1
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Wang J, Li H. Neural Correlates of the Attentional Bias Towards Subliminal Pornographic Cues in Individuals with Tendencies Toward Problematic Pornography Use: An ERP Study Using a Dot-Probe Task. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2024; 53:3365-3378. [PMID: 39134733 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-024-02965-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2023] [Revised: 05/20/2024] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 09/13/2024]
Abstract
Attentional bias toward addiction-related stimuli has been implicated in the development and maintenance of addiction disorders. Several previous studies have reported an attentional bias toward pornographic cues in individuals with problematic pornography use (PPU). Since attentional bias can occur without conscious awareness, the purpose of this study was to use electroencephalography to examine whether individuals with a high tendency for PPU exhibit attentional bias at the level of the preconscious processing. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while male participants with high (n = 24) and low (n = 23) levels of subclinical PPU performed a masked version of the dot-probe task measuring attentional bias toward subliminally presented pornographic stimuli. Behavioral data revealed that participants from both groups with high and low tendencies for PPU reacted faster to probes replacing pornographic images than to probes replacing neutral images. ERPs revealed that individuals with a high tendency for PPU exhibited larger probe-locked P1 amplitudes following masked pornographic images (valid condition) compared with masked neutral images (invalid condition). Additionally, PPU symptom severity correlated positively with the P1 amplitude difference between valid and invalid conditions. These results highlight the automaticity of attentional capture by pornographic stimuli and support the hypothesis of an addiction-related attentional bias during preconscious processes. The implication of these findings for understanding the clinical phenomenon of out-of-control addictive behavior are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianfeng Wang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China
- School of Psychology, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Hong Li
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China.
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2
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Zhang X, Wang K, Jia H, He Q, Zhang X, Wang E. Individuals with high autism traits show top-down attention bias towards threatening stimuli. Biol Psychol 2024; 193:108875. [PMID: 39313178 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108875] [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: 06/08/2024] [Revised: 09/17/2024] [Accepted: 09/18/2024] [Indexed: 09/25/2024]
Abstract
Individuals with autistic traits (AT) are widely distributed in the general population. Strengthening understanding of AT can provide a broader perspective for autism research as well as more accurate diagnosis and personalized treatment plans for clinical practice. Previous studies on attention bias among high-AT individuals have yielded inconsistent results, which may relate to different stages of attention. In this study, we selected two groups with high and low level AT from the general population, and then adopted the odd-one-out search task, combined with Event-related potential (ERP) technique, conducted both attention orientation and attention dissociation tasks, to explore attention bias and electroencephalogram (EEG) characteristics towards threatening emotional faces in these groups. The behavioral data showed no accelerated attention orientation to angry faces and neutral faces; however, there was attention dissociation difficulty for angry faces. Compared with low-AT individuals, the EEG results showed that high-AT individuals have acceleration of attention orientation and attention dissociation difficulty for threatening emotional faces. From the perspective of top-down concept-driven processing, these findings suggest that high-AT individuals have attention bias for cognitive processing of threatening stimuli, which is mainly due to acceleration of attention orientation and attention dissociation difficulties for threatening information.
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3
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Zhang X, Jia H, Wang E. Exploring Attention Bias Mechanisms in Sub-Threshold Depression: ERP Insights into Biased Orientation and Disengagement. Behav Sci (Basel) 2024; 14:821. [PMID: 39336036 PMCID: PMC11428219 DOI: 10.3390/bs14090821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2024] [Revised: 09/04/2024] [Accepted: 09/12/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Individuals with depression may have alterations in attention that begin at the sub-threshold stage. This study explored attention bias from the perspectives of early attention orientation and late attention disengagement in individuals with sub-threshold depression (SD) and healthy control (HC) individuals using a cue-target paradigm and event-related potentials (ERPs). The study enrolled 46 participants, comprising 23 males and 23 females, with 25 individuals in the SD group and 21 in the HC group, exceeding the calculated sample size requirement. The data were analyzed from two aspects. Behavioral data showed that SD individuals had difficulty in attention disengagement and that the time of attention transfer was delayed. Analysis of ERP data revealed that, regardless of the attributes of the emotional stimulus, the cue information promoted participants' response to the target stimulus. While SD individuals did show directional acceleration of attention to the emotional stimulus, no significant negative attention bias was observed. Taken together, these findings suggest that SD individuals do not show specific directional acceleration of attention to negative stimuli in the early stage of attention processing, although there may be attention avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zhang
- Faculty of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475000, China
| | - Huibin Jia
- Faculty of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475000, China
| | - Enguo Wang
- Faculty of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475000, China
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Yin F, Si F, Huo S, Wang Z, Yang H, Zhao X, Cao J. Social anxiety modulating early processing for social threat words: an ERP study. Cogn Emot 2024:1-11. [PMID: 39046729 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2024.2381660] [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: 11/16/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 07/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024]
Abstract
Even though some recent research revealed individuals with HSA typically display enhanced processing in the early stages of emotional information processing due to hypervigilance and vulnerability to negative stimuli, it is still unclear whether social anxiety affects the time course underlying processing bias for emotional stimuli. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the early stage of processing social threat stimuli in high social anxiety (HSA) individuals by recording RTs and EEG data in the emotional Stroop task. Behavioral data showed that the HSA group responded to the threat words faster than neutral words (i.e. negative bias), but no emotional effects in the low social anxiety (LSA) group. Although the P1 component did not show any early effects, ERP data exhibited an enhanced N170 for HSA than for LSA groups. Threat words elicited larger N170 than neutral words in the LSA group only; this emotion effect was not evident in the HSA group. These findings indicated that social anxiety modulates early processing for social threat words. This study revealed the neural mechanisms underlying early emotional processing in individuals with social anxiety, providing insights for the evaluation and intervention of social anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Yin
- Department of Nursing, Harbin Medical University, Daqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Feng Si
- Key Laboratory of Human Factors and Ergonomics for State Market Regulation, China National Institute of Standardization, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuhui Huo
- Department of Nursing, Harbin Medical University, Daqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhengjun Wang
- Department of Nursing, Harbin Medical University, Daqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Haibo Yang
- Department of Psychology, Daqing Third Hospital, Daqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiwu Zhao
- Department of Psychology, Daqing Third Hospital, Daqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianqin Cao
- Department of Nursing, Harbin Medical University, Daqing, People's Republic of China
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5
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Iffland B, Kley H, Neuner F. Effects of peer victimization on cortical processing of social-evaluative stress in patients with major depressive disorder. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2024; 19:nsae037. [PMID: 38874968 PMCID: PMC11182063 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae037] [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: 11/24/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Peer victimization contributes to the development of major depressive disorders (MDDs). While previous studies reported differentiated peripheral physiological responses in peer-victimized individuals with depression, little is known about potential alterations of cortical event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to social stimuli in depressive patients with a history of peer victimization. Using a social condition paradigm, the present study examined whether peer victimization alters conditioned cortical responses to potentially threatening social stimuli in MDD patients and healthy controls. In the task, we studied ERPs to conditioned stimuli (CSs), i.e. still images of faces, that were coupled to unconditioned socially negative and neutral evaluative video statements. Peer victimization was related to more pronounced P100 amplitudes in reaction to negative and neutral CSs. Attenuated P200 amplitudes in peer-victimized individuals were found in response to negative CSs. Cortical responses to CSs were not influenced by a diagnosis of MDD. The results suggest altered responsiveness to interpersonal information in peer-victimized individuals. Facilitated early processing of social threat indicators may prevent peer-victimized individuals from adaptive responses to social cues, increasing their vulnerability for depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Iffland
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, P.O. Box 100131, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Hanna Kley
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, P.O. Box 100131, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Frank Neuner
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, P.O. Box 100131, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany
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6
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Prasad R, Tarai S, Bit A. Hybrid computational model depicts the contribution of non-significant lobes of human brain during the perception of emotional stimuli. Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin 2024:1-27. [PMID: 38328832 DOI: 10.1080/10255842.2024.2311876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Emotions are synchronizing responses of human brain while executing cognitive tasks. Earlier studies had revealed strong correlation between specific lobes of the brain to different types of emotional valence. In the current study, a comprehensive three-dimensional mapping of human brain for executing emotion specific tasks had been formulated. A hybrid computational machine learning model customized from Custom Weight Allocation Model (CWAM) and defined as Custom Rank Allocation Model (CRAM). This regression-based hybrid computational model computes the allocated tasks to different lobes of the brain during their respective executive stage. Event Related Potentials (ERP) were obtained with significant effect at P1, P2, P3, N170, N2, and N4. These ERPs were configured at Pz, Cz, F3, and T8 regions of the brain with maximal responses; while regions like Cz, C4 and F4 were also found to make effective contributions to elevate the responses of the brain, and thus these regions were configured as augmented source regions of the brain. In another circumstance of frequent -deviant - equal (FDE) presentation of the emotional stimuli, it was observed that the brain channels C3, C4, P3, P4, O1, O2, and Oz were contributing their emotional quotient to the overall response of the brain regions; whereas, the interaction effect was found presentable at O2, Oz, P3, P4, T8 and C3 regions of brain. The proposed computational model had identified the potential neural pathways during the execution of emotional task.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Arindam Bit
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, NIT Raipur
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7
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Borgomaneri S, Vitale F, Battaglia S, de Vega M, Avenanti A. Task-related modulation of motor response to emotional bodies: A TMS motor-evoked potential study. Cortex 2024; 171:235-246. [PMID: 38096756 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.10.013] [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: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Exposure to emotional body postures during perceptual decision-making tasks has been linked to transient suppression of motor reactivity, supporting the monitoring of emotionally relevant information. However, it remains unclear whether this effect occurs implicitly, i.e., when emotional information is irrelevant to the task. To investigate this issue, we used single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to assess motor excitability while healthy participants were asked to categorize pictures of body expressions as emotional or neutral (emotion recognition task) or as belonging to a male or a female actor (gender recognition task) while receiving TMS over the motor cortex at 100 and 125 ms after picture onset. Results demonstrated that motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were reduced for emotional body postures relative to neutral postures during the emotion recognition task. Conversely, MEPs increased for emotional body postures relative to neutral postures during the gender recognition task. These findings indicate that motor inhibition, contingent upon observing emotional body postures, is selectively associated with actively monitoring emotional features. In contrast, observing emotional body postures prompts motor facilitation when task-relevant features are non-emotional. These findings contribute to embodied cognition models that link emotion perception and action tendencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Borgomaneri
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, Cesena, Italy.
