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Dubravac M, Garrison KE, Schmeichel BJ. Effects of task switching and emotional stimuli on memory selectivity. Cogn Emot 2024; 38:480-491. [PMID: 38179666 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2023.2300752] [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: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
It is not always easy to attend to task-relevant information and ignore task-irrelevant distractions. We investigated the impact of task switching and emotional stimuli on goal-oriented selective attention and subsequent recognition memory. Results from two experiments with different stimulus materials (words and images) found that the memory advantage of task-relevant information over task-irrelevant information (i.e. memory selectivity) was attenuated on task switch trials and emotional distractor trials. In contrast, task repetitions and emotional targets improved memory selectivity. These results suggest that both task switching and emotional distractors divert limited cognitive resources needed for selective attention and selective encoding. Emotional targets likely supported selective encoding through the process of attentional prioritisation of emotional stimuli. The effects of task switching and emotional stimuli did not interact, suggesting distinct mechanisms, although this conclusion remains tentative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirela Dubravac
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Katie E Garrison
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
| | - Brandon J Schmeichel
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
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2
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Sivananthan T, Most SB, Curby KM. Mimicking Facial Expressions Facilitates Working Memory for Stimuli in Emotion-Congruent Colours. Vision (Basel) 2024; 8:4. [PMID: 38391085 PMCID: PMC10885052 DOI: 10.3390/vision8010004] [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: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
It is one thing for everyday phrases like "seeing red" to link some emotions with certain colours (e.g., anger with red), but can such links measurably bias information processing? We investigated whether emotional face information (angry/happy/neutral) held in visual working memory (VWM) enhances memory for shapes presented in a conceptually consistent colour (red or green) (Experiment 1). Although emotional information held in VWM appeared not to bias memory for coloured shapes in Experiment 1, exploratory analyses suggested that participants who physically mimicked the face stimuli were better at remembering congruently coloured shapes. Experiment 2 confirmed this finding by asking participants to hold the faces in mind while either mimicking or labelling the emotional expressions of face stimuli. Once again, those who mimicked the expressions were better at remembering shapes with emotion-congruent colours, whereas those who simply labelled them were not. Thus, emotion-colour associations appear powerful enough to guide attention, but-consistent with proposed impacts of "embodied emotion" on cognition-such effects emerged when emotion processing was facilitated through facial mimicry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thaatsha Sivananthan
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- Macquarie University Performance & Expertise Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Steven B Most
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Kim M Curby
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- Macquarie University Performance & Expertise Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
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Theódórsdóttir D, Höller Y. Emotional Bias among Individuals at Risk for Seasonal Affective Disorder-An EEG Study during Remission in Summer. Brain Sci 2023; 14:2. [PMID: 38275507 PMCID: PMC10813094 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14010002] [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: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Emotional bias in attention and memory is well researched in depression. Patients with depression prioritize processing of negative information over positive input. While there is evidence that emotional bias exists in seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during winter, it is unclear whether such altered cognition exists also during summer. Moreover, it is unclear whether such bias affects attention, memory, or both. In this study, we investigated 110 individuals in summer, 34 of whom reported suffering from low mood during winter, according to the seasonal pattern assessment questionnaire. While the electroencephalogram was recorded, participants learned 60 emotional pictures and subsequently were asked to recognize them in an old/new task. There were no clear group differences in behavioral measures, and no brain response differences in frontal alpha power during learning. During recognition, at 100-300 ms post stimulus individuals with higher seasonality scores exhibited larger alpha power in response to negative as compared to neutral stimuli, while individuals with low seasonality scores exhibited larger alpha power in response to positive as compared to neutral stimuli. While we cannot draw conclusions whether this is an effect of attention or memory, the finding suggests that early cognitive processes are altered already during summer in individuals with increased likelihood to experience SAD during winter. Our data provide evidence for an all-year-round cognitive vulnerability in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yvonne Höller
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Akureyri, 600 Akureyri, Iceland
