1
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Wang G, Ma L, Wang L, Pang W. Independence Threat or Interdependence Threat? The Focusing Effect on Social or Physical Threat Modulates Brain Activity. Brain Sci 2024; 14:368. [PMID: 38672018 PMCID: PMC11047893 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14040368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The neural basis of threat perception has mostly been examined separately for social or physical threats. However, most of the threats encountered in everyday life are complex. The features of interactions between social and physiological threats under different attentional conditions are unclear. METHOD The present study explores this issue using an attention-guided paradigm based on ERP techniques. The screen displays social threats (face threats) and physical threats (action threats), instructing participants to concentrate on only one type of threat, thereby exploring brain activation characteristics. RESULTS It was found that action threats did not affect the processing of face threats in the face-attention condition, and electrophysiological evidence from the brain suggests a comparable situation to that when processing face threats alone, with higher amplitudes of the N170 and EPN (Early Posterior Negativity) components of anger than neutral emotions. However, when focusing on the action-attention condition, the brain was affected by face threats, as evidenced by a greater N190 elicited by stimuli containing threatening emotions, regardless of whether the action was threatening or not. This trend was also reflected in EPN. CONCLUSIONS The current study reveals important similarities and differences between physical and social threats, suggesting that the brain has a greater processing advantage for social threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guan Wang
- The School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
- School of Education Science, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian 223300, China
| | - Lian Ma
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian 223300, China
| | - Lili Wang
- School of Education Science, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian 223300, China
| | - Weiguo Pang
- The School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
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2
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Lawrence AJ, Lawrence-Wood E, Aidman EV, Spencer-Merris PL, Felmingham KL, McFarlane AC. Reduced pre-attentive threat versus nonthreat signal discrimination in clinically healthy military personnel with recurrent combat exposure history: A preliminary event-related potential (ERP) study. J Psychiatr Res 2024; 172:266-273. [PMID: 38417322 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.02.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
Evidence now suggests that traumatic-stress impacts brain functions even in the absence of acute-onset post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. These neurophysiological changes have also been suggested to account for increased risks of PTSD symptoms later developing in the aftermath of subsequent trauma. However, surprisingly few studies have explicitly examined brain function dynamics in high-risk populations, such as combat exposed military personnel without diagnosable PTSD. To extend available research, facial expression sensitive N170 event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes were examined in a clinically healthy sample of active service military personnel with recurrent combat exposure history. Consistent with several established theories of delayed-onset PTSD vulnerability, higher N170 amplitudes to backward-masked fearful and neutral facial expressions correlated with higher levels of past combat exposure. Significantly elevated amplitudes to nonthreatening neutral facial expressions also resulted in an absence of normal threat-versus-nonthreat signal processing specificity. While a modest sample size and cross-sectional design are key limitations here, ongoing prospective-longitudinal follow-ups may shed further light on the precise aetiology and prognostic utility of these preliminary findings in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Lawrence
- Discipline of Psychiatry, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
| | - Ellie Lawrence-Wood
- Discipline of Psychiatry, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia; Phoenix Australia Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Eugene V Aidman
- Human and Decision Sciences Division, Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), Adelaide, Australia; School of Biomedical Sciences & Pharmacy, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia
| | | | - Kim L Felmingham
- School of Psychological Science, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Alexander C McFarlane
- Discipline of Psychiatry, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
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3
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Suk JW, Blair RJR, Vaughan B, Lerdahl A, Garvey WF, Edwards R, Leibenluft E, Hwang S. Mediating effect of amygdala activity on response to fear vs. happiness in youth with significant levels of irritability and disruptive mood and behavior disorders. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1204574. [PMID: 37901308 PMCID: PMC10602729 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1204574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Irritability, characterized by a tendency to exhibit increased anger, is a common clinical problem in youth. Irritability is a significant clinical issue in youth with various psychiatric diagnoses, especially disruptive behavior, and mood disorders (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, and Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder). Although there have been previous studies focusing on functional alteration in the amygdala related to irritability, there is no comprehensive model between emotional, neuronal, and behavioral characteristics. Methods Using an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) procedure, we investigated the relationships between behavioral irritability, selective impairments in processing facial emotions and the amygdala neural response in youth with increased irritability. Fifty-nine