Temporal processing of emotional stimuli: The capture and release of attention by angry faces

Neuroimaging data suggest that emotional information, especially threatening faces, automatically captures attention and receives rapid processing. While this is consistent with the majority of behavioral data, behavioral studies of the attentional blink (AB) additionally reveal that aversive emotional first target (T1) stimuli are associated with prolonged attentional engagement or “dwell” time. One explanation for this difference is that few AB studies have utilized manipulations of facial emotion as the T1. To address this, schematic faces varying in expression (neutral, angry, happy) served as the T1 in the current research. Results revealed that the blink associated with an angry T1 face was, primarily, of greater magnitude than that associated with either a neutral or happy T1 face, and also that initial recovery from this processing bias was faster following angry, compared with happy, T1 faces. The current data therefore provide important information regarding the time-course of attentional capture by angry faces: Angry faces are associated with both the rapid capture and rapid release of attention.N/

Behavioural and neuroimaging investigations of the relationship between visual attention, affordance and action

In this thesis the relationship between visual attention, affordance and action was investigated using a combination of neuroimaging and behavioural studies. Neuronal activity and movement construction were assessed when individuals passively viewed or produced action towards stimuli varying in their affordance and/or attentional attributes. The main findings were: (i) the passive perception of both object and abstract visual patterns was associated with decreased alpha and/or beta activity in sensori-motor cortex, occipito-temporal cortex and cerebellum. These are brain regions associated with the planning and production of visually guided action; (ii) for object patterns, decreased alpha and beta activity was also observed in regions of superior parietal and premotor cortex. These regions contain neurons argued to be essential for matching hand kinematics with manipulate objects; and (iii) in both control participants and a deafferented individual, studies of planned and unplanned pointing manoeuvres revealed that the attentional bias of a stimulus was critical for fast, efficient action production whereas the affordance bias was critical in determining end-point accuracy. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that affordance is not a necessary prerequisite for the potential of motor codes. Rather, affordance enables the construction of motor responses that reflect object functionality and/or manipulability. They further demonstrate that visual attention is associated with the potentiation of motor codes. Indeed, directed visual attention would appear critical for speeded responses. These findings provide new insights into the roles of directed visual attention and affordance upon action

Joy and calm: how an evolutionary functional model of affect regulation informs positive emotions in nature

Key theories of the human need for nature take an evolutionary perspective, and many of the mental well-being benefits of nature relate to positive affect. As affect has a physiological basis, it is important to consider these benefits alongside regulatory processes. However, research into nature and positive affect tends not to consider affect regulation and the neurophysiology of emotion. This brief systematic review and meta-analysis presents evidence to support the use of an existing evolutionary functional model of affect regulation (the three circle model of emotion) that provides a tripartite framework in which to consider the mental well-being benefits of nature and to guide nature-based well-being interventions. The model outlines drive, contentment and threat dimensions of affect regulation based on a review of the emotion regulation literature. The model has been used previously for understanding mental well-being, delivering successful mental health-care interventions and providing directions for future research. Finally, the three circle model is easily understood in the context of our everyday lives, providing an accessible physiological-based narrative to help explain the benefits of nature

Behavioural and neuroimaging investigations of the relationship between visual attention, affordance and action

In this thesis the relationship between visual attention, affordance and action was investigated using a combination of neuroimaging and behavioural studies. Neuronal activity and movement construction were assessed when individuals passively viewed or produced action towards stimuli varying in their affordance and/or attentional attributes. The main findings were: (i) the passive perception of both object and abstract visual patterns was associated with decreased alpha and/or beta activity in sensori-motor cortex, occipito-temporal cortex and cerebellum. These are brain regions associated with the planning and production of visually guided action; (ii) for object patterns, decreased alpha and beta activity was also observed in regions of superior parietal and premotor cortex. These regions contain neurons argued to be essential for matching hand kinematics with manipulate objects; and (iii) in both control participants and a deafferented individual, studies of planned and unplanned pointing manoeuvres revealed that the attentional bias of a stimulus was critical for fast, efficient action production whereas the affordance bias was critical in determining end-point accuracy. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that affordance is not a necessary prerequisite for the potential of motor codes. Rather, affordance enables the construction of motor responses that reflect object functionality and/or manipulability. They further demonstrate that visual attention is associated with the potentiation of motor codes. Indeed, directed visual attention would appear critical for speeded responses. These findings provide new insights into the roles of directed visual attention and affordance upon action.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Predictors of painkiller dependence among people with pain in the general population

