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Li S, Zhang Y, Li H, Hao B, He W, Luo W. Is processing superiority a universal trait for all threats? Divergent impacts of fearful, angry, and disgusted faces on attentional capture. Cortex 2024; 177:37-52. [PMID: 38833819 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.05.005] [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: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
Fearful, angry, and disgusted facial expressions are evolutionarily salient and convey different types of threat signals. However, it remains unclear whether these three expressions impact sensory perception and attention in the same way. The present ERP study investigated the temporal dynamics underlying the processing of different types of threatening faces and the impact of attentional resources employed during a perceptual load task. Participants were asked to judge the length of bars superimposed over faces presented in the center of the screen. A mass univariate statistical approach was used to analyze the EEG data. Behaviorally, task accuracy was significantly reduced following exposure to fearful faces relative to neutral distractors, independent of perceptual load. The ERP results revealed that the P1 amplitude over the right hemisphere was found to be enhanced for fearful relative to disgusted faces, reflecting the rapid and coarse detection of fearful cues. The N170 responses elicited by fearful, angry, and disgusted faces were larger than those elicited by neutral faces, suggesting the largely automatic and preferential processing of threats. Furthermore, the early posterior negativity (EPN) component yielded increased responses to fearful and angry faces, indicating prioritized attention to stimuli representing acute threats. Additionally, perceptual load exerted a pronounced influence on the EPN and late positive potential (LPP), with larger responses observed in the low perceptual load condition, indicating goal-directed cognitive processing. Overall, the early sensory processing of fearful, angry, and disgusted faces is characterized by differential sensitivity in capturing attention automatically, despite the importance of these facial signals for survival. Fearful faces produce a strong interference effect and are processed with higher priority than angry and disgusted ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuaixia Li
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, China
| | - Yihan Zhang
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, China
| | - Hui Li
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, China
| | - Bin Hao
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, China
| | - Weiqi He
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, China.
| | - Wenbo Luo
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, China.
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2
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Fuchs M, Kersting A, Suslow T, Bodenschatz CM. Recognizing and Looking at Masked Emotional Faces in Alexithymia. Behav Sci (Basel) 2024; 14:343. [PMID: 38667139 PMCID: PMC11047507 DOI: 10.3390/bs14040343] [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: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Alexithymia is a clinically relevant personality construct characterized by difficulties identifying and communicating one's emotions and externally oriented thinking. Alexithymia has been found to be related to poor emotion decoding and diminished attention to the eyes. The present eye tracking study investigated whether high levels of alexithymia are related to impairments in recognizing emotions in masked faces and reduced attentional preference for the eyes. An emotion recognition task with happy, fearful, disgusted, and neutral faces with face masks was administered to high-alexithymic and non-alexithymic individuals. Hit rates, latencies of correct responses, and fixation duration on eyes and face mask were analyzed as a function of group and sex. Alexithymia had no effects on accuracy and speed of emotion recognition. However, alexithymic men showed less attentional preference for the eyes relative to the mask than non-alexithymic men, which was due to their increased attention to face masks. No fixation duration differences were observed between alexithymic and non-alexithymic women. Our data indicate that high levels of alexithymia might not have adverse effects on the efficiency of emotion recognition from faces wearing masks. Future research on gaze behavior during facial emotion recognition in high alexithymia should consider sex as a moderating variable.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thomas Suslow
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (M.F.); (A.K.); (C.M.B.)
