title: Emotion and the processing of symbolic gestures: an event-related brain potential study.
abstract: The present study used event-related brain potentials to examine the hypothesis that emotional gestures draw attentional resources at the level of distinct processing stages. Twenty healthy volunteers viewed pictures of hand gestures with negative (insult) and positive (approval) emotional meaning as well as neutral control gestures (pointing) while dense sensor event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Emotion effects were reflected in distinct ERP modulations in early and later time windows. Insult gestures elicited increased P1, early posterior negativity (EPN) and late positive potential (LPP) components as compared to neutral control gestures. Processing of approval gestures was associated with an increased P1 wave and enlarged EPN amplitudes during an early time window, while the LPP amplitude was not significantly modulated. Accordingly, negative insult gestures appear more potent than positive approval gestures in inducing a heightened state of attention during processing stages implicated in stimulus recognition and focused attention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Flaisch
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Häcker
authors.forename: Britta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Renner
authors.forename: Harald T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Schupp
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005868:Gestures; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D057566:Self Report; D013561:Symbolism; D055815:Young Adult