| | - Francesca Vitale
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Simone Battaglia
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, Cesena, Italy
| | - Manuel de Vega
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, Cesena, Italy; Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurosciencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica Del Maule, Talca, Chile.
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8
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Xin Z, Wang F, Lu Z, Li Q. Characteristics of attentional bias in meditators: An ERP study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 58:143-152. [PMID: 36683258 DOI: 10.1002/ijop.12891] [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: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Attentional bias is closely related to individual mental health. To explore the effect of mindfulness meditation on attentional bias, we use the dot-probe task to measure and compare the attentional bias of 16 Shaolin monks with meditation experience (meditator group) and 18 ordinary people without meditation experience (control group). The results were as follows: (1) The control group showed attentional bias to anger stimuli, while the meditator group did not show attentional bias; (2) The P1 amplitude induced by emotion stimuli was significantly less in the meditator group than in the control group; (3) When the control group observed angry-neutral faces, the P2 amplitude was greater than when they saw neutral-neutral faces. In comparison, there was no significant difference in P2 amplitude when the meditator group viewed faces with different emotions. This leads us to contend that people highly practiced in meditation can reduce their attentional bias to negative information, and show the cognitive characteristics of "impartial" treatment to external information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoyang Xin
- School of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Fei Wang
- School of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Zilu Lu
- School of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Qiaoling Li
- School of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
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9
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Song S, Zhao S, Jiang T, Li S, Zhang M, Ren W, Zheng Y, Ge R. Positive attention bias in high socially anxious individuals: Evidence from an ERP study. J Affect Disord 2022; 319:300-308. [PMID: 36162660 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.09.087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The Bivalent Fear of Evaluation (BFEO) model posits that the fear of positive evaluation (FPE) is a core feature of social anxiety. As such, high socially anxious individuals may show attention bias when faced with positive stimuli. However, most of the previous studies focused on the negative attention bias of social anxiety, and less on the attention bias of positive stimuli. Meanwhile, the effect of stimulus presentation time on the attention bias pattern was unclear. In order to investigate this question, we used a dot-probe paradigm with facial expressions (happy, fearful, angry, neutral) presented for 100 ms and 500 ms. The ERP results showed: (1) For high socially anxious group, happy faces elicited a larger N1 for valid than for invalid cued probes, whereas for healthy control group, angry faces elicited a larger N1 for valid than for invalid cued probes. (2) When valid cues following happy faces presented for 500 ms, the N1 amplitude was larger than that of invalid cues. However, when valid cues following angry and fear faces presented for 100 ms, the N1 amplitude was larger than that of invalid cues. The results showed difficulty in attention disengagement of high socially anxious individuals from positive stimuli, as reflected by N1, illustrating the positive attention bias in social anxiety. These results prove that FPE may contribute to maintaining social anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sutao Song
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China; School of Education and Psychology, University of Jinan, Jinan, China.
| | - Shimeng Zhao
- School of Education and Psychology, University of Jinan, Jinan, China
| | - Ting Jiang
- School of Education and Psychology, University of Jinan, Jinan, China; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Shuang Li
- School of Education and Psychology, University of Jinan, Jinan, China; Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments
| | - Mingxian Zhang
- School of Education and Psychology, University of Jinan, Jinan, China; Center for Study of Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wangang Ren
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China.
| | - Yuanjie Zheng
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China.
| | - Ruiyang Ge
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2A1, Canada
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10
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Rygvold TW, Hatlestad-Hall C, Elvsåshagen T, Moberget T, Andersson S. Long term potentiation-like neural plasticity and performance-based memory function. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2022; 196:107696. [PMID: 36368635 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2022.107696] [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: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Experience-dependent modulation of the visual evoked potential (VEP) has emerged as a promising non-invasive proxy for assaying long term potentiation (LTP)-like plasticity in the cerebral cortex. LTP is considered the principal candidate mechanism underlying learning and memory. There is, however, a paucity of evidence exploring associations between LTP-like plasticity and performance-based learning and memory. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between VEP-plasticity and higher-order learning and memory in healthy adults. METHOD Visual and verbal learning and memory was assessed using the Aggie Figures Learning Test (AFLT) and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). The study included 111 healthy adults (61.1% females; mean age 37.6 years, range 17-71) who underwent a VEP paradigm employing visual high-frequency stimulation to induce a change in visual evoked responses recorded by scalp EEG. In addition, a more comprehensive neuropsychological assessment was administered. RESULTS Several significant moderate age-corrected positive correlations were found between modulation of the later VEP components (N1 and P1-N1 peak-to-peak) and both visual and verbal learning and memory performance. Further, there were significant differences in learning and memory performance between participants showing a higher degree of modulation (>1 SD above mean) compared to participants showing a lower degree of modulation. No significant associations were found between VEP-plasticity and other neurocognitive domains. CONCLUSIONS The current results suggest that LTP-like plasticity indexed by VEP modulation reflect processes specific to learning and memory. Future research is needed to further delineate the complex relationship between neural plasticity and learning and memory, specifically concerning possible clinical implications in populations with deficits in learning and memory function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trine Waage Rygvold
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | | | - Torgeir Moberget
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Stein Andersson
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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11
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Hu C, Song X, Song J, Hong Y, Zhou R. Neurophysiological Correlates for Dynamic Variability Between Vigilance and Avoidance in Test Anxiety. Biol Psychol 2022; 175:108427. [PMID: 36170941 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Attention bias (ABs) to threat is essential in the etiology and maintenance of test anxiety. However, little is known about the attention pattern of ABs in test anxiety. The stimulus duration affects the attention pattern in anxiety. Thus, the present research combined the dot-probe paradigm and event-related potentials (ERPs) and varied the stimulus duration (100ms or 500ms) to test the ABs in test anxiety. Consequently, both groups showed a threat N2pc in 100ms and 500ms duration, suggesting that both groups allocated attention to the test-related threat. However, in the 100ms duration, the high test-anxious (HTA) group had smaller target-elicited P1 and greater target-elicited N2 in the threat-congruent condition than in the neutral condition. In the 500ms duration, an earlier threat N2pc and a threat PD followed a greater target P1, and smaller target N2 were pronounced in the HTA group. The current results provided electrophysiological evidence that the HTA group kept a dynamic attention pattern that fluctuated shift between vigilance and avoidance in the 100ms and 500ms duration. The HTA group was more vigilant than the LTA group in the 500ms duration when strategic attention was concerned, proposing that the vigilance in test anxiety was not an automatic process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cenlou Hu
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Sciences & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xueling Song
- National Education Examinations Authority, Beijing, China
| | - Jintao Song
- Department of Psychology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yan Hong
- Department of Psychology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Renlai Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Sciences & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Department of Psychology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; State Key Laboratory of Media Convergence Production Technology and Systems, Beijing, China.