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3
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Li S, Hao B, Dang W, He W, Luo W. Prioritized Identification of Fearful Eyes during the Attentional Blink Is Not Automatic. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1392. [PMID: 37891761 PMCID: PMC10605468 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13101392] [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: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The eye region conveys considerable information regarding an individual's emotions, motivations, and intentions during interpersonal communication. Evidence suggests that the eye regions of an individual expressing emotions can capture attention more rapidly than the eye regions of an individual in a neutral affective state. However, how attentional resources affect the processing of emotions conveyed by the eye regions remains unclear. Accordingly, the present study employed a dual-target rapid serial visual presentation task: happy, neutral, or fearful eye regions were presented as the second target, with a temporal lag between two targets of 232 or 696 ms. Participants completed two tasks successively: Task 1 was to identify which species the upright eye region they had seen belonged to, and Task 2 was to identify what emotion was conveyed in the upright eye region. The behavioral results showed that the accuracy for fearful eye regions was lower than that for neutral eye regions under the condition of limited attentional resources; however, accuracy differences across the three types of eye regions did not reach significance under the condition of adequate attentional resources. These findings indicate that preferential processing of fearful expressions is not automatic but is modulated by available attentional resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuaixia Li
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China; (S.L.); (W.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
| | - Bin Hao
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China; (S.L.); (W.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
| | - Wei Dang
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China; (S.L.); (W.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
| | - Weiqi He
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China; (S.L.); (W.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
| | - Wenbo Luo
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China; (S.L.); (W.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
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4
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Aday JS, Fang L, Carlson JM. Eye-size effects in the dot-probe task: Greater sclera exposure predicts delayed disengagement from fearful faces. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0285839. [PMID: 37195990 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Fearful facial expressions are nonverbal and biologically salient signals of potential threat that automatically hold, capture, and direct observers' attention. They are characterized by enlarged eye whites and dilated pupils, and fearful eyes alone are sufficient to capture attention. The morphological properties of the eye region, such as sclera exposure, are thought to play an important role in nonverbal communication. Specifically, increased sclera exposure associated with fearful expressions has been shown to moderate how observers' shift their attention toward the direction of another's gaze. Yet, the extent to which variability in sclera exposure possibly impacts the capture and hold of attention by fearful faces is untested. To address this, a sample of 249 adults completed a dot-probe task of selective attention with fearful and neutral faces. The results suggested that (1) fearful faces were prioritized over neutral faces (i.e., they captured and held attention), (2) greater sclera exposure at target locations facilitated reaction times, and (3) attention was held by greater sclera exposure of fearful faces at task irrelevant locations resulting in delayed disengagement. Collectively, the results indicate that fearful facial expressions and sclera exposure modulate spatial attention through independent and interactive mechanisms. Sclera exposure appears to be an important facilitator of nonverbal communication and perhaps represents an understudied variable in social cognition more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob S Aday
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Lin Fang
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Joshua M Carlson
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan, United States of America
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5
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Li S, Li Y, Liu S, He W, Luo W. Emotional Valence in the Eye Region Modulates the Attentional Blink in a Task-Dependent Manner: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12121665. [PMID: 36552125 PMCID: PMC9775517 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12121665] [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: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Although emotional expressions conveyed by the eye regions are processed efficiently, little is known regarding the relationship between emotional processing of isolated eye regions and temporal attention. In this study, we conducted three rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) experiments with varying task demands (emotion discrimination, eye detection, eyes ignored) related to the first target (T1) to investigate how the perception of emotional valence in the eye region (T1: happy, neutral, fearful) impacts the identification of a second target (T2: neutral houses). Event-related potential (ERP) findings indicated that fearful stimuli reliably increased N170 amplitude regardless of the emotional relevance of task demands. The P3 component exhibited enhanced responses to happy and fearful stimuli in the emotion discrimination task and to happy eye regions in the eye detection task. Analysis of T2-related ERPs within the attentional blink period revealed that T2 houses preceded by fearful and happy stimuli elicited larger N2 and P3 amplitudes than those preceded by neutral stimuli only in the emotion discrimination task. Together, these findings indicate that attention to affective content conveyed by the eyes can not only amplify the perceptual analysis of emotional eye regions but also facilitate the processing of a subsequent target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuaixia Li
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian 116029, China
| | - Yiwen Li
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian 116029, China
| | - Shuaicheng Liu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian 116029, China
| | - Weiqi He
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian 116029, China
- Correspondence:
| | - Wenbo Luo
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian 116029, China
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6
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Demetriou CA, Fanti KA. Are Children High on Callous-Unemotional Traits Emotionally Blind? Testing Eye-Gaze Differences. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2022; 53:623-634. [PMID: 33738689 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-021-01152-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Callous-unemotional traits have been associated with difficulties in identifying and responding to others' emotions. To inform this line of research, the current study investigated the eye gaze behavior of children (n = 59; mean-age = 6.35) with varying levels of callous-unemotional (CU) traits with the use of eye-tracker methodology, as well as their ability to accurately identify emotional expressions. Participating children were selected from a large screening sample (N = 1283). Main findings supported a reduced fixation rate to the eye-region and an increased fixation in the mouth area of emotional faces among children high on callous-unemotional traits (HCU), irrespective of emotion expressed (i.e., fear, sad, angry and happy) and age of individuals portrayed in images (adult versus child faces). Further, findings suggested that HCU children were less likely to accurately identify facial emotional expressions, which might be due to the identified attentional neglect to the eye region of emotional faces. Current findings support the importance of early prevention and intervention programs that can enhance the emotional development and social adjustment of HCU children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chara A Demetriou
- Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, 1678, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Kostas A Fanti
- Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, 1678, Nicosia, Cyprus.
