Threat‐conditioned contexts modulate the late positive potential to faces—A mobile EEG/virtual reality study

Abstract

In everyday life, the motivational value of faces is bound to the contexts in which faces are perceived. Electrophysiological studies have demonstrated that inherent negatively valent contexts modulate cortical face processing as assessed with ERP components. However, it is not well understood whether learned (rather than inherent) and three‐dimensional aversive contexts similarly modulate the neural processing of faces. Using full immersive virtual reality (VR) and mobile EEG techniques, 25 participants underwent a differential fear conditioning paradigm, in which one virtual room was paired with an aversive noise burst (threat context) and another with a nonaversive noise burst (safe context). Subsequently, avatars with neutral or angry facial expressions were presented in the threat and safe contexts while EEG was recorded. Analysis of the late positive potential (LPP), which presumably indicates motivational salience, revealed a significant interaction of context (threat vs. safe) and face type (neutral vs. angry). Neutral faces evoked increased LPP amplitudes in threat versus safe contexts, while angry faces evoked increased early LPP amplitudes regardless of context. In addition to indicating that threat‐conditioned contexts alter the processing of ambiguous faces, the present study demonstrates the successful integration of EEG and VR with particular relevance for affective neuroscience research.

Emotion Recognition in Immersive Virtual Reality: From Statistics to Affective Computing

“…In recent years, EEG use has increased, with 6 papers being published (14.3%), and the CNS has started to be used, in combination with HMDs, to recognise emotions. The analyses that have been used are ERP [ 138 ], power spectral density [ 140 ] and functional connectivity [ 65 ]. EMG (11.9%) and RSP (9.5) were also used, mostly in combination with HRV.…”

“…In more recent years, advances in HMD technologies have positioned HTC Vive as the most used (19.05%). In terms of formats, 3D environments are the most used [ 138 ] (85.71%), with 360° panoramas following far behind [ 142 ] (16.67%). One research used both formats [ 64 ].…”

“…Therefore, VR can boost the analysis of the dominance dimension in affective computing in the future. In addition, VR allows researchers to analyse emotional reactions to social stimuli, such as avatars [ 138 ], which might be the next stage in the application of classic 2D affective computing paradigms to simulated real-world situations, which can provide new insights with a social dimension.…”

“…From 2016, the research started to include HRV frequency domain and non-linear domain analyses [ 105 , 119 ], and EDA analyses, such as CDA, dividing the signals into tonic and phasic components [ 64 ]. In terms of the CNS, EEG research has been undertaken since 2016, including ERP [ 138 ], power spectral density [ 140 ] and functional connectivity analysis [ 65 ]. Other non-physiological implicit measures have been used since 2019, such as eye-tracking [ 141 ], gait patterns [ 135 ], navigation [ 133 ] and salivary cortisol responses [ 132 ].…”

The 4D Space-Time Dimensions of Facial Perception

“…In addition, future development of 3D or 4D databases for experimental designs, can further improve stimuli by being built as full-volumes and not surfaces. For example, the database presented in Figure 2B, experiences a loss of data from the posterior viewpoint of the head, which may impede studies examining VR environments (Bulthoff and Edelman, 1992;Stolz et al, 2019;Lamberti et al, 2020) or multiple viewpoints of a facial stimulus (Bülthoff et al, 2018;Abudarham et al, 2019;Zhan et al, 2019). Overall, despite some remaining challenges, 3D and 4D facial capture and reconstruction has demonstrated that the unique facial features belonging to you and me, such as the cheeks, eyes and nose, can simulated on-screen in a highly realistic manner (see Figure 2).…”