Towards a constructionist approach to emotions : verification of the three-dimensional model of affect with EEG-independent component analysis

The locationist model of affect, which assumes separate brain structures devoted to particular discrete emotions, is currently being questioned as it has not received enough convincing experimental support. An alternative, constructionist approach suggests that our emotional states emerge from the interaction between brain functional networks, which are related to more general, continuous affective categories. In the study, we tested whether the three-dimensional model of affect based on valence, arousal, and dominance (VAD) can reflect brain activity in a more coherent way than the traditional locationist approach. Independent components of brain activity were derived from spontaneous EEG recordings and localized using the DIPFIT method. The correspondence between the spectral power of the revealed brain sources and a mood self-report quantified on the VAD space was analysed. Activation of four (out of nine) clusters of independent brain sources could be successfully explained by the specific combination of three VAD dimensions. The results support the constructionist theory of emotions

Religious fundamentalism modulates neural responses to error-related words : the role of motivation toward closure

Examining the relationship between brain activity and religious fundamentalism, this study explores whether fundamentalist religious beliefs increase responses to error-related words among participants intolerant to uncertainty (i.e., high in the need for closure) in comparison to those who have a high degree of toleration for uncertainty (i.e., those who are low in the need for closure). We examine a negative-going event-related brain potentials occurring 400 ms after stimulus onset (the N400) due to its well-understood association with the reactions to emotional conflict. Religious fundamentalism and tolerance of uncertainty were measured on self-report measures, and electroencephalographic neural reactivity was recorded as participants were performing an emotional Stroop task. In this task, participants read neutral words and words related to uncertainty, errors, and pondering, while being asked to name the color of the ink with which the word is written. The results confirm that among people who are intolerant of uncertainty (i.e., those high in the need for closure), religious fundamentalism is associated with an increased N400 on error-related words compared with people who tolerate uncertainty well (i.e., those low in the need for closure)

Effective connectivity during visual processing is affected by emotional state

The limitations of our cognitive resources necessitate the selection of relevant information from the incoming visual stream. This selection and prioritizing of stimuli allows the organism to adapt to the current conditions. However, the characteristics of this process vary with time and depend on numerous external and internal factors. The present study was aimed at determining how the emotional state affects effective connectivity between visual, attentional and control brain areas during the perception of affective visual stimuli. The Directed Transfer Function was applied on a 32-electrode EEG recording to quantify the direction and intensity of the information flow during two sessions: positive and negative. These data were correlated with a self-report of the emotional state. We demonstrated that the current mood, as measured by self-report, is a factor which affects the patterns of effective cortical connectivity. An increase in prefrontal top-down control over the visual and attentional areas was revealed in a state of tension. It was accompanied by increased outflow within and from the areas recognized as the ventral attentional network. By contrast, a positive emotional state was associated with heightened flow from the parietal to the occipital area. The functional significance of the revealed effects is discussed

Subjective mood estimation co-varies with spectral power EEG characteristics

Co-variation between subjectively estimated mood/activation and EEG characteristics, based on spectral power parameters, was investigated. Subjective estimation of mood was made by using Thayer’s Activation-Deactivation Adjective Checklist, which yielded two dimensions: Energy-Tiredness (with Energy pole having positive valence connotation) and Tension-Calmness (negative connotation for Tension). A within-subject design with two sessions of EEG recording immediately followed by mood assessment was applied. These were separated by a cognitive task, introduced in order to modify the subjects’ mood. The correlations between changes in mood estimation and changes in EEG spectral power parameters were calculated. Both ADACL dimensions co-varied with EEG in a specific way according to frequency and localization. Subjective estimation of Energy correlated negatively with alpha1 and, surprisingly, positively with delta, theta1 as well as theta2 relative power. Estimation of Tension correlated positively with theta1 and beta1, and negatively with alpha2 relative power. Presented results suggest that the adjective description of mood has objectively-measurable brain correlates in the EEG

High working memory load impairs reappraisal but facilitates distraction : an event-related potential investigation