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7
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Wang Y, Tang Z, Zhang X, Yang L. Auditory and cross-modal attentional bias toward positive natural sounds: Behavioral and ERP evidence. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:949655. [PMID: 35967006 PMCID: PMC9372282 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.949655] [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: 05/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, researchers have expanded the investigation into attentional biases toward positive stimuli; however, few studies have examined attentional biases toward positive auditory information. In three experiments, the present study employed an emotional spatial cueing task using emotional sounds as cues and auditory stimuli (Experiment 1) or visual stimuli (Experiment 2 and Experiment 3) as targets to explore whether auditory or visual spatial attention could be modulated by positive auditory cues. Experiment 3 also examined the temporal dynamics of cross-modal auditory bias toward positive natural sounds using event-related potentials (ERPs). The behavioral results of the three experiments consistently demonstrated that response times to targets were faster after positive auditory cues than they were after neutral auditory cues in the valid condition, indicating that healthy participants showed a selective auditory attentional bias (Experiment 1) and cross-modal attentional bias (Experiment 2 and Experiment 3) toward positive natural sounds. The results of Experiment 3 showed that N1 amplitudes were more negative after positive sounds than they were after neutral sounds, which further provided electrophysiological evidence that positive auditory information enhances attention at early stages in healthy adults. The results of the experiments performed in the present study suggest that humans exhibit an attentional bias toward positive natural sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanmei Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhenwei Tang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaoxuan Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Libing Yang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
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8
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Dou H, Liang L, Ma J, Lu J, Zhang W, Li Y. Irrelevant task suppresses the N170 of automatic attention allocation to fearful faces. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11754. [PMID: 34083660 PMCID: PMC8175742 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91237-9] [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: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent researches have provided evidence that stimulus-driven attentional bias for threats can be modulated by top-down goals. However, it is highlight essential to indicate whether and to what extent the top-down goals can affect the early stage of attention processing and its early neural mechanism. In this study, we collected electroencephalographic data from 28 healthy volunteers with a modified spatial cueing task. The results revealed that in the irrelevant task, there was no significant difference between the reaction time (RT) of the fearful and neutral faces. In the relevant task, we found that RT of fearful faces was faster than that of neutral faces in the valid cue condition, whereas the RT of fearful faces was slower than that of neutral faces in the invalid cue condition. The N170 component in our study showed a similar result compared with RT. Specifically, we noted that in the relevant task, fearful faces in the cue position of the target evoked a larger N170 amplitude than neutral faces, whereas this effect was suppressed in the irrelevant task. These results suggest that the irrelevant task may inhibit the early attention allocation to the fearful faces. Furthermore, the top-down goals can modulate the early attentional bias for threatening facial expressions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haoran Dou
- grid.412600.10000 0000 9479 9538Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610068 China ,grid.9681.60000 0001 1013 7965Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyvaskyla, 40014 Finland
| | - Limei Liang
- grid.440818.10000 0000 8664 1765Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029 China
| | - Jie Ma
- grid.263785.d0000 0004 0368 7397School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631 Guangdong China
| | - Jiachen Lu
- grid.263785.d0000 0004 0368 7397School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631 Guangdong China
| | - Wenhai Zhang
- grid.412101.70000 0001 0377 7868College of Education Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421002 China
| | - Yang Li
- grid.413856.d0000 0004 1799 3643School of Psychology, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, 610500 China
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9