youth with disruptive mood and behavior disorder completed a facial expression processing task with an event-related fMRI paradigm. The severity of irritability was evaluated using the Affective Reactivity Index. Results In the result of behavioral data, irritability, and reaction time (RT) differences between interpreting negative (fear) and positive (happiness) facial expressions were positively correlated. In the fMRI result, youth showed higher activation in the right cingulate gyrus, bilateral cerebellum, right amygdala, right precuneus, right superior frontal gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus, during the happiness condition vs. fear condition. No brain region exhibited greater activation in the fear than in the happiness conditions. In the result of the mediator analysis, increased irritability was associated with a longer RT toward positive vs. negative facial expressions. Irritability was also positively associated with the difference in amygdala blood oxygen level-dependent responses between the two emotional conditions (happiness > fear). This difference in amygdala activity mediated the interaction between irritability and the RT difference between negative and positive facial expressions. Discussion We suggest that impairment in the implicit processing of facial emotional expressions with different valences causes distinct patterns of amygdala response, which correlate with the level of irritability. These results broaden our understanding of the biological mechanism of irritability at the neural level and provide information for the future direction of the study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji-Woo Suk
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States
- Digital Health Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Robert J. R. Blair
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Emotion and Development Branch, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Brigette Vaughan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Arica Lerdahl
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - William F. Garvey
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Ryan Edwards
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Soonjo Hwang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States
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Pegna AJ, Framorando D, Yu Z, Buhmann Z, Nelson N, Dixson BJW. Hierarchical status is rapidly assessed from behaviourally dominant faces. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 23:1267-1280. [PMID: 37198384 PMCID: PMC10545651 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-023-01108-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Recognition of social hierarchy is a key feature that helps us navigate through our complex social environment. Neuroimaging studies have identified brain structures involved in the processing of hierarchical stimuli, but the precise temporal dynamics of brain activity associated with such processing remains largely unknown. In this investigation, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the effect of social hierarchy on the neural responses elicited by dominant and nondominant faces. Participants played a game where they were led to believe that they were middle-rank players, responding alongside other alleged players, whom they perceived as higher or lower-ranking. ERPs were examined in response to dominant and nondominant faces, and low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) was used to identify the implicated brain areas. The results revealed that the amplitude of the N170 component was enhanced for faces of dominant individuals, showing that hierarchy influences the early stages of face processing. A later component, the late positive potential (LPP) appearing between 350-700 ms, also was enhanced for faces of higher-ranking players. Source localisation suggested that the early modulation was due to an enhanced response in limbic regions. These findings provide electrophysiological evidence for enhanced early visual processing of socially dominant faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan J Pegna
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
| | - David Framorando
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Zhou Yu
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Zak Buhmann
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Nicole Nelson
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Barnaby J W Dixson
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, QLD, Sippy Downs, Australia
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5
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Schindler S, Bruchmann M, Straube T. Beyond facial expressions: A systematic review on effects of emotional relevance of faces on the N170. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 153:105399. [PMID: 37734698 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
The N170 is the most prominent electrophysiological signature of face processing. While facial expressions reliably modulate the N170, there is considerable variance in N170 modulations by other sources of emotional relevance. Therefore, we systematically review and discuss this research area using different methods to manipulate the emotional relevance of inherently neutral faces. These methods were categorized into (1) existing pre-experimental affective person knowledge (e.g., negative attitudes towards outgroup faces), (2) experimentally instructed affective person knowledge (e.g., negative person information), (3) contingency-based affective learning (e.g., fear-conditioning), or (4) the immediate affective context (e.g., emotional information directly preceding the face presentation). For all categories except the immediate affective context category, the majority of studies reported significantly increased N170 amplitudes depending on the emotional relevance of faces. Furthermore, the potentiated N170 was observed across different attention conditions, supporting the role of the emotional relevance of faces on the early prioritized processing of configural facial information, regardless of low-level differences. However, we identified several open research questions and suggest venues for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Schindler
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany.