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Chainay H, Ceresetti R, Pierre-Charles C, Plancher G. Modulation of maintenance and processing in working memory by negative emotions. Mem Cognit 2023; 51:1774-1784. [PMID: 37126205 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-023-01428-0] [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] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has shown that working memory processes are affected by emotions. However, it is not clear if both components - maintenance and processing of information - are modulated by emotion. Since emotion is intimately related to attention, we focused on attentional maintenance in working memory. In a previous study, using a complex span task, we showed that processing emotionally negative information reduced maintenance of neutral information in working memory. The objective of the present study was first to replicate the results of our previous study and second to investigate whether maintaining emotional information would affect processing of neutral information. In Experiment 1, young adults were asked to remember a series of five letters each followed by images, either negative or neutral, to be categorized. In Experiment 2, participants were required to memorize a series of five images, either negative or neutral, each followed by digits to be categorized. In order to focus on attentional maintenance, in both experiments the tasks were performed under continuous articulatory suppression. In Experiment 1, longer processing times were observed for emotional stimuli than neutral ones, and lower recall of series of letters when negative stimuli were processed. In Experiment 2, higher memory performance was observed for negative images than neutral ones and longer processing times of digits when a series of negative stimuli was maintained. Overall, our results show that emotion impacts both processing and attentional maintenance in working memory. This is consistent with models of working memory suggesting an attentional trade-off between maintenance and processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Chainay
- Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, France.
- , 5 avenue Pierre Mendes, 69676, Bron, France.
| | - Romain Ceresetti
- Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - Carl Pierre-Charles
- Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - Gaën Plancher
- Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, France
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5
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Legaz A, Prado P, Moguilner S, Báez S, Santamaría-García H, Birba A, Barttfeld P, García AM, Fittipaldi S, Ibañez A. Social and non-social working memory in neurodegeneration. Neurobiol Dis 2023; 183:106171. [PMID: 37257663 PMCID: PMC11177282 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106171] [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: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Although social functioning relies on working memory, whether a social-specific mechanism exists remains unclear. This undermines the characterization of neurodegenerative conditions with both working memory and social deficits. We assessed working memory domain-specificity across behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging dimensions in 245 participants. A novel working memory task involving social and non-social stimuli with three load levels was assessed across controls and different neurodegenerative conditions with recognized impairments in: working memory and social cognition (behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia); general cognition (Alzheimer's disease); and unspecific patterns (Parkinson's disease). We also examined resting-state theta oscillations and functional connectivity correlates of working memory domain-specificity. Results in controls and all groups together evidenced increased working memory demands for social stimuli associated with frontocinguloparietal theta oscillations and salience network connectivity. Canonical frontal theta oscillations and executive-default mode network anticorrelation indexed non-social stimuli. Behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia presented generalized working memory deficits related to posterior theta oscillations, with social stimuli linked to salience network connectivity. In Alzheimer's disease, generalized working memory impairments were related to temporoparietal theta oscillations, with non-social stimuli linked to the executive network. Parkinson's disease showed spared working memory performance and canonical brain correlates. Findings support a social-specific working memory and related disease-selective pathophysiological mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustina Legaz
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Psicología, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Pavel Prado
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile; Escuela de Fonoaudiología, Facultad de Odontología y Ciencias de la Rehabilitación, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago, Chile
| | - Sebastián Moguilner
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, United States; Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Hernando Santamaría-García
- Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Medical School, Physiology and Psychiatry Departments, Memory and Cognition Center Intellectus, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Agustina Birba
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Pablo Barttfeld
- Cognitive Science Group. Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas (IIPsi), CONICET UNC, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Boulevard de la Reforma esquina Enfermera Gordillo, CP 5000. Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Adolfo M García
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, United States; Departamento de Lingüística y Literatura, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin, Ireland
| | - Sol Fittipaldi
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, United States; Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Agustín Ibañez
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, United States; Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin, Ireland.