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The early processing of fearful and happy facial expressions is independent of task demands - Support from mass univariate analyses. Brain Res 2021; 1765:147505. [PMID: 33915164 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2021.147505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Most ERP studies on facial expressions of emotion have yielded inconsistent results regarding the time course of emotion effects and their possible modulation by task demands. Most studies have used classical statistical methods with a high likelihood of type I and type II errors, which can be limited with Mass Univariate statistics. FMUT and LIMO are currently the only two available toolboxes for Mass Univariate analysis of ERP data and use different fundamental statistics. Yet, no direct comparison of their output has been performed on the same dataset. Given the current push to transition to robust statistics to increase results replicability, here we compared the output of these toolboxes on data previously analyzed using classic approaches (Itier & Neath-Tavares, 2017). The early (0-352 ms) processing of fearful, happy, and neutral faces was investigated under three tasks in a within-subject design that also controlled gaze fixation location. Both toolboxes revealed main effects of emotion and task but neither yielded an interaction between the two, confirming the early processing of fear and happy expressions is largely independent of task demands. Both toolboxes found virtually no difference between neutral and happy expressions, while fearful (compared to neutral and happy) expressions modulated the N170 and EPN but elicited maximum effects after the N170 peak, around 190 ms. Similarities and differences in the spatial and temporal extent of these effects are discussed in comparison to the published classical analysis and the rest of the ERP literature.
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10
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Wang M, Han B, Liu Q, Liu C, Li W, Teng S, Du H, Huang S, Kong H, Lu G, Song Y. Attentional bias of subliminal emotional faces in adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Neurocase 2021; 27:22-29. [PMID: 33378225 DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2020.1861303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Attentional bias to threatening information may play a vital role in the onset and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study aimed to explore whether adolescents with OCD exhibited attentional bias toward faces that express disgust or fear. Participants were 27 adolescents with a first-time primary diagnosis of OCD and 27 healthy controls. To assess OCD, depression, and anxiety symptoms, all participants completed the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, the Hamilton Depression Scale, and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, respectively, followed by the modified dot probe task. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed a main effect of validity type and a significant group × validity type interaction effect. The results of one sample t-tests showed that participants in the OCD group had an attentional bias toward both disgusted and fearful faces. Further analysis indicated that adolescents in the OCD group showed facilitated attention toward the fearful faces and difficulty disengaging from disgusted faces. Adolescents with OCD exhibited facilitated attention toward threat stimuli, and when they allocated attention to threat, they experienced difficulty disengaging from it. Treatment procedures to modify the attentional bias may be effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miaomiao Wang
- School of Public Health, Fuyanshan Campus of Weifang Medical College, Weifang, China
| | - Bingxue Han
- School of Public Health, Fuyanshan Campus of Weifang Medical College, Weifang, China
| | - Qing Liu
- School of Computing, Heze University, Heze, China
| | - Changjin Liu
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Shandong Mental Health Center, Jinan, China
| | - Wanyu Li
- Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, USA
| | - Shuai Teng
- School of Public Health, Fuyanshan Campus of Weifang Medical College, Weifang, China
| | - He Du
- Department of Psychology, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, China
| | - Shuxia Huang
- Department of Psychology, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, China
| | - Hao Kong
- Department of Psychology, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, China
| | - Guohua Lu
- Department of Psychology, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, China
| | - Yuping Song
- Department of Psychology, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, China
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11
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Ellena G, Starita F, Haggard P, Làdavas E. The spatial logic of fear. Cognition 2020; 203:104336. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2019] [Revised: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/24/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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12
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The stability and reliability of attentional bias measures in the dot-probe task: Evidence from both traditional mean bias scores and trial-level bias scores. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION 2020; 44:657-669. [PMID: 33551518 DOI: 10.1007/s11031-020-09834-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