| | - Maximilian Bruchmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
| | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
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6
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Ramli NZ, Yahaya MF, Mohd Fahami NA, Abdul Manan H, Singh M, Damanhuri HA. Brain volumetric changes in menopausal women and its association with cognitive function: a structured review. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 15:1158001. [PMID: 37818479 PMCID: PMC10561270 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1158001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The menopausal transition has been proposed to put women at risk for undesirable neurological symptoms, including cognitive decline. Previous studies suggest that alterations in the hormonal milieu modulate brain structures associated with cognitive function. This structured review provides an overview of the relevant studies that have utilized MRI to report volumetric differences in the brain following menopause, and its correlations with the evaluated cognitive functions. We performed an electronic literature search using Medline (Ovid) and Scopus to identify studies that assessed the influence of menopause on brain structure with MRI. Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Brain volumetric differences have been reported most frequently in the frontal and temporal cortices as well as the hippocampus. These regions are important for higher cognitive tasks and memory. Additionally, the deficit in verbal and visuospatial memory in postmenopausal women has been associated with smaller regional brain volumes. Nevertheless, the limited number of eligible studies and cross-sectional study designs warrant further research to draw more robust conclusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nur Zuliani Ramli
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Mohamad Fairuz Yahaya
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Nur Azlina Mohd Fahami
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Hanani Abdul Manan
- Functional Image Processing Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Meharvan Singh
- Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, United States
| | - Hanafi Ahmad Damanhuri
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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7
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Wu Y, Luo M, Zhang Y. The power of (surreptitiously) mentioning your mentor's name: Subliminal priming of mentor's name modulates N170 responses to blurred faces. Biol Psychol 2023; 182:108649. [PMID: 37495070 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Using the event-related potentials (ERPs) technique and subliminal priming paradigm, the present study examined the influence of mentioning a mentor's name on graduate students. Fifty-eight graduate students were subliminally primed by mentor and stranger names before making pressure judgments of a series of unrelated blurred facial photos with neutral emotion. The face-sensitive N170 components were analyzed according to the pressure judgment × name prime conditions. The results showed that relative to stranger names, subliminal priming of mentor's name could modulate students' N170 reactions during facial processing. Specifically, the mentor-name priming attenuated N170 amplitudes for high-pressure judgment trials on the right hemisphere but heightened the overall N170 responses on the left hemisphere. Behavioral results also showed that the mentor-name priming slowed students' reaction time during pressure judgments; in addition, students' attitudes towards mentors were correlated with N170 amplitudes on high-pressure judgment conditions. These findings provided neuroscientific evidence demonstrating the psychological significance of mentors to graduate students. Theoretical and practical implications were also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Wu
- School of Marxism, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; Research Center for Educational Neuroscience, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Mingyan Luo
- School of Educational Science, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- Research Center for Educational Neuroscience, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; School of Educational Science, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
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8
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Qiu Z, Becker SI, Xia H, Hamblin-Frohman Z, Pegna AJ. Fixation-related electrical potentials during a free visual search task reveal the timing of visual awareness. iScience 2023; 26:107148. [PMID: 37408689 PMCID: PMC10319232 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
It has been repeatedly claimed that emotional faces readily capture attention, and that they may be processed without awareness. Yet some observations cast doubt on these assertions. Part of the problem may lie in the experimental paradigms employed. Here, we used a free viewing visual search task during electroencephalographic recordings, where participants searched for either fearful or neutral facial expressions among distractor expressions. Fixation-related potentials were computed for fearful and neutral targets and the response compared for stimuli consciously reported or not. We showed that awareness was associated with an electrophysiological negativity starting at around 110 ms, while emotional expressions were distinguished on the N170 and early posterior negativity only when stimuli were consciously reported. These results suggest that during unconstrained visual search, the earliest electrical correlate of awareness may emerge as early as 110 ms, and fixating at an emotional face without reporting it may not produce any unconscious processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeguo Qiu
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Stefanie I. Becker
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Hongfeng Xia
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | | | - Alan J. Pegna
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
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9
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Qiu Z, Zhang J, Pegna AJ. Neural processing of lateralised task-irrelevant fearful faces under different awareness conditions. Conscious Cogn 2023; 107:103449. [PMID: 36455416 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2022.103449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The neural fate of task-irrelevant emotional faces under different awareness conditions is poorly understood. Here, we examined the electrophysiological activity during an experiment where the location of target information (contrast-induced line) was manipulated orthogonally to the location of task-irrelevant fearful faces, under subliminal or supraliminal viewing conditions. We found that only target lines elicited an N2-posterior-contralateral (N2pc), indexing spatial attention shifting, in the supraliminal condition. No N2pc was found for the targets in the subliminal condition or for task-irrelevant fearful faces in either conditions. However, the mere presence of a fearful face enhanced early neural activity between 200 and 300 ms only in the subliminal condition. Additionally, the presence of a target line, but not a fearful face, enhanced the P3. Our results suggest that the N2pc is dependent on visual awareness and task-relevancy of the information and that laterally-presented task-irrelevant fearful expressions can be processed without awareness during early visual processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeguo Qiu
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia.