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12
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Wang Y, Tang Z, Zhang X, Yang L. Auditory and cross-modal attentional bias toward positive natural sounds: Behavioral and ERP evidence. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:949655. [PMID: 35967006 PMCID: PMC9372282 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.949655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, researchers have expanded the investigation into attentional biases toward positive stimuli; however, few studies have examined attentional biases toward positive auditory information. In three experiments, the present study employed an emotional spatial cueing task using emotional sounds as cues and auditory stimuli (Experiment 1) or visual stimuli (Experiment 2 and Experiment 3) as targets to explore whether auditory or visual spatial attention could be modulated by positive auditory cues. Experiment 3 also examined the temporal dynamics of cross-modal auditory bias toward positive natural sounds using event-related potentials (ERPs). The behavioral results of the three experiments consistently demonstrated that response times to targets were faster after positive auditory cues than they were after neutral auditory cues in the valid condition, indicating that healthy participants showed a selective auditory attentional bias (Experiment 1) and cross-modal attentional bias (Experiment 2 and Experiment 3) toward positive natural sounds. The results of Experiment 3 showed that N1 amplitudes were more negative after positive sounds than they were after neutral sounds, which further provided electrophysiological evidence that positive auditory information enhances attention at early stages in healthy adults. The results of the experiments performed in the present study suggest that humans exhibit an attentional bias toward positive natural sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanmei Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhenwei Tang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaoxuan Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Libing Yang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
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13
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Tanda T, Toyomori K, Kawahara JI. Attentional biases toward real images and drawings of negative faces. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 229:103665. [PMID: 35843198 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The allocation of attention is affected by internal emotional states, such as anxiety and depression. The attention captured by real images of negative faces can be quantified by emotional probe tasks. The present study investigated whether attentional bias toward drawings of negative faces (line drawings and cartoon faces) differs from that of real faces. Non-clinical university students indicated their levels of anxiety and depression via self-report questionnaires, and completed a probe discrimination task under three face image conditions in a between-participants design. Significant correlations were found between bias scores and scores on the self-reported BDI-II under the real face condition. However, two types of face drawings were only weakly correlated with self-report scores. In our probe task to investigate attentional bias to facial stimuli in nonclinical adults, the strength of the relationship between depression and attentional bias to negative face was stronger for real faces than for face drawings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoyuki Tanda
- Department of Psychology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
| | - Kai Toyomori
- Department of Psychology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Jun I Kawahara
- Department of Psychology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
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14
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Ran G, Li R, Zhang Q. The effect of attention bias modification on the recognition of dynamic-angry faces in individuals with high social anxiety: Evidence from event-related brain potentials. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03303-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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15
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Attentional Biases toward Face-Related Stimuli among Athletes after State Thwarting Need for Relatedness. COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 2022:2491051. [PMID: 35586109 PMCID: PMC9110145 DOI: 10.1155/2022/2491051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The present study aimed to examine attentional biases' components and processes toward the interpersonal evaluation information among athletes after state thwarting need for relatedness. 51 athletes completed a visual dot-probe task while their eye-movements were tracking. Results indicated athletes showed different attentional bias pattern. Acceptance information is early orientation (directional bias); early acceleration detection; sustained to late attention maintenance (difficulty in disengaging). Rejection information is early orientation (directional bias); early accelerated detection; continuous attention to maintenance (attention avoidance); late attention to maintenance (difficulty in disengaging). That is to say, they had motivation to seek acceptance toward the accepted interpersonal evaluation information and to avoid rejection information toward the rejected one. Therefore, it is suggested that the coaches provide more interpersonal communicating opportunities, so as to help them to restore their demands toward interpersonal communication, and provide the customized attentional bias trainings to improve their coping response after state thwarted need for relatedness.
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16
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Modulating Social Feedback Processing by Deep TMS Targeting the Medial Prefrontal Cortex: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Manifestations. Neuroimage 2022; 250:118967. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.118967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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17
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Dillon DG, Lazarov A, Dolan S, Bar-Haim Y, Pizzagalli DA, Schneier FR. Fast evidence accumulation in social anxiety disorder enhances decision making in a probabilistic reward task. Emotion 2022; 22:1-18. [PMID: 34968142 PMCID: PMC9521281 DOI: 10.1037/emo0001053] [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: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Choices and response times in two-alternative decision-making tasks can be modeled by assuming that individuals steadily accrue evidence in favor of each alternative until a response boundary for one of them is crossed, at which point that alternative is chosen. Prior studies have reported that evidence accumulation during decision-making tasks takes longer in adults with psychopathology than in healthy controls, indicating that slow evidence accumulation may be transdiagnostic. However, few studies have examined perceptual decision making in anxiety disorders, where hypervigilance might enhance performance. Therefore, this study used the Hierarchical Drift Diffusion model to investigate evidence accumulation in adults with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and healthy controls as they performed a probabilistic reward task (PRT), in which social rewards were delivered for correct perceptual judgments. Adults with SAD completed the PRT before and after gaze-contingent music reward therapy (GCMRT), which trains attention allocation and has shown efficacy for SAD. Healthy controls also completed the PRT twice. Results revealed excellent performance in adults with SAD, especially after GCMRT: relative to controls, they showed faster evidence accumulation, better discriminability, and earned more rewards. These data highlight a positive effect of attention training on performance in anxious adults and show how a behavioral trait that is typically problematic-hypervigilance in SAD-can nevertheless confer advantages in certain contexts. The data also indicate that, in contrast to other forms of psychopathology, SAD is not characterized by slow evidence accumulation, at least in the context of the social PRT. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel G. Dillon
- McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Sarah Dolan
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | - Franklin R. Schneier
- Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA,New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
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18
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Fernandes-Magalhaes R, Ferrera D, Peláez I, Martín-Buro MC, Carpio A, De Lahoz ME, Barjola P, Mercado F. Neural correlates of the attentional bias towards pain-related faces in fibromyalgia patients: An ERP study using a dot-probe task. Neuropsychologia 2022; 166:108141. [PMID: 34995568 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/31/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND One of the major cognitive deficits in fibromyalgia has been linked to the hypervigilance phenomenon. It is mainly reflected as a negative bias for allocating attentional resources towards both threatening and pain-related information. Although the interest in its study has recently grown, the neural temporal dynamics of the attentional bias in fibromyalgia still remains an open question. METHOD Fifty participants (25 fibromyalgia patients and 25 healthy control subjects) performed a dot-probe task. Two types of facial expressions (pain-related and neutral) were employed as signal stimuli. Then, as a target stimulus, a single dot replaced the location of one of these two faces. Event-related potentials (ERP) in response to facial expressions and target stimulation (i.e., dot) were recorded. Reaction time (RT) and accuracy measures in the experimental task were collected as behavioural outcomes. RESULTS Temporal dynamics of brain electrical activity were analysed on two ERP components (P2 and N2a) sensitive to the facial expressions meaning. Pain-related faces elicited higher frontal P2 amplitudes than neutral faces for the whole sample. Interestingly, an interaction effect between group and facial expressions was also found showing that pain-related faces elicited enhanced P2 amplitudes (at fronto-central regions, in this case) compared to neutral faces only when the group of patients was considered. Furthermore, higher P2 amplitudes were observed in response to pain-related faces in patients with fibromyalgia compared to healthy control participants. Additionally, a shorter latency of P2 (at centro-parietal regions) was also detected for pain-related facial expressions compared to neutral faces. Regarding the amplitude of N2a, it was lower for patients as compared to the control group. Non-relevant effects of the target stimulation on the ERPs were found. However, patients with fibromyalgia exhibited slower RT to locate the single dot for incongruent trials as compared to congruent and neutral trials. CONCLUSIONS Data suggest the presence of an attentional bias in fibromyalgia that it would be followed by a deficit in the allocation of attentional resources to further process pain-related information. Altogether the current results suggest that attentional biases in fibromyalgia might be explained by automatic attentional mechanisms, which seem to be accompanied by an alteration of more strategic or controlled attentional components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Fernandes-Magalhaes
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain; Clinical Foundation of the Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Ferrera
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene Peláez
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Alberto Carpio
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Eugenia De Lahoz
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Paloma Barjola
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Mercado
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain.
