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Salsano I, Tain R, Giulietti G, Williams DP, Ottaviani C, Antonucci G, Thayer JF, Santangelo V. Negative emotions enhance memory-guided attention in a visual search task by increasing frontoparietal, insular, and parahippocampal cortical activity. Cortex 2024; 173:16-33. [PMID: 38354670 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Previous literature demonstrated that long-term memory representations guide spatial attention during visual search in real-world pictures. However, it is currently unknown whether memory-guided visual search is affected by the emotional content of the picture. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), participants were asked to encode the position of high-contrast targets embedded in emotional (negative or positive) or neutral pictures. At retrieval, they performed a visual search for targets presented at the same location as during encoding, but at a much lower contrast. Behaviorally, participants detected more accurately targets presented in negative pictures compared to those in positive or neutral pictures. They were also faster in detecting targets presented at encoding in emotional (negative or positive) pictures than in neutral pictures, or targets not presented during encoding (i.e., memory-guided attention effect). At the neural level, we found increased activation in a large circuit of regions involving the dorsal and ventral frontoparietal cortex, insular and parahippocampal cortex, selectively during the detection of targets presented in negative pictures during encoding. We propose that these regions might form an integrated neural circuit recruited to select and process previously encoded target locations (i.e., memory-guided attention sustained by the frontoparietal cortex) embedded in emotional contexts (i.e., emotional contexts recollection supported by the parahippocampal cortex and emotional monitoring supported by the insular cortex). Ultimately, these findings reveal that negative emotions can enhance memory-guided visual search performance by increasing neural activity in a large-scale brain circuit, contributing to disentangle the complex relationship between emotion, attention, and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilenia Salsano
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy; PhD Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
| | - Rongwen Tain
- Campus Center of Neuroimaging, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Giovanni Giulietti
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy; SAIMLAL Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - DeWayne P Williams
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, USA
| | | | - Gabriella Antonucci
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Julian F Thayer
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, USA
| | - Valerio Santangelo
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences & Education, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
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2
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Chen Y, Zhao Q, Ding Y, Lu Y. Task relevance alters the effect of emotion on congruency judgments during action understanding. Conscious Cogn 2024; 120:103682. [PMID: 38554524 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024]
Abstract
The congruency judgments in action understanding helps individuals make timely adjustments to unexpected occurrence, and this process may be influenced by emotion. Previous research has showed contradictory effect of emotion on conflict processing, possibly due to the degree of relevance between emotion and task. However, to date, no study has systematically manipulated the relevance to explore how emotion affects congruency judgments in action understanding. We employed a cue-target paradigm and controlled the way emotional stimuli were presented on the target interface, setting up three experiments: emotion served as task-irrelevant distractor, task-irrelevant target and task-relevant target. The results showed that when emotion was irrelevant to the task, it impaired congruency judgements performance, regardless of a distractor or a target, while task-relevant emotion facilitated this process. These findings indicate that the impact of emotion on congruency judgements during action understanding depends on the degree of emotion-task relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiheng Chen
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, China
| | - Qiwei Zhao
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, China
| | - Yueyi Ding
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, China
| | - Yingzhi Lu
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, China; Research Center for Exercise and Brain Science, Shanghai University of Sport, China; Key Laboratory of Sports Cognition Assessment and Regulation of the General Administration of Sport of China, Shanghai University of Sport, China.
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3
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Ince S, Steward T, Harrison BJ, Jamieson AJ, Davey CG, Agathos JA, Moffat BA, Glarin RK, Felmingham KL. Subcortical contributions to salience network functioning during negative emotional processing. Neuroimage 2023; 270:119964. [PMID: 36822252 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Core regions of the salience network (SN), including the anterior insula (aINS) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), coordinate rapid adaptive changes in attentional and autonomic processes in response to negative emotional events. In doing so, the SN incorporates bottom-up signals from subcortical brain regions, such as the amygdala and periaqueductal gray (PAG). However, the precise influence of these subcortical regions is not well understood. Using ultra-high field 7-Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging, this study investigated the bottom-up interactions of the amygdala and PAG with the SN during negative emotional salience processing. Thirty-seven healthy participants completed an emotional oddball paradigm designed to elicit a salient negative emotional response via the presentation of random, task-irrelevant negative emotional images. Negative emotional processing was associated with prominent activation in the SN, spanning the amygdala, PAG, aINS, and dACC. Consistent with previous research, analysis using dynamic causal modelling revealed an excitatory influence from the amygdala to the aINS, dACC, and PAG. In contrast, the PAG showed an inhibitory influence on amygdala, aINS and dACC activity. Our findings suggest that the amygdala may amplify the processing of negative emotional stimuli in the SN to enable upstream access to attentional resources. In comparison, the inhibitory influence of the PAG possibly reflects its involvement in modulating sympathetic-parasympathetic autonomic arousal mediated by the SN. This PAG-mediated effect may be driven by amygdala input and facilitate bottom-up processing of negative emotional stimuli. Overall, our results show that the amygdala and PAG modulate divergent functions of the SN during negative emotional processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sevil Ince
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia; Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
| | - Trevor Steward
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia; Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Ben J Harrison
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Alec J Jamieson
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Christopher G Davey
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - James A Agathos
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Bradford A Moffat
- The Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit, Department of Radiology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Rebecca K Glarin
- The Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit, Department of Radiology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Kim L Felmingham
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
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Gibbons H, Kirsten H, Seib-Pfeifer LE. Attentional tuning of valent word forms. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 184:84-93. [PMID: 36566782 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.12.005] [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: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Using event-related brain potentials (ERPs), we tested the hypothesis of valent word forms (Kissler et al., 2006, Prog Brain Res) stating that the mere visual shapes of emotional words acquire valence through numerous co-occurrences with affective activation over an experienced reader's life. Thereby, associations between neuronal representations of visual word forms and affect are strengthened. If so, selective attention to a specific level of the valence of single visual words should not only pre-activate neuronal representations of that level of valence, but this activation should also spread to the associated word forms. This should improve their processing and/or affective discrimination. In a valence-detection task, N = 53 participants made speeded responses only to words of the current target level of valence (negative, neutral, or positive), which varied across separate blocks. We focused on posterior visual P1 and N170 components, two well-established ERP markers of low-level and structural word form processing, respectively. P1 increased from negative over neutral to positive words; this effect was stronger in target compared to nontarget words. N170 was larger for emotional compared to neutral target words, whereas nontarget words showed a strong reverse pattern. The P1 effect for target words and the N170 effect for nontarget words both were driven by good task performers in terms of fast hit responses. Results support the idea of valent word forms that can be tuned by selective attention to valence, which implies both, facilitated affective discrimination and processing of target words, and inhibition of the processing of nontarget words.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henning Gibbons
- Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, D-53111 Bonn, Germany.
