Early modulation of visual perception by emotional arousal: Evidence from steady-state visual evoked brain potentials

Allocation of processing resources to emotional picture stimuli was examined using steady-state visual evoked brain potentials (ssVEPs). Participants viewed a set of 60 colored affective pictures from the International Affective Picture System, presented in a flickering mode at 10 Hz in order to eli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cognitive, affective, & behavioral neuroscience affective, & behavioral neuroscience, 2003-09, Vol.3 (3), p.195-206
Main Authors: KEIL, Andreas, GRUBER, Thomas, MÜLLER, Matthias M, MORATTI, Stephan, STOLAROVA, Margarita, BRADLEY, Margaret M, LANG, Peter J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Affectivity. Emotion
Analysis of Variance
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain - physiology
Brain Mapping
Case-Control Studies
Electroencephalography
Electrophysiology
Emotions
Evoked Potentials, Visual - physiology
Female
Functional Laterality
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Male
Personality. Affectivity
Photic Stimulation
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Self-Assessment
Time Factors
Visual Perception - physiology
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Summary:Allocation of processing resources to emotional picture stimuli was examined using steady-state visual evoked brain potentials (ssVEPs). Participants viewed a set of 60 colored affective pictures from the International Affective Picture System, presented in a flickering mode at 10 Hz in order to elicit ssVEPs. Phase and amplitude of the 10-Hz ssVEP were examined for six picture categories: threat and mutilation (unpleasant), families and erotica (pleasant), and household objects and persons (neutral). Self-reported affective arousal and hedonic valence of the picture stimuli were assessed by means of subjective ratings. Viewing affectively arousing (unpleasant and pleasant) pictures was associated with enhanced ssVEP amplitude at parieto-occipital recording sites, as compared with neutral stimuli. Phase information suggested increased coactivation of right occipitotemporal and frontotemporal sources during processing of affectively arousing stimuli. These findings are consistent with reentrant modulation of early visual processing by distributed networks including subcortical and neocortical structures according to a stimulus's motivational relevance.
ISSN:1530-7026
1531-135X
DOI:10.3758/cabn.3.3.195