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19
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Liu H, Liu Y, Dong X, Liu H, Han B. Effect of Cognitive Control on Age-Related Positivity Effects in Attentional Processing - Evidence From an Event-Related Brain Potential Study. Front Psychol 2021; 12:755635. [PMID: 34925159 PMCID: PMC8671695 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.755635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies investigating age-related positivity effects during facial emotion processing have yielded contradictory results. The present study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms of cognitive control during attentional processing of emotional faces among older adults. We used go/no-go detection tasks combined with event-related potentials and source localization to examine the effects of response inhibition on age-related positivity effects. Data were obtained from 23 older and 23 younger healthy participants. Behavioral results showed that the discriminability index (d') of older adults on fear trials was significantly greater than that of younger adults [t(44)=2.37, p=0.024, Cohen's d=0.70], whereas an opposite pattern was found in happy trials [t(44)=2.56, p=0.014, Cohen's d=0.75]. The electroencephalography results on the amplitude of the N170 at the left electrode positions showed that the fear-neutral face pairs were larger than the happy-neutral ones for the younger adults [t(22)=2.32, p=0.030, Cohen's d=0.48]; the older group's right hemisphere presented similar tendency, although the results were not statistically significant [t(22)=1.97, p=0.061, Cohen's d=0.41]. Further, the brain activity of the two hemispheres in older adults showed asymmetrical decrement. Our study demonstrated that the age-related "positivity effect" was not observed owing to the depletion of available cognitive resources at the early attentional stage. Moreover, bilateral activation of the two hemispheres may be important signals of normal aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haining Liu
- Department of Psychology, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, China.,Hebei Key Laboratory of Nerve Injury and Repair, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, China
| | - Yanli Liu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, China
| | - Xianling Dong
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, China
| | - Haihong Liu
- Department of Psychology, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, China.,Centre for Research in Psychology and Human Well Being, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, The National University of Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
| | - Buxin Han
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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20
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Usler ER, Weber C. Emotion processing in children who do and do not stutter: An ERP study of electrocortical reactivity and regulation to peer facial expressions. JOURNAL OF FLUENCY DISORDERS 2021; 67:105802. [PMID: 33227619 DOI: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2020.105802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were used to investigate the neural correlates of emotion processing in 5- to 8-year-old children who do and do not stutter. METHODS Participants were presented with an audio contextual cue followed by images of threatening (angry/fearful) and neutral facial expressions from similarly aged peers. Three conditions differed in audio-image pairing: neutral context-neutral expression (neutral condition), negative context-threatening expression (threat condition), and reappraisal context-threatening expression (reappraisal condition). These conditions reflected social stimuli that are ecologically valid to the everyday life of children. RESULTS P100, N170, and late positive potential (LPP) ERP components were elicited over parietal and occipital electrodes. The threat condition elicited an increased LPP mean amplitude compared to the neutral condition across our participants, suggesting increased emotional reactivity to threatening facial expressions. In addition, LPP amplitude decreased during the reappraisal condition- evidence of emotion regulation. No group differences were observed in the mean amplitude of ERP components between children who do and do not stutter. Furthermore, dimensions of childhood temperament and stuttering severity were not strongly correlated with LPP elicitation. CONCLUSION These findings are suggestive that, at this young age, children who stutter exhibit typical brain activation underlying emotional reactivity and regulation to social threat from peer facial expressions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan R Usler
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Health Sciences, University of Delaware, 100 Discovery Blvd., Newark, DE, 19713, United States.
| | - Christine Weber
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, Lyles-Porter Hall, 715 Clinic Drive, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, United States
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21
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Zhang E, Ma X, Tao R, Suo T, Gu H, Li Y. How Social Power Affects the Processing of Angry Expressions: Evidence From Behavioral and Electrophysiological Data. Front Psychol 2021; 11:626522. [PMID: 33551936 PMCID: PMC7858247 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.626522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
With the help of event-related potentials (ERPs), the present study used an oddball paradigm to investigate how both individual and target power modulate neural responses to angry expressions. Specifically, participants were assigned into a high-power or low-power condition. Then, they were asked to detect a deviant angry expression from a high-power or low-power target among a series of neutral expressions, while behavioral responses and electroencephalogram (EEG) were recorded. The behavioral results showed that high-power individuals responded faster to detect angry expressions than low-power individuals. The ERP analysis showed that high-power individuals showed larger P3 amplitudes in response to angry expressions than low-power individuals did. Target power increased the amplitudes of the P1, VPP, N3, and P3 in response to angry expressions did, but decreased the amplitudes of the N1 and N170 in response to angry expressions. The present study extended previous studies by showing that having more power could enhance individuals’ neural responses to angry expressions in the late-stage processes, and individuals could show stronger neural responses to angry expressions from high-power persons in both the early‐ and late-stage processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Entao Zhang
- Institute of Cognition, Brain and Health, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.,Institute of Psychology and Behavior, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Xueling Ma
- Institute of Cognition, Brain and Health, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.,Institute of Psychology and Behavior, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Ruiwen Tao
- Institute of Cognition, Brain and Health, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.,Institute of Psychology and Behavior, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Tao Suo
- Institute of Cognition, Brain and Health, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.,Institute of Psychology and Behavior, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Huang Gu
- Institute of Cognition, Brain and Health, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.,Institute of Psychology and Behavior, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Yongxin Li
- Institute of Psychology and Behavior, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
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22
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Cui S, Song S, Si J, Wu M, Feng J. The influence of mouth opening and closing degrees on processing in NimStim facial expressions: An ERP study from Chinese college students. Int J Psychophysiol 2021; 162:157-165. [PMID: 33548347 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Revised: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The degree of mouth opening and closing is one of the most important attributes of expression, reflecting the intensity of facial expression and can assist people to recognize the expression more accurately. The NimStim set of facial expressions contains the open and closed expression pictures of the same actor. Although this expression set has been widely used, there is little research on the intensity effect of this set. In this study, 32 Chinese college students were recruited in to view the pictures passively in an ERP experiment, aiming to investigate the intensity effect in the NimStim set (mouth open, mouth closed) of anger, disgust, sad, happy and neutral expression in electrical physiological aspects of the reaction. Our results reported that intensity of expression early affected in VPP and mainly affected in LPP with the open mouth having a larger activity. And there was no intensity effect found in P1, N170 and EPN. Notably, culture and social environment may influence the intensity effect of different emotions. In future, researchers should use methods that ensure subjects pay more attention to the intensity effect of the NimStim facial set.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuang Cui
- School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
| | - Sutao Song
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China; School of Education and Psychology, University of Jinan, Jinan, China.
| | - Jiwei Si
- School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China.
| | - Meiyun Wu
- School of Education and Psychology, University of Jinan, Jinan, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jieyin Feng
- School of Education and Psychology, University of Jinan, Jinan, China
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23
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Attention is prioritised for proximate and approaching fearful faces. Cortex 2020; 134:52-64. [PMID: 33249300 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2020] [Revised: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Attention is an important function that allows us to selectively enhance the processing of relevant stimuli in our environment. Fittingly, a number of studies have revealed that potentially threatening/fearful stimuli capture attention more efficiently. Interestingly, in separate fMRI studies, threatening stimuli situated close to viewers were found to enhance brain activity in fear-relevant areas more than stimuli that were further away. Despite these observations, few studies have examined the effect of personal distance on attentional capture by emotional stimuli. Using electroencephalography (EEG), the current investigation addressed this question by investigating attentional capture of emotional faces that were either looming/receding, or were situated at different distances from the viewer. In Experiment 1, participants carried out an incidental task while looming or receding fearful and neutral faces were presented bilaterally. A significant lateralised N170 and N2pc were found for a looming upright fearful face, however no significant components were found for a looming upright neutral face or inverted fearful and neutral faces. In Experiment 2, participants made gender judgements of emotional faces that appeared on a screen situated within or beyond peripersonal space (respectively 50 cm or 120 cm). Although response times did not differ, significantly more errors were made when faces appeared in near as opposed to far space. Importantly, ERPs revealed a significant N2pc for fearful faces presented in peripersonal distance, compared to the far distance. Our findings show that personal distance markedly affects neural responses to emotional stimuli, with increased attention towards fearful upright faces that appear in close distance.