| | - Jun Zhang
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
| | - Alan J Pegna
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
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10
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Hu X, Feng B, Chen L, Luo W. Threat shapes visual context sensitivity selectively through low-spatial-frequency channels. Cognition 2023; 230:105305. [PMID: 36228380 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Threat has long been supposed to affect human cognitive processing including visual size perception. Whether such threat-related modulation effect varies as a function of spatial frequency is largely unexplored. Here we used low- or high-pass filtered threatening animal and fearful face images as primes and measured their effects on the processing of the Ebbinghaus illusion. Results showed that threatening-animal primes relative to neutral ones significantly decreased the illusion magnitude in low-spatial-frequency rather than in high-spatial-frequency ranges. However, fearful- and neutral-face primes had a comparable effect on the illusion magnitude in both spatial frequency ranges. Notably, when inhibitory transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied to the left temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), fearful-face primes significantly decreased the illusion magnitude in low-spatial-frequency rather than in high-spatial-frequency ranges. However, the opposite pattern of results was observed with right TPJ stimulation. The findings suggest that threat shapes basic aspects of visual perception in a spatial frequency-specific manner, possibly via magnocellular projections from both subcortical and cortical fear-processing systems to early visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuhua Hu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, PR China
| | - Bengang Feng
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, PR China
| | - Lihong Chen
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, PR China.
| | - Wenbo Luo
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, PR China.
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11
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Yu Z, Kritikos A, Pegna AJ. Up close and emotional: Electrophysiological dynamics of approaching angry faces. Biol Psychol 2023; 176:108479. [PMID: 36566011 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that looming emotional faces are processed rapidly by the neural system, and that this apparent approach further interacts with emotion, causing an enhanced neural response for angry expressions. However, previous research has not demonstrated unequivocally if these effects are due to low-level visual features, or if they are indeed due to the emotional content of the stimuli. To address this question, the current study presented upright and inverted angry and neutral faces, which either expanded or contracted in size on a constant depth-cued background, such that they appeared to approach or retreat from the viewer. EEG/ERP measures were used to identify the time course of brain activity for these stimuli. The results showed that when faces were upright, both the P1 and N170 were enhanced for angry expressions, with the P1 being further increased with looming angry faces. The inversion of the faces caused an increase in both the P1 and N170 amplitudes, but no modulation was found for emotions. These findings show an early modulation of brain activity for upright looming angry faces and rule out the influence of low-level visual features as a contributing factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhou Yu
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4068, Australia.
| | - Ada Kritikos
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4068, Australia
| | - Alan J Pegna
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4068, Australia.
