Neurocognitive mechanisms of emotion‐related impulsivity: The role of arousal

Abstract

Prior research suggests that a traitlike tendency to experience impulsivity during states of high emotion is robustly associated with many forms of psychopathology. Several studies tie emotion‐related impulsivity to response inhibition deficits, but these studies have not focused on the role of emotion or arousal within subjects. The present study tested whether arousal, measured by pupil dilation, amplifies deficits in response inhibition for those high in emotion‐related impulsivity. Participants (N = 85) completed a measure of emotion‐related impulsivity, underwent a positive mood induction procedure that reduced heterogeneity in mood states, and completed a response inhibition task. Pupil dilation was used to index arousal during the response inhibition task. Generalized linear mixed effect modeling yielded the hypothesized interaction between arousal (pupil dilation) and emotion‐related impulsivity in predicting response inhibition performance at the trial level. Emotion‐related impulsivity relates to more difficulties with response inhibition during moments of high arousal.

Cortical modulation of pupillary function: systematic review

“…Images of human faces elicit a pupillary reaction as well: Angry or fearful facial expressions and images of females increase pupil sizes, in contrast to happy faces and males’ images (Allard, Wadlinger & Isaacowitz, 2010; Blackburn & Schirillo, 2012; Bradley et al., 2008; Chiesa et al., 2015; Goldinger, He & Papesh, 2009; Kret et al., 2013; Lichtenstein-Vidne et al., 2017; Porter, Hood & Troscianko, 2006; Schrammel et al., 2009; Vanderhasselt et al., 2018; Wu, Laeng & Magnussen, 2012; Yrttiaho et al., 2017; Kret, 2017; Hammerschmidt et al., 2018). Negative images showing violence, distress and threat but also positive ones depicting happiness elicited a dilatation as opposed to neutral everyday images (Henderson, Bradley & Lang, 2014; Bradley, Sapigao & Lang, 2017; Henderson, Bradley & Lang, 2017; Iijima et al., 2014; Chiew & Braver, 2014; Pearlstein et al., 2018; Thoma & Baum, 2018). Pupillary dilatation may also signal the perception of odors (Aguillon-Hernandez et al., 2015; Schneider et al., 2009) and sexual arousal (Metalis & Hess, 1982; Dabbs, 1997; Hamel, 1974; Rieger & Savin-Williams, 2012; Attard-johnson, Ciardha & Bindemann, 2018); salient odors or visual or auditory sexual stimuli lead to pupillary dilatation.…”

Impulsive reactivity to emotion and vulnerability to psychopathology.

“…As noted earlier, links from emotion-related impulsivity to behavioral response inhibition (its closest relative among related constructs) emerge most reliably in clinical samples, suggesting that the connection may be facilitated among persons with some level of disturbance. There is a need to examine variables that may induce lapses in control over emotion, including—given that emotions of both valences can drive this form of impulsivity—the role of arousal per se, distinct from valence (there is some evidence for the latter: Pearlstein, Johnson, Modavi, Peckham, & Carver, in press).…”

Reliability and validity of the Arousal Predisposition Scale among Chinese undergraduate students

“…Factor 1 (emotional reactivity), which comprised all the items but the items 1, 5, and 7. With a growing literature suggesting that those high in emotion‐related impulsivity experience high arousal‐induced changes in cognitive control, higher arousal causes differential effects on response inhibition . Emotional reactivity is an important cause of high arousal, which also provides ideas for treatment.…”