The present experiments investigated the impact of working memory (WM) load on emotion regulation (ER) efficacy using reappraisal (Experiment 1, n = 30) and distraction (Experiment 2, n = 30). Considering that WM is necessary for storage, elaboration, and manipulation of information and that reappraisal acts by storing, elaborating, and manipulating the stimulus meaning, we hypothesized that high (versus low) WM-load would reduce reappraisal efficacy. By contrast, given that distraction acts by blocking elaborated processing of the stimulus meaning, we expected that high WM-load would enhance distraction efficacy. To test these predictions, we employed a dual-task paradigm in which a low- or high WM-load task was combined with an ER (reappraisal or distraction) task. We measured the Late Positive Potential (LPP)–an electrocortical marker of sustained motivated attention, and a well-established index of emotional arousal–in response to negative pictures. Results confirmed that although reappraisal successfully reduced the LPP amplitude in the down- compared to up-regulation condition in low WM-load trials, high WM-load eliminated this difference, suggesting the disrupting influence of high WM-load on ER for reappraisal (Experiment 1). By contrast, although distraction failed to modulate the LPP amplitude in low WM-load trials, the difference between down- and no-regulation conditions was significant when distraction was combined with high WM-load, suggesting the facilitatory influence of high WM-load on ER for distraction (Experiment 2). Our findings show that the effect of WM-load on ER is strategy-dependent, and that the availability of WM resources is an important situational moderator of ER efficacy in healthy young adults

Interactions between the prefrontal cortex and attentional systems during volitional affective regulation : an effective connectivity reappraisal study

Reappraisal is an emotion regulation strategy used to change reactions to emotion-related stimuli by reinterpreting their meaning. During down-regulation of negative emotions, wide areas of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) inhibit emotion-related brain areas such as the amygdala. Little is known, however, about how this control activity influences the earliest stages of affective responses by modulating perceptual and attentional areas. The aim of this study is to identify the connectivity patterns between the PFC and the core regions of two well-known attentional networks: the dorsal attentional network (which controls attention volitionally) and the ventral attentional network (which controls attention spontaneously) during reappraisal. We used a novel method to study emotional control processes: the directed transfer function, an autoregressive effective connectivity method based on Granger causality. It was applied to EEG recordings to quantify the direction and intensity of information flow during passively watching (control condition) or reappraising (experimental condition) negative film clips. Reappraisal was mostly associated with increased top-down influences from the right dorsolateral PFC over attentional and perceptual areas, reaching areas including dorsal attentional regions. The left dorsolateral PFC was associated with the activation of the ventral attentional network. Passively watching clips (control condition) resulted in increased flow from attentional areas to the left dorsolateral PFC, what is interpreted as a monitoring process. Thus, reappraisal seems to be related to both volitional and automatic control of attention, triggered by the right and left dorsolateral PFC respectively

From threat to relief : expressing prejudice toward atheists as a self-regulatory strategy protecting the religious orthodox from threat

We claim that religious orthodoxy is related to prejudice toward groups that violate important values, i.e., atheists. Moreover, we suggest that expressing prejudice may efficiently reduce the threat posed by this particular group among people who hold high levels, but not low levels, of orthodox belief. We tested these assumptions in an experimental study in which, after being exposed to atheistic worldviews (value-threat manipulation), high and low orthodox participants were allowed (experimental condition) or not (control condition) to express prejudice toward atheists. Threat was operationalized by cardiovascular reactivity, i.e., heart rate (HR); the higher the HR index, the higher the threat. The results found that people who hold high (vs. low) levels of orthodox belief responded with increased HR after the threat manipulation. However, we observed decreased HR after the expression of prejudice toward atheists among highly orthodox participants compared to the control condition. We did not find this effect among people holding low levels of orthodox belief. Thus, we conclude that expressing prejudice toward this particular group may be an efficient strategy to cope with the threat posed by this group for highly orthodox people. The results are discussed in light of previous findings on religious beliefs and the self-regulatory function of prejudice