| | - Hannah Kirsten
- Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, D-53111 Bonn, Germany
| | - Laura-Effi Seib-Pfeifer
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Bonn, D-53127 Bonn, Germany
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Peng J, Su J, Song L, Lv Q, Gao Y, Chang J, Zhang H, Zou Y, Chen X. Altered Functional Activity and Functional Connectivity of Seed Regions Based on ALFF Following Acupuncture Treatment in Patients with Stroke Sequelae with Unilateral Limb Numbness. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2023; 19:233-245. [PMID: 36744205 PMCID: PMC9890273 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s391616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Limb numbness is a frequent symptom of post-stroke somatosensory dysfunction, which may be alleviated by non-invasive therapy such as acupuncture. However, the precise mechanism via acupuncture remains unknown. The goal of this study was to investigate how the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and functional connectivity (FC) changed between stroke patients with limb numbness and healthy people, as well as how acupuncture might work. METHODS 24 stroke sequelae patients with unilateral limb numbness and 14 matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The patients with limb numbness received acupuncture therapy three days a week for four weeks. We mainly assessed the clinical outcomes via the visual analogue scale (VAS). In addition, fMRI data from patients with unilateral limb numbness at baseline and after treatment (4th week) were collected, as well as data from healthy controls at baseline. RESULTS Compared with the healthy subjects, the patient group demonstrated significantly decreased ALFF in several brain regions, mainly associated with the sensorimotor network (SMN) and default mode network (DMN), including left superior frontal gyrus (SFG), right temporal fusiform cortex (TFC), right middle frontal gyrus (MFG), bilateral middle temporal gyrus (MTG), right putamen (PUT), right precentral gyrus (preCG), right planum polare (PP), and left supplementary motor area (SMA). These regions were chosen as the seeds for investigating the FC alteration induced by acupuncture. Several sensorimotor-related brain regions were activated by acupuncture, and the FC of the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG) with right MTG, as well as brain-stem, cerebellum vermis 9 with right MFG showed enhancement following acupuncture in the patient group, which had a significant correlation with clinical outcomes. CONCLUSION Acupuncture treatment may be used to stimulate brain areas associated with somatosensory processing and to strengthen the FC of sensorimotor and cognitive brain networks in order to achieve therapeutic effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Peng
- Department of Encephalopathy, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiaming Su
- Department of Nephrology, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Lei Song
- Department of Encephalopathy, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiuyi Lv
- Department of Encephalopathy, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Gao
- Department of Encephalopathy, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingling Chang
- Department of Encephalopathy, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Hua Zhang
- Department of Encephalopathy, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Yihuai Zou
- Department of Encephalopathy, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Xing Chen
- Department of Brain Function Examination, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China
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Park H, Kim J, Jo S, Kim H, Jo Y, Kim S, Yoo I. Measuring emotional variables in occupational performance: A scoping review. Work 2022; 72:1195-1203. [DOI: 10.3233/wor-205162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND: As interest in job-related psychology increased, the need to focus on understanding workplace stress was emphasized. Negative emotional states such as anxiety and stress permeate the organization and, if uncontrolled, can negatively impact the health and work performance of workers. Therefore, attempts to analyze various signals to understand human emotional states or attitudes may be important for future technological development. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify what biological variables can discriminate emotions that can significantly affect work results. METHODS: Databases (Embase, PsychINFO, PubMed, and CINAHL) were searched for all relevant literature published as of December 31, 2019. RESULTS: Brain activity (BA) and heart rate (HR) or heart rate variability (HRV) are adequate for assessing negative emotions, while BA, galvanic skin response (GSR), and salivary samples (SS) can confirm positive and negative emotions. CONCLUSION: In the future, researchers should study measurement tools and bio-related variables while workers perform tasks and develop intervention strategies to address emotions associated with work. This may enable workers to perform tasks more efficiently, prevent accidents, and satisfy clients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoojung Park
- Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medical Science, Jeonju University, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Jisu Kim
- Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medical Science, Jeonju University, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Subeen Jo
- Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medical Science, Jeonju University, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Hanseon Kim
- Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medical Science, Jeonju University, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Yunjo Jo
- Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medical Science, Jeonju University, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Suhyeon Kim
- Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medical Science, Jeonju University, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Ingyu Yoo
- Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medical Science, Jeonju University, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
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7
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Gibbons H, Kirsten H, Seib-Pfeifer LE. Attention to affect 2.0: Multiple effects of emotion and attention on event-related potentials of visual word processing in a valence-detection task. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e14059. [PMID: 35484815 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14059] [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: 05/05/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Here we continue recent work on the specific mental processes engaged in a valence-detection task. Fifty-seven participants responded to one predefined target level of valence (negative, neutral, or positive), and ignored the remaining two levels. This enables more precise fine-tuning of neuronal pathways, compared to valence categorization where attention is divided between different levels of valence. Our group recently used valence detection with emotional words. Posterior P1 and N170 effects in the event-related potential (ERP) supported the idea of valent word forms that can be tuned by selective attention to valence. Here we report findings on three distinct posterior N2 components, P300, N400, and the late positive potential (LPP). Target but not nontarget words showed an arousal effect (emotional > neutral) on left-side early posterior negativity (180-280 ms). In contrast, an arousal effect on a sharp N2 deflection in left-minus-right difference ERPs (230-270 ms), suggesting facilitation of lexical access for emotional words, was independent of target status. This also applied to increased medial parieto-occipital N2 (260-300 ms) specific to negative words, indicating attentional capture. Medial-central N400 was specifically enhanced for negative nontarget words, further supporting attentional capture. The typical LPP arousal effect was observed, being stronger and more left-lateralized in target words. An exploratory finding concerned a broad component-overarching ERP valence effect (250-650 ms). Independent of target status, ERPs were more positive for positive than negative words. Combined with our previous results, data suggest multiple loci of emotion-attention interactions in valence detection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hannah Kirsten
- Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Laura-Effi Seib-Pfeifer
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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8
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The role of temporal attention in the processing of facial expression: Evidence from attentional blink paradigm. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-02500-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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9
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Humphreys L, Higgins SJ, Roberts EV. EXPRESS: Task demands moderate the effect of emotion on attentional capture. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2022; 75:2308-2317. [PMID: 35001737 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221075146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The current experiment examined the effect of task demands on attention to emotional images. Eighty participants viewed pairs of images, with each pair consisting of an emotional (negative or positive) and a neutral image, or two neutral images. Participants' eye movements were recorded during picture viewing, and participants were either asked 1) which picture contains more colour? (colour task), 2) are the images equally pleasant? (pleasantness task), 3) which picture do you prefer? (preference task), or 4) were given no task instructions (control task). Although the results did not suggest that emotional images strongly captured attention, emotional images were looked at earlier than neutral images. Importantly, the pattern of results were dependent upon the task instructions; whilst the preference and colour task conditions showed early attentional biases to emotional images, only positive images were looked at earlier in the pleasantness task condition, and no early attentional biases were observed in the control task. Moreover, total fixation duration was increased for positive images in the preference task condition, but not in the other task conditions. It was concluded that attention to emotional stimuli can be modified by the demands of the task during viewing. However, further research should consider additional factors, such as the cognitive load of the viewing tasks, and the content of the images used.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Humphreys
- Psychology Department, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom 7703
| | - Sarah Jade Higgins
- Psychology Department, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom 7703
| | - Emma Victoria Roberts
- Psychology Department, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom 7703
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10
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Sun M, Liu F, Cui L, Wei P, Zhang Q. The effect of fearful faces on the attentional blink is modulated by emotional task relevance: An event-related potential study. Neuropsychologia 2021; 162:108043. [PMID: 34600892 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
A fearful face as second visual target (T2) was detected better than a neutral T2 in a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) task. The advantage of fear over neutral emotion was originally attributed to a limited-capacity mechanism, in which fearful stimuli are prioritized for attention over neutral stimuli. However, more recent studies have shown that the prioritization of the processing of fear is strongly dependent on the emotional task relevance. Combining the RSVP task and Garner's paradigm, by varying the expression (fearful and neutral faces) and the emotional task relevance of the T2 (relevance: emotion classification task; irrelevance: gender classification task), this study aims to investigate the role of emotional task relevance on the advantage of fear during an RSVP task in which participants have to identify two visual targets in a stream of distractors. The behavioral results revealed that there was no significant effect of the expression on the task performance in the gender classification task. Fearful faces were easier to detect than neutral faces, but the T2 accuracy of fearful faces was lower than that of neutral faces in the emotion classification task. Furthermore, we found that the vertex positive potential and P100 components were enhanced for fearful faces compared to neutral faces independent of the emotional task relevance. For the P300 component, there was no significant difference in the gender classification task, but fearful faces elicited enhanced P300 amplitudes compared to neutral faces in the emotion classification task. These results indicated that the early processing of fear is automatic, while the late processing of fear is dependent on the emotional task relevance under limited attentional resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Sun
- Learning and Cognition Key Laboratory of Beijing, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
| | - Fang Liu
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387, China; Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387, China
| | - Lixia Cui
- Learning and Cognition Key Laboratory of Beijing, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
| | - Ping Wei
- Learning and Cognition Key Laboratory of Beijing, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
| | - Qin Zhang
- Learning and Cognition Key Laboratory of Beijing, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China.