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24
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Deveney CM, Grasso D, Hsu A, Pine DS, Estabrook CR, Zobel E, Burns JL, Wakschlag LS, Briggs-Gowan MJ. Multi-method assessment of irritability and differential linkages to neurophysiological indicators of attention allocation to emotional faces in young children. Dev Psychobiol 2020; 62:600-616. [PMID: 31631345 PMCID: PMC7328764 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Revised: 08/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Facilitated attention toward angry stimuli (attention bias) may contribute to anger proneness and temper outbursts exhibited by children with high irritability. However, most studies linking attention bias and irritability rely on behavioral measures with limited precision and no studies have explored these associations in young children. The present study explores irritability-related attention biases toward anger in young children (N = 128; ages 4-7 years) engaged in a dot-probe task with emotional faces, as assessed with event-related brain potential (ERP) indices of early selective attention and multi-method assessment of irritability. Irritability assessed via semi-structured clinical interview predicted larger anterior N1 amplitudes to all faces. In contrast, irritability assessed via a laboratory observation paradigm predicted reduced P1 amplitudes to angry relative to neutral faces. These findings suggest that altered early attentional processing occurs in young children with high irritability; however, the nature of these patterns may vary with methodological features of the irritability assessments. Future investigations using different assessment tools may provide greater clarity regarding the underlying neurocognitive correlates of irritability. Such studies may also contribute to the ongoing debates about how to best define and measure irritability across the developmental spectrum in a manner that is most informative for linkage to neural processes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Damion Grasso
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA
| | - Amy Hsu
- Department of Psychology, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, USA
| | - Daniel S. Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Christopher R. Estabrook
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
- Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Elvira Zobel
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - James L. Burns
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lauren S. Wakschlag
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
- Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
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25
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Spatial attention affects the early processing of neutral versus fearful faces when they are task-irrelevant: a classifier study of the EEG C1 component. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 19:123-137. [PMID: 30341623 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-00650-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
EEG studies suggest that the emotional content of visual stimuli is processed rapidly. In particular, the C1 component, which occurs up to 100 ms after stimulus onset and likely reflects activity in primary visual cortex V1, has been reported to be sensitive to emotional faces. However, difficulties replicating these results have been reported. We hypothesized that the nature of the task and attentional condition are key to reconcile the conflicting findings. We report three experiments of EEG activity during the C1 time range elicited by peripherally presented neutral and fearful faces under various attentional conditions: the faces were spatially attended or unattended and were either task-relevant or not. Using traditional event-related potential analysis, we found that the early activity changed depending on facial expression, attentional condition, and task. In addition, we trained classifiers to discriminate the different conditions from the EEG signals. Although the classifiers were not able to discriminate between facial expressions in any condition, they uncovered differences between spatially attended and unattended faces but solely when these were task-irrelevant. In addition, this effect was only present for neutral faces. Our study provides further indication that attention and task are key parameters when measuring early differences between emotional and neutral visual stimuli.
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26
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Ferreira de Sá DS, Michael T, Wilhelm FH, Peyk P. Learning to see the threat: temporal dynamics of ERPs of motivated attention in fear conditioning. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 14:189-203. [PMID: 30481357 PMCID: PMC6374602 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2018] [Revised: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Social threat detection is important in everyday life. Studies of cortical activity have shown that event-related potentials (ERPs) of motivated attention are modulated during fear conditioning. The time course of motivated attention in learning and extinction of fear is, however, still largely unknown. We aimed to study temporal dynamics of learning processes in classical fear conditioning to social cues (neutral faces) by selecting an experimental setup that produces large effects on well-studied ERP components (early posterior negativity, EPN; late positive potential, LPP; stimulus preceding negativity, SPN) and then exploring small consecutive groups of trials. EPN, LPP, and SPN markedly and quickly increased during the acquisition phase in response to the CS+ but not the CS-. These changes were visible even at high temporal resolution and vanished completely during extinction. Moreover, some evidence was found for component differences in extinction learning, with differences between CS+ and CS- extinguishing faster for late as compared to early ERP components. Results demonstrate that fear learning to social cues is a very fast and highly plastic process and conceptually different ERPs of motivated attention are sensitive to these changes at high temporal resolution, pointing to specific neurocognitive and affective processes of social fear learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana S Ferreira de Sá
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Saarland University, D-66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Tanja Michael
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Saarland University, D-66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Frank H Wilhelm
- Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Peter Peyk
- Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
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27
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Gupta RS, Kujawa A, Vago DR. The neural chronometry of threat-related attentional bias: Event-related potential (ERP) evidence for early and late stages of selective attentional processing. Int J Psychophysiol 2019; 146:20-42. [PMID: 31605728 PMCID: PMC6905495 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Revised: 08/04/2019] [Accepted: 08/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Rapid and accurate detection of threat is adaptive. Yet, threat-related attentional biases, including hypervigilance, avoidance, and attentional disengagement delays, may contribute to the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Behavioral measures of attentional bias generally indicate that threat demands more attentional resources; however, indices exploring differential allocation of attention using reaction time fail to clarify the time course by which attention is deployed under threatening circumstances in healthy and anxious populations. In this review, we conduct an interpretive synthesis of 28 attentional bias studies focusing on event-related potentials (ERPs) as a primary outcome to inform an ERP model of the neural chronometry of attentional bias in healthy and anxious populations. The model posits that both healthy and anxious populations display modulations of early ERP components, including the P1, N170, P2, and N2pc, in response to threatening and emotional stimuli, suggesting that both typical and abnormal patterns of attentional bias are characterized by enhanced allocation of attention to threat and emotion at earlier stages of processing. Compared to anxious populations, healthy populations more clearly demonstrate modulations of later components, such as the P3, indexing conscious and evaluative processing of threat and emotion and disengagement difficulties at later stages of processing. Findings from the interpretive synthesis, existing bias models, and extant neural literature on attentional systems are then integrated to inform a conceptual model of the processes and substrates underlying threat appraisal and resource allocation in healthy and anxious populations. To conclude, we discuss therapeutic interventions for attentional bias and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Resh S Gupta
- Contemplative Neuroscience & Integrative Medicine Laboratory, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 3401 West End Ave., Suite 380, Nashville, TN 37203, USA.
| | - Autumn Kujawa
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Peabody College #552, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203-5721, USA.
| | - David R Vago
- Contemplative Neuroscience & Integrative Medicine Laboratory, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 3401 West End Ave., Suite 380, Nashville, TN 37203, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 2201 Children's Way, Suite 1318, Nashville, TN 37212, USA.
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28
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Center EG, Knight R, Fabiani M, Gratton G, Beck DM. Examining the role of feedback in TMS-induced visual suppression: A cautionary tale. Conscious Cogn 2019; 75:102805. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2019.102805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Revised: 07/04/2019] [Accepted: 08/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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29
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Jones R, Cleveland M, Uther M. State and trait neural correlates of the balance between work and nonwork roles. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2019; 287:19-30. [PMID: 30939380 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2019.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2018] [Revised: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Difficulty managing the demands of work and nonwork roles (often referred to in terms of managing balance) can be detrimental to psychological wellbeing and contribute to occupational burnout. The current study investigated the neural correlates of perceived satisfaction with this balance using both trait and state EEG alpha measures. EEG was recorded from 14 participants in full time employment (12 females, aged 35.1 ± 10.1 years) during a resting state and performance of an auditory oddball task; e-mail and messaging alert sounds were used as target stimuli. It was predicted that dissatisfaction with the balance between work and nonwork roles would be associated with increased resting alpha power, consistent with studies of burnout, and diminished alpha response to oddball distractors, consistent with difficulty suppressing automatic responses to work-related stimuli. Significant correlations between self-reported measures of work/nonwork balance and both resting, and task-related alpha responses, supported our predictions. Furthermore, an exploratory partial correlation between work and nonwork balance and resting EEG, controlling for task-related alpha response, suggested that the three variables were interrelated. We propose that dissatisfaction with work/nonwork balance is associated with a state hypervigilance to work-related cues, and a trait neural marker of fatigue, both symptomatic of lowered cognitive capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhiannon Jones
- Department of Psychology, University of Winchester, Sparkford Road, Winchester, Hampshire SO22 4NR, UK.
