1
|
de Wit MM, Faseyitan O, Coslett HB. Always expect the unexpected: eye position modulates visual cortex excitability in a stimulus-free environment. J Neurophysiol 2024; 131:937-944. [PMID: 38568480 PMCID: PMC11383376 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00169.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Stimuli that potentially require a rapid defensive or avoidance action can appear from the periphery at any time in natural environments. de Wit et al. (Cortex 127: 120-130, 2020) recently reported novel evidence suggestive of a fundamental neural mechanism that allows organisms to effectively deal with such situations. In the absence of any task, motor cortex excitability was found to be greater whenever gaze was directed away from either hand. If modulation of cortical excitability as a function of gaze location is a fundamental principle of brain organization, then one would expect its operation to be present outside of motor cortex, including brain regions involved in perception. To test this hypothesis, we applied single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the right lateral occipital lobe while participants directed their eyes to the left, straight-ahead, or to the right, and reported the presence or absence of a phosphene. No external stimuli were presented. Cortical excitability as reflected by the proportion of trials on which phosphenes were elicited from stimulation of the right visual cortex was greater with eyes deviated to the right as compared with the left. In conjunction with our previous findings of change in motor cortex excitability when gaze and effector are not aligned, this eye position-driven change in visual cortex excitability presumably serves to facilitate the detection of stimuli and subsequent readiness to act in nonfoveated regions of space. The existence of this brain-wide mechanism has clear adaptive value given the unpredictable nature of natural environments in which human beings are situated and have evolved.NEW & NOTEWORTHY For many complex tasks, humans focus attention on the site relevant to the task at hand. Humans evolved and live in dangerous environments, however, in which threats arise from outside the attended site; this fact necessitates a process by which the periphery is monitored. Using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we demonstrated for the first time that eye position modulates visual cortex excitability. We argue that this underlies at least in part what we term "surveillance attention."
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthieu M de Wit
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Olufunsho Faseyitan
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - H Branch Coslett
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Lu J, Kemmerer SK, Riecke L, de Gelder B. Early threat perception is independent of later cognitive and behavioral control. A virtual reality-EEG-ECG study. Cereb Cortex 2023:7169129. [PMID: 37197766 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad156] [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: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Research on social threat has shown influences of various factors, such as agent characteristics, proximity, and social interaction on social threat perception. An important, yet understudied aspect of threat exposure concerns the ability to exert control over the threat and its implications for threat perception. In this study, we used a virtual reality (VR) environment showing an approaching avatar that was either angry (threatening body expression) or neutral (neutral body expression) and informed participants to stop avatars from coming closer under five levels of control success (0, 25, 50, 75, or 100%) when they felt uncomfortable. Behavioral results revealed that social threat triggered faster reactions at a greater virtual distance from the participant than the neutral avatar. Event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed that the angry avatar elicited a larger N170/vertex positive potential (VPP) and a smaller N3 than the neutral avatar. The 100% control condition elicited a larger late positive potential (LPP) than the 75% control condition. In addition, we observed enhanced theta power and accelerated heart rate for the angry avatar vs. neutral avatar, suggesting that these measures index threat perception. Our results indicate that perception of social threat takes place in early to middle cortical processing stages, and control ability is associated with cognitive evaluation in middle to late stages.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juanzhi Lu
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| | - Selma K Kemmerer
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| | - Lars Riecke
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| | - Beatrice de Gelder
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Starita F, Garofalo S, Dalbagno D, Degni LAE, di Pellegrino G. Pavlovian threat learning shapes the kinematics of action. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1005656. [PMID: 36304859 PMCID: PMC9592852 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1005656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Prompt response to environmental threats is critical to survival. Previous research has revealed mechanisms underlying threat-conditioned physiological responses, but little is known about how threats shape action. Here we tested if threat learning shapes the kinematics of reaching in human adults. In two different experiments conducted on independent samples of participants, after Pavlovian threat learning, in which a stimulus anticipated the delivery of an aversive shock, whereas another did not, the peak velocity and acceleration of reaching increased for the shocked-paired stimulus, relative to the unpaired one. These kinematic changes appeared as a direct consequence of learning, emerging even in absence of an actual threat to body integrity, as no shock occurred during reaching. Additionally, they correlated with the strength of sympathetic response during threat learning, establishing a direct relationship between previous learning and subsequent changes in action. The increase in velocity and acceleration of action following threat learning may be adaptive to facilitate the implementation of defensive responses. Enhanced action invigoration may be maladaptive, however, when defensive responses are inappropriately enacted in safe contexts, as exemplified in a number of anxiety-related disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Starita
- Motivation, Decision and Learning Laboratory, Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari,” University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Garofalo S, Giovagnoli S, Orsoni M, Starita F, Benassi M. Interaction effect: Are you doing the right thing? PLoS One 2022; 17:e0271668. [PMID: 35857797 PMCID: PMC9299307 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
How to correctly interpret interaction effects has been largely discussed in scientific literature. Nevertheless, misinterpretations are still frequently observed, and neuroscience is not exempt from this trend. We reviewed 645 papers published from 2019 to 2020 and found that, in the 93.2% of studies reporting a statistically significant interaction effect (N = 221), post-hoc pairwise comparisons were the designated method adopted to interpret its results. Given the widespread use of this approach, we aim to: (1) highlight its limitations and how it can lead to misinterpretations of the interaction effect; (2) discuss more effective and powerful ways to correctly interpret interaction effects, including both explorative and model selection procedures. The paper provides practical examples and freely accessible online materials to reproduce all analyses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Garofalo
- Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari”, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Sara Giovagnoli
- Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari”, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| | - Matteo Orsoni
- Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari”, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| | - Francesca Starita
- Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari”, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| | - Mariagrazia Benassi
- Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari”, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Wang Z, Goerlich KS, Xu P, Luo Y, Aleman A. Perceptive and Affective Impairments In Emotive Eye-Region Processing in Alexithymia. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2022; 17:912-922. [PMID: 35277722 PMCID: PMC9527467 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Alexithymia is characterized by impairments in emotion processing, frequently linked to facial expressions of emotion. The eye-region conveys information necessary for emotion processing. It has been demonstrated that alexithymia is associated with reduced attention to the eyes, but little is known regarding the cognitive and electrophysiological mechanisms underlying emotive eye-region processing in alexithymia. Here, we recorded behavioral and electrophysiological responses of individuals with alexithymia (ALEX; n = 25) and individuals without alexithymia (NonALEX; n = 23) while they viewed intact and eyeless faces with angry and sad expressions during a dual-target rapid serial visual presentation task. Results showed different eye-region focuses and differentiating N1 responses between intact and eyeless faces to anger and sadness in NonALEX, but not in ALEX, suggesting deficient perceptual processing of the eye-region in alexithymia. Reduced eye-region focus and smaller differences in frontal alpha asymmetry in response to sadness between intact and eyeless faces were observed in ALEX than NonALEX, indicative of impaired affective processing of the eye-region in alexithymia. These findings highlight perceptual and affective abnormalities of emotive eye-region processing in alexithymia. Our results contribute to understanding the neuropsychopathology of alexithymia and alexithymia-related disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhihao Wang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
- Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells & Systems, Section Cognitive Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Katharina S Goerlich
- Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells & Systems, Section Cognitive Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Pengfei Xu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (BNU), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Center for Neuroimaging, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518106, China
| | - Yuejia Luo
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
- College of Teacher Education, Qilu Normal University, Jinan 250200, China
- The Research Center of Brain Science and Visual Cognition, Medical School, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650031, China
| | - André Aleman
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
- Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells & Systems, Section Cognitive Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Right Hemisphere Dominance for Unconscious Emotionally Salient Stimuli. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11070823. [PMID: 34206214 PMCID: PMC8301990 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11070823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The present review will focus on evidence demonstrating the prioritization in visual processing of fear-related signals in the absence of awareness. Evidence in hemianopic patients without any form of blindsight or affective blindsight in classical terms will be presented, demonstrating that fearful faces, via a subcortical colliculo-pulvinar-amygdala pathway, have a privileged unconscious visual processing and facilitate responses towards visual stimuli in the intact visual field. Interestingly, this fear-specific implicit visual processing in hemianopics has only been observed after lesions to the visual cortices in the left hemisphere, while no effect was found in patients with damage to the right hemisphere. This suggests that the subcortical route for emotional processing in the right hemisphere might provide a pivotal contribution to the implicit processing of fear, in line with evidence showing enhanced right amygdala activity and increased connectivity in the right colliculo-pulvinar-amygdala pathway for unconscious fear-conditioned stimuli and subliminal fearful faces. These findings will be discussed within a theoretical framework that considers the amygdala as an integral component of a constant and continuous vigilance system, which is preferentially invoked with stimuli signaling ambiguous environmental situations of biological relevance, such as fearful faces.
Collapse
|