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12
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Reisch LM, Wegrzyn M, Mielke M, Mehlmann A, Woermann FG, Bien CG, Kissler J. Face processing and efficient recognition of facial expressions are impaired following right but not left anteromedial temporal lobe resections: Behavioral and fMRI evidence. Neuropsychologia 2022; 174:108335. [PMID: 35863496 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Revised: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Anteromedial temporal lobe structures seem to support processing of faces and facial expressions. However, differential effects of unilateral left or right temporal lobe resections (TLR) on face processing, recognition of facial expressions, and on BOLD response to faces in intact brain areas are not yet fully understood. Therefore, we compared 39 patients with unilateral TLR (18 left, 21 right) and 20 healthy controls regarding recognition of facial identity and emotional facial expressions as well as BOLD response to fearful and neutral faces. We found impaired recognition of facial identity following right TLR, which was paralleled by reduced BOLD response to faces irrespective of expression in the right fusiform and lingual gyrus in postsurgical fMRI. Right TLR patients also exhibited subtle impairments of emotion recognition as they needed higher intensity of facial expressions for correct responses in a morphing task. Accuracy of emotion recognition and subjective appraisals of facial expressions did not differ between groups. There was no specific reduction of BOLD response to fearful versus neutral faces in either patient group. Our results underline the specific role of the right anteromedial temporal lobe in processing of faces and facial expressions by showing changes in face processing following right TLR in behavioral as well as imaging data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Marie Reisch
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany; Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld University, Campus Bielefeld-Bethel, Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - Martin Wegrzyn
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Malena Mielke
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | | | - Friedrich G Woermann
- Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld University, Campus Bielefeld-Bethel, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Christian G Bien
- Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld University, Campus Bielefeld-Bethel, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Johanna Kissler
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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13
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Weidner EM, Schindler S, Grewe P, Moratti S, Bien CG, Kissler J. Emotion and attention in face processing: Complementary evidence from surface event-related potentials and intracranial amygdala recordings. Biol Psychol 2022; 173:108399. [PMID: 35850159 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Face processing is biased by emotional and voluntarily directed attention, both of which modulate processing in distributed cortical areas. The amygdala is assumed to contribute to an attentional bias for emotional faces, although its interaction with directed attention awaits further clarification. Here, we studied the interaction of emotion and attention during face processing via scalp EEG potentials of healthy participants and intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings of the right amygdala in one patient. Three randomized blocks consisting of angry, neutral, and happy facial expressions were presented, and one expression was denoted as the target category in each block. Happy targets were detected fastest and most accurately both in the group study and by the iEEG patient. Occipital scalp potentials revealed emotion differentiation for happy faces in the early posterior negativity (EPN) around 300 ms after stimulus onset regardless of the target condition. A similar response to happy faces occurred in the amygdala only for happy targets. On the scalp, a late positive potential (LPP, around 600 ms) enhancement for targets occurred for all target conditions alike. A simultaneous late signal in the amygdala was largest for emotional targets. No late signal enhancements were found for neutral targets in the amygdala. Cortical modulations, by contrast, showed both attention-independent effects of emotion and emotion-independent effects of attention. These results demonstrate an attention-dependence of amygdala activity during the processing of facial expressions and partly independent cortical mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enya M Weidner
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - Sebastian Schindler
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Philip Grewe
- Clinical Neuropsychology and Epilepsy Research, Medical School OWL, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany; Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld University, Medical School OWL, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Stephan Moratti
- Laboratory for Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Biomedical Technology, Technical University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Department of Experimental Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Christian G Bien
- Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld University, Medical School OWL, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Johanna Kissler
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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14
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Carlson JM, Fang L, Koster EH, Andrzejewski JA, Gilbertson H, Elwell KA, Zuidema TR. Neuroplastic changes in anterior cingulate cortex gray matter volume and functional connectivity following attention bias modification in high trait anxious individuals. Biol Psychol 2022; 172:108353. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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15
