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Becker C, Conduit R, Chouinard PA, Laycock R. EEG correlates of static and dynamic face perception: the role of naturalistic motion. Neuropsychologia 2024:108986. [PMID: 39218391 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108986] [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: 01/17/2024] [Revised: 08/09/2024] [Accepted: 08/28/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Much of our understanding of how the brain processes dynamic faces comes from research that compares static photographs to dynamic morphs, which exhibit simplified, computer-generated motion. By comparing static, video recorded, and dynamic morphed expressions, we aim to identify the neural correlates of naturalistic facial dynamism, using time-domain and time-frequency analysis. Dynamic morphs were made from the neutral and peak frames of video recorded transitions of happy and fearful expressions, which retained expression change and removed asynchronous and non-linear features of naturalistic facial motion. We found that dynamic morphs elicited increased N400 amplitudes and lower LPP amplitudes compared to other stimulus types. Video recordings elicited higher LPP amplitudes and greater frontal delta activity compared to other stimuli. Thematic analysis of participant interviews using a large language model revealed that participants found it difficult to assess the genuineness of morphed expressions, and easier to analyse the genuineness of happy compared to fearful expressions. Our findings suggest that animating real faces with artificial motion may violate expectations (N400) and reduce the social salience (LPP) of dynamic morphs. Results also suggest that delta oscillations in the frontal region may be involved with the perception of naturalistic facial motion in happy and fearful expressions. Overall, our findings highlight the sensitivity of neural mechanisms required for face perception to subtle changes in facial motion characteristics, which has important implications for neuroimaging research using faces with simplified motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casey Becker
- RMIT University, School of Health & Biomedical Sciences, STEM college, 225-254 Plenty Rd, Bundoora, Victoria, 3083, Australia.
| | - Russell Conduit
- RMIT University, School of Health & Biomedical Sciences, STEM college, 225-254 Plenty Rd, Bundoora, Victoria, 3083, Australia.
| | - Philippe A Chouinard
- La Trobe University, Department of Psychology, Counselling, & Therapy, 75 Kingsbury Drive, Bundoora, Victoria, 3086, Australia.
| | - Robin Laycock
- RMIT University, School of Health & Biomedical Sciences, STEM college, 225-254 Plenty Rd, Bundoora, Victoria, 3083, Australia.
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2
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Ferrari V, Canturi F, De Cesarei A, Codispoti M. Sustained training with novel distractors attenuates the behavioral interference of emotional pictures but does not affect the electrocortical markers of emotional processing. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1322792. [PMID: 38384346 PMCID: PMC10880733 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1322792] [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: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Research has recently shown that behavioral interference prompted by emotional distractors is subject to habituation when the same exemplars are repeated, but promptly recovers in response to novel stimuli. The present study investigated whether prolonged experience with distractors that were all novel was effective in shaping the attentional filter, favoring stable and generalizable inhibition effects. Methods To test this, the impact of emotional distractors was measured before and after a sustained training phase with only novel distractor pictures, and that for a group of participants depicted only a variety of neutral contents, whereas a different group was exposed only to emotional contents. Results Results showed that emotional interference on reaction times was attenuated after the training phase (compared to the pre-test), but emotional distractors continued to interfere more than neutral ones in the post-test. The two groups did not differ in terms of training effect, suggesting that the distractor suppression mechanism developed during training was not sensitive to the affective category of natural scenes with which one had had experience. The affective modulation of neither the LPP or Alpha-ERD showed any effect of training. Discussion Altogether, these findings suggest that sustained experience with novel distractors may attenuate attention allocation toward task irrelevant emotional stimuli, but the evaluative processes and the engagement of motivational systems are always needed to support the monitoring of the environment for significant cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Ferrari
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Francesca Canturi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
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3
