title: Low attentional engagement makes attention network activity susceptible to emotional interference.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate whether emotion-attention interaction depends on attentional engagement. To investigate emotional modulation of attention network activation, we used a functional MRI paradigm consisting of a visuospatial attention task with either frequent (high-engagement) or infrequent (low-engagement) targets and intermittent emotional or neutral distractors. The attention task recruited a bilateral frontoparietal network with no emotional interference on network activation when the attentional engagement was high. In contrast, when the attentional engagement was low, the unpleasant stimuli interfered with the activation of the frontoparietal attention network, especially in the right hemisphere. This study provides novel evidence for low attentional engagement making attention control network activation susceptible to emotional interference.
authors.affiliation: aBehavioral Neurology Research Unit, Department of Neurosciences and Rehabilitation, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland bDepartment of Psychology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley cJohn Magaddino Neuroscience Laboratory, Saint Mary's College of California, Moraga, California, USA dDepartment of Neurosurgery, Division of Surgery and Clinical Neuroscience, Oslo University Hospital - Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Verónica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mäki-Marttunen
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pickard
authors.forename: Anne-Kristin
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Solbakk
authors.forename: Keith H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.forename: Kaisa M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Hartikainen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult