The late positive potential: A neural marker of the regulation of emotion-based approach-avoidance actions?

Abstract

The ability to regulate our emotional responses is crucial to effective functioning in daily life. Whilst there has been extensive study of the brain potentials related to valenced stimuli, the neural basis of the ability to regulate actions elicited by these remains to be clarified. To address this, 40 volunteers undertook an approachavoidance paradigm. In the congruent condition, participants approached pleasant and avoided unpleasant stimuli. In the incongruent condition, the opposite was the case, requiring the regulation of natural emotional response tendencies. Both behavioural and electrophysiological indices of emotional regulation were recorded. Congruency effects were observed at both the behavioural and electrophysiological level. Reaction times were faster and the LPP larger, when performing emotionally congruous relative to incongruous actions. Moreover, neural and behavioural effects were correlated. The current results suggest that the LPP congruency effect can be considered a neural marker of individual differences in emotion driven action tendencies. We discuss whether this reflects emotion regulation, effort allocation, or correct mapping of stimulus response tendencies.

Regulation of emotion in ADHD: can children with ADHD override the natural tendency to approach positive and avoid negative pictures?

“…This latter condition instructs individuals to apply response modulation. Previous studies in the typical population have shown that reaction times are faster in the congruent compared to the incongruent condition as one would predict (Bamford et al, 2015;Bamford & Ward, 2008;Chen & Bargh, 1999;Phaf, Mohr, Rotteveel, & Wicherts, 2014). This congruency effect reflects the additional effort/cognitive resources needed to override the natural approachavoidance action tendencies; a greater congruency effect therefore indexes more difficulties in response modulation.…”

“…The approach-avoidance task in the current study was based on the computer-based task used by Bamford et al (2015) and Bamford and Ward (2008). A valenced picture (7 by 5 cm in size; either positive or negative) was presented on each trial on a white background.…”

“…The approach-avoidance effect has been shown to appear for many types of emotional stimuli and across several versions of the paradigm (see for a metaanalysis Phaf et al, 2014). Importantly, the approach-avoidance paradigm has successfully been used in children, adults and clinical samples (e.g., Brown et al, 2014;Deckers, Roelofs, Muris, & Rinck, 2014;Klein, Becker, & Rinck, 2011), and the congruency effect has been externally validated as an index of emotion regulation in a recent study that demonstrated a link between the congruency effect and electrophysiological indices of emotion regulation (Bamford et al, 2015). We hypothesized that if emotion regulation difficulties in children OVERRIDDING APPROACH-AVOIDANCE TENDENCIES IN ADHD 7 with ADHD involve insufficient use of response-focused strategies, they would have a larger congruency effect than typically developing children.…”

“…Besides antecedent-focused strategies, response-focused strategies can be employed to modulate the behavioral and physiological response tendencies activated by emotions, referred to as response modulation in the model of Gross. Overriding deep seated action tendencies (i.e., the behavioral response tendencies) that lead us to approach positive and attractive and avoid negative or punitive emotional stimuli or situations forms a crucial aspect of effective emotion regulation because it is a fundamental element in the ability to resist temptations or to face dangerous and difficult situations (Bamford et al, 2015;Ent, Baumeister, & Tice, 2015;Gross, 2015).…”

“…Therefore, in the current study, we applied an approach-avoidance paradigm, in which participants have to modulate their natural action tendencies in responding to emotional pictures (Bamford et al, 2015;Chen & Bargh, 1999). The ability to override natural approach-avoidance action tendencies is less influenced by general cognitive control abilities.…”