| | - Michelle Cleveland
- Department of Psychology, University of Winchester, Sparkford Road, Winchester, Hampshire SO22 4NR, UK
| | - Maria Uther
- Department of Psychology, University of Winchester, Sparkford Road, Winchester, Hampshire SO22 4NR, UK; Department of Psychology, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, UK
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30
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Torriero S, Mattavelli G, Lo Gerfo E, Romero Lauro L, Actis-Grosso R, Ricciardelli P. FEF Excitability in Attentional Bias: A TMS-EEG Study. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 12:333. [PMID: 30687035 PMCID: PMC6336732 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of distinct cortical regions in guiding social orienting needs further investigation. Our aim was to explore the contribution of the frontal eye field (FEF) in early orienting of attention towards stimuli with social value. We used a TMS-EEG approach to investigate event related potentials (ERPs; no-TMS block) and TMS evoked potentials (TEPs; TMS block) during the cueing phase of a modified version of the dot-probe task, comparing competing (face vs. house) and not competing (house vs. house) conditions. Our results revealed an increased amplitude of ERP components in the competing condition, showing greater posterior N170 and fronto-central vertex positive potential (VPP) and an enhanced frontal negative component at 250-270 ms from cue onset. TMS pulses over the FEF induced similar N170 and VPP amplified components. In addition, in the ERPs, a reduced positivity at 400 ms was shown when the face appeared on the left side vs. the right side of space. In contrast, in the TMS blocks, we found lateralized effects on N170 depending on the side of face presentation. The enhanced cortical excitability induced by TMS over the right FEF significantly correlated with the performance on the behavioral task, suggesting a link between the FEF activity during the cueing phase of the dot-probe task and the subsequent behavioral response times to the targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Torriero
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano—Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Giulia Mattavelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano—Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Emanuele Lo Gerfo
- NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
- Department of Economics Management and Statistics, University of Milano—Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Leonor Romero Lauro
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano—Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Rossana Actis-Grosso
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano—Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Paola Ricciardelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano—Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
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31
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Zhang W, De Beuckelaer A, Chen L, Zhou R. ERP Evidence for Inhibitory Control Deficits in Test-Anxious Individuals. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:645. [PMID: 31551835 PMCID: PMC6743369 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [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: 06/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Individuals with test anxiety [i.e., high test anxiety (HTA)] always treat tests/examinations as a potential threat. This cognitive mode impairs these individuals' ability of inhibitory control and leads to a high level of anxiety. However, characterizing aspects of HTA's impaired inhibitory control ability are unclear and need to be studied. Methods: Forty-six participants were recruited and divided into a HTA (N = 26) and low test anxiety (LTA; i.e., healthy control; N = 20) group. Self-reports (Test Anxiety Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for negative emotions) were obtained. An emotional Stroop (ES) task and a numerical Stroop (NS) task, causing different types of interferences, were used for assessing the emotional and cognitive aspects of attentional control ability (behavioral data). Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were registered to further assess processing stages related to different aspects of attentional control ability. Results: Compared with the LTA group, the HTA group has inhibitory control deficits of both emotional (see ERP components P1-P2-N2 and P3) and cognitive (see ERP component P3) interference. Compared with the LTA group, the HTA doesn't have lower accuracy in neither ES nor NS but displays longer reaction times only in ES. Additionally, the HTA group's ES results also show that (1) the degree of emotional interference indicates the level of an individual's anxiety, and (2) the ERP component P2 may serve as an index of the level of test anxiety. Conclusion: HTA individuals have extensive inhibitory deficits for both emotional and cognitive aspects; however, impairment impacts more on emotional aspects than on cognitive aspects. Additionally, as compared to NS, the negative impact of more impaired processing stages on task performance is more substantial in ES.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenpei Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.,Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan, China
| | - Alain De Beuckelaer
- Institute for Management Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Department of Personnel Management, Work and Organizational Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Lirong Chen
- Department of Psychology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Renlai Zhou
- Department of Psychology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.,Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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32
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Stolz C, Endres D, Mueller EM. Threat-conditioned contexts modulate the late positive potential to faces-A mobile EEG/virtual reality study. Psychophysiology 2018; 56:e13308. [PMID: 30548599 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Revised: 09/28/2018] [Accepted: 10/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
In everyday life, the motivational value of faces is bound to the contexts in which faces are perceived. Electrophysiological studies have demonstrated that inherent negatively valent contexts modulate cortical face processing as assessed with ERP components. However, it is not well understood whether learned (rather than inherent) and three-dimensional aversive contexts similarly modulate the neural processing of faces. Using full immersive virtual reality (VR) and mobile EEG techniques, 25 participants underwent a differential fear conditioning paradigm, in which one virtual room was paired with an aversive noise burst (threat context) and another with a nonaversive noise burst (safe context). Subsequently, avatars with neutral or angry facial expressions were presented in the threat and safe contexts while EEG was recorded. Analysis of the late positive potential (LPP), which presumably indicates motivational salience, revealed a significant interaction of context (threat vs. safe) and face type (neutral vs. angry). Neutral faces evoked increased LPP amplitudes in threat versus safe contexts, while angry faces evoked increased early LPP amplitudes regardless of context. In addition to indicating that threat-conditioned contexts alter the processing of ambiguous faces, the present study demonstrates the successful integration of EEG and VR with particular relevance for affective neuroscience research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dominik Endres
- Department of Psychology, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Erik M Mueller
- Department of Psychology, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
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33
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Mechanisms underlying auditory and cross-modal emotional attentional biases: Engagement with and disengagement from aversive auditory stimuli. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s11031-018-9739-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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34
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Shah D, Knott V, Baddeley A, Bowers H, Wright N, Labelle A, Smith D, Collin C. Impairments of emotional face processing in schizophrenia patients: Evidence from P100, N170 and P300 ERP components in a sample of auditory hallucinators. Int J Psychophysiol 2018; 134:120-134. [PMID: 30291891 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2017] [Revised: 09/23/2018] [Accepted: 10/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Patients with schizophrenia show impaired face and emotional expression processing that may be due to early perceptual deficits or late impairments in higher-order emotional facial recognition. This study examined event-related potentials (ERPs) in 23 patients with schizophrenia who experience auditory hallucinations and 19 healthy controls. EEG activity was recorded from 32 scalp sites positioned according to the 10-10 placement system. Linked left and right electrodes at the mastoids served as the reference. The P100, N170 and P300 were measured during an emotional facial identification task, which included neutral, joyful, sad, angry and fearful facial expressions and non-face stimuli (chairs). P100 was measured at O1/2 and P7/8. N170 was measured at P7/8. P300 was measured at Pz. Patients with schizophrenia were slower at identifying all facial expressions, including neutral ones. They also showed less positive P100 amplitude to sad, angry and fearful facial expressions. N170 amplitudes were smaller in patients in response to neutral, joyful, sad, angry, and fearful facial expression. Patients showed less positive P300 mean amplitudes to all facial expressions, including neutral ones. Within-group comparisons showed that patients exhibited a different pattern of ERP modulation across facial expressions than controls for P100 and N170, but not for P300. Our findings are compatible with the idea that behavioural and electrophysiological face-processing deficits in schizophrenia arise from early-stage deficits in visual processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dhrasti Shah
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Verner Knott
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, 1145 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, 1145 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ashley Baddeley
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, 1145 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Hayley Bowers
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nicola Wright
- The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, 1145 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Allen Labelle
- The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, 1145 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Dylan Smith
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Charles Collin
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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35
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Residual effects of cannabis use on attentional bias towards fearful faces. Neuropsychologia 2018; 119:482-488. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2018] [Revised: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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36
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Liu P, Bai X, Pérez-Edgar KE. Integrating high-density ERP and fMRI measures of face-elicited brain activity in 9-12-year-old children: An ERP source localization study. Neuroimage 2018; 184:599-608. [PMID: 30268845 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.09.070] [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: 01/23/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Social information processing is a critical mechanism underlying children's socio-emotional development. Central to this process are patterns of activation associated with one of our most salient socioemotional cues, the face. In this study, we obtained fMRI activation and high-density ERP source data evoked by parallel face dot-probe tasks from 9-to-12-year-old children. We then integrated the two modalities of data to explore the neural spatial-temporal dynamics of children's face processing. Our results showed that the tomography of the ERP sources broadly corresponded with the fMRI activation evoked by the same facial stimuli. Further, we combined complementary information from fMRI and ERP by defining fMRI activation as functional ROIs and applying them to the ERP source data. Indices of ERP source activity were extracted from these ROIs at three a priori ERP peak latencies critical for face processing. We found distinct temporal patterns among the three time points across ROIs. The observed spatial-temporal profiles converge with a dual-system neural network model for face processing: a core system (including the occipito-temporal and parietal ROIs) supports the early visual analysis of facial features, and an extended system (including the paracentral, limbic, and prefrontal ROIs) processes the socio-emotional meaning gleaned and relayed by the core system. Our results for the first time illustrate the spatial validity of high-density source localization of ERP dot-probe data in children. By directly combining the two modalities of data, our findings provide a novel approach to understanding the spatial-temporal dynamics of face processing. This approach can be applied in future research to investigate different research questions in various study populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pan Liu
- Department of Psychology, Child Study Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Xiaoxiao Bai
- Social, Life, and Engineering Sciences Imaging Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Koraly E Pérez-Edgar
- Department of Psychology, Child Study Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
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37
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Wu X, Xu P, Luo YJ, Feng C. Differential Effects of Intranasal Vasopressin on the Processing of Adult and Infant Cues: An ERP Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:329. [PMID: 30158862 PMCID: PMC6104155 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a powerful regulator of various social behaviors across many species. However, seemingly contradictory effects of AVP have been found in both animal and human studies, e.g., promoting aggression on one hand and facilitating social bonding on the other hand. Therefore, we hypothesize that the role of AVP in social behaviors is context-dependent. To this end, we examined the modulatory effect of AVP on male’s behavioral and neural responses to infant and adult cues. After intranasal and double-blind treatment of AVP or placebo, male participants were asked to rate their subjective approaching willingness to infant and adult faces in specific contexts informed by cue words while EEG recording. Our results showed that AVP treatment increased approaching ratings to neutral and positive other-gender adult faces compared to emotional matched same-gender adult faces, and to negative girl faces compared to negative boy faces. Furthermore, compared to placebo treatment, AVP treatment induced larger N1 amplitudes to neutral cues associated with both adults and infants, whereas AVP treatment only sustained pronounced late positive potential amplitudes to neutral cues of infants but not adults. Those findings implicate differential roles of AVP in the processing of adult- and infant-related cues and thus lend support to the context-dependent account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyan Wu
- Center of Brain Disorder and Cognitive Sicences, College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Pengfei Xu
- Center of Brain Disorder and Cognitive Sicences, College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- Center of Brain Disorder and Cognitive Sicences, College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,Center for Emotion and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China
| | - Chunliang Feng
- College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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38
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Abnormalities in early visual processes are linked to hypersociability and atypical evaluation of facial trustworthiness: An ERP study with Williams syndrome. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2018; 17:1002-1017. [PMID: 28685402 PMCID: PMC5608800 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-017-0528-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Accurate assessment of trustworthiness is fundamental to successful and adaptive social behavior. Initially, people assess trustworthiness from facial appearance alone. These assessments then inform critical approach or avoid decisions. Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) exhibit a heightened social drive, especially toward strangers. This study investigated the temporal dynamics of facial trustworthiness evaluation in neurotypic adults (TD) and individuals with WS. We examined whether differences in neural activity during trustworthiness evaluation may explain increased approach motivation in WS compared to TD individuals. Event-related potentials were recorded while participants appraised faces previously rated as trustworthy or untrustworthy. TD participants showed increased sensitivity to untrustworthy faces within the first 65-90 ms, indexed by the negative-going rise of the P1 onset (oP1). The amplitude of the oP1 difference to untrustworthy minus trustworthy faces was correlated with lower approachability scores. In contrast, participants with WS showed increased N170 amplitudes to trustworthy faces. The N170 difference to low-high-trust faces was correlated with low approachability in TD and high approachability in WS. The findings suggest that hypersociability associated with WS may arise from abnormalities in the timing and organization of early visual brain activity during trustworthiness evaluation. More generally, the study provides support for the hypothesis that impairments in low-level perceptual processes can have a cascading effect on social cognition.
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39
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Dzhelyova M, Jacques C, Rossion B. At a Single Glance: Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation Uncovers the Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Brief Facial Expression Changes in the Human Brain. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:4106-4123. [PMID: 27578496 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2016] [Accepted: 06/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Detecting brief changes of facial expression is vital for social communication. Yet, how reliably, how fast these changes are detected and how long they are processed in the human brain remain unknown. High-density electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in 18 participants presented with a neutral-expression face at a rate of 5.88 Hz (F) for 80 s. Every five faces, the face changed expression to fear, disgust or happiness (different stimulation sequences). The resulting 1.18 Hz (F/5) EEG response and its harmonics objectively indexed detection of a brief change of facial expression. This response was recorded in every participant in a few minutes but was largely reduced for inverted faces, indicating that it reflects high-level processes. Although this response focused on occipito-temporal sites, different expression changes evoked reliably distinct topographical maps, pointing to partly distinct neural generators. These effects were also observed at a faster 12 Hz frequency rate and a lower ratio of expression change (1/9). Time-domain analysis showed that a brief change of expression inserted in a dynamic stimulation sequence elicits specific occipito-temporal responses between 100 and 310 ms, indicating a rapid change detection process followed by a long integration period of facial expression information in the human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milena Dzhelyova
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Louvain, Place du Cardinal Mercier, 10 B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Corentin Jacques
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Louvain, Place du Cardinal Mercier, 10 B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Louvain, Place du Cardinal Mercier, 10 B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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40
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Torrence RD, Troup LJ. Event-related potentials of attentional bias toward faces in the dot-probe task: A systematic review. Psychophysiology 2017; 55:e13051. [PMID: 29266532 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2017] [Revised: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The dot-probe task is a common task to assess attentional bias toward different stimuli and how groups differ (e.g., attentional bias in anxiety disorders). However, measuring reaction time has been suggested to be unreliable. Neuroimaging methods such as fMRI were shown to be more reliable in assessing attentional bias, but fMRI has poor temporal resolution and therefore cannot assess timing of attention. ERPs have been used to examine the time course of attentional bias. Although ERP research may be more reliable than reaction time, there have been inconsistencies in the literature. This review systematically searched for articles that used the dot-probe task with facial expressions and measured neural correlates with ERP. We found that some of the inconsistencies might be the cause of methodological differences (e.g., timing of stimuli), differences in emotional expression, and/or sample differences (e.g., sex, age, etc.). Suggestions on how future research could address the issues presented in this review were discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert D Torrence
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Lucy J Troup
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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41
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Acute Psychological Stress Disrupts Attentional Bias to Threat-Related Stimuli. Sci Rep 2017; 7:14607. [PMID: 29097660 PMCID: PMC5668362 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14138-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2017] [Accepted: 10/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study investigated the effect of acute stress on attentional bias to threat using behavioral and ERP methods. Sixty-two male participants were randomly assigned to a stress condition (Trier Social Stress Test) or a control condition. To examine the impact of stress-induced cortisol on attentional bias to threat, participants in the stress group were split into Low- and High cortisol responders. All participants were then administered a modified dot probe task in which the cues were neutral and angry faces. Behavioral results showed a pattern of attentional bias toward threat in the Control group but not in the stress group. For the ERPs, the P100 peaked earlier for the angry-cued targets than the neutral-cued targets in the Control group, which suggests a rapid, adaptive response toward threat. However, this effect was not observed in the stress group, suggesting a suppressed attentional bias under stress. In addition, the stress group (including both Low and High cortisol responders) showed reduced P300 amplitude to target onset than the Control group. These results suggest that acute stress disrupts attentional bias to threat including a reduction in early bias to threat in addition to a subsequent change of attention allocation.
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42
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Slotnick SD. The experimental parameters that affect attentional modulation of the ERP C1 component. Cogn Neurosci 2017; 9:53-62. [DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2017.1369021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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43
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Cao J, Liu Q, Li Y, Yang J, Gu R, Liang J, Qi Y, Wu H, Liu X. Cognitive behavioural therapy attenuates the enhanced early facial stimuli processing in social anxiety disorders: an ERP investigation. Behav Brain Funct 2017; 13:12. [PMID: 28754179 PMCID: PMC5534051 DOI: 10.1186/s12993-017-0130-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2017] [Accepted: 07/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Previous studies of patients with social anxiety have demonstrated abnormal early processing of facial stimuli in social contexts. In other words, patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) tend to exhibit enhanced early facial processing when compared to healthy controls. Few studies have examined the temporal electrophysiological event-related potential (ERP)-indexed profiles when an individual with SAD compares faces to objects in SAD. Systematic comparisons of ERPs to facial/object stimuli before and after therapy are also lacking. We used a passive visual detection paradigm with upright and inverted faces/objects, which are known to elicit early P1 and N170 components, to study abnormal early face processing and subsequent improvements in this measure in patients with SAD. Methods Seventeen patients with SAD and 17 matched control participants performed a passive visual detection paradigm task while undergoing EEG. The healthy controls were compared to patients with SAD pre-therapy to test the hypothesis that patients with SAD have early hypervigilance to facial cues. We compared patients with SAD before and after therapy to test the hypothesis that the early hypervigilance to facial cues in patients with SAD can be alleviated. Results Compared to healthy control (HC) participants, patients with SAD had more robust P1–N170 slope but no amplitude effects in response to both upright and inverted faces and objects. Interestingly, we found that patients with SAD had reduced P1 responses to all objects and faces after therapy, but had selectively reduced N170 responses to faces, and especially inverted faces. Interestingly, the slope from P1 to N170 in patients with SAD was flatter post-therapy than pre-therapy. Furthermore, the amplitude of N170 evoked by the facial stimuli was correlated with scores on the interaction anxiousness scale (IAS) after therapy. Conclusions Our results did not provide electrophysiological support for the early hypervigilance hypothesis in SAD to faces, but confirm that cognitive-behavioural therapy can reduce the early visual processing of faces. These findings have potentially important therapeutic implications in the assessment and treatment of social anxiety. Trial registration HEBDQ2014021
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianqin Cao
- Department of Nursing, Harbin Medical University, Daqing, Heilongjiang Province, China
| | - Quanying Liu
- Laboratory of Movement Control and Neuroplasticity, KU Leuven, 3001, Louvain, Belgium.,Neural Control of Movement Laboratory, ETH Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Yang Li
- Department of Nursing, Harbin Medical University, Daqing, Heilongjiang Province, China
| | - Jun Yang
- Department of Nursing, Harbin Medical University, Daqing, Heilongjiang Province, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Jin Liang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Yanyan Qi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Haiyan Wu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China. .,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
| | - Xun Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
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44
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van Heck CH, Oosterman JM, de Kleijn KMA, Jongsma MLA, van Rijn CM. Evidence for a Priori Existence of Attentional Bias Subgroups in Emotional Processing of Aversive Stimuli. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:87. [PMID: 28553210 PMCID: PMC5427543 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2017] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Casper H. van Heck
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud UniversityNijmegen, Netherlands
- *Correspondence: Clementina M. van Rijn
| | - Joukje M. Oosterman
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud UniversityNijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Kim M. A. de Kleijn
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud UniversityNijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Marijtje L. A. Jongsma
- Faculty of Social Sciences/Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud UniversityNijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Clementina M. van Rijn
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud UniversityNijmegen, Netherlands