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11
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Li E, Xiao F, Zou T, Guo J. Positive emotion of self-referential contexts could facilitate adult's novel word learning: An fNIRS study. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2021; 221:104994. [PMID: 34303109 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2021.104994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Learning words through contextual inference is a key way to enlarge one's vocabulary especially for adults. However, few studies focused on the effects of different information contained in contexts on novel word learning. The present study used behavioral and fNIRS techniques to investigate the influences of positive, neutral and negative emotions inherent in self-related or other-related referential contexts. Participants were asked to perform a semantic consistency and a source judgment task after learning the relations between novel words and concepts in different contexts. The results showed that self-reference during lexical encoding could promote word learning generally. More importantly, there existed a self-positivity bias which is manifested in the significant interactions between contextual emotions and referential value. These interactions are related to the neural activities of the DLPFC and IFG. These results revealed the contextual information's integrative contributions to semantic meaning acquisition and episodic source memory related with novel word learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enhui Li
- Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, PR China
| | - Feng Xiao
- Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, PR China
| | - Tiantian Zou
- Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, PR China
| | - Jingjing Guo
- Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, PR China.
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12
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Abstract
Initial evaluation structures (IESs) currently proposed as the earliest detectors of affective stimuli (e.g., amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, or insula) are high-order structures (a) whose response latency cannot account for the first visual cortex emotion-related response (~80 ms), and (b) lack the necessary infrastructure to locally analyze the visual features that define emotional stimuli. Several thalamic structures accomplish both criteria. The lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), a first-order thalamic nucleus that actively processes visual information, with the complement of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) are proposed as core IESs. This LGN–TRN tandem could be supported by the pulvinar, a second-order thalamic structure, and by other extrathalamic nuclei. The visual thalamus, scarcely explored in affective neurosciences, seems crucial in early emotional evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Carretié
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
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13
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Ruiz-Padial E, Mercado F. In exogenous attention, time is the clue: Brain and heart interactions to survive threatening stimuli. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0243117. [PMID: 33979346 PMCID: PMC8115771 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The capture of exogenous attention by negative stimuli has been interpreted as adaptive for survival in a diverse and changing environment. In the present paper, we investigate the neural responses towards two discrete negative emotions with different biological meanings, disgust and fear, and its potential relationships with heart rate variability (HRV) as an index of emotional regulation. With that aim, 30 participants performed a digit categorization task while fear, disgust and neutral distractor pictures were presented. Resting HRV at baseline, behavioral responses, and event-related potentials were recorded. Whereas P1 amplitudes were highest to fear distractors, the disgust stimulation led to augmented P2 amplitudes compared to the rest of distractors. Interestingly, increased N2 amplitudes were also found to disgust distractors, but only in high HRV participants. Neural source estimation data point to the involvement of the insula in this exogenous attentional response to disgust. Additionally, disgust distractors provoked longer reaction times than fear and neutral distractors in the high HRV group. Present findings are interpreted in evolutionary terms suggesting that exogenous attention is captured by negative stimuli following a different time course for fear and disgust. Possible HRV influences on neural mechanisms underlying exogenous attention are discussed considering the potential important role of this variable in emotional regulation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Francisco Mercado
- Psychobiology Unit, Department of Psychology Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
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14
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Natural sleep loss is associated with lower mPFC activity during negative distracter processing. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 21:242-253. [PMID: 33469886 PMCID: PMC7994230 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00862-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated that loss of sleep has a negative impact on both emotional and cognitive functioning. We examined whether subjectively reported natural sleep loss is associated with the interplay between emotion and cognition, as was probed by brain activity in response to emotional distraction during a working memory task. Forty-six healthy male adults reported their typical weekly sleep pattern using the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ), while recent sleep loss was enquired using a sleep diary in the 7 days preceding scanning. Participants performed a delayed match-to-sample task with negative and neutral distracters during the delay period inside the MRI scanner. Activity differences between negative and neutral distracters were associated to both sleep loss measures across participants. The amount of typically encountered sleep loss indicated by the MCTQ, but not sleep diary, was negatively associated with activity in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex during emotionally negative compared to neutral distraction (p < 0.025, whole brain corrected). Participants showed less distracter-related activity in the ACC and dorsomedial PFC with increasing sleep loss, which, in the long run, might contribute to less adaptive emotional processing, and therefore a greater vulnerability to develop affective disorders.
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15
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Shafer AT, Benoit JR, Brown MRG, Greenshaw AJ, Van Vliet KJ, Vohra S, Dolcos F, Singhal A. Differences in attentional control and white matter microstructure in adolescents with attentional, affective, and behavioral disorders. Brain Imaging Behav 2021; 14:599-614. [PMID: 31838614 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-019-00211-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Adolescence is a critical time of physiological, cognitive, and social development. It is also a time of increased risk-taking and vulnerability for psychopathology. White matter (WM) changes during adolescence have been better elucidated in the last decade, but how WM is impacted by psychopathology during this time remains unclear. Here, we examined the link between WM microstructure and psychopathology during adolescence. Twenty youth diagnosed with affective, attentional, and behavioral disorders (clinical sample), and 20 age-matched controls were recruited to examine group differences in WM microstructure, attentional control, and the link between them. The main results showed that clinical sample had relatively lower attentional control and fractional anisotropy (FA) in WM throughout the brain: two association tracts were identified, and many differences were found in areas rich in callosal and projection fibers. Moreover, increased FA was positively associated with attention performance in the clinical sample in structures supporting ventral WM pathways, whereas a similar link was identified in controls in dorsal WM association fibers. Overall, these results support a model of general impairment in WM microstructure combined with reliance on altered, perhaps less efficient, pathways for attentional control in youth with affective, attentional, and behavioral disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea T Shafer
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - James R Benoit
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Matthew R G Brown
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Andy J Greenshaw
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - K Jessica Van Vliet
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Sunita Vohra
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Florin Dolcos
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Psychology Department and Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.,Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Anthony Singhal
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. .,Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
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Lasting Effects of Using Distraction to Manage Responses to Unpleasant Pictures: Electrophysiological Evidence. Biol Psychol 2020; 156:107952. [PMID: 32961303 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Revised: 07/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Distraction is a widely used form of emotion regulation. Most studies have focused on the influence of distraction on the processing of aversive stimuli during distraction regulation, however, few studies investigated the impact on responses to aversive stimuli when they are re-presented later. This study examined whether processing of unpleasant pictures could be modulated by previous distraction and whether this modulation was associated with the intervals between regulation and re-exposure. Participants were presented with unpleasant images and asked to attend to or distract themselves from the images. After a 5- or 30-minute interval, the participants were re-exposed to the same images in an oddball task. Event-related potential measurements revealed that compared with the previous attention condition, the P3 amplitudes were significantly larger in the 30-min interval group, but not in the 5-min interval group under the previous distraction condition, and that the late positive potential amplitudes were significantly larger in the 30-min interval group, but tended to be smaller in the 5-min interval group. These findings suggest that the effects of distraction were diminished or disappeared after a 5-min interval and reversed after a 30-min interval. This pattern suggests that caution should be exercised in the use of distraction strategies to reduce negative emotions, particularly in cases in which unpleasant images may reappear in everyday life.
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The Impact of Focused Attention on Emotional Experience: A Functional MRI Investigation. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 20:1011-1026. [PMID: 32770316 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00816-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Emotional well-being depends on the ability to adaptively cope with various emotional challenges. Most studies have investigated the neural mechanisms of emotion regulation strategies deployed relatively later in the timing of processing that leads to full emotional experiences. However, less is known about strategies that are engaged in earlier stages of emotion processing, such as those involving attentional deployment. We investigated the neural mechanisms associated with self-guided Focused Attention (FA) in mitigating subjective negative emotional experiences. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were recorded while participants viewed a series of composite negative and neutral images with distinguishable foreground (FG) and background (BG) areas. Participants were instructed to focus either on the FG or BG components of the images, and then rated their emotional experiences. Behavioral results showed that FA was successful in decreasing emotional ratings for negative images viewed in BG Focus condition. At the neural level, the BG Focus was associated with increased activity in regions typically implicated in top-down executive control (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and lateral parietal cortex) and decreased activity in regions linked to affective processing (amygdala and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex). Dissociable brain activity linked to FA also was identified in visual cortices, including between the parahippocampal and fusiform gyri, showing increased versus decreased activity, respectively, during the BG Focus. These findings complement the evidence from prior FA studies with recollected emotional memories as internal stimuli and further demonstrate the effectiveness of self-guided FA in mitigating negative emotional experiences associated with processing of external unpleasant stimuli.
