulotomy (ACING) and five patients that had received both an ACING and an anterior capsulotomy (ACAPS) as an intervention for chronic, treatment refractory depression were presented with a series of dynamic emotional stimuli and invited to identify the emotion portrayed. Their performance was compared with that of a group of non-surgically treated patients with major depression (n = 17) and with a group of matched, never-depressed controls (n = 22). At the time of testing, four of the nine neurosurgery patients had recovered from their depressive episode, whereas five remained depressed. Analysis of emotion recognition accuracy revealed no significant differences between depressed and non-depressed neurosurgically treated patients. Similarly, no significant differences were observed between the patients treated with ACING alone and those treated with both ACING and ACAPS. Comparison of the emotion recognition accuracy of the neurosurgically treated patients and the depressed and healthy control groups revealed that the surgically treated patients exhibited a general impairment in their recognition accuracy compared to healthy controls. Regression analysis revealed that participants’ emotion recognition accuracy was predicted by the number of errors they made on the Stroop colour-naming task. It is plausible that the observed deficit in emotion recognition accuracy was a consequence of impaired attentional control, which may have been a result of the surgical lesions to the anterior cingulate cortex.
Friday, February 23, 2007
ARTICLE UPDATE - Affective Interactions Using Virtual Reality: The Link between Presence and Emotions.
Riva G, Mantovani F, Capideville CS, Preziosa A, Morganti F, Villani D, Gaggioli A, Rotella C, Alcaniz M.
Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 10, 45-56
Many studies showed the ability of movies and imagery techniques to elicit emotions. Nevertheless, it is less clear how to manipulate the content of interactive media to induce specific emotional responses. In particular, this is true for the emerging medium virtual reality (VR), whose main feature is the ability to induce a feeling of "presence" in the computer-generated world experienced by the user. The main goal of this study was to analyze the possible use of VR as an affective medium. Within this general goal, the study also analyzed the relationship between presence and emotions. The results confirmed the efficacy of VR as affective medium: the interaction with "anxious" and "relaxing" virtual environments produced anxiety and relaxation. The data also showed a circular interaction between presence and emotions: on one side, the feeling of presence was greater in the "emotional" environments; on the other side, the emotional state was influenced by the level of presence. The significance of these results for the assessment of affective interaction is discussed.
Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 10, 45-56
Many studies showed the ability of movies and imagery techniques to elicit emotions. Nevertheless, it is less clear how to manipulate the content of interactive media to induce specific emotional responses. In particular, this is true for the emerging medium virtual reality (VR), whose main feature is the ability to induce a feeling of "presence" in the computer-generated world experienced by the user. The main goal of this study was to analyze the possible use of VR as an affective medium. Within this general goal, the study also analyzed the relationship between presence and emotions. The results confirmed the efficacy of VR as affective medium: the interaction with "anxious" and "relaxing" virtual environments produced anxiety and relaxation. The data also showed a circular interaction between presence and emotions: on one side, the feeling of presence was greater in the "emotional" environments; on the other side, the emotional state was influenced by the level of presence. The significance of these results for the assessment of affective interaction is discussed.
