Attention modulates emotional expression processing

作者：Wronka Eligiusz^*; Walentowska Wioleta

来源：Psychophysiology, 2011, 48(8): 1047-1056.

DOI：10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01180.x

• Emotional expression
• Attention
• Event-related potentials

To investigate the time course of emotional expression processing, we recorded ERPs to facial stimuli. The first task was to discriminate emotional expressions. Enhanced negativity of the face-specific N170 was elicited by emotional as opposed to neutral faces, followed by the occipital negativity (240-340 ms poststimulus). The second task was to classify face gender. Here, N170 was unaffected by the emotional expression. However, emotional expression effect was expressed in the anterior positivity (160-250 ms poststimulus) and subsequent occipital negativity (240-340 ms poststimulus). Results support the thesis that structural encoding relevant to gender recognition and simultaneous expression analysis are independent processes. Attention modulates facial emotion processing 140-185 ms poststimulus. Involuntary differentiation of facial expression was observed later (160-340 ms poststimulus), suggesting unintentional attention capture.

• 出版日期2011-8