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Codispoti M, De Cesarei A, Ferrari V. Alpha-band oscillations and emotion: A review of studies on picture perception. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14438. [PMID: 37724827 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Although alpha-band activity has long been a focus of psychophysiological research, its modulation by emotional value during picture perception has only recently been studied systematically. Here, we review these studies and report that the most consistent alpha oscillatory pattern indexing emotional processing is an enhanced desynchronization (ERD) over posterior sensors when viewing emotional compared with neutral pictures. This enhanced alpha ERD is not specific to unpleasant picture content, as previously proposed for other measures of affective response, but has also been observed for pleasant stimuli. Evidence suggests that this effect is not confined to the alpha band but that it also involves a desynchronization of the lower beta frequencies (8-20 Hz). The emotional modulation of alpha ERD occurs even after massive stimulus repetition and when emotional cues serve as task-irrelevant distractors, consistent with the hypothesis that evaluative processes are mandatory in emotional picture processing. A similar enhanced ERD has been observed for other significant cues (e.g., conditioned aversive stimuli, or in anticipation of a potential threat), suggesting that it reflects cortical excitability associated with the engagement of the motivational systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Vera Ferrari
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
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4
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Zhang Y, Xie M, Wang Y, Qin P. Distinct Effects of Stimulus Repetition on Various Temporal Stages of Subject's Own Name Processing. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12030411. [PMID: 35326367 PMCID: PMC8946540 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12030411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Revised: 03/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The self is one of the most important concepts in psychology, which is of great significance for human survival and development. As an important self-related stimulus, the subject’s own name (SON) shows great advantages in cognitive and social processing and is widely used as an oddball stimulus in previous studies. However, it remained unknown whether the multiple repetition of stimulus would have similar influence on the neural response to SON and the other names under equal probability. In this study, adopting EEG and an equal–probability paradigm, we first detected the SON-related ERP components which could differentiate SON from other names, and then investigated how these components are influenced by repeated exposure of the stimulus. Our results showed that SON evoked an earlier SON-related negativity (SRN) at the fronto-central region and a late positive potential (LPP) at the centro-parietal region. More intriguingly, the earlier SRN demonstrated reduction after multiple repetitions, whereas LPP did not exhibit significant changes. In conclusion, these findings revealed that multiple repetitions of the stimulus might influence the various temporal stages in SON-related processing and highlighted the robustness of the late stage in this processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yihui Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China; (Y.Z.); (M.X.)
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Musi Xie
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China; (Y.Z.); (M.X.)
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Yuzhi Wang
- Department of Western Medicine Surgery, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355, China;
| | - Pengmin Qin
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China; (Y.Z.); (M.X.)
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- Pazhou Lab, Guangzhou 510335, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-18665097531
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5
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Ferrari V, Canturi F, Codispoti M. Stimulus novelty and emotionality interact in the processing of visual distractors. Biol Psychol 2021; 167:108238. [PMID: 34864068 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Novel distractors are prioritized for attentional selection. When distractors also convey emotional content, they divert attention from the primary task more than neutral stimuli do. In the present study, while participants were engaged in a central task, we examined the impact of peripheral distractors that varied for emotional content and novelty. Results showed that emotional interference on reaction times completely habituated with repetition and promptly recovered with novelty. The enhanced LPP for emotional pictures was attenuated by repetitions and, interestingly, stimulus novelty only affected emotional, but not neutral distractors, in both the RTs and LPP. Alpha-ERD was similarly reduced for repeated emotional and neutral distractors. Altogether, these findings suggest that the impact of peripheral distractors can be attenuated through a non-strategic learning mechanism mediated by mere stimulus repetition, which is fine-tuned to detect changes in emotional distractors only, supporting the hypothesis that novelty and emotion share the same motivational circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Ferrari
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Italy.
