High negative valence does not protect emotional event-related potentials from spatial inattention and perceptual load.
Summary of "High negative valence does not protect emotional event-related potentials from spatial inattention and perceptual load."
Previous research suggests that intense, emotional pictures at fixation elicit an early posterior negativity (EPN) and a late positive potential (LPP) despite manipulations of spatial inattention and perceptual load. However, if high emotional intensity protects against such manipulations, then these manipulations should reduce emotional effects on EPN and LPP more strongly for medium than for intense emotional pictures. To test this prediction, pictures that were high negative, medium negative, or neutral were shown at fixation, and a small letter string was superimposed on the picture center. When participants attended the pictures, there were clear emotional effects on EPN and LPP. When participants attended the letter string, the emotional effects on LPP decreased; this decrease was smaller for medium than for high negative pictures. Thus, opposite of predictions, spatial inattention reduced the emotional effects more strongly for high than for medium negative pictures. As a manipulation of perceptual load, participants performed the letter task with one, three, or six relevant letters. Irrespective of load, EPN and LPP were similar for high and medium negative pictures. Our findings suggest that high negative valence does not protect EPN and LPP more strongly from effects of spatial inattention and perceptual load than does medium negative valence.
Affiliation
Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Frescati Hagväg 9, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden, sws@psychology.su.se.
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience
ISSN: 1531-135X
Pages:
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22095306
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13415-011-0072-8
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Event-related Potentials, P300
A late-appearing component of the event-related potential. P300 stands for a positive deflection in the event-related voltage potential at 300 millisecond poststimulus. Its amplitude increases with unpredictable, unlikely, or highly significant stimuli and thereby constitutes an index of mental activity. (From Campbell, Psychiatric Dictionary, 6th ed)
Contingent Negative Variation
A negative shift of the cortical electrical potentials that increases over time. It is associated with an anticipated response to an expected stimulus and is an electrical event indicative of a state of readiness or expectancy.
Emotional Intelligence
The ability to understand and manage emotions and to use emotional knowledge to enhance thought and deal effectively with tasks. Components of emotional intelligence include empathy, self-motivation, self-awareness, self-regulation, and social skill. Emotional intelligence is a measurement of one's ability to socialize or relate to others.
Cations, Monovalent
Positively charged atoms, radicals or group of atoms with a valence of plus 1, which travel to the cathode or negative pole during electrolysis.
Cations, Divalent
Positively charged atoms, radicals or groups of atoms with a valence of plus 2, which travel to the cathode or negative pole during electrolysis.
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