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Kyeong S, Kim J, Kim J, Kim EJ, Kim HE, Kim JJ. Differences in the modulation of functional connectivity by self-talk tasks between people with low and high life satisfaction. Neuroimage 2020; 217:116929. [PMID: 32413461 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-respect is a practical way to promote life satisfaction through gratifying basic psychological needs, whereas self-criticism is associated with life dissatisfaction. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of two positive and negative self-talks on the functional connectome with respect to life satisfaction and its relationships with basic psychological needs. Forty-eight individuals with low life satisfaction (LLS, n = 24) and with high life satisfaction (HLS, n = 24) were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging at a baseline state and during and after self-respect or self-criticism tasks. Functional connectivity analysis was conducted to identify the modulatory effects of the tasks on the self-referential, default mode, and reward-motivation networks. We found that self-respect changed only the connection between the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and frontoparietal network, whereas self-criticism changed almost all of the connections examined. The group x condition interaction effect of self-respect was identified only in connection between the PCC and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, while that of self-criticism was observed in various connections based on the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. In respect to basic psychological needs, functional connectivity after self-criticism was significant in predicting the needs of autonomy and relatedness only in the LLS group, whereas functional connectivity after self-respect could predict the needs of autonomy and competence only in the HLS group. Overall, self-criticism produces more noticeable negative changes in the brain than the positive changes of self-respect. Individuals with low life satisfaction may be more vulnerable to be negatively affected not only by self-criticism but also self-respect than individuals with high life satisfaction. The satisfaction of basic psychological needs can play a mediating role in the effects of self-talk tasks differently concerning life satisfaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunghyon Kyeong
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Junhyung Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Joohan Kim
- Department of Communication, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun Joo Kim
- Graduate School of Education, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hesun Erin Kim
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae-Jin Kim
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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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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20
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Weintraub-Brevda RR, Chua EF. Transcranial direct current stimulation over the right and left VLPFC leads to differential effects on working and episodic memory. Brain Cogn 2019; 132:98-107. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2019.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Revised: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Macedo-Pascual J, Hinojosa JA, Poch C. Oscillatory correlates of prioritization of emotional stimuli in WM: The interaction between bottom-up and top-down processes. Biol Psychol 2019; 145:167-173. [PMID: 31102670 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2018] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Working memory can be enhanced by directing attention to task-relevant representations. Alpha oscillations are a neural correlate of spatial attention either to the perceptual or the mnemonic domain. Specifically, an enhancement of alpha power is observed in the ipsilateral posterior cortex to the locus of attention, along with a suppression in the contralateral hemisphere. In this study we aim to unravel the contribution of bottom-up processes in the top-down guidance of attention inside WM. In this way, emotionality of the memoranda was manipulated in a retro-cue task. Behaviorally, we found a recognition advantage for emotional cued items, and significantly, that the emotionality of the non-cued items did not influence accuracy. We found that bilateral alpha power was greater for the emotional irrelevant condition, which could be reflecting the greater demands to suppress an emotional item from the focus of attention. Critically, we found that alpha power lateralization was not modulated by neither the emotionality of the cued or the non-cued items. However, we found that the latency at which alpha lateralization emerged was modulated by the emotionality of the memory representations. In conclusion, we propose that while alpha power lateralization might be reflecting a general spatial orienting mechanism, in our experiment it is influenced by the selection of relevant information within WM.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Macedo-Pascual
- Departamento de Psicología Experimental, Procesos Cognitivos y Logopedia, Facultad de Psicología, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
| | - J A Hinojosa
- Departamento de Psicología Experimental, Procesos Cognitivos y Logopedia, Facultad de Psicología, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain; Instituto Pluridisciplinar, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
| | - C Poch
- Departamento de Psicología Experimental, Procesos Cognitivos y Logopedia, Facultad de Psicología, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain; Instituto Pluridisciplinar, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain; Facultad de Lenguas y Educación, Universidad Nebrija, Spain.
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22
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Guo J, Li D, Bi Y, Chen C. Modulating Effects of Contextual Emotions on the Neural Plasticity Induced by Word Learning. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:464. [PMID: 30532700 PMCID: PMC6266032 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, numerous studies have investigated the neurocognitive mechanism of learning words in isolation or in semantic contexts. However, emotion as an important influencing factor on novel word learning has not been fully considered in the previous studies. In addition, the effects of emotion on word learning and the underlying neural mechanism have not been systematically investigated. Sixteen participants were trained to learn novel concrete or abstract words under negative, neutral, and positive contextual emotions over 3 days; then, fMRI scanning was done during the testing sessions on day 1 and day 3. We compared the brain activations in day 1 and day 3 to investigate the role of contextual emotions in learning different types of words and the corresponding neural plasticity changes. Behaviorally, the performance of the words learned in the negative context was lower than those in the neutral and positive contexts, which indicated that contextual emotions had a significant impact on novel word learning. Correspondingly, the functional plasticity changes of the right angular gyrus (AG), bilateral insula, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) induced by word learning were modulated by the contextual emotions. The insula also was sensitive to the concreteness of the learned words. More importantly, the functional plasticity changes of the left inferior frontal gyrus (left IFG) and left fusiform gyrus (left FG) were interactively influenced by the contextual emotions and concreteness, suggesting that the contextual emotional information had a discriminable effect on different types of words in the neural mechanism level. These results demonstrate that emotional information in contexts is inevitably involved in word learning. The role of contextual emotions in brain plasticity for learning is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Guo
- Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
- *Correspondence: Jingjing Guo
| | - Dingding Li
- Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yanling Bi
- Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Chunhui Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Chunhui Chen
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Schneidt A, Jusyte A, Rauss K, Schönenberg M. Distraction by salient stimuli in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Evidence for the role of task difficulty in bottom-up and top-down processing. Cortex 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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Functional interplay of top-down attention with affective codes during visual short-term memory maintenance. Cortex 2018; 103:55-70. [PMID: 29554542 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Revised: 10/21/2017] [Accepted: 02/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Visual short-term memory (VSTM) allows individuals to briefly maintain information over time for guiding behaviours. Because the contents of VSTM can be neutral or emotional, top-down influence in VSTM may vary with the affective codes of maintained representations. Here we investigated the neural mechanisms underlying the functional interplay of top-down attention with affective codes in VSTM using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants were instructed to remember both threatening and neutral objects in a cued VSTM task. Retrospective cues (retro-cues) were presented to direct attention to the hemifield of a threatening object (i.e., cue-to-threat) or a neutral object (i.e., cue-to-neutral) during VSTM maintenance. We showed stronger activity in the ventral occipitotemporal cortex and amygdala for attending threatening relative to neutral representations. Using multivoxel pattern analysis, we found better classification performance for cue-to-threat versus cue-to-neutral objects in early visual areas and in the amygdala. Importantly, retro-cues modulated the strength of functional connectivity between the frontoparietal and early visual areas. Activity in the frontoparietal areas became strongly correlated with the activity in V3a-V4 coding the threatening representations instructed to be relevant for the task. Together, these findings provide the first demonstration of top-down modulation of activation patterns in early visual areas and functional connectivity between the frontoparietal network and early visual areas for regulating threatening representations during VSTM maintenance.