Aims: Self-medication with painkillers is widespread and increasing, and evidence about influences on painkiller dependence is needed to inform efforts to prevent and treat problem painkiller use. Design: Online questionnaire survey. Participants: People in the general population who had pain and used painkillers in the last month (n=112). Measurements: Pain frequency and intensity, use of over-the-counter and prescription painkillers, risk of substance abuse (SOAPP scale), depression, anxiety, stress, alexithymia, pain catastrophizing, pain anxiety, pain self-efficacy, pain acceptance, mindfulness, self-compassion, and painkiller dependence (Leeds Dependence Questionnaire). Findings: In multiple regression, the independent predictors of painkiller dependence were prescription painkiller use (ß 0.21), SOAPP score (ß 0.31), and pain acceptance (ß -0.29). Prescription painkiller use mediated the influence of pain intensity. Alexithymia, anxiety and pain acceptance all moderated the influence of pain. Conclusions: The people most at risk of developing painkiller dependence are those who use prescription painkillers more frequently, who have a prior history of substance-related problems more generally, and who are less accepting of pain. Based on these findings, a preliminary model is presented with three types of influence on the development of painkiller dependence: a) pain leading to painkiller use, b) risk factors for substance-related problems irrespective of pain, and c) psychological factors related to pain. The model could guide further research among the general population and high risk groups, and acceptance-based interventions could be adapted and evaluated as methods to prevent and treat painkiller dependence.The Leonardo Da Vinci Lifelong Learning Programme funded Joana Duarte’s graduate research placement at the University of Derb

The effects of anxiety on temporal attention for emotive and neutral faces in children

OBJECTIVES: Cognitive theories suggest that the aetiology and maintenance of anxiety are associated with biases of attention for threatening information. However, findings relating to studies in child populations are inconsistent and the majority of such research has focused on spatial attentional biases. Consequently, the aim here was to investigate the effects of anxiety on temporal biases of attention for emotive stimuli in children. METHODS: A total of 53 children, aged eight to eleven, were preselected for levels of trait anxiety to participate in an attentional blink task. On each trial, two target stimuli (i.e., a neutral face and either a happy or angry face) appeared in a stream of consecutively presented distracters (i.e., scrambled face stimuli). Participants were required to report which face(s) they had seen. RESULTS: A mixed analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction between anxiety and trial type, such that high trait anxiety was associated with facilitated engagement towards angry, compared with happy and neutral, faces. In addition, high trait, relative to low trait, anxious participants displayed facilitated engagement towards neutral faces. CONCLUSIONS: Findings offer support for cognitive theories, which purport that attentional bias for threat is an innate phenomenon and moderated according to anxiety level. The neutral face finding may further suggest that maladaptive assumptions/beliefs, particularly concerning ambiguous situations, play a role in the aetiology and/or maintenance of anxiety disorders. This research offers important clinical implications in relation to attention retraining that has been used to successfully attenuate such biases in anxious adults.N/

Desarrollo de un currículo de compasión para el cáncer para pacientes con cáncer de mama en etapas I-III y sobrevivientes de cáncer. Orígenes, fundamentos y observaciones iniciales

Compassion is an intrinsic trait and is linked to psychological and physiological well-being. It can be trained and improved through a systematic contemplative training programme. The purpose of this paper is to present a new training programme for cancer patients and survivors (CforC) that was designed and tested in a pilot study. We review the potential benefits of CforC which include attention regulation, self-regulation, mental awareness, and acceptance of physical sensations (including pain experiences). We also consider limitations. Results of the pilot suggest that the current intervention is feasible and provides potential psychological benefits for female breast cancer patients/survivors. Future research may benefit from examining other potential effects of the CforC programme, including emotional and physical outcomes in cancer patients and survivors, and the application of the intervention to other populations of chronically ill patients.N/

The origins of disordered eating and childhood food neophobia: Applying an anxiety perspective.

