Biologically relevant emotion processing does not interfere with Self- versus Other- referenced emotion discrimination: An Electroencephalography study
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1
University of Newcastle, Australia
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2
Priority Research Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Newcastle, Australia
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3
University of Wuerzburg, Department of Psychology, Germany
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4
University of Tuebingen, University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Germany
Background: The relationship between emotion and self-awareness has rarely been addressed in neuroscience despite the potential clinical relevance of this knowledge. So far, existing studies have investigated this relationship using pronouns combined with emotion words such as ‘my fear’. These EEG studies have revealed that the interaction between emotion and self-other awareness develops hierarchically across several stages of information processing. The aim of the current study was to determine the time-course of these interactions using a biologically relevant paradigm of emotion processing, involving pictures rather than words.
Method: Brain potential changes were recorded for 20 healthy participants while they passively viewed negative, positive and neutral emotional pictures during three blocks of referential instructions. Each participant imagined themself, an unknown person or no one experiencing the emotional scenario, with the priming words ‘You’, ‘Him’ or ‘None’ presented before each picture for the respective block of instructions. Participants rated each picture on emotional valence and arousal scales using the Self-Assessment Manikin immediately after each 5 second picture presentation.
Results: Visually evoked potentials in the occipital cortex were rapidly influenced by emotional valence, with positive stimuli eliciting a significant Early Posterior Negativity within the range of 140-180ms. Consistent with word models of referential emotion processing, personal ownership (Self and Other) elicited stronger positive potentials than did no ownership (No one) within the range of 200-300ms. Between 300 and 450ms Self-referential processing was significantly pronounced, but only when combined with positively valenced emotion ownership.
Discussion: The findings firstly suggest that, for pictures, emotion valence is processed earlier in the brain than is emotion ownership. This early effect may be unique to emotional pictures, and perhaps a direct result of their biological relevance. Second, the findings confirm previous literature, demonstrating that self-other discrimination involves two hierarchical stages of processing, beginning with the selective processing of information with any personal reference over no reference. This is followed by the selective processing of information directly referred to the Self, where it is theorised that a proper distinction between Self and Other first evolves.
Keywords:
Emotion Ownership,
EEG,
emotional pictures,
self-other discrimination,
Visually Evoked Potentials,
self-awareness
Conference:
ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference, Clayton, Melbourne, Australia, 28 Nov - 1 Dec, 2013.
Presentation Type:
Poster
Topic:
Emotion and Social
Citation:
Mavratzakis
AL,
Herbert
C and
Walla
P
(2013). Biologically relevant emotion processing does not interfere with Self- versus Other- referenced emotion discrimination: An Electroencephalography study.
Conference Abstract:
ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.212.00018
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Received:
15 Oct 2013;
Published Online:
25 Nov 2013.
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Correspondence:
Miss. Aimee L Mavratzakis, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia, Aimee.Mavratzakis@uon.edu.au