Friday, February 16, 2007
ARTICLE UPDATE - A functional MRI study of happy and sad affective states induced by classical musi
Martina T. Mitterschiffthaler , Cynthia H.Y. Fu, Jeffrey A. Dalton , Christopher M. Andrew , Steven C.R. Williams
Human Brain Mapping, in press
The present study investigated the functional neuroanatomy of transient mood changes in response to Western classical music. In a pilot experiment, 53 healthy volunteers (mean age: 32.0; SD = 9.6) evaluated their emotional responses to 60 classical musical pieces using a visual analogue scale (VAS) ranging from 0 (sad) through 50 (neutral) to 100 (happy). Twenty pieces were found to accurately induce the intended emotional states with good reliability, consisting of 5 happy, 5 sad, and 10 emotionally unevocative, neutral musical pieces. In a subsequent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal contrast was measured in response to the mood state induced by each musical stimulus in a separate group of 16 healthy participants (mean age: 29.5; SD = 5.5). Mood state ratings during scanning were made by a VAS, which confirmed the emotional valence of the selected stimuli. Increased BOLD signal contrast during presentation of happy music was found in the ventral and dorsal striatum, anterior cingulate, parahippocampal gyrus, and auditory association areas. With sad music, increased BOLD signal responses were noted in the hippocampus/amygdala and auditory association areas. Presentation of neutral music was associated with increased BOLD signal responses in the insula and auditory association areas. Our findings suggest that an emotion processing network in response to music integrates the ventral and dorsal striatum, areas involved in reward experience and movement; the anterior cingulate, which is important for targeting attention; and medial temporal areas, traditionally found in the appraisal and processing of emotions. Hum Brain Mapp 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Human Brain Mapping, in press
The present study investigated the functional neuroanatomy of transient mood changes in response to Western classical music. In a pilot experiment, 53 healthy volunteers (mean age: 32.0; SD = 9.6) evaluated their emotional responses to 60 classical musical pieces using a visual analogue scale (VAS) ranging from 0 (sad) through 50 (neutral) to 100 (happy). Twenty pieces were found to accurately induce the intended emotional states with good reliability, consisting of 5 happy, 5 sad, and 10 emotionally unevocative, neutral musical pieces. In a subsequent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal contrast was measured in response to the mood state induced by each musical stimulus in a separate group of 16 healthy participants (mean age: 29.5; SD = 5.5). Mood state ratings during scanning were made by a VAS, which confirmed the emotional valence of the selected stimuli. Increased BOLD signal contrast during presentation of happy music was found in the ventral and dorsal striatum, anterior cingulate, parahippocampal gyrus, and auditory association areas. With sad music, increased BOLD signal responses were noted in the hippocampus/amygdala and auditory association areas. Presentation of neutral music was associated with increased BOLD signal responses in the insula and auditory association areas. Our findings suggest that an emotion processing network in response to music integrates the ventral and dorsal striatum, areas involved in reward experience and movement; the anterior cingulate, which is important for targeting attention; and medial temporal areas, traditionally found in the appraisal and processing of emotions. Hum Brain Mapp 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Friday, February 09, 2007
ARTICLE UPDATE - Affective visual event-related potentials: Arousal, repetition, and time-on-task.
Jonas K. Olofsson and John Polich
Biological Psychology, in press
Affective stimulus pictures that differed in valence (unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant) were repeated as targets in an oddball task to elicit event-related potentials (ERPs) in young female adults. Each picture target was repeated consecutively four times, with picture order counterbalanced and time-on-task influences assessed across subjects. Response time decreased from the first to second stimulus presentation and remained stable. Stimulus repetition was associated with voltage increases for N1, P2, N2, and P3, from initial to subsequent presentations. Arousal effects did not interact with stimulus repetition at any latency range. Time-on-task was associated with decreased voltages for the N2 and P3 potentials but was unaffected by stimulus valence. The findings suggest affective arousal, stimulus repetition, and time-on-task independently modulate ERP outcomes at overlapping time ranges. Theoretical implications are discussed.
Biological Psychology, in press
Affective stimulus pictures that differed in valence (unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant) were repeated as targets in an oddball task to elicit event-related potentials (ERPs) in young female adults. Each picture target was repeated consecutively four times, with picture order counterbalanced and time-on-task influences assessed across subjects. Response time decreased from the first to second stimulus presentation and remained stable. Stimulus repetition was associated with voltage increases for N1, P2, N2, and P3, from initial to subsequent presentations. Arousal effects did not interact with stimulus repetition at any latency range. Time-on-task was associated with decreased voltages for the N2 and P3 potentials but was unaffected by stimulus valence. The findings suggest affective arousal, stimulus repetition, and time-on-task independently modulate ERP outcomes at overlapping time ranges. Theoretical implications are discussed.
Friday, February 02, 2007
ARTICLE UPDATE - Selective Visual Attention to Emotion
Harald T. Schupp, Jessica Stockburger, Maurizio Codispoti, Markus Junghöfer, Almut I. Weike, and Alfons O. Hamm
The Journal of Neuroscience, 27, 1082-1089
Visual attention can be voluntarily directed toward stimuli and is attracted by stimuli that are emotionally significant. The present study explored the case when both processes coincide and attention is directed to emotional stimuli. Participants viewed a rapid and continuous stream of high-arousing erotica and mutilation stimuli as well as low-arousing control images. Each of the three stimulus categories served in separate runs as target or nontarget category. Event-related brain potential measures revealed that the interaction of attention and emotion varied for specific processing stages. The effects of attention and emotional significance operated additively during perceptual encoding indexed by negative-going potentials over posterior regions (~200–350 ms after stimulus onset). In contrast, thought to reflect the process of stimulus evaluation, P3 target effects (~400–600 ms after stimulus onset) were markedly augmented when erotica and mutilation compared with control stimuli were the focus of attention. Thus, emotion potentiated attention effects specifically during later stages of processing. These findings suggest to specify the interaction of attention and emotion in distinct processing stages.
The Journal of Neuroscience, 27, 1082-1089
Visual attention can be voluntarily directed toward stimuli and is attracted by stimuli that are emotionally significant. The present study explored the case when both processes coincide and attention is directed to emotional stimuli. Participants viewed a rapid and continuous stream of high-arousing erotica and mutilation stimuli as well as low-arousing control images. Each of the three stimulus categories served in separate runs as target or nontarget category. Event-related brain potential measures revealed that the interaction of attention and emotion varied for specific processing stages. The effects of attention and emotional significance operated additively during perceptual encoding indexed by negative-going potentials over posterior regions (~200–350 ms after stimulus onset). In contrast, thought to reflect the process of stimulus evaluation, P3 target effects (~400–600 ms after stimulus onset) were markedly augmented when erotica and mutilation compared with control stimuli were the focus of attention. Thus, emotion potentiated attention effects specifically during later stages of processing. These findings suggest to specify the interaction of attention and emotion in distinct processing stages.
Friday, January 26, 2007
ARTICLE UPDATE - Modulation of emotion by cognition and cognition by emotion
K.S. Blaira, B.W. Smithb, D.G.V. Mitchella, J. Mortonc, M. Vythilingama, L. Pessoad, D. Fridberga, A. Zametkina, D. Sturmane, E.E. Nelsona, W.C. Drevetsa, D.S. Pinea, A. Martine and R.J.R. Blair
NeuroImage, in press
In this study, we examined the impact of goal-directed processing on the response to emotional pictures and the impact of emotional pictures on goal-directed processing. Subjects (N = 22) viewed neutral or emotional pictures in the presence or absence of a demanding cognitive task. Goal-directed processing disrupted the BOLD response to emotional pictures. In particular, the BOLD response within bilateral amygdala and inferior frontal gyrus decreased during concurrent task performance. Moreover, the presence of both positive and negative distractors disrupted task performance, with reaction times increasing for emotional relative to neutral distractors. Moreover, in line with the suggestion of the importance of lateral frontal regions in emotional regulation [Ochsner, K. N., Ray, R. D., Cooper, J. C., Robertson, E. R., Chopra, S., Gabrieli, J. D., et al. (2004). For better or for worse: neural systems supporting the cognitive down-and up-regulation of negative emotion. NeuroImage, 23(2), 483–499], connectivity analysis revealed positive connectivity between lateral superior frontal cortex and regions of middle frontal cortex previously implicated in emotional suppression [Beauregard, M., Levesque, J., and Bourgouin, P. (2001). Neural correlates of conscious self-regulation of emotion. J. Neurosci., 21 (18), RC165.; Levesque, J., Eugene, F., Joanette, Y., Paquette, V., Mensour, B., Beaudoin, G., et al. (2003). Neural circuitry underlying voluntary suppression of sadness. Biol. Psychiatry, 53 (6), 502–510.; Ohira, H., Nomura, M., Ichikawa, N., Isowa, T., Iidaka, T., Sato, A., et al. (2006). Association of neural and physiological responses during voluntary emotion suppression. NeuroImage, 29 (3), 721–733] and negative connectivity with bilateral amygdala. These data suggest that processes involved in emotional regulation are recruited during task performance in the context of emotional distractors.