A plethora of research now demonstrates that processes of visual attention towards certain stimuli (particularly threat) influences vulnerability to, and the maintenance of, anxiety disorders. Here parallels can be drawn with food neophobia and the eating disorder literature. As such, the application of knowledge from anxiety research may prove useful in increasing our understanding of food neophobia (and disordered eating more generally). In this chapter, we first present a review of the main components of attentional bias, before demonstrating that similar processes of visual attention (i.e. facilitated engagement, delayed disengagement and/or avoidance) are apparent within both adult and child (disordered) eating. These biases, as with anxiety disorders, could potentially exacerbate the specific eating condition. We also briefly review evidence concerning the effectiveness of attentional training in treating anxiety disorders, and suggest that such therapies may be applicable in the treatment of disordered eating/childhood food neophobia. Thus, we hope our work inspires further investigation of the usefulness of an anxiety-disordered approach when considering future research in this area.N/

Do cardiovascular responses to active and passive coping tasks predict future blood pressure 10 months later?

The study examined whether cardiovascular responses to active or passive coping tasks and single or multiple tasks predicted changes in resting blood pressure (BP) over a ten-month period. Heart rate (HR), BP, cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were measured at rest, and during mental stress tests (mental arithmetic, speech, and cold pressor tasks). A total of 104 eligible participants participated in the initial study, and 77 (74.04%) normotensive adult participants’ resting BP were re-evaluated at ten-month follow-up. Regression analyses indicated that after adjustment for baseline BP, initial age, gender, body mass index, family history of cardiovascular disease, and current cigarette smoking, heightened systolic blood pressure (SBP) and HR responses to an active coping task (mental arithmetic) were associated with increased future SBP (R2 = .060, R2 =.045, respectively). Further, when aggregated, SBP responsivity (over the three tasks) resulted in a significant, but smaller increase in R2 accounting for .040 of the variance of follow-up SBP. These findings suggest that cardiovascular responses to active coping tasks predict future SBP. Furtherthe findings revealed that SBP responses to the tasks when aggregated were less predictive compared to an individual task (i.e., mental arithmetic). Of importance, hemodynamic reactivity (namely CO and TPR) did not predict future BP; suggesting that more general psychophysiological processes (e.g., inflammation, platelet aggregation) may be implicated, or that BP, but not hemodynamic reactivity may be a marker of hypertension

Emotional faces, visuo-spatial working memory and anxiety

Recent research has demonstrated competition for limited cognitive resources, via emotional prioritization, occurs not only during attentional capture, but also extends to visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM). However, to what extent VSWM biases are influenced by individual differences such as anxiety has received limited attention. Here, we investigated this using a novel change detection paradigm with memory arrays containing 3, 4 or 5 emotional faces (angry, happy and neutral) and participants (n=41), preselected to be high or low trait anxious. The task of participants was to detect if a probe face, presented in the location of one of the original memory array faces, was the ‘same’ or ‘different’. On ‘no change’ trials results revealed that high anxious participants demonstrated poorer performance for larger set sizes than low anxious participants per se. Additionally, high anxious participants demonstrated a threat bias, whereas low anxious participants trended toward emotion superiority. On ‘change’ trials, change detection altered as a function of expression change; change detection was typically greatest when either the memory or probe face was angry. Results reveal VSWM capacity is modulated by trait anxiety and stimulus threat value, as well as highlight the importance of actively investigating (or controlling for) individual differences.N/