Neural response to emotional faces with and without awareness: event-related fMRI in a parietal patient with visual extinction and spatial neglect

Vuilleumier, Patrik; Armony, Jorge L.; Clarke, Karen; Driver, Julia; Dolan, Raymond J.

doi:10.1016/s0028-3932(02)00045-3

Cited by 290 publications

(190 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The subsequent memory analyses supported the hypothesis that amygdalar modulation of hippocampal function underlies the memory benefit for arousing words (35). Amygdalar activation to threatening or aversive stimuli is believed to occur relatively automatically and even when attentional resources are taxed (16,20). Thus, amygdalar modulation of hippocampal function could occur relatively automatically.…”

Section: Subsequent Memory Effectmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…For example, presentation of emotional items (e.g., coffin) may remind an individual of a personal event more often than neutral items (e.g., banner), and thus individuals may associate emotional items with personal experiences. Other processes may be relatively automatic: attention may be directed toward threatening or aversive stimuli (15)(16)(17), and these stimuli may benefit from prioritized or facilitated processing (18)(19)(20). It is reasonable to expect that different neural substrates underlie the controlled versus automatic processes that contribute to the enhancement effect.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Two routes to emotional memory: Distinct neural processes for valence and arousal

Kensinger

Corkin

2004

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

720

575

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Prior investigations have demonstrated that emotional information is often better remembered than neutral information, but they have not directly contrasted effects attributable to valence and those attributable to arousal. By using functional MRI and behavioral studies, we found that distinct cognitive and neural processes contribute to emotional memory enhancement for arousing information versus valenced, nonarousing information. The former depended on an amygdalar-hippocampal network, whereas the latter was supported by a prefrontal cortex-hippocampal network implicated in controlled encoding processes. A behavioral companion study, with a divided-attention paradigm, confirmed that memory enhancement for valenced, nonarousing words relied on controlled encoding processes: concurrent task performance reduced the enhancement effect. Enhancement for arousing words occurred automatically, even when encoding resources were diverted to the secondary task.W hy do we remember some experiences while forgetting others? Neuroimaging has provided a tool to probe this question. By comparing the neural activity during encoding of items that are later remembered versus those that are later forgotten (a ''subsequent memory'' analysis), one can examine the processes mediating successful encoding (i.e., that are carried out during encoding of words that will later be remembered; reviewed in ref. 1). Functional MRI studies have indicated that activation in prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus underlies successful encoding, such that greater activation in these regions increases the probability that information will be remembered.In most functional MRI studies examining memory formation, stimuli are chosen deliberately to preclude an emotional response. In daily life, however, much of the information we encounter holds emotional significance. Abundant evidence indicates that we often are more likely to remember this emotional information than we are to remember information lacking in emotional import (2, 3). The goal of the present study was to uncover the neural circuits mediating this enhanced memory for emotional information.The amygdala is an obvious site. The early studies of Kluver and Bucy (4) suggested that lesions to the amygdala can result in abnormalities in assigning emotional significance to stimuli. More recent studies have demonstrated a link between amygdalar function and explicit memory for emotional information: patients with amygdalar lesions do not show enhanced memory for emotional as compared with neutral stimuli (5-7), and neuroimaging studies have revealed a link between the amount of amygdalar activation at encoding and the likelihood of later retrieving emotional items (8)(9)(10)(11)(12).Although the evidence implicating the amygdala in emotional memory is strong, further specification of the neural processes is required because the amygdala clearly does not act in isolation. Similarly, the cognitive processes that contribute to the enhancement effect require delineation. Some...

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Section: Subsequent Memory Effectmentioning

confidence: 57%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Two routes to emotional memory: Distinct neural processes for valence and arousal

Kensinger

Corkin

2004

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

720

575

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Because of the special processing properties of emotions (Vuilleumier and Driver, 2007), comparing emotional versus neutral facial expressions is particularly promising for extending current models of consciousness. Studies of attention suggest that emotional stimuli receive special access to representation in subcortical areas (Vuilleumier et al, 2001b) even without normal awareness (Vuilleumier et al, 2002). However, it is unclear whether, in the absence of changes in stimulus properties or task demands, subcortical areas contribute to consciousness or alter the contribution of other structures implicated in awareness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple Mechanisms of Consciousness: The Neural Correlates of Emotional Awareness

Amting¹,

Greening²,

Mitchell³

2010

J. Neurosci.

106

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Emotional stimuli, including facial expressions, are thought to gain rapid and privileged access to processing resources in the brain. Despite this access, we are conscious of only a fraction of the myriad of emotion-related cues we face everyday. It remains unclear, therefore, what the relationship is between activity in neural regions associated with emotional representation and the phenomenological experience of emotional awareness. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and binocular rivalry to delineate the neural correlates of awareness of conflicting emotional expressions in humans. Behaviorally, fearful faces were significantly more likely to be perceived than disgusted or neutral faces. Functionally,increasedactivitywasobservedinregionsassociatedwithfacialexpressionprocessing,includingtheamygdalaandfusiformgyrus during emotional awareness. In contrast, awareness of neutral faces and suppression of fearful faces were associated with increased activity in dorsolateral prefrontal and inferior parietal cortices. The amygdala showed increased functional connectivity with ventral visual system regions during fear awareness and increased connectivity with perigenual prefrontal cortex (pgPFC; Brodmann's area 32/10) when fear was suppressed. Despite being prioritized for awareness, emotional items were associated with reduced activity in areas considered critical for consciousness. Contributions to consciousness from bottom-up and top-down neural regions may be additive, such that increased activity in specialized regions within the extended ventral visual system may reduce demands on a frontoparietal system important for awareness. The possibility is raised that interactions between pgPFC and the amygdala, previously implicated in extinction, may also influence whether or not an emotional stimulus is accessible to consciousness.

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“…Studies of experimentally induced nonconscious vision for facial expressions in neurologically intact viewers provide evidence for differences in brain activity for facial expressions of fear perceived with or without awareness (4). Differences between aware and unaware stimulus processing are also reflected in lateralization of amygdala activation (left amygdala for seen, right for masked presentation) (1).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Unconscious fear influences emotional awareness of faces and voices

Gelder

Morris²,

Dolan³

2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

135

102

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Nonconscious recognition of facial expressions opens an intriguing possibility that two emotions can be present together in one brain with unconsciously and consciously perceived inputs interacting. We investigated this interaction in three experiments by using a hemianope patient with residual nonconscious vision. During simultaneous presentation of facial expressions to the intact and the blind field, we measured interactions between conscious and nonconsciously recognized images. Fear-specific congruence effects were expressed as enhanced neuronal activity in fusiform gyrus, amygdala, and pulvinar. Nonconscious facial expressions also influenced processing of consciously recognized emotional voices. Emotional congruency between visual and an auditory input enhances activity in amygdala and superior colliculus for blind, relative to intact, field presentation of faces. Our findings indicate that recognition of fear is mandatory and independent of awareness. Most importantly, unconscious fear recognition remains robust even in the light of a concurrent incongruent happy facial expression or an emotional voice of which the observer is aware.amygdala ͉ blindsight ͉ affective blindsight ͉ consciousness ͉ nonconscious processes

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Neural response to emotional faces with and without awareness: event-related fMRI in a parietal patient with visual extinction and spatial neglect

Cited by 290 publications

References 49 publications

Two routes to emotional memory: Distinct neural processes for valence and arousal

Two routes to emotional memory: Distinct neural processes for valence and arousal

Multiple Mechanisms of Consciousness: The Neural Correlates of Emotional Awareness

Unconscious fear influences emotional awareness of faces and voices

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