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Reisch LM, Wegrzyn M, Mielke M, Mehlmann A, Woermann FG, Kissler J, Bien CG. Effects of left and right medial temporal lobe resections on hemodynamic correlates of negative and neutral scene processing. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:3293-3305. [PMID: 35384132 PMCID: PMC9189037 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Enhanced visual cortex activation by negative compared to neutral stimuli is often attributed to modulating feedback from the amygdala, but evidence from lesion studies is scarce, particularly regarding differential effects of left and right amygdala lesions. Therefore, we compared visual cortex activation by negative and neutral complex scenes in an event‐related fMRI study between 40 patients with unilateral temporal lobe resection (TLR; 19 left [lTLR], 21 right [rTLR]), including the amygdala, and 20 healthy controls. We found preserved hemodynamic emotion modulation of visual cortex in rTLR patients and only subtle reductions in lTLR patients. In contrast, rTLR patients showed a significant decrease in visual cortex activation irrespective of picture content. In line with this, healthy controls showed small emotional modulation of the left amygdala only, while their right amygdala was activated equally by negative and neutral pictures. Correlations of activation in amygdala and visual cortex were observed for both negative and neutral pictures in the controls. In both patient groups, this relationship was attenuated ipsilateral to the TLR. Our results support the notion of reentrant mechanisms between amygdala and visual cortex and suggest laterality differences in their emotion‐specificity. While right medial temporal lobe structures including the amygdala seem to influence visual processing in general, the left medial temporal lobe appears to contribute specifically to emotion processing. Still, effects of left TLR on visual emotion processing were relatively subtle. Therefore, hemodynamic correlates of visual emotion processing are likely supported by a distributed cerebral network, challenging an amygdalocentric view of emotion processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Marie Reisch
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.,Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Martin Wegrzyn
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Malena Mielke
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | | | - Friedrich G Woermann
- Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Johanna Kissler
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Christian G Bien
- Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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16
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Yu Z, Kritikos A, Pegna AJ. Enhanced early ERP responses to looming angry faces. Biol Psychol 2022; 170:108308. [PMID: 35271956 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Although the brain is known to process threatening emotional stimuli and looming motion rapidly, little is known about how the emotion and motion interact. To address this question, two experiments were carried out which presented angry and neutral emotional faces on a depth-cued background that induced the perception of distance, or a non-cued background. Furthermore, faces either expanded or contracted in size such that they appeared to approach or recede from the viewer. EEG/ERP measures were used to identify the time course of brain activity for these looming and receding, angry and neutral emotional faces. The results of both experiments revealed that the P1 was enhanced by looming angry faces on the depth-cued background, compared to neutral approaching faces, as well as all receding faces, indicating an early interaction of emotion and motion within 100 ms of presentation. Angry expressions were also found to enhance the N170 regardless of movement. These findings suggest that processing of threat and looming motion interact at the very early stages of visual processing. Furthermore, as the modulating effect of looming motion on angry expressions only arose on the depth-cued background, the findings highlight the importance of approaching movements rather than sole increases in the retinal size of the stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhou Yu
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4068, Australia
| | - Ada Kritikos
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4068, Australia
| | - Alan J Pegna
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4068, Australia.
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17
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Qiu Z, Becker SI, Pegna AJ. Spatial Attention Shifting to Emotional Faces is Contingent on Awareness and Task Relevancy. Cortex 2022; 151:30-48. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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18
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Mielke M, Reisch LM, Mehlmann A, Schindler S, Bien CG, Kissler J. Right medial temporal lobe structures particularly impact early stages of affective picture processing. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:787-798. [PMID: 34687490 PMCID: PMC8720182 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Human vision prioritizes emotional stimuli. This is reflected in stronger electrocortical activation in response to emotional than neutral stimuli, measurable on the surface of the head. Feedback projections from brain structures deep within the medial temporal lobes (mTLs), in particular the amygdala, are thought to give rise to this phenomenon, although causal evidence is rare. Given the many pathways involved in visual processing, the influence of mTL structures could be restricted to specific time windows. Therefore, we delineate the temporal dynamics of the impact of right mTL structures on affective picture processing, investigating event-related potentials (ERPs) in 19 patients (10 female) with right mTL resections and 19 individually matched healthy participants, while they viewed negative and neutral scenes. Groups differed significantly at early- and mid-latency processing stages. Patients with right mTL resection, unlike controls, showed no (P1: 90-140 ms) or marginal (N1: 170-220 ms) emotion modulation. At mid-latency (early posterior negativity: 220-370 ms), emotion modulation over the ipsi-resectional right hemisphere was smaller in patients than in controls, but groups did not differ over the left hemisphere. During late parietal positivities (400-650 ms and 650-900 ms), both groups had similar emotion modulation. Our results demonstrate that right mTL structures attenuate particularly early processing of affectively negative scenes. This is theoretically consistent with an initial amygdala-dependent feedforward sweep in visual emotion processing whose absence is successively compensated. Findings specify the impact of right mTL structures on emotional picture processing and highlight the value of time-resolved measures in affective neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malena Mielke