A new method of calculating attentional bias from the dot-probe task measures fluctuations in bias towards and away from emotional stimuli over time using trial level bias score metrics. We assessed the stability and reliability of traditional attentional bias scores and trial level bias score measures of attentional bias across time in two five-block dot-probe task experiments in non-clinical samples. In experiments 1 and 2, both traditional attentional bias scores and trial level bias score measures of attentional bias did not habituate/decrease across time. In general, trial level bias score metrics (i.e., attention bias variability as well as the mean biases toward and away from threat) were more reliable than the traditional attention bias measure. This pattern was observed across both experiments. The traditional bias score, however, did improve in reliability in the later blocks of the fearful face dot-probe task. Although trial level bias score measures did not habituate and were more reliable across blocks, these measures did not correlate with state or trait anxiety. On the other hand, trial level bias score measures were strongly correlated with general reaction time variability-and after controlling for this effect no longer superior in reliability in comparison to the traditional attention bias measure. We conclude that general response variability should be removed from trial level bias score measures to ensure that they truly reflect attention bias variability.
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13
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Prioritized attentional processing: Acute stress, memory and stimulus emotionality facilitate attentional disengagement. Neuropsychologia 2020; 138:107334. [PMID: 31923526 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Revised: 11/01/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Rapid attentional orienting toward relevant stimuli and efficient disengagement from irrelevant stimuli are critical for survival. Here, we examined the roles of memory processes, emotional arousal and acute stress in attentional disengagement. To this end, 64 healthy participants encoded negative and neutral facial expressions and, after being exposed to a stress or control manipulation, performed an attention task in which they had to disengage from these previously encoded as well as novel face stimuli. During the attention task, electroencephalography (EEG) and pupillometry data were recorded. Our results showed overall faster reaction times after acute stress and when participants had to disengage from emotionally negative or old facial expressions. Further, pupil dilations were larger in response to neutral faces. During disengagement, our EEG data revealed a reduced N2pc amplitude when participants disengaged from neutral compared to negative facial expressions when these were not presented before, as well as earlier onset latencies for the N400f (for disengagement from negative and old faces), the N2pc, and the LPP (for disengagement from negative faces). In addition, early visual processing of negative faces, as reflected in the P1 amplitude, was enhanced specifically in stressed participants. Our findings indicate that attentional disengagement is improved for negative and familiar stimuli and that stress facilitates not only attentional disengagement but also emotional processing in general. Together, these processes may represent important mechanisms enabling efficient performance and rapid threat detection.
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14
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Carlson JM, Kangas KJ, Susa TR, Fang L, Moore MT. Sport-related concussion is associated with elevated anxiety, but not attentional bias to threat. Brain Inj 2020; 34:363-368. [DOI: 10.1080/02699052.2020.1723698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M. Carlson
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, USA
| | - Keara J. Kangas
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, USA
| | - Taylor R. Susa
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, USA
| | - Lin Fang
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, USA
| | - Marguerite T. Moore
- School of Health and Human Performance, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, USA
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15
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Carlson JM, Lehman BR, Thompson JL. Climate change images produce an attentional bias associated with pro-environmental disposition. Cogn Process 2019; 20:385-390. [PMID: 30671678 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-019-00902-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Humans have developed mechanisms to prioritize certain sensory input(s). Emotionally salient stimuli automatically capture observers' attention at the cost of less salient information. This prioritized processing is called attentional bias. Images of climate change have been found to elicit emotional responses. Yet, to date, there is no research assessing the extent to which climate change-relevant images produce an attentional bias. In a sample of college students (N = 39), we found that (1) climate change-related images capture attention and that (2) this attentional bias is related to individual differences in environmental disposition. Thus, images of climate change are salient-attention grabbing-signals related to pro-environmental orientation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M Carlson
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Michigan University, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette, MI, 49855, USA.