NeuroImage, in press
In this study, we examined the impact of goal-directed processing on the response to emotional pictures and the impact of emotional pictures on goal-directed processing. Subjects (N = 22) viewed neutral or emotional pictures in the presence or absence of a demanding cognitive task. Goal-directed processing disrupted the BOLD response to emotional pictures. In particular, the BOLD response within bilateral amygdala and inferior frontal gyrus decreased during concurrent task performance. Moreover, the presence of both positive and negative distractors disrupted task performance, with reaction times increasing for emotional relative to neutral distractors. Moreover, in line with the suggestion of the importance of lateral frontal regions in emotional regulation [Ochsner, K. N., Ray, R. D., Cooper, J. C., Robertson, E. R., Chopra, S., Gabrieli, J. D., et al. (2004). For better or for worse: neural systems supporting the cognitive down-and up-regulation of negative emotion. NeuroImage, 23(2), 483–499], connectivity analysis revealed positive connectivity between lateral superior frontal cortex and regions of middle frontal cortex previously implicated in emotional suppression [Beauregard, M., Levesque, J., and Bourgouin, P. (2001). Neural correlates of conscious self-regulation of emotion. J. Neurosci., 21 (18), RC165.; Levesque, J., Eugene, F., Joanette, Y., Paquette, V., Mensour, B., Beaudoin, G., et al. (2003). Neural circuitry underlying voluntary suppression of sadness. Biol. Psychiatry, 53 (6), 502–510.; Ohira, H., Nomura, M., Ichikawa, N., Isowa, T., Iidaka, T., Sato, A., et al. (2006). Association of neural and physiological responses during voluntary emotion suppression. NeuroImage, 29 (3), 721–733] and negative connectivity with bilateral amygdala. These data suggest that processes involved in emotional regulation are recruited during task performance in the context of emotional distractors.
Friday, January 12, 2007
ARTICLE UPDATE - Aware and (Dis)Liking: Item-Based Analyses Reveal That Valence Acquisition via Evaluative Conditioning Emerges Only When There Is Con
Pleyers G, Corneille O, Luminet O, Yzerbyt V.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition, 33, 130-144.
Evaluative conditioning (EC) refers to changes in the liking of an affectively neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus, or CS) following the pairing of that stimulus with another stimulus of affective value (the unconditioned stimulus, or US). In 3 experiments, the authors assessed contingency awareness, that is, awareness of the CS-US associations, by relying on participants' responses to individual items rather than using a global method of assessment. They found that EC emerged on contingency aware CSs only. Of note, whether the CSs were evaluated explicitly (Experiments 1 and 2) or implicitly (Experiment 3) did not make a difference. This pattern supports the idea that awareness of the CS-US associations may be required for valence acquisition via EC.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition, 33, 130-144.
Evaluative conditioning (EC) refers to changes in the liking of an affectively neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus, or CS) following the pairing of that stimulus with another stimulus of affective value (the unconditioned stimulus, or US). In 3 experiments, the authors assessed contingency awareness, that is, awareness of the CS-US associations, by relying on participants' responses to individual items rather than using a global method of assessment. They found that EC emerged on contingency aware CSs only. Of note, whether the CSs were evaluated explicitly (Experiments 1 and 2) or implicitly (Experiment 3) did not make a difference. This pattern supports the idea that awareness of the CS-US associations may be required for valence acquisition via EC.
ARTICLE UPDATE - Amygdala reactivity predicts automatic negative evaluations for facial emotions.
Dannlowski U, Ohrmann P, Bauer J, Kugel H, Arolt V, Heindel W, Suslow T.
Psychiatry Research, in press
The amygdala is a key structure in a limbic circuit involved in the rapid and unconscious processing of facial emotions. In the present study, the role of the amygdala in automatic, involuntary appraisal processes, which are believed to be a crucial component of emotion processing, was investigated in 23 healthy subjects. Amygdala activity was recorded in response to masked displays of angry, sad, and happy facial expressions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In a subsequent experiment, the subjects performed a masked affective priming task that characterizes automatic emotion processing by investigating the biasing effect of subliminally presented emotional faces on evaluative ratings to subsequently presented neutral stimuli. In the affective priming task, significant valence-congruent evaluation manipulation was observed. Subjects rated neutral targets more positively if they were primed by happy faces. Significant correlations were found between amygdala responses to masked negative facial expressions and negative evaluation shifts elicited by the corresponding emotion quality in the affective priming task. Spontaneous amygdala reactivity to facial emotions appears to be a determinant of automatic negative evaluative response tendencies. This finding might shed some light on how amygdala hyperresponsivity contributes to negative cognitive biases commonly observed in affective disorders.