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Ladouceur CD, Schlund MW, Segreti AM. Positive reinforcement modulates fronto-limbic systems subserving emotional interference in adolescents. Behav Brain Res 2018; 338:109-117. [PMID: 29079512 PMCID: PMC6338073 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Revised: 10/05/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Fronto-limbic systems play an important role in supporting resistance to emotional distraction to promote goal-directed behavior. Despite evidence that alterations in the functioning of these systems are implicated in developmental trajectories of psychopathology, most studies have been conducted in adults. This study examined the functioning of fronto-limbic systems subserving emotional interference in adolescents and whether differential reinforcement of correct responding can modulate these neural systems in ways that could promote resistance to emotional distraction. Fourteen healthy adolescents (ages 9-15) completed an emotional delayed working memory task during fMRI with emotional distracters (none, neutral, negative) while positive reinforcement (i.e., monetary reward) was provided for correct responses under some conditions. Adolescents showed slightly reduced behavioral performance and greater activation in amygdala and prefrontal cortical regions (ventrolateral, ventromedial, dorsolateral) on correct trials with negative distracters compared to those with no or neutral distracters. Positive reinforcement yielded an overall improvement in accuracy and reaction times and counteracted the effects of negative distracters as evidenced by significant reductions in activation in key fronto-limbic regions. The present findings extend results on emotional interference from adults to adolescents and suggest that positive reinforcement could be used to potentially promote insulation from emotional distraction. A challenge for the future will be to build upon these findings for constructing reinforcement-based attention training programs that could be used to reduce emotional attention biases in anxious youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecile D Ladouceur
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States.
| | - Michael W Schlund
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
| | - Anna-Maria Segreti
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
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Feldker K, Heitmann CY, Neumeister P, Brinkmann L, Bruchmann M, Zwitserlood P, Straube T. Cardiorespiratory concerns shape brain responses during automatic panic-related scene processing in patients with panic disorder. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2018; 43. [PMID: 29252163 PMCID: PMC5747532 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.160226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Increased automatic processing of threat-related stimuli has been proposed as a key element in panic disorder. Little is known about the neural basis of automatic processing, in particular to task-irrelevant, panic-related, ecologically valid stimuli, or about the association between brain activation and symptomatology in patients with panic disorder. METHODS The present event-related functional MRI (fMRI) study compared brain responses to task-irrelevant, panic-related and neutral visual stimuli in medication-free patients with panic disorder and healthy controls. Panic-related and neutral scenes were presented while participants performed a spatially nonoverlapping bar orientation task. Correlation analyses investigated the association between brain responses and panic-related aspects of symptomatology, measured using the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI). RESULTS We included 26 patients with panic disorder and 26 heatlhy controls in our analysis. Compared with controls, patients with panic disorder showed elevated activation in the amygdala, brainstem, thalamus, insula, anterior cingulate cortex and midcingulate cortex in response to panic-related versus neutral task-irrelevant stimuli. Furthermore, fear of cardiovascular symptoms (a subcomponent of the ASI) was associated with insula activation, whereas fear of respiratory symptoms was associated with brainstem hyperactivation in patients with panic disorder. LIMITATIONS The additional implementation of measures of autonomic activation, such as pupil diameter, heart rate, or electrodermal activity, would have been informative during the fMRI scan as well as during the rating procedure. CONCLUSION Results reveal a neural network involved in the processing of panic-related distractor stimuli in patients with panic disorder and suggest an automatic weighting of panic-related information depending on the magnitude of cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms. Insula and brainstem activations show function-related associations with specific components of panic symptomatology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Feldker
- Correspondence to: K. Feldker, Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, Von-Esmarch-Straße 52, D-48149 Muenster, Germany;
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Feldker K, Heitmann CY, Neumeister P, Brinkmann L, Bruchmann M, Zwitserlood P, Straube T. Cardiorespiratory concerns shape brain responses during automatic panic-related scene processing in patients with panic disorder. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2018; 43:26-36. [PMID: 29252163 PMCID: PMC5747532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2017] [Revised: 03/30/2017] [Accepted: 05/01/2017] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Increased automatic processing of threat-related stimuli has been proposed as a key element in panic disorder. Little is known about the neural basis of automatic processing, in particular to task-irrelevant, panic-related, ecologically valid stimuli, or about the association between brain activation and symptomatology in patients with panic disorder. METHODS The present event-related functional MRI (fMRI) study compared brain responses to task-irrelevant, panic-related and neutral visual stimuli in medication-free patients with panic disorder and healthy controls. Panic-related and neutral scenes were presented while participants performed a spatially nonoverlapping bar orientation task. Correlation analyses investigated the association between brain responses and panic-related aspects of symptomatology, measured using the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI). RESULTS We included 26 patients with panic disorder and 26 heatlhy controls in our analysis. Compared with controls, patients with panic disorder showed elevated activation in the amygdala, brainstem, thalamus, insula, anterior cingulate cortex and midcingulate cortex in response to panic-related versus neutral task-irrelevant stimuli. Furthermore, fear of cardiovascular symptoms (a subcomponent of the ASI) was associated with insula activation, whereas fear of respiratory symptoms was associated with brainstem hyperactivation in patients with panic disorder. LIMITATIONS The additional implementation of measures of autonomic activation, such as pupil diameter, heart rate, or electrodermal activity, would have been informative during the fMRI scan as well as during the rating procedure. CONCLUSION Results reveal a neural network involved in the processing of panic-related distractor stimuli in patients with panic disorder and suggest an automatic weighting of panic-related information depending on the magnitude of cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms. Insula and brainstem activations show function-related associations with specific components of panic symptomatology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Feldker
- From the Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Feldker, Heitmann, Neumeister, Brinkmann, Bruchmann, Straube); and the Institute for Psychology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Zwitserlood)
| | - Carina Yvonne Heitmann
- From the Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Feldker, Heitmann, Neumeister, Brinkmann, Bruchmann, Straube); and the Institute for Psychology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Zwitserlood)
| | - Paula Neumeister
- From the Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Feldker, Heitmann, Neumeister, Brinkmann, Bruchmann, Straube); and the Institute for Psychology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Zwitserlood)
| | - Leonie Brinkmann
- From the Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Feldker, Heitmann, Neumeister, Brinkmann, Bruchmann, Straube); and the Institute for Psychology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Zwitserlood)
| | - Maximillan Bruchmann
- From the Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Feldker, Heitmann, Neumeister, Brinkmann, Bruchmann, Straube); and the Institute for Psychology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Zwitserlood)
| | - Pienie Zwitserlood
- From the Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Feldker, Heitmann, Neumeister, Brinkmann, Bruchmann, Straube); and the Institute for Psychology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Zwitserlood)
| | - Thomas Straube
- From the Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Feldker, Heitmann, Neumeister, Brinkmann, Bruchmann, Straube); and the Institute for Psychology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany (Zwitserlood)
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Dolcos F, Katsumi Y, Weymar M, Moore M, Tsukiura T, Dolcos S. Emerging Directions in Emotional Episodic Memory. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1867. [PMID: 29255432 PMCID: PMC5723010 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2017] [Accepted: 10/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Building upon the existing literature on emotional memory, the present review examines emerging evidence from brain imaging investigations regarding four research directions: (1) Social Emotional Memory, (2) The Role of Emotion Regulation in the Impact of Emotion on Memory, (3) The Impact of Emotion on Associative or Relational Memory, and (4) The Role of Individual Differences in Emotional Memory. Across these four domains, available evidence demonstrates that emotion- and memory-related medial temporal lobe brain regions (amygdala and hippocampus, respectively), together with prefrontal cortical regions, play a pivotal role during both encoding and retrieval of emotional episodic memories. This evidence sheds light on the neural mechanisms of emotional memories in healthy functioning, and has important implications for understanding clinical conditions that are associated with negative affective biases in encoding and retrieving emotional memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florin Dolcos
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Yuta Katsumi
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Mathias Weymar
- Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Matthew Moore
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Takashi Tsukiura
- Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Sanda Dolcos
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
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29
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Kuo BC, Li CH, Lin SH, Hu SH, Yeh YY. Top-down modulation of alpha power and pattern similarity for threatening representations in visual short-term memory. Neuropsychologia 2017; 106:21-30. [PMID: 28887064 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2017] [Revised: 09/01/2017] [Accepted: 09/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that top-down attention biases task-relevant representations in visual short-term memory (VSTM). Accumulating evidence has also revealed the modulatory effects of emotional arousal on attentional processing. However, it remains unclear how top-down attention interacts with emotional memoranda in VSTM. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of alpha oscillations and their spatiotemporal characteristics that underlie top-down attention to threatening representations during VSTM maintenance with electroencephalography. Participants were instructed to remember a threatening object and a neutral object in a cued variant delayed response task. Retrospective cues (retro-cues) were presented to direct attention to the hemifield of a threatening object (i.e., cue-to-threat trials) or a neutral object (i.e., cue-to-neutral trials) during a retention interval prior to the probe test. We found a significant retro-cue-related alpha lateralisation over posterior regions during VSTM maintenance. The novel finding was that the magnitude of alpha lateralisation was greater for cue-to-threat objects compared to cue-to-neutral ones. These results indicated that directing attention towards threatening representations compared to neutral representations could result in greater regulation of alpha activity contralateral to the cued hemifield. Importantly, we estimated the spatiotemporal pattern similarity in alpha activity and found significantly higher similarity indexes for the posterior regions relative to the anterior regions and for the cue-to-threat objects relative to cue-to-neutral objects over the posterior regions. Together, our findings provided the oscillatory evidence of greater top-down modulations of alpha lateralisation and spatiotemporal pattern similarity for attending to threatening representations in VSTM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo-Cheng Kuo
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taiwan.
| | - Chun-Hui Li
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taiwan; Research Center for Information Technology Innovation, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
| | - Szu-Hung Lin
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
| | - Sheng-Hung Hu
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
| | - Yei-Yu Yeh
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taiwan.