- Department of PsychologyBielefeld UniversityBielefeldGermany
| | - Lea Marie Reisch
- Department of PsychologyBielefeld UniversityBielefeldGermany
- Medical School, Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara)Bielefeld UniversityBielefeldGermany
| | | | - Sebastian Schindler
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems NeuroscienceUniversity of MünsterMünsterGermany
| | - Christian G. Bien
- Medical School, Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara)Bielefeld UniversityBielefeldGermany
| | - Johanna Kissler
- Department of PsychologyBielefeld UniversityBielefeldGermany
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19
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Carretié L, Fernández-Folgueiras U, Álvarez F, Cipriani GA, Tapia M, Kessel D. Fast Unconscious Processing of Emotional Stimuli in Early Stages of the Visual Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:4331-4344. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Several cortical and subcortical brain areas have been reported to be sensitive to the emotional content of subliminal stimuli. However, the timing of these activations remains unclear. Our scope was to detect the earliest cortical traces of emotional unconscious processing of visual stimuli by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) from 43 participants. Subliminal spiders (emotional) and wheels (neutral), sharing similar low-level visual parameters, were presented at two different locations (fixation and periphery). The differential (peak-to-peak) amplitude from CP1 (77 ms from stimulus onset) to C2 (100 ms), two early visual ERP components originated in V1/V2 according to source localization analyses, was analyzed via Bayesian and traditional frequentist analyses. Spiders elicited greater CP1–C2 amplitudes than wheels when presented at fixation. This fast effect of subliminal stimulation—not reported previously to the best of our knowledge—has implications in several debates: 1) The amygdala cannot be mediating these effects, 2) latency of other evaluative structures recently proposed, such as the visual thalamus, is compatible with these results, 3) the absence of peripheral stimuli effects points to a relevant role of the parvocellular visual system in unconscious processing.
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20
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Domínguez-Borràs J, Vuilleumier P. Amygdala function in emotion, cognition, and behavior. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2022; 187:359-380. [PMID: 35964983 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-823493-8.00015-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The amygdala is a core structure in the anterior medial temporal lobe, with an important role in several brain functions involving memory, emotion, perception, social cognition, and even awareness. As a key brain structure for saliency detection, it triggers and controls widespread modulatory signals onto multiple areas of the brain, with a great impact on numerous aspects of adaptive behavior. Here we discuss the neural mechanisms underlying these functions, as established by animal and human research, including insights provided in both healthy and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Domínguez-Borràs
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology & Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
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21
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Torrence RD, Troup LJ, Rojas DC, Carlson JM. Enhanced contralateral theta oscillations and N170 amplitudes in occipitotemporal scalp regions underlie attentional bias to fearful faces. Int J Psychophysiol 2021; 165:84-91. [PMID: 33892017 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 03/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Attending toward fearful faces and other threatening stimuli increase the chance of survival. The dot-probe task is a commonly used measure of spatial attention. Event-related potentials (ERPs) have been found to be a reliable measure of attentional bias. The dot-probe literature suggests that posterior contralateral N170 amplitudes are more enhanced by fearful faces compared to ipsilateral amplitudes. However, ERP methods remove non-phase locked frequencies, which provides additional information about neural activity. Specifically, theta oscillations (5-7 Hz) have been linked to attentional processing. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between posterior contralateral theta oscillations and N170 amplitudes in the dot-probe task. A modified dot-probe task was used with fear and neutral facial expressions and EEG data was recorded from 33 electrodes. The ERP and time-frequency data were extracted from the P7 and P8 electrodes (left and right occipitotemporal regions). This study found enhanced N170 amplitude and theta oscillations in the electrodes posterior contralateral to the fearful face. Contralateral N170 amplitudes and theta oscillations were related such that greater N170 amplitudes were associated with greater theta oscillations. The results indicated that increased contralateral N170 and theta oscillations are related to each other and underlie attentional bias to fearful faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert D Torrence
- Department of Psychology, Saint Xavier University, 3700 W. 103rd st., Chicago, IL 60655, United States of America.
| | - Lucy J Troup
- Division of Psychology, School of Education and Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, High Street, Paisley PA1 2BE, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Donald C Rojas
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Behavioral Science Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States of America
| | - Joshua M Carlson
- Department of Psychology, Northern Michigan University, New Science Facility, Marquette, MI, 49855, United States of America
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