Psychiatry Research, in press
The amygdala is a key structure in a limbic circuit involved in the rapid and unconscious processing of facial emotions. In the present study, the role of the amygdala in automatic, involuntary appraisal processes, which are believed to be a crucial component of emotion processing, was investigated in 23 healthy subjects. Amygdala activity was recorded in response to masked displays of angry, sad, and happy facial expressions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In a subsequent experiment, the subjects performed a masked affective priming task that characterizes automatic emotion processing by investigating the biasing effect of subliminally presented emotional faces on evaluative ratings to subsequently presented neutral stimuli. In the affective priming task, significant valence-congruent evaluation manipulation was observed. Subjects rated neutral targets more positively if they were primed by happy faces. Significant correlations were found between amygdala responses to masked negative facial expressions and negative evaluation shifts elicited by the corresponding emotion quality in the affective priming task. Spontaneous amygdala reactivity to facial emotions appears to be a determinant of automatic negative evaluative response tendencies. This finding might shed some light on how amygdala hyperresponsivity contributes to negative cognitive biases commonly observed in affective disorders.
ARTICLE UPDATE - Categorical perception of anger and disgust facial expression is affected by non-clinical social anxiety: An ERP study.
Rossignol M, Anselme C, Vermeulen N, Philippot P, Campanella S.
Brain Research, in press
Anxiety has been associated with a bias for interpreting threatening information. Faces expressing anger seem to be more easily detected by socially anxious individuals than by non-anxious individuals. Similarly, disgust on a face may also reflect a negative social judgment. We tested the hypothesis that individuals displaying non-clinical social anxiety would be as sensitive to disgust as to anger interpretation by comparing individuals scoring high or low on the fear of social evaluation scale (FNE, Watson and Friend, 1969). Event-related potentials (ERP) were recorded in response to repetitions of a particular facial expression (e.g. anger) and in response to two deviating (rare) stimuli obtained by a morphing procedure, where one depicted the same emotion as the frequent stimulus, while the other depicted a different facial expression (e.g. disgust). The classic effect of categorical perception was reproduced: at a behavioral level, people detected more easily rare faces depicting a different emotion than faces depicting the same emotion. ERP results suggest that deviant faces depicting a different emotion evoked an earlier attentional N2b/P3a wave complex, together with an earlier and enhanced P3b. More interestingly, participants with non-clinical social anxiety manifested a reduced N2b wave when they had to detect a change in intensity of anger presentation. However, these individuals did not show facilitation to disengage from disgust when they have to detect angry faces, which was displayed by control participants. Implications and suggestions for further research about the role played by anger and disgust in psychopathology are outlined.
Brain Research, in press
Anxiety has been associated with a bias for interpreting threatening information. Faces expressing anger seem to be more easily detected by socially anxious individuals than by non-anxious individuals. Similarly, disgust on a face may also reflect a negative social judgment. We tested the hypothesis that individuals displaying non-clinical social anxiety would be as sensitive to disgust as to anger interpretation by comparing individuals scoring high or low on the fear of social evaluation scale (FNE, Watson and Friend, 1969). Event-related potentials (ERP) were recorded in response to repetitions of a particular facial expression (e.g. anger) and in response to two deviating (rare) stimuli obtained by a morphing procedure, where one depicted the same emotion as the frequent stimulus, while the other depicted a different facial expression (e.g. disgust). The classic effect of categorical perception was reproduced: at a behavioral level, people detected more easily rare faces depicting a different emotion than faces depicting the same emotion. ERP results suggest that deviant faces depicting a different emotion evoked an earlier attentional N2b/P3a wave complex, together with an earlier and enhanced P3b. More interestingly, participants with non-clinical social anxiety manifested a reduced N2b wave when they had to detect a change in intensity of anger presentation. However, these individuals did not show facilitation to disengage from disgust when they have to detect angry faces, which was displayed by control participants. Implications and suggestions for further research about the role played by anger and disgust in psychopathology are outlined.