| | - Betsy R Lehman
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Michigan University, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette, MI, 49855, USA
| | - Jessica L Thompson
- Department of Communication and Performance Studies, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, USA
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16
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Aday JS, Carlson JM. Extended testing with the dot-probe task increases test-retest reliability and validity. Cogn Process 2018; 20:65-72. [PMID: 30171401 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-018-0886-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The dot-probe task is used to measure attentional biases toward threat. However, the test-retest reliability and validity of the task have been called into question. No studies to date have included an extended number of testing sessions or tailored the task to individual participants by incorporating self-relevant stimuli-doing so may improve reliability. Here, participants provided 10 words that caused them anxiety and 10 neutral words which were incorporated into a dot-probe task for 6 sessions. The test-retest reliability of their bias indices was stronger in bottom-target trials relative to top-target trials and stronger among later relative to earlier sessions. State and trait anxiety were moderately correlated with bias indices in later sessions, but not earlier sessions. Overall reaction time in each session was moderately correlated with state and trait anxiety. These results suggest that including extended testing may facilitate dot-probe task test-retest reliability and validity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob S Aday
- Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, USA.
- Department of Psychology, Central Michigan University, 101 Sloan Hall, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA.
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17
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Carlson JM, Conger S, Sterr J. Auditory Distress Signals Potentiate Attentional Bias to Fearful Faces: Evidence for Multimodal Facilitation of Spatial Attention by Emotion. JOURNAL OF NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10919-018-0282-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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18
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Aday J, Carlson JM. Structural MRI-based measures of neuroplasticity in an extended amygdala network as a target for attention bias modification treatment outcome. Med Hypotheses 2017; 109:6-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2017.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Revised: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 09/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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19
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Carlson JM, Aday J. In the presence of conflicting gaze cues, fearful expression and eye-size guide attention. Cogn Emot 2017; 32:1178-1188. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2017.1391065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M. Carlson
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, USA
| | - Jacob Aday
- Department of Psychology, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA
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20
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Puls S, Rothermund K. Attending to emotional expressions: no evidence for automatic capture in the dot-probe task. Cogn Emot 2017; 32:450-463. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2017.1314932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Swantje Puls
- Institute of Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Klaus Rothermund
- Institute of Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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21
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The Time-Course for the Capture and Hold of Visuospatial Attention by Fearful and Happy Faces. JOURNAL OF NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10919-016-0247-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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22
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Weber MA, Morrow KA, Rizer WS, Kangas KJ, Carlson JM. Sustained, not habituated, activity in the human amygdala: A pilot fMRI dot-probe study of attentional bias to fearful faces. COGENT PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/23311908.2016.1259881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Millicent A. Weber
- Department of Psychology, Northern Michigan University, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette, MI 49855, USA
| | - Kelly A. Morrow
- Department of Psychology, Northern Michigan University, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette, MI 49855, USA
| | - Will S. Rizer
- Department of Psychology, Northern Michigan University, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette, MI 49855, USA
| | - Keara J. Kangas
- Department of Psychology, Northern Michigan University, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette, MI 49855, USA
| | - Joshua M. Carlson
- Department of Psychology, Northern Michigan University, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette, MI 49855, USA
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23
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Carlson JM. Facilitated orienting underlies fearful face-enhanced gaze cueing of spatial location. COGENT PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/23311908.2016.1147120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M. Carlson
- Department of Psychology, Northern Michigan University, Marquette 49855, MI, USA
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24
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Carlson JM, Torrence RD, Vander Hyde MR. Beware the eyes behind the mask: The capture and hold of selective attention by backward masked fearful eyes. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s11031-016-9542-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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25
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Brenner CA, Rumak SP, Burns AM. Facial emotion memory in schizophrenia: From encoding to maintenance-related EEG. Clin Neurophysiol 2016; 127:1366-1373. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2015.10.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2014] [Revised: 10/15/2015] [Accepted: 10/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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