Affectively Biased Competition: Sustained Attention is Tuned to Rewarding Expressions and is Not Modulated by Norepinephrine Receptor Gene Variant

It is well established that emotionally salient stimuli evoke greater visual cortex activation than neutral ones, and can distract attention from competing tasks. Yet less is known about underlying neurobiological processes. As a proxy of population level biased competition, EEG steady-state visual evoked potentials are sensitive to competition effects from salient stimuli. Here we wished to examine whether individual differences in norepinephrine activity play a role in emotionally-biased competition. Our previous research has found robust effects of a common variation in the ADRA2B gene, coding for alpha2B norepinephrine (NE) receptors, on emotional modulation of attention and memory. In the present study, EEG was collected while 87 carriers of the ADRA2B deletion variant and 95 non-carriers (final sample) performed a change detection task in which target gratings (gabor patches) were superimposed directly over angry, happy, and neutral faces. Participants indicated the number of phase changes (0–3) in the target. Overlapping targets and distractors were flickered at a distinct driving frequencies. Relative EEG power for faces vs. targets at the driving frequency served as an index of cortical resources allocated to each of the competing stimuli. Deletion carriers and non-carriers were randomly assigned to Discovery and Replication samples and reliability of results across samples was assessed before the groups were combined for greater power. Overall happy faces evoked higher competition than angry or neutral faces; however, we observed no hypothesized effects of ADRA2B. Increased competition from happy faces was not due to the effect of low-level visual features or individuals low in social anxiety. Our results indicate that emotionally biased competition during sustained attention, while reliably observed in young adults, is not influenced by commonly observed individual differences linked to NE receptor function. They further indicate an overall pattern of affectively-biased competition for happy faces, which we interpret in relation to previously observed boundary conditions.

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Affectively biased competition: sustained attention is tuned to rewarding expressions and is not modulated by norepinephrine receptor gene variant

10.1101/442863 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Kevin H. Roberts ◽

Maria G. M. Manaligod ◽

Colin J. D. Ross ◽

Daniel J. Müller ◽

Matthias J. Wieser ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Sustained Attention ◽

Receptor Gene ◽

Population Level ◽

Phase Changes ◽

Attention And Memory ◽

Driving Frequency ◽

Emotional Modulation ◽

Biased Competition ◽

Final Sample

AbstractIt is well established that emotionally salient stimuli evoke greater visual cortex activation than neutral ones, and can distract attention from competing tasks. Yet less is known about underlying neurobiological processes. As a proxy of population level biased competition, EEG steady-state visual evoked potentials are sensitive to competition effects from salient stimuli. Here we wished to examine whether individual differences in norepinephrine activity play a role in emotionally-biased competition.Our previous research has found robust effects of a common variation in the ADRA2B gene, coding for alpha2B norepinephrine (NE) receptors, on emotional modulation of attention and memory. In the present study, EEG was collected while 87 carriers of the ADRA2B deletion variant and 95 non-carriers (final sample) performed a change detection task in which target gratings (gabor patches) were superimposed directly over angry, happy, and neutral faces. Participants indicated the number of phase changes (0-3) in the target. Overlapping targets and distractors were flickered at a distinct driving frequencies. Relative EEG power for faces vs. targets at the driving frequency served as an index of cortical resources allocated to each of the competing stimuli. Deletion carriers and non-carriers were randomly assigned to Discovery and Replication samples and reliability of results across samples was assessed before the groups were combined for greater power.Overall happy faces evoked higher competition than angry or neutral faces; however, we observed no hypothesized effects of ADRA2B. Increased competition from happy faces was not due to the effect of low-level visual features or individuals low in social anxiety. Our results indicate that emotionally biased competition during sustained attention, while reliably observed in young adults, is not influenced by commonly observed individual differences linked to NE receptor function. They further indicate an overall pattern of affectively-biased competition for happy faces, which we interpret in relation to previously observed boundary conditions.

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Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity, Sustained Attention, and Mind-Wandering

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e652022007-001 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer C. Little-McVay ◽

Michael J. Kane

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Sustained Attention ◽

Working Memory Capacity ◽

Memory Capacity ◽

Mind Wandering

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Variation of the human mu-opioid receptor (OPRM1) gene predicts vulnerability to frustration

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-78783-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alan M. Daniel ◽

Brenda G. Rushing ◽

Karla Y. Tapia Menchaca

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Animal Models ◽

Opioid Receptor ◽

Receptor Gene ◽

Emotional Reaction ◽

Mu Opioid Receptor ◽

Reward Processing ◽

Physical Pain ◽

Mu Opioid ◽

Allelic Differences

AbstractUnderstanding the emotional reaction to loss, or frustration, is a critical problem for the field of mental health. Animal models of loss have pointed to the opioid system as a nexus of frustration, physical pain, and substance abuse. However, few attempts have been made to connect the results of animal models of loss to human behavior. Allelic differences in the human mu opioid receptor gene, notably the A118G single nucleotide polymorphism, have been linked to individual differences in pain sensitivity, depressive symptoms, and reward processing. The present study explored the relationship between A118G and behavior in two frustrating tasks in humans. Results showed that carriers of the mutant G-allele were slower to recover behavior following a reward downshift and abandoned a frustrating task earlier than those without the mutation. Additionally, G-carriers were more sensitive to physical pain. These results highlight the overlap between frustration and pain, and suggest that genetic variation in opioid tone may contribute to individual differences in vulnerability and resilience following emotional disturbances.

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Effects of Individual Differences, Attention, and Memory Deficits on Driver Distraction

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1071181320641285 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 1196-1201

Author(s):

Alejandro A. Arca ◽

Kaitlin M. Stanford ◽

Mustapha Mouloua

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Driving Simulator ◽

Memory Deficits ◽

Driving Performance ◽

Driver Distraction ◽

Phone Call ◽

Traffic Density ◽

Attention And Memory ◽

Adhd Diagnosis ◽

Simulated Driving

The current study was designed to empirically examine the effects of individual differences in attention and memory deficits on driver distraction. Forty-eight participants consisting of 37 non-ADHD and 11 ADHD drivers were tested in a medium fidelity GE-ISIM driving simulator. All participants took part in a series of simulated driving scenarios involving both high and low traffic conditions in conjunction with completing a 20-Questions task either by text- message or phone-call. Measures of UFOV, simulated driving, heart rate variability, and subjective (NASA TLX) workload performance were recorded for each of the experimental tasks. It was hypothesized that ADHD diagnosis, type of cellular distraction, and traffic density would affect driving performance as measured by driving performance, workload assessment, and physiological measures. Preliminary results indicated that ADHD diagnosis, type of cellular distraction, and traffic density affected the performance of the secondary task. These results provide further evidence for the deleterious effects of cellphone use on driver distraction, especially for drivers who are diagnosed with attention-deficit and memory capacity deficits. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and directions for future research are also presented.

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