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30
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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: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [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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31
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Siciliano RE, Madden DJ, Tallman CW, Boylan MA, Kirste I, Monge ZA, Packard LE, Potter GG, Wang L. Task difficulty modulates brain activation in the emotional oddball task. Brain Res 2017; 1664:74-86. [PMID: 28377158 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2017.03.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2016] [Revised: 03/09/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have reported that task-irrelevant, emotionally salient events can disrupt target discrimination, particularly when attentional demands are low, while others demonstrate alterations in the distracting effects of emotion in behavior and neural activation in the context of attention-demanding tasks. We used fMRI, in conjunction with an emotional oddball task, at different levels of target discrimination difficulty, to investigate the effects of emotional distractors on the detection of subsequent targets. In addition, we distinguished different behavioral components of target detection representing decisional, nondecisional, and response criterion processes. Results indicated that increasing target discrimination difficulty led to increased time required for both the decisional and nondecisional components of the detection response, as well as to increased target-related neural activation in frontoparietal regions. The emotional distractors were associated with activation in ventral occipital and frontal regions and dorsal frontal regions, but this activation was attenuated with increased difficulty. Emotional distraction did not alter the behavioral measures of target detection, but did lead to increased target-related frontoparietal activation for targets following emotional images as compared to those following neutral images. This latter effect varied with target discrimination difficulty, with an increased influence of the emotional distractors on subsequent target-related frontoparietal activation in the more difficult discrimination condition. This influence of emotional distraction was in addition associated specifically with the decisional component of target detection. These findings indicate that emotion-cognition interactions, in the emotional oddball task, vary depending on the difficulty of the target discrimination and the associated limitations on processing resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel E Siciliano
- Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States
| | - David J Madden
- Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States.
| | - Catherine W Tallman
- Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States
| | - Maria A Boylan
- Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States
| | - Imke Kirste
- Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States
| | - Zachary A Monge
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, United States
| | - Lauren E Packard
- Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States
| | - Guy G Potter
- Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States
| | - Lihong Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, United States
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32
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D'Andrea-Penna GM, Frank SM, Heatherton TF, Tse PU. Distracting tracking: Interactions between negative emotion and attentional load in multiple-object tracking. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 17:900-904. [PMID: 28569539 DOI: 10.1037/emo0000329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Stimuli that attract exogenous attention have been shown to interfere with behavioral performance on various tasks. In the present study, participants performed multiple-object tracking (MOT) in conditions where either neutral or negatively valenced images were flashed at fixation. Results reveal a significant impairment of tracking accuracy in the emotional MOT conditions compared to the neutral conditions specifically at the highest level of task difficulty. These findings suggest that emotional distraction is most detrimental when maximal endogenous attentional engagement is required. This interaction between emotional distraction and attentional load is inconsistent with existing models of emotional distraction. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Peter U Tse
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth Colleg
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33
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Szekely A, Silton RL, Heller W, Miller GA, Mohanty A. Differential functional connectivity of rostral anterior cingulate cortex during emotional interference. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2017; 12:476-486. [PMID: 27998997 PMCID: PMC5499751 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsw137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2015] [Revised: 08/26/2016] [Accepted: 09/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The rostral-ventral subdivision of the anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) plays a key role in the regulation of emotional processing. Although rACC has strong anatomical connections with anterior insular cortex (AIC), amygdala, prefrontal cortex and striatal brain regions, it is unclear whether the functional connectivity of rACC with these regions changes when regulating emotional processing. Furthermore, it is not known whether this connectivity changes with deficits in emotion regulation seen in different kinds of anxiety and depression. To address these questions regarding rACC functional connectivity, non-patients high in self-reported anxious apprehension (AP), anxious arousal (AR), anhedonic depression (AD) or none (CON) indicated the ink color of pleasant, neutral and unpleasant words during functional magnetic resonance imaging. While ignoring task-irrelevant unpleasant words, AD and CON showed an increase in the functional connectivity of rACC with AIC, putamen, caudate and ventral pallidum. There was a decrease in this connectivity in AP and AR, with AP showing greater reduction than AR. These findings provide support for the role of rACC in integrating interoceptive, emotional and cognitive functions via interactions with insula and striatal regions during effective emotion regulation in healthy individuals and a failure of this integration that may be specific to anxiety, particularly AP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akos Szekely
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | | | - Wendy Heller
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Gregory A. Miller
- University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Aprajita Mohanty
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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34
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Thigpen NN, Keil A, Freund AM. Responding to emotional scenes: effects of response outcome and picture repetition on reaction times and the late positive potential. Cogn Emot 2016; 32:24-36. [PMID: 27922339 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2016.1266305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Processing the motivational relevance of a visual scene and reacting accordingly is crucial for survival. Previous work suggests the emotional content of naturalistic scenes affects response speed, such that unpleasant content slows responses whereas pleasant content accelerates responses. It is unclear whether these effects reflect motor-cognitive processes, such as attentional orienting, or vary with the function/outcome of the motor response itself. Four experiments manipulated participants' ability to terminate the picture (offset control) and, thereby, the response's function and motivational value. Attentive orienting was manipulated via picture repetition, which diminishes orienting. A total of N = 81 participants completed versions of a go/no-go task, discriminating between distorted versus intact pictures drawn from six content categories varying in positive, negative, or neutral valence. While all participants responded faster with repetition, only participants without offset control exhibited slower responses to unpleasant and accelerated responses to pleasant content. Emotional engagement, measured by the late positive potential, was not modulated by attentional orienting (repetition), suggesting that the interaction between repetition and offset control is not due to altered emotional engagement. Together, results suggest that response time changes as a function of emotional content and sensitivity to attention orienting depends on the motivational function of the motor response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina N Thigpen
- a Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention , University of Florida , Gainesville , FL , USA
| | - Andreas Keil
- a Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention , University of Florida , Gainesville , FL , USA
| | - Alexandra M Freund
- b University Research Priority Program Dynamics of Healthy Aging, Department of Psychology , University of Zurich , Zurich , Switzerland
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35
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Hur J, Iordan AD, Berenbaum H, Dolcos F. Emotion–attention interactions in fear conditioning: Moderation by executive load, neuroticism, and awareness. Biol Psychol 2016; 121:213-220. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2015] [Revised: 10/10/2015] [Accepted: 10/23/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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36
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Sex differences in emotional contexts modulation on response inhibition. Neuropsychologia 2016; 91:290-298. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2016] [Revised: 08/17/2016] [Accepted: 08/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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37
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Abstract
The question of automaticity in emotion processing has been debated under different perspectives in recent years. Satisfying answers to this issue will require a better definition of automaticity in terms of relevant behavioral phenomena, ecological conditions of occurrence, and a more precise mechanistic account of the underlying neural circuits.
