The objective of the present application is to understand the mechanisms of interaction between emotional perception and visual attention. The central hypothesis is that the processing of emotional stimuli requires processing resources that depend on attention and therefore does not occur automatically. We also hypothesize that emotional stimuli have a competitive advantage over neutral ones. Our hypotheses are based, in part, upon our recent fMRI findings that differential responses to emotional faces are abolished when subjects are engaged in a concurrent, demanding task, even though the faces were in the center of the visual field. We will test our hypotheses by pursuing three specific aims, which will employ a combination of behavioral and fMRI studies. In all aims, we will attempt to identify the brain networks underlying interactions between emotional perception and attention.
Aim #1 : Determine the extent to which aware emotional perception depends on attention. We expect that the extent to which emotional stimuli are processed, even in the amygdala, depends on the extent to which processing resources are consumed by concurrent tasks.
Aim #2 : Determine the extent to which unaware emotional perception depends on attention. The working hypothesis for this aim, based on our recent results, is that even the processing of stimuli that subjects are unaware of (""""""""subliminal"""""""" perception) requires attentional resources.
Aim #3 : Determine how emotional processing guides attention and perception. The working hypothesis for this aim is that emotional processing biases perception, such that emotional stimuli are prioritized (this is expected when sufficient processing resources are available). Moreover, we hypothesize that such competitive advantage is directly linked to the modulation of cortical activation that is observed when subjects view emotional images. Our long-range goal is to contribute to a better understanding of the basic mechanisms by which emotional and cognitive brain systems interact in the generation of complex behavior. ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH071589-03
Application #
7056123
Study Section
Cognitive Neuroscience Study Section (COG)
Program Officer
Glanzman, Dennis L
Project Start
2004-06-01
Project End
2006-11-21
Budget Start
2006-04-01
Budget End
2006-11-21
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$87,050
Indirect Cost
Name
Brown University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
001785542
City
Providence
State
RI
Country
United States
Zip Code
02912
Padmala, Srikanth; Sambuco, Nicola; Codispoti, Maurizio et al. (2018) Attentional capture by simultaneous pleasant and unpleasant emotional distractors. Emotion 18:1189-1194
Liu, Chihuang; JaJa, Joseph; Pessoa, Luiz (2018) LEICA: Laplacian eigenmaps for group ICA decomposition of fMRI data. Neuroimage 169:363-373
Meyer, Christian; Padmala, Srikanth; Pessoa, Luiz (2018) Dynamic Threat Processing. J Cogn Neurosci :1-21
Venkatesh, Manasij; Jaja, Joseph; Pessoa, Luiz (2018) Brain dynamics and temporal trajectories during task and naturalistic processing. Neuroimage 186:410-423
Pessoa, Luiz (2018) Embracing integration and complexity: placing emotion within a science of brain and behaviour. Cogn Emot :1-6
Gentry, Ronny N; Roesch, Matthew R (2018) Neural Activity in Ventral Medial Prefrontal Cortex Is Modulated More Before Approach Than Avoidance During Reinforced and Extinction Trial Blocks. J Neurosci 38:4584-4597
Pessoa, Luiz (2018) Understanding emotion with brain networks. Curr Opin Behav Sci 19:19-25
Pessoa, Luiz (2017) A Network Model of the Emotional Brain. Trends Cogn Sci 21:357-371
Pessoa, Luiz (2017) Do Intelligent Robots Need Emotion? Trends Cogn Sci 21:817-819
Padmala, Srikanth; Sirbu, Mihai; Pessoa, Luiz (2017) Potential reward reduces the adverse impact of negative distractor stimuli. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 12:1402-1413

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