Preparing to Grasp Emotionally Laden Stimuli

Oliveira, Laura Alice Santos de; Imbiriba, Luís Aureliano; Russo, Michael B.; Nogueira-Campos, Anaelli Aparecida; Rodrigues, Érika de Carvalho; Pereira, Mirtes Garcia; Volchan, Eliane; Vargas, Claudia D.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045235

Cited by 24 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Thus, observing an action directed to emotion laden-objects may have triggered the motor representations in a predictive way, leading to a valence-laden modulation over the CSE in accordance with the effects that have previously been described during motor preparation (de Oliveira et al, 2012; Nogueira-Campos et al, 2014). …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Observing Grasping Actions Directed to Emotion-Laden Objects: Effects upon Corticospinal Excitability

Nogueira-Campos

Saunier

Della‐Maggiore

et al. 2016

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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The motor system is recruited whenever one executes an action as well as when one observes the same action being executed by others. Although it is well established that emotion modulates the motor system, the effect of observing other individuals acting in an emotional context is particularly elusive. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect induced by the observation of grasping directed to emotion-laden objects upon corticospinal excitability (CSE). Participants classified video-clips depicting the right-hand of an actor grasping emotion-laden objects. Twenty video-clips differing in terms of valence but balanced in arousal level were selected. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were then recorded from the first dorsal interosseous using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) while the participants observed the selected emotional video-clips. During the video-clip presentation, TMS pulses were randomly applied at one of two different time points of grasping: (1) maximum grip aperture, and (2) object contact time. CSE was higher during the observation of grasping directed to unpleasant objects compared to pleasant ones. These results indicate that when someone observes an action of grasping directed to emotion-laden objects, the effect of the object valence promotes a specific modulation over the motor system.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Observing Grasping Actions Directed to Emotion-Laden Objects: Effects upon Corticospinal Excitability

Nogueira-Campos

Saunier

Della‐Maggiore

et al. 2016

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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“…Finally, a more widespread activation of motor representations by negative stimuli is also supported by neurophysiological studies, showing that motor cortex excitability is generally increased during the perception of negative stimuli (Borgomaneri, Gazzola, & Avenanti, 2014;de Oliveira et al, 2012). Although such findings have often been interpreted to reflect a facilitating effect of negative valence (e.g., Borgomaneri et al, 2014), they may instead reflect increased interference between the activated motor representations that delays responding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…and motor areas originated from effects on neural activity in areas ipsilateral to the stimulus location (alpha) or to the response location (beta). Error bars represent within-subjects 95 % confidence intervals (Cousineau, 2005) perception of negative stimuli (Borgomaneri et al, 2014;de Oliveira et al, 2012). 5 Thus, in other words, negative stimuli seem to narrow perceptual but broaden motor processes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bad things come easier to the mind but harder to the body: Evidence from brain oscillations

Kuhbandner

Spachtholz

Pastötter

2016

Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci

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An intriguing finding of research on emotional processing is a discrepancy between perception and behavior. Perceptually, a robust finding is that negative stimuli are processed faster and more efficiently than positive stimuli. Behaviorally, a similarly robust finding is that response times are slower for negative than for positive stimuli. We proposed and tested a novel account to explain this still unexplained discrepancy, on the basis of the assumption that negative valence narrows perceptual processes to the benefit of speeded perception, but broadens motor processes at the cost of slowed responding. Participants performed a valence judgment task in which they responded with their left or right hand to negative and positive stimuli that were presented on the left or right, and we measured the activation of relevant/deactivation of irrelevant perceptual and motor processes, as revealed by the lateralization of electroencephalographic brain oscillations. Stimulus-related lateralization of alpha activity (8-12 Hz) over perceptual areas was increased for negative stimuli, indicating more efficient perceptual processing. By contrast, response-related lateralization of beta activity (20-25 Hz) over motor areas was decreased for negative stimuli, indicating less efficient response activation. Consistent with our predictions, more detailed analyses showed that both lateralization effects were caused by dynamics at the level of inhibiting irrelevant processes. For negative as compared to positive stimuli, the inhibition of irrelevant perceptual processes was increased, but the inhibition of irrelevant motor processes was decreased.These findings indicate that the discrepancy between perception and behavior in emotional processing may stem from asymmetrical effects of emotional valence on the breadth of cortical activations in perceptual and motor networks.

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“…For instance, pulling a lever towards oneself is facilitated by viewing pleasant stimuli on a screen and is hindered by viewing unpleasant stimuli [23]. In another study, brain recordings showed differential activity when grasping and bringing closer a cylinder filled with pleasant contents (facilitation) compared to unpleasant contents (cost) [24]. Indeed, automatic motivational predispositions elicited by the surrounding environment constitute a basic psychological phenomenon.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Implicit Motivational Impact of Pictorial Health Warning on Cigarette Packs

et al. 2013

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ObjectiveThe use of pictorial warning labels on cigarette packages is one of the provisions included in the first ever global health treaty by the World Health Organization against the tobacco epidemic. There is substantial evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of graphic health warning labels on intention to quit, thoughts about health risks and engaging in cessation behaviors. However, studies that address the implicit emotional drives evoked by such warnings are still underexplored. Here, we provide experimental data for the use of pictorial health warnings as a reliable strategy for tobacco control.MethodsExperiment 1 pre-tested nineteen prototypes of pictorial warnings to screen for their emotional impact. Participants (n = 338) were young adults balanced in gender, smoking status and education. Experiment 2 (n = 63) tested pictorial warnings (ten) that were stamped on packs. We employed an innovative set-up to investigate the impact of the warnings on the ordinary attitude of packs’ manipulation, and quantified judgments of warnings’ emotional strength and efficacy against smoking.FindingsExperiment 1 revealed that women judged the warning prototypes as more aversive than men, and smokers judged them more aversive than non-smokers. Participants with lower education judged the prototypes more aversive than participants with higher education. Experiment 2 showed that stamped warnings antagonized the appeal of the brands by imposing a cost to manipulate the cigarette packs, especially for smokers. Additionally, participants’ judgments revealed that the more aversive a warning, the more it is perceived as effective against smoking.ConclusionsHealth warning labels are one of the key components of the integrated approach to control the global tobacco epidemic. The evidence presented in this study adds to the understanding of how implicit responses to pictorial warnings may contribute to behavioral change.

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Preparing to Grasp Emotionally Laden Stimuli

Cited by 24 publications

References 63 publications

Observing Grasping Actions Directed to Emotion-Laden Objects: Effects upon Corticospinal Excitability

Observing Grasping Actions Directed to Emotion-Laden Objects: Effects upon Corticospinal Excitability

Bad things come easier to the mind but harder to the body: Evidence from brain oscillations

Implicit Motivational Impact of Pictorial Health Warning on Cigarette Packs

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