Monday, January 08, 2007
ARTICLE UPDATE - Affective biasing of choices in gambling task decision making
Hinson, John M.; Whitney, Paul; Holben, Heather; Wirick, Aaron K.
Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 6, 190-200
The proponents of the somatic marker hypothesis presume that rational decision making is guided by emotional reactions that are developed from prior experience. Supporting evidence for the hypothesis comes almost exclusively from the short-term affective reactions that are learned during the course of a hypothetical decision-making task—the gambling task (Gt). We examined GT performance and affective reactions to choices when those choices were biased by words that had preexisting affective value. In one experiment, affectively valued words directly signaled good and bad choices. A congruent relation between affective value of word and choice outcome improved GT performance, whereas an incongruent relation greatly interfered with performance. In another experiment, affectively valued words were maintained as a working memory (WM) load between GT choices. A WM load with affectively positive words somewhat improved GT performance, whereas affectively negative words interfered with performance. Somatic markers—indicated by differential anticipatory skin conductance response (scr) amplitude for good and bad choices—appeared at a point in the GT session when choice performance was superior. However, differential scr developed during the session after good choice performance was already established. These results indicate that preexisting affective biases can influence GT decision making. In addition, the somatic markers that are regular accompaniments of GT decision making appeared to be temporally lagging indicators of choice performance.
Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 6, 190-200
The proponents of the somatic marker hypothesis presume that rational decision making is guided by emotional reactions that are developed from prior experience. Supporting evidence for the hypothesis comes almost exclusively from the short-term affective reactions that are learned during the course of a hypothetical decision-making task—the gambling task (Gt). We examined GT performance and affective reactions to choices when those choices were biased by words that had preexisting affective value. In one experiment, affectively valued words directly signaled good and bad choices. A congruent relation between affective value of word and choice outcome improved GT performance, whereas an incongruent relation greatly interfered with performance. In another experiment, affectively valued words were maintained as a working memory (WM) load between GT choices. A WM load with affectively positive words somewhat improved GT performance, whereas affectively negative words interfered with performance. Somatic markers—indicated by differential anticipatory skin conductance response (scr) amplitude for good and bad choices—appeared at a point in the GT session when choice performance was superior. However, differential scr developed during the session after good choice performance was already established. These results indicate that preexisting affective biases can influence GT decision making. In addition, the somatic markers that are regular accompaniments of GT decision making appeared to be temporally lagging indicators of choice performance.
ARTICLE UPDATE - Positive affect increases the breadth of attentional selection
G. Rowe, J. B. Hirsh, and A. K. Anderson
PNAS, 104, 383-388
The present study examined the thesis that positive affect may serve to broaden the scope of attentional filters, reducing their selectivity. The effect of positive mood states was measured in two different cognitive domains: semantic search (remote associates task) and visual selective attention (Eriksen flanker task). In the conceptual domain, positive affect enhanced access to remote associates, suggesting an increase in the scope of semantic access. In the visuospatial domain, positive affect impaired visual selective attention by increasing processing of spatially adjacent flanking distractors, suggesting an increase in the scope of visuospatial attention. During positive states, individual differences in enhanced semantic access were correlated with the degree of impaired visual selective attention. These findings demonstrate that positive states, by loosening the reins on inhibitory control, result in a fundamental change in the breadth of attentional allocation to both external visual and internal conceptual space.
PNAS, 104, 383-388
The present study examined the thesis that positive affect may serve to broaden the scope of attentional filters, reducing their selectivity. The effect of positive mood states was measured in two different cognitive domains: semantic search (remote associates task) and visual selective attention (Eriksen flanker task). In the conceptual domain, positive affect enhanced access to remote associates, suggesting an increase in the scope of semantic access. In the visuospatial domain, positive affect impaired visual selective attention by increasing processing of spatially adjacent flanking distractors, suggesting an increase in the scope of visuospatial attention. During positive states, individual differences in enhanced semantic access were correlated with the degree of impaired visual selective attention. These findings demonstrate that positive states, by loosening the reins on inhibitory control, result in a fundamental change in the breadth of attentional allocation to both external visual and internal conceptual space.
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