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38
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Abstract
Although there has been steady progress elucidating the influence of emotion on cognition, it remains unclear precisely when and why emotion impairs or facilitates cognition. The present study investigated the mechanisms involved in the influence of emotion on perception and working memory (WM), using modified 0-back and 2-back tasks, respectively. First, results showed that attentional focus modulated the impact of emotion on perception. Specifically, emotion facilitated perceptual task performance when it was relevant to the task, but it impaired performance when it was irrelevant to the task. The differential behavioural effect of emotion on perception as a function of attentional focus diminished under high WM load. Second, attentional focus did not directly modulate the impact of emotion on WM, but rather its influence depended on the dynamic relationship between internal representations. Specifically, WM performance was worse when the material already being held online and the new input were of matching emotions (e.g. both were negative), compared to when they were not. We propose that the competition between "bottom-up" and "top-down" processing for limited cognitive resources explains the nature of the influence of emotion on both perception and WM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juyoen Hur
- a Department of Psychology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Champaign , IL , USA
| | - Alexandru D Iordan
- b Department of Psychology , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , MI , USA
| | - Florin Dolcos
- a Department of Psychology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Champaign , IL , USA.,c Neuroscience Program , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Champaign , IL , USA.,d Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Champaign , IL , USA
| | - Howard Berenbaum
- a Department of Psychology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Champaign , IL , USA
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39
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Postzich C, Blask K, Frings C, Walther E. Timeless: A Large Sample Study on the Temporal Robustness of Affective Responses. Front Psychol 2016; 7:841. [PMID: 27313561 PMCID: PMC4887497 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2016] [Accepted: 05/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotion and its effects on other psychological phenomena are frequently studied by presenting emotional pictures for a short amount of time. However, the duration of exposure strongly differs across paradigms. In order to ensure the comparability of affective response elicitation across those paradigms, it is crucial to empirically validate emotional material not only with regard to the affective dimensions valence and arousal, but also with regard to varying presentation times. Despite this operational necessity for the temporal robustness of emotional material, there is only tentative empirical evidence on this issue. To close this gap, we conducted a large sample study testing for the influence of presentation time on affective response elicitation. Two hundred and forty emotional pictures were presented for either 200 or 1000 ms and were rated by 302 participants on the core affect dimensions valence and arousal. The most important finding was that affective response elicitation was comparable for 200 and 1000 ms presentation times, indicating reliable temporal robustness of affective response elicitation within the supra-liminal spectrum. Yet, a more detailed look on the data showed that presentation time impacted particularly on high arousing negative stimuli. However, because these interaction effects were exceedingly small, they must be interpreted with caution and do not endanger the main finding, namely the quite reliable temporal robustness of affective response elicitation. Results are discussed with regard to the comparability of affective response elicitation across varying paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Katarina Blask
- Department of Psychology, University of Trier Trier, Germany
| | | | - Eva Walther
- Department of Psychology, University of Trier Trier, Germany
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40
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Lake JI, LaBar KS, Meck WH. Emotional modulation of interval timing and time perception. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 64:403-20. [PMID: 26972824 PMCID: PMC5380120 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2015] [Accepted: 03/01/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Like other senses, our perception of time is not veridical, but rather, is modulated by changes in environmental context. Anecdotal experiences suggest that emotions can be powerful modulators of time perception; nevertheless, the functional and neural mechanisms underlying emotion-induced temporal distortions remain unclear. Widely accepted pacemaker-accumulator models of time perception suggest that changes in arousal and attention have unique influences on temporal judgments and contribute to emotional distortions of time perception. However, such models conflict with current views of arousal and attention suggesting that current models of time perception do not adequately explain the variability in emotion-induced temporal distortions. Instead, findings provide support for a new perspective of emotion-induced temporal distortions that emphasizes both the unique and interactive influences of arousal and attention on time perception over time. Using this framework, we discuss plausible functional and neural mechanisms of emotion-induced temporal distortions and how these temporal distortions may have important implications for our understanding of how emotions modulate our perceptual experiences in service of adaptive responding to biologically relevant stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica I Lake
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Kevin S LaBar
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Warren H Meck
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
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41
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Hrybouski S, Aghamohammadi-Sereshki A, Madan CR, Shafer AT, Baron CA, Seres P, Beaulieu C, Olsen F, Malykhin NV. Amygdala subnuclei response and connectivity during emotional processing. Neuroimage 2016; 133:98-110. [PMID: 26926791 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.02.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Revised: 02/16/2016] [Accepted: 02/18/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The involvement of the human amygdala in emotion-related processing has been studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for many years. However, despite the amygdala being comprised of several subnuclei, most studies investigated the role of the entire amygdala in processing of emotions. Here we combined a novel anatomical tracing protocol with event-related high-resolution fMRI acquisition to study the responsiveness of the amygdala subnuclei to negative emotional stimuli and to examine intra-amygdala functional connectivity. The greatest sensitivity to the negative emotional stimuli was observed in the centromedial amygdala, where the hemodynamic response amplitude elicited by the negative emotional stimuli was greater and peaked later than for neutral stimuli. Connectivity patterns converge with extant findings in animals, such that the centromedial amygdala was more connected with the nuclei of the basal amygdala than with the lateral amygdala. Current findings provide evidence of functional specialization within the human amygdala.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanislau Hrybouski
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | | | - Christopher R Madan
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada; Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
| | - Andrea T Shafer
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
| | - Corey A Baron
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V2, Canada
| | - Peter Seres
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V2, Canada
| | - Christian Beaulieu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V2, Canada
| | - Fraser Olsen
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V2, Canada
| | - Nikolai V Malykhin
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V2, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7, Canada.
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42
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Schweizer S, Dalgleish T. The impact of affective contexts on working memory capacity in healthy populations and in individuals with PTSD. Emotion 2016; 16:16-23. [PMID: 26414191 PMCID: PMC7614023 DOI: 10.1037/emo0000072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) strongly predict variations in real-world cognitive functioning. However, little is known about how WMC is influenced by the ubiquitously present affective information in our everyday environments. Here, we present a series of 3 experiments investigating a novel WMC paradigm performed in affective (vs. neutral) contexts. The paradigm requires simultaneous performance of a visuospatial search and a verbal storage task. These tasks are performed in the presence of either neutral or negative emotional distractor images. Experiments 1 and 2 confirmed our prediction that WMC would be reduced in the context of emotional compared with neutral distractors in student and community samples. Experiment 3 extended these findings to a clinical sample. WMC in motor vehicle accident survivors with a history of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was selectively reduced in the presence of trauma-related emotional distraction compared with survivors without a history of PTSD. Implications of these findings for affective cognitive science are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Schweizer
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK
| | - Tim Dalgleish
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK And Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
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43
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Winter D. Attention to emotional stimuli in borderline personality disorder - a review of the influence of dissociation, self-reference, and psychotherapeutic interventions. Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul 2016; 3:11. [PMID: 27713819 PMCID: PMC5050674 DOI: 10.1186/s40479-016-0047-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2016] [Accepted: 09/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Interactions between attention and processing of emotional stimuli shed light on both sensitivity to emotional stimuli as well as emotion dysregulation. Both of the latter processes have been proposed as central characteristics of altered emotion processing in those with borderline personality disorder (BPD). This review first summarizes the conflicting behavioural, psychophysiological and neuroimaging evidence for the hypothesis that emotional dysregulation should be reflected by higher distractibility through emotional stimuli in those with BPD. Dissociation, self-reference, as well as symptom severity modulated by psychotherapeutic interventions are proposed to help clarify divergent findings. Data suggest an association of dissociation with impaired task continuation during the presentation of interfering emotional and neutral stimuli, as well as high recruitment of neuronal attention networks together with a blunted emotional response. Considering self-reference, evidence suggests that negative rather than positive information may be more self-relevant to those with BPD. This may be due to a negative self-concept and self-evaluation. Social or trauma-relevant information attracts more attention from individuals with BPD and thus suggests higher self-relevance. After psychotherapeutic interventions, initial evidence may indicate normalization of the way attention and emotional stimuli interact in BPD. When studying attention-emotion interactions in BPD, methodological heterogeneities regarding sample, task, and stimulus characteristics need to be considered. When doing so, dissociation, self-reference, and psychotherapeutic interventions offer promising targets for future studies on attention-emotion interactions in those with BPD. This could promote a deeper insight into the affected individuals' struggle with emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorina Winter
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, PO Box 12 21 20, 68072 Mannheim, Germany
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44
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Calvo MG, Gutiérrez-García A, del Líbano M. Sensitivity to emotional scene content outside the focus of attention. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2015; 161:36-44. [PMID: 26301803 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2015.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2014] [Revised: 06/08/2015] [Accepted: 08/08/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated whether the emotional content of visual scenes depicting people is processed in peripheral vision. Emotional or neutral scene photographs were paired with a matched scrambled image for 150ms in peripheral vision (≥5°). The pictures were immediately followed by a digit or letter in a discrimination task. Interference (i.e., slowed reaction times) with performance in this task indexed the processing resources drawn by the pictures. Twelve types of specific emotional scene contents (e.g., erotica or mutilation) were compared. Results showed, first, that emotional scenes caused greater interference than neutral scenes, in the absence of fixations. This suggests that emotional scenes are processed and draw covert attention outside the focus of overt attention. Second, interference was similar for female and male participants with pleasant scenes (except for erotica), but females were more affected by all types of unpleasant scenes than males. This reveals that sensitivity to peripheral vision is modulated by sex and affective valence. Third, low-level image properties, visual saliency, and size of bodies and faces, were generally equivalent for emotional and neutral scenes. This rules out the alternative hypothesis of a contribution of non-emotional, purely perceptual factors.