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6
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Strube A, Rose M, Fazeli S, Büchel C. Alpha-to-beta- and gamma-band activity reflect predictive coding in affective visual processing. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23492. [PMID: 34873255 PMCID: PMC8648824 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02939-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Processing of negative affective pictures typically leads to desynchronization of alpha-to-beta frequencies (ERD) and synchronization of gamma frequencies (ERS). Given that in predictive coding higher frequencies have been associated with prediction errors, while lower frequencies have been linked to expectations, we tested the hypothesis that alpha-to-beta ERD and gamma ERS induced by aversive pictures are associated with expectations and prediction errors, respectively. We recorded EEG while volunteers were involved in a probabilistically cued affective picture task using three different negative valences to produce expectations and prediction errors. Our data show that alpha-to-beta band activity after stimulus presentation was related to the expected valence of the stimulus as predicted by a cue. The absolute mismatch of the expected and actual valence, which denotes an absolute prediction error was related to increases in alpha, beta and gamma band activity. This demonstrates that top-down predictions and bottom-up prediction errors are represented in typical spectral patterns associated with affective picture processing. This study provides direct experimental evidence that negative affective picture processing can be described by neuronal predictive coding computations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Strube
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Michael Rose
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sepideh Fazeli
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christian Büchel
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
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7
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Trotti RL, Abdelmageed S, Parker DA, Sabatinelli D, Tamminga CA, Gershon ES, Keedy SK, Keshavan MS, Pearlson GD, Sweeney JA, McDowell JE, Clementz BA. Neural Processing of Repeated Emotional Scenes in Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, and Bipolar Disorder. Schizophr Bull 2021; 47:1473-1481. [PMID: 33693875 PMCID: PMC8379546 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbab018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Impaired emotional processing and cognitive functioning are common in schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorders, causing significant socioemotional disability. While a large body of research demonstrates abnormal cognition/emotion interactions in these disorders, previous studies investigating abnormalities in the emotional scene response using event-related potentials (ERPs) have yielded mixed findings, and few studies compare findings across psychiatric diagnoses. The current study investigates the effects of emotion and repetition on ERPs in a large, well-characterized sample of participants with schizophrenia-bipolar syndromes. Two ERP components that are modulated by emotional content and scene repetition, the early posterior negativity (EPN) and late positive potential (LPP), were recorded in healthy controls and participants with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder with psychosis, and bipolar disorder without psychosis. Effects of emotion and repetition were compared across groups. Results displayed significant but small effects in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, with diminished EPN amplitudes to neutral and novel scenes, reduced LPP amplitudes to emotional scenes, and attenuated effects of scene repetition. Despite significant findings, small effect sizes indicate that emotional scene processing is predominantly intact in these disorders. Multivariate analyses indicate that these mild ERP abnormalities are related to cognition, psychosocial functioning, and psychosis severity. This relationship suggests that impaired cognition, rather than diagnosis or mood disturbance, may underlie disrupted neural scene processing in schizophrenia-bipolar syndromes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekah L Trotti
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 613 Psychology Building, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Sunny Abdelmageed
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 613 Psychology Building, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - David A Parker
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 613 Psychology Building, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Dean Sabatinelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 613 Psychology Building, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Carol A Tamminga
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Elliot S Gershon
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Sarah K Keedy
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | | | - John A Sweeney
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Jennifer E McDowell
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 613 Psychology Building, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Brett A Clementz
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 613 Psychology Building, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA 30602, USA
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8
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Wang L, Li X, Pi Z, Xiang S, Yao X, Qi S. Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Affective and Semantic Valence Among Women. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:602192. [PMID: 34326722 PMCID: PMC8315150 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.602192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
As an important dimension of emotional assessment, valence can refer to affective valence reflecting an emotional response, or semantic valence reflecting knowledge about the nature of a stimulus. A previous study has used repeated exposure to separate these two similar cognitive processes. Here, for the first time, we compared the spatiotemporal dynamics of the affective and semantic modes of valence by combining event-related potentials with repeated exposure. Forty-seven female participants were assigned to the feeling-focused and semantic-focused groups and thereafter repeatedly viewed the pictures selected for the study. Self-report behavioral results showed that post-test scores were significantly lower than pre-test scores in the feeling-focused group, while the differences between the two tests were not significant in the semantic-focused group. At the neural level, N2 amplitudes decreased and early late positive potential amplitudes increased in both groups, suggesting that the participants perceived the repeated pictures more fluently and retrieved the traces of the stimulus spontaneously regardless of the valence they judged. However, the late positive potential amplitudes in anterior areas and the activity of the middle frontal gyrus were attenuated in the feeling-focused group; however, this component in posterior areas and the activity of the precentral gyrus were increased in the semantic-focused group. Therefore, the processes of affective and semantic valence are similar in the early stages of image perception and retrieval, while in the later stage of valence judgment, these processes show different brain activation patterns. The results provide electrophysiological evidence for the differences in psychological processes when judging the two modes of valence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luchun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xiying Li
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Zhongling Pi
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Shuoqi Xiang
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xuemei Yao
- School of Foreign Languages, Xi'an University of Finance and Economics, Xi'an, China
| | - Senqing Qi
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
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9
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Kim ASN, Wiseheart M, Wong-Kee-You AMB, Le BT, Moreno S, Rosenbaum RS. Specifying the neural basis of the spacing effect with multivariate ERP. Neuropsychologia 2020; 146:107550. [PMID: 32619443 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107550] [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: 08/09/2019] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The spacing effect refers to the finding that, given a fixed amount of study time, a longer interval between study repetitions improves long-term retention (e.g., Cepeda et al., 2006; Ebbinghaus, 1885/1967; Melton, 1970). Although the spacing effect is a robust and reliable finding in the memory literature, its cognitive and neural mechanisms remain unclear. We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the neural correlates of the spacing effect in the context of the study-phase retrieval hypothesis, which posits that repeated exposure of an item serves as a reminder of one's previous experience with the item, thereby promoting long-term retention. ERPs were recorded from 30 healthy young adults as they studied pairs of words under three levels of lag, corresponding to 0, 4, or 12 intervening pairs between the first and second occurrences of a target pair. We used two study-phase tasks that differed in the degree of retrieval that was required. During the test phase, participants were tested on paired-associate recall. The results demonstrated a significant effect of spacing on memory performance. However, the effect of encoding task and the interaction between encoding task and spacing were not significant. The results of the partial least squares analyses, which are not constrained by time window or electrode selection, revealed a spacing effect on the ERP data for both study-phase tasks; this effect occurred late in the epoch and was most salient over the centro-parietal scalp region. The results add to the literature on the neural correlates of the spacing effect by providing a more comprehensive account compared to past ERP findings that were focused on testing specific ERP components. They also call for further investigation on the various theoretical accounts of the spacing effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- A S N Kim
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada; Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Canada.
| | - M Wiseheart
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada; LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research, York University, Toronto, Canada
| | | | - B T Le
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Canada
| | - S Moreno
- School of Engineering, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada; Digital Health Hub, Simon Fraser University, Surrey, Canada
| | - R S Rosenbaum
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada; Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Canada.
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10
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Reichardt R, Polner B, Simor P. Novelty Manipulations, Memory Performance, and Predictive Coding: the Role of Unexpectedness. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:152. [PMID: 32410975 PMCID: PMC7201021 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Novelty is central to the study of memory, but the wide range of experimental manipulations aimed to reveal its effects on learning produced inconsistent results. The novelty/encoding hypothesis suggests that novel information undergoes enhanced encoding and thus leads to benefits in memory, especially in recognition performance; however, recent studies cast doubts on this assumption. On the other hand, data from animal studies provided evidence on the robust effects of novelty manipulations on the neurophysiological correlates of memory processes. Conceptualizations and operationalizations of novelty are remarkably variable and were categorized into different subtypes, such as stimulus, context, associative or spatial novelty. Here, we summarize previous findings about the effects of novelty on memory and suggest that predictive coding theories provide a framework that could shed light on the differential influence of novelty manipulations on memory performance. In line with predictive coding theories, we emphasize the role of unexpectedness as a crucial property mediating the behavioral and neural effects of novelty manipulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richárd Reichardt
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary.,Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Lóránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Bertalan Polner
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Simor
- Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Lóránd University, Budapest, Hungary.,Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,UR2NF, Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Unit, CRCN-Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences and UNI-ULB Neurosciences Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
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11
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Ferrari V, Mastria S, Codispoti M. The interplay between attention and long‐term memory in affective habituation. Psychophysiology 2020; 57:e13572. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 02/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Vera Ferrari
- Department of Medicine and Surgery University of Parma Parma Italy
| | - Serena Mastria
- Department of Psychology University of Bologna Bologna Italy
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12
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Micucci A, Ferrari V, De Cesarei A, Codispoti M. Contextual Modulation of Emotional Distraction: Attentional Capture and Motivational Significance. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:621-633. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Emotional stimuli engage corticolimbic circuits and capture attention even when they are task-irrelevant distractors. Whether top–down or contextual factors can modulate the filtering of emotional distractors is a matter of debate. Recent studies have indicated that behavioral interference by emotional distractors habituates rapidly when the same stimuli are repeated across trials. However, little is known as to whether we can attenuate the impact of novel (never repeated) emotional distractors when they occur frequently. In two experiments, we investigated the effects of distractor frequency on the processing of task-irrelevant novel pictures, as reflected in both behavioral interference and neural activity, while participants were engaged in an orientation discrimination task. Experiment 1 showed that, compared with a rare distractor condition (20%), frequent distractors (80%) reduced the interference of emotional stimuli. Moreover, Experiment 2 provided evidence that emotional interference was reduced by distractor frequency even when rare, and unexpected, emotional distractors appeared among frequent neutral distractors. On the other hand, in both experiments, the late positive potential amplitude was enhanced for emotional, compared with neutral, pictures, and this emotional modulation was not reduced when distractors were frequently presented. Altogether, these findings suggest that the high occurrence of task-irrelevant stimuli does not proactively prevent the processing of emotional distractors. Even when attention allocation to novel emotional stimuli is reduced, evaluative processes and the engagement of motivational systems are needed to support the monitoring of the environment for significant events.
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13
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Li C, Yang J. Role of the hippocampus in the spacing effect during memory retrieval. Hippocampus 2020; 30:703-714. [PMID: 32022387 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23193] [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: 08/23/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
It is well known that distributed learning (DL) leads to improved memory performance compared with massed learning (ML) (i.e., spacing effect). However, the extent to which the hippocampus is involved in the spacing effect at shorter and longer retention intervals remains unclear. To address this issue, two groups of participants were asked to encode face-scene pairs at 20-min, 1-day, and 1-month intervals before they were scanned using fMRI during an associative recognition task. The pairs were repeated six times in either a massed (i.e., six times in 1 day) or a distributed (i.e., six times over 3 days, twice per day) manner. The results showed that compared with that in the ML group, the activation of the left hippocampus was stronger in the DL group when the participants retrieved old pairs correctly and rejected new pairs correctly at different retention intervals. In addition, the posterior hippocampus was more strongly activated when the new associations were rejected correctly after DL than ML, especially at the 1-month interval. Hence, our results provide evidence that the hippocampus is involved in better memory performance after DL compared to ML at both shorter and longer retention intervals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cuihong Li
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Jiongjiong Yang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
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14
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Neural correlates of emotion-attention interactions: From perception, learning, and memory to social cognition, individual differences, and training interventions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:559-601. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2019] [Revised: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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15
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Ventura-Bort C, Wirkner J, Dolcos F, Wendt J, Hamm AO, Weymar M. Enhanced spontaneous retrieval of cues from emotional events: An ERP study. Biol Psychol 2019; 148:107742. [PMID: 31442479 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Revised: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Recent evidence points to enhanced episodic memory retrieval not only for emotional items but also for neutral information encoded in emotional contexts. However, prior research only tested instructed explicit recognition, and hence here we investigated whether memory retrieval is also heightened for cues from emotional contexts when retrieval is not explicitly probed. During the first session of a two-session experiment, neutral objects were presented on different background scenes varying in emotional and neutral contents. One week later, objects were presented again (with no background) intermixed with novel objects. In both sessions, participants were instructed to attentively watch the stimuli (free viewing procedure), and during the second session, ERPs were also collected to measure the ERP Old/New effect, an electrophysiological correlate of episodic memory retrieval. Analyses were performed using cluster-based permutation tests in order to identify reliable spatio-temporal ERP differences. Based on this approach, old relative to new objects, were associated with larger ERP positivity in an early (364-744 ms) and late time window (760-1148 ms) over distinct central electrode clusters. Interestingly, significant late ERP Old/New differences were only observed for objects previously encoded with emotional, but not neutral scenes (504 to 1144 ms). Because these ERP differences were observed in a non-instructed retrieval context, our results indicate that long-term, spontaneous retrieval for neutral objects, is particularly heightened if encoded within emotionally salient contextual information. These findings may assist in understanding mechanisms underlying spontaneous retrieval of emotional associates and the utility of ERPs to study maladaptive involuntary memories in trauma- and stress-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Janine Wirkner
- Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Florin Dolcos
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA; Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Julia Wendt
- Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Alfons O Hamm
- Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Mathias Weymar
- Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
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16
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De Witte B, Di Rienzo F, Martin X, Haixia Y, Collet C, Hoyek N. Implementing Cognitive Training Into a Surgical Skill Course: A Pilot Study on Laparoscopic Suturing and Knot Tying. Surg Innov 2018; 25:625-635. [PMID: 30222050 DOI: 10.1177/1553350618800148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Mini-invasive surgery-for example, laparoscopy-has challenged surgeons' skills by extending their usual haptic space and displaying indirect visual feedback through a screen. This may require new mental abilities, including spatial orientation and mental representation. This study aimed to test the effect of cognitive training based on motor imagery (MI) and action observation (AO) on surgical skills. A total of 28 postgraduate residents in surgery took part in our study and were randomly distributed into 1 of the 3 following groups: (1) the basic surgical skill, which is a short 2-day laparoscopic course + MI + AO group; (2) the basic surgical skill group; and (3) the control group. The MI + AO group underwent additional cognitive training, whereas the basic surgical skill group performed neutral activity during the same time. The laparoscopic suturing and knot tying performance as well as spatial ability and mental workload were assessed before and after the training period. We did not observe an effect of cognitive training on the laparoscopic performance. However, the basic surgical skill group significantly improved spatial orientation performance and rated lower mental workload, whereas the 2 others exhibited lower performance in a mental rotation test. Thus, actual and cognitive training pooled together during a short training period elicited too high a strain, thus limiting potential improvements. Because MI and AO already showed positive outcomes on surgical skills, this issue may, thus, be mitigated according to our specific learning conditions. Distributed learning may possibly better divide and share the strain associated with new surgical skills learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin De Witte
- 1 University of Lyon, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Inter-University Laboratory of Human Movement Biology, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Franck Di Rienzo
- 1 University of Lyon, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Inter-University Laboratory of Human Movement Biology, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Xavier Martin
- 2 University of Lyon, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Faculty of Medicine, Surgery school, Lyon, France.,3 Service de Néphrologie, Transplantation et Immunologie Clinique, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Hospices Civils de Lyon, France
| | - Ye Haixia
- 2 University of Lyon, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Faculty of Medicine, Surgery school, Lyon, France.,3 Service de Néphrologie, Transplantation et Immunologie Clinique, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Hospices Civils de Lyon, France
| | - Christian Collet
- 1 University of Lyon, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Inter-University Laboratory of Human Movement Biology, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Nady Hoyek
- 1 University of Lyon, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Inter-University Laboratory of Human Movement Biology, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
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17
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Wirkner J, Ventura-Bort C, Schulz P, Hamm AO, Weymar M. Event-related potentials of emotional and neutral memories: The role of encoding position and delayed testing. Psychophysiology 2018; 55:e13069. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Revised: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Janine Wirkner
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology; University of Greifswald; Greifswald Germany
| | | | - Paul Schulz
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology; University of Greifswald; Greifswald Germany
| | - Alfons O. Hamm
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology; University of Greifswald; Greifswald Germany
| | - Mathias Weymar
- Department of Psychology; University of Potsdam; Potsdam Germany
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18
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Mastria S, Ferrari V, Codispoti M. Emotional Picture Perception: Repetition Effects in Free-Viewing and during an Explicit Categorization Task. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1001. [PMID: 28725202 PMCID: PMC5495866 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2017] [Accepted: 05/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Several studies have found that, despite a decrease in the overall amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP) with repeated presentation of the same picture, emotional stimuli continue to elicit a larger LPP than neutral ones. These findings seem to support the hypothesis that the affective modulation of the LPP reflects a mandatory process and does not rely on stimulus novelty. However, in these studies participants were asked to merely look at the pictures, without carrying out any additional task (free-viewing), making picture emotionality the most salient aspect of the stimulus, despite its repetition. The current study aimed to examine the impact of an explicit categorization task on the emotional processing of repeated pictures. To this purpose, ERPs to novel and repeated pictures were measured during free-viewing as well as during an explicit categorization task, where the emotional content of the pictures was task-irrelevant. The within-subject comparison between the free-viewing and task context revealed that the overall LPP habituated more rapidly in the free-viewing condition, but, more importantly, the LPP affective modulation was unaffected by task requirements during both novel and repeated presentations. These results suggest that the affective modulation of the LPP reflects an automatic engagement of cortico-limbic motivational systems, which continues to take place regardless of stimulus novelty and task context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Mastria
- Department of Psychology, University of BolognaBologna, Italy
| | - Vera Ferrari
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of ParmaParma, Italy
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19
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Bramão I, Johansson M. Benefits and Costs of Context Reinstatement in Episodic Memory: An ERP Study. J Cogn Neurosci 2016; 29:52-64. [PMID: 27626231 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated context-dependent episodic memory retrieval. An influential idea in the memory literature is that performance benefits when the retrieval context overlaps with the original encoding context. However, such memory facilitation may not be driven by the encoding-retrieval overlap per se but by the presence of diagnostic features in the reinstated context that discriminate the target episode from competing episodes. To test this prediction, the encoding-retrieval overlap and the diagnostic value of the context were manipulated in a novel associative recognition memory task. Participants were asked to memorize word pairs presented together with diagnostic (unique) and nondiagnostic (shared) background scenes. At test, participants recognized the word pairs in the presence and absence of the previously encoded contexts. Behavioral data show facilitated memory performance in the presence of the original context but, importantly, only when the context was diagnostic of the target episode. The electrophysiological data reveal an early anterior ERP encoding-retrieval overlap effect that tracks the cost associated with having nondiagnostic contexts present at retrieval, that is, shared by multiple previous episodes, and a later posterior encoding-retrieval overlap effect that reflects facilitated access to the target episode during retrieval in diagnostic contexts. Taken together, our results underscore the importance of the diagnostic value of the context and suggest that context-dependent episodic memory effects are multiple determined.
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20
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Ferrari V, Codispoti M, Bradley MM. Repetition and ERPs during emotional scene processing: A selective review. Int J Psychophysiol 2016; 111:170-177. [PMID: 27418540 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.07.496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2015] [Revised: 07/02/2016] [Accepted: 07/08/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
A set of studies are reviewed that investigate the effects of repetition during scene perception on event-related potentials, elucidating perceptual, memory and emotional processes. Repetition suppression was consistently found for the amplitude of early frontal N2 and posterior P2 components, which was greatly enhanced for massed, compared to distributed, repetition. Both repetition suppression and enhancement of the amplitude of a centro-parietal positive potential (LPP) were found in specific contexts. Suppression was reliably found following a massive number of repetitions of few items, whereas enhancement is found when repetitions are spaced; enhancement was apparent both during simple free viewing as well as on an explicit recognition test. Regardless of repetition, an enhanced LPP was always found for emotional, compared to neutral, scenes. Taken together, the data suggest that different effects of massed and distributed repetitions on specific ERP components index perceptual priming, habituation, and spontaneous episodic retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Ferrari
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Italy.
