Trees over forest: unpleasant stimuli compete for attention with global features.
Whether emotional distracters call for attentional resources has been discussed in several studies. We have earlier shown that brief unpleasant distracters captured right hemisphere (RH) attentional resources as evidenced with reduced event-related potential responses and increased reaction times to nonemotional left visual field/RH targets. The aim of this study was to investigate whether emotional distracters selectively interfere with processes predominantly relying on the RH such as processing global visual features. Evoked potentials were recorded from 18 participants carrying out a visual discrimination task engaging global RH and local left hemisphere-dependent processes. Unpleasant distracters reduced global target detection-related right parietal activity. We conclude that brief unpleasant distracters compete for RH attentional resources with global level processing.
Hartikainen
Kaisa M
KM
Department of Psychology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, USA. kaisa.hartikainen@pshp.fi
Ogawa
Keith H
KH
Knight
Robert T
RT
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult