Exploration of Exogenous Attention to Disgust and Fear Pictures with Different Spatial Frequencies Through Event-related Potentials

AbstractThe capture of exogenous attention by negative stimuli has been interpreted as adaptive for survival in a diverse and changing environment. In the present paper, we investigate the neural responses towards two discrete negative emotions with different biological meanings, disgust and fear, and its potential relationships with heart rate variability (HRV) as an index of emotional regulation. With that aim, 30 participants performed a digit categorization task while fear, disgust and neutral distractor pictures were presented. Resting HRV at baseline, behavioral responses, and event-related potentials were recorded. Whereas P1 amplitudes were highest to fear distractors, the disgust stimulation led to augmented P2 amplitudes compared to the rest of distractors. Interestingly, increased N2 amplitudes were also found to disgust distractors, but only in high HRV participants. Neural source estimation data point to the involvement of the insula in this exogenous attentional response to disgust. Additionally, disgust distractors provoked longer reaction times than fear and neutral distractors in the high HRV group. Present findings are interpreted in evolutionary terms suggesting that exogenous attention is captured by negative stimuli following a different time course for fear and disgust. Possible HRV influences on neural mechanisms underlying exogenous attention are discussed considering the potential important role of this variable in emotional regulation processes.

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Effects of social and affective content on exogenous attention as revealed by event-related potentials

Cognition & Emotion ◽

10.1080/02699931.2018.1486287 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 683-695 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Vladimir Kosonogov ◽

Jose M. Martinez-Selva ◽

Eduvigis Carrillo-Verdejo ◽

Ginesa Torrente ◽

Luis Carretié ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Event Related Potentials ◽

Exogenous Attention ◽

Affective Content ◽

Related Potentials

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Prejudice drives exogenous attention to outgroups

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience ◽

10.1093/scan/nsaa087 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (6) ◽

pp. 615-624

Author(s):

Tamara Giménez-Fernández ◽

Dominique Kessel ◽

Uxía Fernández-Folgueiras ◽

Sabela Fondevila ◽

Constantino Méndez-Bértolo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reaction Times ◽

Automatic Detection ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Focus Of Attention ◽

Exogenous Attention ◽

Behavioral Measures ◽

N170 Amplitude ◽

Categorization Task ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Implicit Prejudice

Abstract Exogenous attention allows the automatic detection of relevant stimuli and the reorientation of our current focus of attention towards them. Faces from an ethnic outgroup tend to capture exogenous attention to a greater extent than faces from an ethnic ingroup. We explored whether prejudice toward the outgroup, rather than lack of familiarity, is driving this effect. Participants (N = 76) performed a digit categorization task while distractor faces were presented. Faces belonged to (i) a prejudiced outgroup, (ii) a non-prejudiced outgroup and (iii) their ingroup. Half of the faces were previously habituated in order to increase their familiarity. Reaction times, accuracy and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to index exogenous attention to distractor faces. Additionally, different indexes of explicit and implicit prejudice were measured, the latter being significantly greater towards prejudiced outgroup. N170 amplitude was greater to prejudiced outgroup—regardless of their habituation status—than to both non-prejudiced outgroup and ingroup faces and was associated with implicit prejudice measures. No effects were observed at the behavioral level. Our results show that implicit prejudice, rather than familiarity, is under the observed attention-related N170 effects and that this ERP component may be more sensitive to prejudice than behavioral measures under certain circumstances.

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In exogenous attention, time is the clue: Brain and heart interactions to survive threatening stimuli

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0243117 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. e0243117

Author(s):

Elisabeth Ruiz-Padial ◽

Francisco Mercado

Keyword(s):

Emotional Regulation ◽

Time Course ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Exogenous Attention ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Negative Stimuli

The capture of exogenous attention by negative stimuli has been interpreted as adaptive for survival in a diverse and changing environment. In the present paper, we investigate the neural responses towards two discrete negative emotions with different biological meanings, disgust and fear, and its potential relationships with heart rate variability (HRV) as an index of emotional regulation. With that aim, 30 participants performed a digit categorization task while fear, disgust and neutral distractor pictures were presented. Resting HRV at baseline, behavioral responses, and event-related potentials were recorded. Whereas P1 amplitudes were highest to fear distractors, the disgust stimulation led to augmented P2 amplitudes compared to the rest of distractors. Interestingly, increased N2 amplitudes were also found to disgust distractors, but only in high HRV participants. Neural source estimation data point to the involvement of the insula in this exogenous attentional response to disgust. Additionally, disgust distractors provoked longer reaction times than fear and neutral distractors in the high HRV group. Present findings are interpreted in evolutionary terms suggesting that exogenous attention is captured by negative stimuli following a different time course for fear and disgust. Possible HRV influences on neural mechanisms underlying exogenous attention are discussed considering the potential important role of this variable in emotional regulation processes.

Download Full-text