| | | | - Margaret M Bradley
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention (CSEA), University of Florida, FL, United States
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21
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Ferrari V, Bruno N, Chattat R, Codispoti M. Evaluative ratings and attention across the life span: emotional arousal and gender. Cogn Emot 2016; 31:552-563. [PMID: 26864052 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2016.1140020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
This study was designed to investigate the evolution of emotional processing over the whole adult life span as a function of stimulus arousal and participants' gender. To this end, self-reported affective evaluation and attentional capture prompted by pleasant and unpleasant pictures varying in arousal were measured in a large sample of participants (n = 211) balanced by gender and equally spread across seven decades from 20 to 90 years. Results showed age differences only for affective evaluation of pleasant stimuli, with opposite patterns depending on stimulus arousal. As age increased, low-arousing pleasant cues (e.g. images of babies) were experienced as more pleasant and arousing by both males and females, whereas high-arousing stimuli (e.g. erotic images) were experienced as less pleasant only by females. In contrast, emotional pictures (both pleasant and unpleasant) were effective at capturing attention in a similar way across participants, regardless of age and gender. Taken together, these findings suggest that specific emotional cues prompt different subjective responses across different age groups, while basic mechanisms involved in attentional engagement towards both pleasant and unpleasant stimuli are preserved in healthy ageing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Ferrari
- a Department of Neuroscience , University of Parma , Parma , Italy
| | - Nicola Bruno
- a Department of Neuroscience , University of Parma , Parma , Italy
| | - Rabih Chattat
- b Department of Psychology , University of Bologna , Bologna , Italy
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22
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Novelty and emotion: Pupillary and cortical responses during viewing of natural scenes. Biol Psychol 2016; 113:75-82. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2015] [Revised: 11/16/2015] [Accepted: 11/16/2015] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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23
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Bradley MM, Lang PJ. Memory, emotion, and pupil diameter: Repetition of natural scenes. Psychophysiology 2015; 52:1186-93. [PMID: 25943211 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2014] [Accepted: 03/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Margaret M. Bradley
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention; University of Florida; Gainesville Florida USA
| | - Peter J. Lang
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention; University of Florida; Gainesville Florida USA
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24
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Bradley MM, Costa VD, Ferrari V, Codispoti M, Fitzsimmons JR, Lang PJ. Imaging distributed and massed repetitions of natural scenes: spontaneous retrieval and maintenance. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:1381-92. [PMID: 25504854 PMCID: PMC4374051 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2014] [Revised: 10/10/2014] [Accepted: 11/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Repetitions that are distributed (spaced) across time prompt enhancement of a memory-related event-related potential, compared to when repetitions are massed (contiguous). Here, we used fMRI to investigate neural enhancement and suppression effects during free viewing of natural scenes that were either novel or repeated four times with massed or distributed repetitions. Distributed repetition was uniquely associated with a repetition enhancement effect in a bilateral posterior parietal cluster that included the precuneus and posterior cingulate and which has previously been implicated in episodic memory retrieval. Unique to massed repetition, conversely, was enhancement in a right dorsolateral prefrontal cluster that has been implicated in short-term maintenance. Repetition suppression effects for both types of spacing were widespread in regions activated during novel picture processing. Taken together, the data are consistent with a hypothesis that distributed repetition prompts spontaneous retrieval of prior occurrences, whereas massed repetition prompts short-term maintenance of the episodic representation, due to contiguous presentation. These processing differences may mediate the classic spacing effect in learning and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret M. Bradley
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of FloridaGainesvilleFlUSA
| | - Vincent D. Costa
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaMDUSA
| | - Vera Ferrari
- Department of Neuroscience, University of ParamParmaItaly
| | | | | | - Peter J. Lang
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of FloridaGainesvilleFlUSA
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