Gamma flicker elicits positive affect without awareness

Heerebout, Bram T.; Tap, A.E.Y; Rotteveel, Mark; Phaf, R. Hans

doi:10.1016/j.concog.2012.07.001

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In contrast, there was no congruency effect for the four invisible flicker frequencies (60–96 Hz): search times were equivalent regardless of whether the flicker cued the target or a distractor. Our findings provide no support at all for the recent claim that flicker at invisibly high rates can guide attentional selection 10 11 12 . Our data suggest that flicker that is too high to be perceived is completely ineffective as an attentional cue.…”

Section: Methodscontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…It is a tantalising question because while cells in primary visual cortex exhibit responses to modulating stimuli up to ~50 Hz 8 , corresponding well with the perceptual flicker limit, the response range in the lateral geniculate nucleus extends considerably higher 9 . A number of recent papers have looked at whether imperceptibly high flicker can produce perceptual effects 10 11 12 13 14 . Shady reported that perceptual sensitivity to flicker at the upper end of the visible range was raised following adaptation to flicker too fast to be perceived.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

No attentional capture from invisible flicker

Alais

Locke

Leung

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We tested whether fast flicker can capture attention using eight flicker frequencies from 20–96 Hz, including several too high to be perceived (>50 Hz). Using a 480 Hz visual display rate, we presented smoothly sampled sinusoidal temporal modulations at: 20, 30, 40, 48, 60, 69, 80, and 96 Hz. We first established flicker detection rates for each frequency. Performance was at or near ceiling until 48 Hz and dropped sharply to chance level at 60 Hz and above. We then presented the same flickering stimuli as pre-cues in a visual search task containing five elements. Flicker location varied randomly and was therefore congruent with target location on 20% of trials. Comparing congruent and incongruent trials revealed a very strong congruency effect (faster search for cued targets) for all detectable frequencies (20–48 Hz) but no effect for faster flicker rates that were detected at chance. This pattern of results (obtained with brief flicker cues: 58 ms) was replicated for long flicker cues (1000 ms) intended to allow for entrainment to the flicker frequency. These results indicate that only visible flicker serves as an exogenous attentional cue and that flicker rates too high to be perceived are completely ineffective.

show abstract

Section: Methodscontrasting

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

No attentional capture from invisible flicker

Alais

Locke

Leung

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Specifically, increments in beta oscillations in the right parietal scalp were suggested as reflecting an index of avoidance (Schutter et al, 2001). Additionally, induced high-frequency oscillations in the gamma-band have been linked to enhanced processing of positive affect in static face stimuli (Heerebout et al, 2013). It is difficult to relate our results to these studies, as in our study there was no affective component to the stimuli, nor was the task one that required a social judgment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural correlates of apparent motion perception of impoverished facial stimuli: A comparison of ERP and ERSP activity

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Our brains readily decode human movements, as shown by neural responses to face and body motion. N170 event-related potentials (ERPs) are earlier and larger to mouth opening movements relative to closing in both line-drawn and natural faces, and gaze aversions relative to direct gaze in natural faces (Puce and Perrett, 2003; Puce et al., 2000). Here we extended this work by recording both ERP and oscillatory EEG activity (event-related spectral perturbations, ERSPs) to line-drawn faces depicting eye and mouth movements (Eyes: Direct vs Away; Mouth: Closed vs Open) and non-face motion controls. Neural activity was measured in 2 occipitotemporal clusters of 9 electrodes, one in each hemisphere. Mouth opening generated larger N170s than mouth closing, replicating earlier work. Eye motion elicited robust N170s that did not differ between gaze conditions. Control condition differences were seen, and generated the largest N170. ERSP difference plots across conditions in the occipitotemporal electrode clusters (Eyes: Direct vs Away; Mouth: Closed vs Open) showed statistically significant differences in beta and gamma bands for gaze direction changes and mouth opening at similar post-stimulus times and frequencies. In contrast, control stimuli showed activity in the gamma band with a completely different time profile and hemispheric distribution to facial stimuli. ERSP plots were generated in two 9 electrode clusters centered on central sites, C3 and C4. In the left cluster for all stimulus conditions, broadband beta suppression persisted from about 250 ms post-motion onset. In the right cluster, beta suppression was seen for control conditions only. Statistically significant differences between conditions were confined between 4 – 15 Hz, unlike occipitotemporal sites where differences occurred at much higher frequencies (high beta/gamma). Our data indicate that N170 amplitude is sensitive to the amount of movement in the visual field, independent of stimulus type. In contrast, occipitotemporal beta and gamma activity differentiate between facial and non-facial motion. Context and stimulus configuration likely play a role in shaping neural responses, based on comparisons of the current data to previously reported studies. Broadband suppression of central beta activity, and significant low frequency differences were likely stimulus driven and not contingent on behavioral responses.

show abstract

“…Finally, prior research has shown that task-irrelevant stimulation in the peripheral visual field can alter emotional states (von Gizycki et al, 1998;Heerebout et al, 2013).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cutaneous retinal activation and neural entrainment in transcranial alternating current stimulation: A systematic review

Schutter

2016

NeuroImage

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Gamma flicker elicits positive affect without awareness

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

No attentional capture from invisible flicker

No attentional capture from invisible flicker

Neural correlates of apparent motion perception of impoverished facial stimuli: A comparison of ERP and ERSP activity

Cutaneous retinal activation and neural entrainment in transcranial alternating current stimulation: A systematic review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About