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6
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Kelley NJ, Hurley-Wallace AL, Warner KL, Hanoch Y. Analytical reasoning reduces internet fraud susceptibility. COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2022.107648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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7
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Fenesy MC, Lee SS. Profiles of executive functioning and neuroticism in emerging adulthood: Concurrent associations with psychopathology and health-related quality of life. JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH : J OF ACH 2022:1-13. [PMID: 36279263 DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2132827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Objective: We employed latent profile analysis (LPA) to discern configurations of executive functioning (EF) and neuroticism (NE) and tested their concurrent validity with respect to internalizing and externalizing problems and physical health. Participants: A total of 125 college students completed the study. Methods: Participants self-reported NE and EF on separate normed rating scales and completed computerized tests of EF. Self-reported internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and global physical health were collected. Results: LPA revealed four profiles: (1) Lower EF + Higher NE, (2) Higher EF + Lower NE, (3) Inconsistent EF + Higher NE, and (4) Inconsistent EF + Lower NE. Adjusting for covariates, profiles were differentially associated with internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and physical health. Conclusions: Screening EF and NE in college students may identify those at risk for psychopathology and physical health concerns. Tailored prevention and intervention efforts on college campuses targeting EF and NE may enhance well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle C Fenesy
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Transforming Mental Health Initiative, Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Steve S Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Singh PK, Chaurasia RN, Pratap S, Tiwari T, Mishra VN, Singh T. Effect of Emotional Valence on Working Memory of Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES) Patients. J Neurosci Rural Pract 2022; 13:521-524. [PMID: 35946004 PMCID: PMC9357501 DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1744557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The present study investigated how emotional valence influenced the working memory of patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) as compared to healthy individuals. Methods Emotional-N-Back task (E-N-back task) was administered to 15 PNES patients and equal number of healthy individuals. A 2 × 3 one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used. Correct detection (accuracy) and reaction (RT) time were recorded as behavioral performance measures. Results The ANOVA result of correct detection (accuracy) measure revealed significant difference in the performance of patients with PNES as compared with healthy individual, F (2, 48) = 17.08, p = 0.001. However, on the measure of reaction time (RT), both groups performed equally and there was no significant difference, F (2, 48) = 1.13, p = 0.33. Also the results of present study showed that patients with PNES are quicker in identifying unpleasant picture stimuli, which is evident from their mean comparison: unpleasant ( M = 65.55, SD = 15.66), pleasant ( M = 58.22, SD = 20.03), and neutral ( M = 45.11, SD = 23.13). Conclusion Conclusively, the finding of the present study shows a significant effect of emotional valence on working memory of patients with PNES on the measure of correct detection (accuracy), but not for second measure, i.e., reaction time this clearly reveals that patients with PNES are poor at emotional-cognitive integration, specifically at working memory level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priyesh K Singh
- Department of Psychology, Banasthali Vidyapith, Tonk, Rajasthan, India
| | - Rameshwar Nath Chaurasia
- Department of Neurology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Sujeet Pratap
- Department of Psychology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Trayambak Tiwari
- Department of Psychology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Vijay N Mishra
- Department of Neurology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Tara Singh
- Department of Psychology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
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Wen Z(E, Teng MF, Han L, Zeng Y. Working Memory Models and Measures in Language and Bilingualism Research: Integrating Cognitive and Affective Perspectives. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12060729. [PMID: 35741614 PMCID: PMC9221522 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12060729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Although emotional or affective working memory (WM) is quite well established in general psychology, not much research has looked into its potential implications for the language sciences and bilingualism and second language acquisition (SLA) research until recently. To fill this gap, this paper aims to propose that WM has not just cognitive implications, but its affective dimension may also make complementary and unique contributions to language and bilingualism/SLA research. Towards this end, we first briefly synthesize the cognitive views of WM conceptions and assessment procedures in the current language sciences and bilingualism/SLA research. Next, we turn to discuss the theoretical models and assumptions of affective WM and explore their theoretical implications for bilingualism/SLA research based on emerging empirical evidence. Then, we propose a conceptual framework integrating cognitive and affective WM perspectives and further provide guidelines for designing affective WM span tasks that can be used in future affective WM–language research, focusing on the construction procedures of several emotion-based affective WM span tasks (e.g., the emotional reading span task, the emotional operation span task, and the emotional symmetry span task) as examples. Overall, we argue that affective feelings are also an integral part of the mental representations held in WM and future research in the language sciences and bilingualism/SLA should incorporate both cognitive and affective WM dimensions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhisheng (Edward) Wen
- Faculty of Languages and Translation, Macao Polytechnic University, Macau SAR 999078, China;
- Correspondence:
| | - Mark Feng Teng
- Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519087, China;
| | - Lili Han
- Faculty of Languages and Translation, Macao Polytechnic University, Macau SAR 999078, China;
| | - Yong Zeng
- Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H9R 5X7, Canada;
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Khayyer Z, Saberi Azad R, Torkzadeh Arani Z, Jafari Harandi R. Examining the effect of stress induction on auditory working memory performance for emotional and non-emotional stimuli in female students. Heliyon 2021; 7:e06876. [PMID: 33997406 PMCID: PMC8099744 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 07/26/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Theoretical frameworks have shown that stress might influence working memory in different ways. Previous research has investigated the effect of stress on female's working memory but there is lack of evidence regarding the impact of emotional aspects. Objectives This study examined the effect of stress induction on auditory working memory (AWM) performance among university students for emotional (positive and negative) and non-emotional (neutral) stimuli. Methods A sample of 102 female students at the Universities of Isfahan, Iran was selected using convenience sampling in 2018. Participants completed the demographic information sheets, then, they were randomly assigned into the experimental and control groups. The stress was induced by the Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Test (SECPT). An n-back task was presented pre and post of stress induction, to evaluate the AWM performance (accuracy and reaction time). The research data were analyzed using mixed-model ANOVA. Results Both accuracy and reaction time (RT) scores were found to be enhanced for positive words in the experimental condition. However, accuracy and RT indices were found to be worsening for negative words in the experimental condition. Conclusions This study supports the idea that stress influences AWM performance depend on emotionally-valenced stimuli, which may help us to better understand the underlying mechanisms of memory processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Khayyer
- Educational Sciences & Psychology Department, University of Isfahan, And Shahid Ashrafi Esfahani University, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Razieh Saberi Azad
- Human Sciences Department, Sepahan Institute of Higher Education, Isfahan, Iran
| | | | - Reza Jafari Harandi
- Educational Sciences Department, Literature and Human Sciences Faculty, University of Qom, Qom, Iran
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The regulatory roles of progesterone and estradiol on emotion processing in women. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 21:1026-1038. [PMID: 33982247 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00908-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Emotion processing is known to interact with memory. Ovarian steroid hormones, such as progesterone and estradiol, modulate emotion processing and memory. However, it is unclear how these hormones influence brain activity when emotion processing is integrated with working memory (WM). Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the relationship between endogenous hormonal concentration and brain activity during emotion processing in the context of a WM n-back task in 74 young women using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Results show that positive emotion processing activates reward-related areas, such as the caudate and putamen, whereas negative emotion processing activates a corticolimbic network, including the amygdala and hippocampus. Furthermore, our findings provide evidence that progesterone modulates more bottom-up brain activation during both positive and negative emotion processing, whereas estradiol activates lateralized, top-down regulation. These findings provide insight on the neural correlates of emotion processing during an n-back task in young women and highlight how important it is to consider women's endogenous hormonal concentration in neurobiological and cognition research.
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12
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Gladwin TE, Vink M. Anticipated Attack Slows Responses in a Cued Virtual Attack Emotional Sternberg Task. EUROPES JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2021; 17:31-43. [PMID: 33737972 PMCID: PMC7957854 DOI: 10.5964/ejop.1896] [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: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Threatening stimuli have varying effects, including reaction time (RT) increase in working memory tasks. This could reflect disruption of working memory or, alternatively, a reversible state of freezing. In the current series of experiments, reversible slowing due to anticipated threat was studied using the cued Virtual Attack Emotional Sternberg Task (cVAEST). In this task visually neutral cues indicate whether a future virtual attack could or could not occur during the maintenance period of a Sternberg task. Three studies (N = 47, 40, and 40, respectively) were performed by healthy adult participants online. The primary hypothesis was that the cVAEST would evoke anticipatory slowing. Further, the studies aimed to explore details of this novel task, in particular the interval between the cue and probe stimuli and the memory set size. In all studies it was found that threat anticipation slowed RTs on the working memory task. Further, Study 1 (memory set size 3) showed a decrease in RT when the attack occurred over all Cue Stimulus Intervals (CSIs). In Study 2 a minimal memory set of one item was used, under which circumstances RTs following attacks were only faster shortly after cue presentation (CSI 200 and 500 ms), when RTs were high for both threat and safe cues. Study 3 replicated results of Study 2 with more fine-grained time intervals. The results confirm that anticipation of attack stimuli can reversibly slow responses on an independent working memory task. The cVAEST may provide a useful method to study such threat-induced response slowing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E. Gladwin
- Department of Psychology and Counselling, University of Chichester, Chichester, United Kingdom
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Centre for Mental Health, Institute for Lifecourse Development, The University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom
| | - Matthijs Vink
- UMC Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Developmental Psychology and Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Ma X, Ma X, Li P, Liu Y. Differences in Working Memory With Emotional Distraction Between Proficient and Non-proficient Bilinguals. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1414. [PMID: 32625156 PMCID: PMC7314943 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The impact of bilingual education and bilingual experience on working memory has been an important and controversial issue in the field of psycholinguistics. Taking Chinese-English bilinguals as an example, this study aims to investigate the differences in emotional working memory between proficient and non-proficient bilinguals by using delayed matching-to-sample task paradigm and the more complex N-back task in emotional contexts. The results show that proficient bilinguals may have better performance on both of these two working memory tasks than non-proficient bilinguals, and the advantage effects can be more apparent under high memory load conditions. In addition, the negative emotion context could have a positive impact on complex N-back tasks. This study supports the notion that bilingual experience can promote the development of an individual's cognitive ability and enable individuals to possess more advantages in working memory even in the presence of emotional contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xie Ma
- Faculty of Education, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
- Key Laboratory of Educational Information for Nationalities, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
| | - Xiao Ma
- Faculty of Education, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
- Key Laboratory of Educational Information for Nationalities, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
| | - Peng Li
- Faculty of Education, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
- Key Laboratory of Educational Information for Nationalities, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
| | - Yan Liu
- Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
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14
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Plancher G, Massol S, Dorel T, Chainay H. Effect of negative emotional content on attentional maintenance in working memory. Cogn Emot 2018; 33:1489-1496. [PMID: 30584794 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2018.1561420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has shown that emotional stimuli may interfere with working memory (WM) processes, but little is known about the process affected. Using a complex span task, the present study investigated the influence of processing negative emotional content on attentional maintenance in WM. In two experiments conducted under articulatory suppression, participants were asked to remember a series of five letters, each of which was followed by an image to be categorised. In half of the trials, the images were negative and in the other half, they were neutral. In both experiments, our results showed longer processing times for emotional stimuli than neutral stimuli, and lower memory performance when participants processed negative stimuli. We propose that emotional stimuli direct more attentional resources towards the processing component of the WM task, thereby reducing the storage capacity available for the items that are to be remembered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaën Plancher
- a Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2 , Bron , France
| | - Sarah Massol
- a Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2 , Bron , France
| | - Tiphaine Dorel
- a Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2 , Bron , France
| | - Hanna Chainay
- a Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2 , Bron , France
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