Realistic (3D) looming of emotional visual stimuli: attentional effects at neural and behavioral levels

Previous research shows that endogenous attention (the controlled selection of certain aspects of our environment) is enhanced toward emotional stimuli due to its biological relevance. Although looming affective stimuli such as threat seem even more critical for survival, little is known about their...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Fernández-Folgueiras, Uxía, Méndez-Bértolo, Constantino, Hernández-Lorca, María, Bódalo Tejedor, Cristina, Giménez Fernández, Tamara, Carretie Arangüena, Luis
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/710813
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/710813
https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13785
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:3D
emotion
endogenous attention
ERPs
looming motion
Psicología
Descripción
Sumario:Previous research shows that endogenous attention (the controlled selection of certain aspects of our environment) is enhanced toward emotional stimuli due to its biological relevance. Although looming affective stimuli such as threat seem even more critical for survival, little is known about their effect on endogenous attention. Here, we recorded neural (event-related potentials, ERPs) and behavioral responses (errors and reaction times) to explore the combined effect of emotion and looming motion. 3D-recreated static and moving animals assessed as emotionally positive, negative, and neutral, were presented to participants (n = 71), who performed an indirect categorization task (vertebrate vs. invertebrate). Behavioral results showed better task performance, as reflected by lower number of errors and reaction times, in response to threatening stimuli. Neural indices revealed significant early (P1p, 150 milliseconds), intermediate (P2p, 240), and late (LPP, 450) effects, the latter being more intensely associated with behavior, as revealed by regression analyses. In general, neural indexes of attention to both static and dynamic stimuli showed a positivity offset in early stages and a negativity bias in subsequent phases. However, and importantly, the progressive inclusion of negative stimuli in the attentional focus is produced earlier in the case of dynamic (at P2p latency) than in static versions (at LPP). These results point to an enhancement of attention, particularly in temporal terms, toward stimuli combining motion and biological significance