The timing and neural correlates of emotion effects on auditory processing
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1
University of Barcelona, Spain
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2
Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, University of Barcelona, Spain
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3
Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior (IR3C), Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, University of Barcelona, Spain
Previous studies have shown a preferential sensory processing in a threatening context. An enhanced brain response and distraction to novel sounds has been observed if something in the environment indicates potential danger. The sequence and subjacent neural circuit of this modulation however, remain unknown. This study aims at investigating a possible phasic effect of emotional processing on auditory perception at behavioral and electrophysiological levels. Source localization algorithms were performed in order to localize the brain sources of the differential auditory processing under neutral and negative emotional contexts. The EEG of 18 young women was recorded (64 channels, 512 Hz) while responding to a discrimination task of faces with neutral or frightened expressions (400 ms on screen). A complex tone (75 ms duration), which the subjects were instructed to ignore, was played either simultaneously with the face images or in different time intervals after image onset. Event-related potential analyses of early auditory components revealed an increased brain response in presence of emotional pictures. Importantly, this effect occurred when the tone followed the picture by 50, 100 and 150ms, but not when stimuli were presented simultaneously or if the sound followed the picture after 200ms. The same brain areas were active in both emotional conditions, but incremented for the negative condition at the superior temporal gyrus (STG), prefrontal and superior parietal areas. These results provide evidence for a phasic, fast operating effect of emotion on cross-modal sensory processing, resulting in facilitation for emotion on concomitantly presented stimuli at the level of primary sensory cortices, even in another sensory modality and without paying attention. Funding: Spanish Ministry of Education & Science [PSI2009-08063],Spanish Ministry of Science & Innovation [SEJ2006-00496/PSIC],Catalan Government [SGR2009-11].
Keywords:
auditory,
emotion
Conference:
XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Poster Sessions: Emotion, Motivation and the Social Brain
Citation:
Selinger
A,
Domínguez-Borràs
J and
Escera
C
(2011). The timing and neural correlates of emotion effects on auditory processing.
Conference Abstract:
XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00153
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Received:
17 Nov 2011;
Published Online:
28 Nov 2011.
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Correspondence:
Dr. Anne-Lenka Selinger, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, lenkaselinger@ub.edu