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45
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Vetter NC, Pilhatsch M, Weigelt S, Ripke S, Smolka MN. Mid-adolescent neurocognitive development of ignoring and attending emotional stimuli. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2015; 14:23-31. [PMID: 26093849 PMCID: PMC6989835 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2014] [Revised: 04/30/2015] [Accepted: 05/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Appropriate reactions toward emotional stimuli depend on the distribution of prefrontal attentional resources. In mid-adolescence, prefrontal top-down control systems are less engaged, while subcortical bottom-up emotional systems are more engaged. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to follow the neural development of attentional distribution, i.e. attending versus ignoring emotional stimuli, in adolescence. 144 healthy adolescents were studied longitudinally at age 14 and 16 while performing a perceptual discrimination task. Participants viewed two pairs of stimuli--one emotional, one abstract--and reported on one pair whether the items were the same or different, while ignoring the other pair. Hence, two experimental conditions were created: "attending emotion/ignoring abstract" and "ignoring emotion/attending abstract". Emotional valence varied between negative, positive, and neutral. Across conditions, reaction times and error rates decreased and activation in the anterior cingulate and inferior frontal gyrus increased from age 14 to 16. In contrast, subcortical regions showed no developmental effect. Activation of the anterior insula increased across ages for attending positive and ignoring negative emotions. Results suggest an ongoing development of prefrontal top-down resources elicited by emotional attention from age 14 to 16 while activity of subcortical regions representing bottom-up processing remains stable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora C Vetter
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany.
| | - Maximilian Pilhatsch
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Sarah Weigelt
- Department of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
| | - Stephan Ripke
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael N Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany.
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46
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Uncovering the interaction between empathetic pain and cognition. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2014; 79:1054-63. [PMID: 25476997 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-014-0634-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2014] [Accepted: 11/24/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated that empathizing with pain involves both cognitive and affective components of pain. How does empathetic pain impact cognition? To investigate this question, in the present study, participants performed a classic color-word Stroop task that followed a pain portraying or a corresponding control image. We found that observing pain experience in another had a basic slowing down effect on Reaction times (RTs) during neutral Stroop trials. Further, it affected cognition in a way that it decreased interference and increased facilitation. Moreover, our findings revealed that RTs during the incongruent and congruent trials were essentially unchanged by pain observing (empathy vs. control). The data are best accounted by a two-opposing effect model that empathetic pain impacts cognition through two different ways: it slows down performance in general, and facilitates performance during incongruent and congruent trials in particular. In this way, the present study also lends support to an idea that all components of empathy should be understood from an integrative approach.
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Dolcos F, Wang L, Mather M. Current research and emerging directions in emotion-cognition interactions. Front Integr Neurosci 2014; 8:83. [PMID: 25426034 PMCID: PMC4227476 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2014.00083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2014] [Accepted: 10/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Florin Dolcos
- Psychology Department, Neuroscience Program, and Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Lihong Wang
- Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Durham, NC, USA
| | - Mara Mather
- Davis School of Gerontology and Department of Psychology, University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA, USA
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48
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Snake fearfulness is associated with sustained competitive biases to visual snake features: hypervigilance without avoidance. Psychiatry Res 2014; 219:329-35. [PMID: 24930577 PMCID: PMC4130295 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2014.05.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2014] [Revised: 03/21/2014] [Accepted: 05/25/2014] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The extent and time course of competition between a specific fear cue and task-related stimuli in early human visual cortex was investigated using electrophysiology. Steady-state visual evoked potentials (ssVEPs) were evoked using random-dot kinematograms that consisted of rapidly flickering (8.57 Hz) dots moving randomly, superimposed upon emotional or neutral distractor pictures. Participants were asked to detect intervals of coherently moving dots, ignoring the distractor pictures that varied in hedonic content. Women reporting high or low levels of snake fear were recruited from a large sample of healthy college students, and snake pictures served as fear-relevant distractors. The time-varying amplitude of the ssVEP evoked by the motion detection task showed significant reduction when viewing emotionally arousing, compared to neutral, distractors, replicating previous studies. For high-fear participants, snake distractors elicited a sustained attenuation of task evoked ssVEP amplitude, greater than the attenuation prompted by other unpleasant arousing content. These findings support a hypothesis that fear cues prompt sustained hypervigilance rather than perceptual avoidance.
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49
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Dolcos F, Denkova E. Current Emotion Research in Cognitive Neuroscience: Linking Enhancing and Impairing Effects of Emotion on Cognition. EMOTION REVIEW 2014. [DOI: 10.1177/1754073914536449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Emotions can have both enhancing and impairing effects on various cognitive processes, from lower (e.g., perceptual) to higher level (e.g., mnemonic and executive) processes. The present article discusses emerging brain imaging evidence linking these opposing effects of emotion, which points to overlapping and dissociable neural systems involving both bottom-up and top-down mechanisms. The link between the enhancing and impairing effects is also discussed in a clinical context, with a focus on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where these opposing effects tend to co-occur, are exacerbated, and are detrimental. Overall, the present review highlights the need to consider together enhancing and impairing effects of emotion on cognition in studies investigating emotion–cognition interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florin Dolcos
- Psychology Department, University of Illinois, USA
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, USA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology, University of Illinois, USA
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50
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Shafer AT, Dolcos F. Dissociating retrieval success from incidental encoding activity during emotional memory retrieval, in the medial temporal lobe. Front Behav Neurosci 2014; 8:177. [PMID: 24917798 PMCID: PMC4042186 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2013] [Accepted: 04/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The memory-enhancing effect of emotion has been linked to the engagement of emotion- and memory-related medial temporal lobe (MTL) regions (amygdala-AMY; hippocampus-HC; parahippocampus-PHC), during both encoding and retrieval. However, recognition tasks used to investigate the neural correlates of retrieval make it difficult to distinguish MTL engagement linked to retrieval success (RS) from that linked to incidental encoding success (ES) during retrieval. This issue has been investigated for retrieval of non-emotional memories, but not for emotional memory retrieval. To address this, we used event-related functional MRI in conjunction with an emotional distraction and two episodic memory tasks (one testing memory for distracter items and the other testing memory for new/lure items presented in the first memory task). This paradigm allowed for dissociation of MTL activity specifically linked to RS from that linked to both RS and incidental ES during retrieval. There were two novel findings regarding the neural correlates of emotional memory retrieval. First, greater emotional RS was identified bilaterally in AMY, HC, and PHC. However, AMY activity was most impacted when accounting for ES activity, as only RS activity in left AMY was dissociated from ES activity during retrieval, whereas portions of HC and PHC showing greater emotional RS were largely uninvolved in ES. Second, an earlier and more anteriorly spread response (left AMY and bilateral HC, PHC) was linked to greater emotional RS activity, whereas a later and more posteriorly localized response (right posterior PHC) was linked to greater neutral RS activity. These findings shed light on MTL mechanisms subserving the memory-enhancing effect of emotion at retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea T Shafer
- Centre for Neuroscience, University of Alberta Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Florin Dolcos
- Centre for Neuroscience, University of Alberta Edmonton, AB, Canada ; Social, Cognitive, Personality, and Emotional Neuroscience Laboratory, Psychology Department, Neuroscience Program, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IL, USA
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