Stability of emotion-modulated startle during short and long picture presentation.

Abstract Following reports on improved test–retest reliability of emotion-modulated startle during a 6-s picture presentation when different pictures are presented at each assessment (Larson et al., 2000) and data suggesting that brief picture presentations also elicit affective blink modulation (Codispoti, Bradley, & Lang, 2001), we assessed test–retest reliability of blink modulation during brief picture presentations. […]

Fear is fast in phobic individuals: Amygdala activation in response to fear-relevant stimuli.

Abstract Background: Two core characteristics of pathologic fear are its rapid onset and resistance to cognitive regulation. We hypothesized that activation of the amygdala early in the presentation of fear-relevant visual stimuli would distinguish phobics from nonphobics. Methods: Chronometry of amygdala activation to phobia-relevant pictures was assessed in 13 spider phobics and 14 nonphobics using […]

Common and distinct patterns of affective response in dimensions of anxiety and depression.

Abstract The authors examined the time course of affective responding associated with different affective dimensions—anxious apprehension, anxious arousal, and anhedonic depression— using an emotionmodulated startle paradigm. Participants high on 1 of these 3 dimensions and nonsymptomatic control participants viewed a series of affective pictures with acoustic startle probes presented before, during, and after the stimuli. […]

The shape of threat: Simple geometric forms evoke rapid and sustained capture of attention.

Abstract Previous work has indicated that simple geometric shapes underlying facial expressions are capable of conveying emotional meaning. Specifically, a series of studies found that a simple shape, a downwardpointing “V,” which is similar to the geometric configuration of the face in angry expressions, is perceived as threatening. A parallel line of research has determined […]

Cortical activation to indoor versus outdoor scenes: an fMRI study.

Abstract Prior studies identify two cortical areas, posterior parahippocampal cortex and retrosplenial cortex, that preferentially activate to images of real-world scenes compared to images of other meaningful visual stimuli such as objects and faces. Behavioral and computational studies suggest that sub categories of real-world scenes differ in their visual and semantic properties. It is presently […]

Full scenes produce more activation than close-up scenes and scene-diagnostic objects in retrosplenial cortex: An fMRI study.

Abstract We used fMRI to directly compare activation in two cortical regions previously identified as relevant to real-world scene processing: retrosplenial cortex and a region of posterior parahippocampal cortex functionally defined as the parahippocampal place area (PPA). We compared activation in these regions to full views of scenes from a global perspective, close-up views of […]

Differential affective responses in those with aggressive versus non-aggressive antisocial behaviors.

Abstract Affective dysfunction has been robustly tied to antisocial behavior, but little research has evaluated whether affective responses vary differentially with its aggressive (AGG) and rule-breaking (RB) subtypes. We therefore examined whether changes in negatively valenced affect (elicited via written recollection of one’s best and worst life experiences) were linked to level (i.e., low, average, […]

The possible influence of impulsivity and dietary restraint on associations between serotonin genes and binge eating.

Abstract Although serotonin (5-HT) genes are thought to be involved in the etiology of bulimia nervosa and binge eating, findings from molecular genetic studies are inconclusive. This may be due to limitations of past research, such as a failure to consider the influence of quantitative traits and gene–environment interactions. The current study investigated these issues […]

Recognizing threat: Simple geometric shapes activate neural circuitry underlying threat detection.

Abstract The urgent need to recognize danger quickly has been shown to rely on preferential processing in dedicated neural circuitry. In previous behavioral studies examining the pattern of the face when displaying anger, we found evidence that simple noncontextual geometric shapes containing downward-pointing V-shaped angles activate the perception of threat. We here report that the […]

Motivational relevance as a potential modulator of memory for affective stimuli: Can we compare snakes and cakes?

Abstract Consideration of affective dimensions beyond arousal may be useful for a more precise understanding of the effects of emotional events on episodic memory. As highlighted by Kensinger (2009), the valence of an event may differentially impact the accuracy of its recall. Paralleling work on attention, we propose that the relevance of an event or […]