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Peled-Avron L, Shamay-Tsoory SG. Don't touch me! autistic traits modulate early and late ERP components during visual perception of social touch. Autism Res 2017; 10:1141-1154. [PMID: 28339141 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Revised: 12/10/2016] [Accepted: 01/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Although individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have impaired responses to interpersonal touch, the underlying neural correlates remain largely unknown. Here, we examined the neural correlates that underlie interpersonal touch perception in individuals with either high or low autistic traits. Fifty-three participants were classified as having either high or low autistic traits based on their performance on the autism quotient (AQ) questionnaire. We hypothesized that individuals with high AQ scores would have relatively high touch hypervigilance, reflected as earlier P1 and stronger late positive potential (LPP) responses, two components of event-related potentials that serve as electrophysiological markers of anxiety bias. We recorded each participant's electroencephalography activity during presentation of images depicting human touch, object touch, and non-touch control images. Consistent with our hypothesis, AQ scores were positively correlated with social touch aversion. Moreover, participants with high AQ scores had earlier P1 and stronger LPP responses when presented with human touch compared to the control images. Importantly, a regression model revealed that earlier P1 and larger LPP amplitude measured during social touch observation can accurately predict higher autistic trait levels. Taken together, these findings indicate that individuals with high levels of autistic traits may have a hypervigilant response to observed social touch. Autism Res 2017, 0: 000-000. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Autism Res 2017, 10: 1141-1154. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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46
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Sass SM, Evans TC, Xiong K, Mirghassemi F, Tran H. Attention training to pleasant stimuli in anxiety. Biol Psychol 2017; 122:80-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2015] [Revised: 01/29/2016] [Accepted: 03/04/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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47
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Pintzinger NM, Pfabigan DM, Tran US, Kryspin-Exner I, Lamm C. Attentional biases in healthy adults: Exploring the impact of temperament and gender. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2016; 52:29-37. [PMID: 26972446 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2016.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2015] [Revised: 02/05/2016] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Attentional biases such as faster attentional orienting toward negative information were consistently replicated in high-anxious and depressive individuals, but findings in healthy individuals are inconsistent so far. METHODS Using a dot-probe paradigm, we investigated whether temperament traits and gender, which are linked to (sub)clinical symptoms and attentional processing, influenced attentional biases in healthy adults. RESULTS All participants showed protective attentional biases in terms of orienting their attention away from negative information. In both genders higher values of negative affect were compensated with stronger attentional engagement with positive stimuli. This effect was more pronounced in men than in women. Effortful control fulfilled its regulative function in terms of stronger avoidance of negative stimuli only among men. LIMITATIONS Reaction times after probe detection provide only a snapshot of attention and allow only for an indirect assessment of visual attention. Future research should emphasize methods that allow for continuous monitoring of attention allocation, therefore results of the present study await replication in psychophysiological or eye-tracking studies. CONCLUSION Our results highlight the importance of considering influencing factors such as gender and temperament traits for attentional biases in healthy adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina M Pintzinger
- Department of Health, Development and Psychological Intervention, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Daniela M Pfabigan
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ulrich S Tran
- Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ilse Kryspin-Exner
- Department of Health, Development and Psychological Intervention, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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48
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Pintzinger NM, Pfabigan DM, Pfau L, Kryspin-Exner I, Lamm C. Temperament differentially influences early information processing in men and women: Preliminary electrophysiological evidence of attentional biases in healthy individuals. Biol Psychol 2016; 122:69-79. [PMID: 27396749 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2015] [Revised: 07/05/2016] [Accepted: 07/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Preferential processing of threat-related information is a robust finding in anxiety disorders. The observation that attentional biases are also present in healthy individuals suggests factors other than clinical symptoms to play a role. Using a dot-probe paradigm while event-related potentials were recorded in 59 healthy adults, we investigated whether temperament and gender, both related to individual variation in anxiety levels, influence attentional processing. All participants showed protective attentional biases in terms of enhanced attention engagement with positive information, indexed by larger N1 amplitudes in positive compared to negative conditions. Taking gender differences into account, we observed that women showed enhanced attention engagement with negative compared to neutral information, indicated by larger P2 amplitudes in congruent than in incongruent negative conditions. Attentional processing was influenced by the temperament traits negative affect and effortful control. Our results emphasize that gender and temperament modulate attentional biases in healthy adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina M Pintzinger
- Department of Health, Development and Psychological Intervention, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Daniela M Pfabigan
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lorenz Pfau
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ilse Kryspin-Exner
- Department of Health, Development and Psychological Intervention, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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49
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Schulte Holthausen B, Habel U, Kellermann T, Schelenz PD, Schneider F, Christopher Edgar J, Turetsky BI, Regenbogen C. Task-irrelevant fear enhances amygdala-FFG inhibition and decreases subsequent face processing. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2016; 11:1440-8. [PMID: 27272198 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsw054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2015] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial threat is associated with changes in limbic activity as well as modifications in the cortical face-related N170. It remains unclear if task-irrelevant threat modulates the response to a subsequent facial stimulus, and whether the amygdala's role in early threat perception is independent and direct, or modulatory. In 19 participants, crowds of emotional faces were followed by target faces and a rating task while simultaneous EEG-fMRI were recorded. In addition to conventional analyses, fMRI-informed EEG analyses and fMRI dynamic causal modeling (DCM) were performed. Fearful crowds reduced EEG N170 target face amplitudes and increased responses in a fMRI network comprising insula, amygdala and inferior frontal cortex. Multimodal analyses showed that amygdala response was present ∼60 ms before the right fusiform gyrus-derived N170. DCM indicated inhibitory connections from amygdala to fusiform gyrus, strengthened when fearful crowds preceded a target face. Results demonstrated the suppressing influence of task-irrelevant fearful crowds on subsequent face processing. The amygdala may be sensitive to task-irrelevant fearful crowds and subsequently strengthen its inhibitory influence on face-responsive fusiform N170 generators. This provides spatiotemporal evidence for a feedback mechanism of the amygdala by narrowing attention in order to focus on potential threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Schulte Holthausen
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, Germany JARA Translational Brain Medicine, 52428 Jülich/52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, Germany JARA Translational Brain Medicine, 52428 Jülich/52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Thilo Kellermann
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, Germany JARA Translational Brain Medicine, 52428 Jülich/52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Patrick D Schelenz
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, Germany
| | - Frank Schneider
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, Germany JARA Translational Brain Medicine, 52428 Jülich/52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - J Christopher Edgar
- Department of Radiology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Bruce I Turetsky
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Christina Regenbogen
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, Germany JARA Translational Brain Medicine, 52428 Jülich/52074 Aachen, Germany Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden
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50
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Thai N, Taber-Thomas BC, Pérez-Edgar KE. Neural correlates of attention biases, behavioral inhibition, and social anxiety in children: An ERP study. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2016; 19:200-10. [PMID: 27061248 PMCID: PMC4912890 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2016.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2015] [Revised: 03/29/2016] [Accepted: 03/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a biologically-based temperament characterized by vigilance toward threat. Over time, many children with BI increasingly fear social circumstances and display maladaptive social behavior. BI is also one of the strongest individual risk factors for developing social anxiety disorder. Although research has established a link between BI and anxiety, its causal mechanism remains unclear. Attention biases may underlie this relation. The current study examined neural markers of the BI-attention-anxiety link in children ages 9-12 years (N=99, Mean=9.97, SD=0.97). ERP measures were collected as children completed an attention-bias (dot-probe) task with neutral and angry faces. P2 and N2 amplitudes were associated with social anxiety and attention bias, respectively. Specifically, augmented P2 was related to decreased symptoms of social anxiety and moderated the relation between BI and social anxiety, suggesting that increasing attention mobilization may serve as a compensatory mechanism that attenuates social anxiety in individuals with high BI. The BI by N2 interaction found that larger N2 related to threat avoidance with increasing levels of BI, consistent with over-controlled socio-emotional functioning. Lastly, children without BI (BN) showed an augmented P1 to probes replacing angry faces, suggesting maintenance of attentional resources in threat-related contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nhi Thai
- The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Psychology, 142 Moore Building, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
| | - Bradley C Taber-Thomas
- The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Psychology, 142 Moore Building, University Park, PA 16802, United States
| | - Koraly E Pérez-Edgar
- The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Psychology, 142 Moore Building, University Park, PA 16802, United States
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