title: 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 approach-avoidance 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.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK. Electronic address: susiebamford@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bamford
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK; Centre for Psychophysics, Psychophysiology and Psychopharmacology, School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Samantha J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Broyd
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Benikos
authors.affiliation: Wolfson Centre for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience, Bangor University, Bangor, UK.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Clinical & Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jan R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Wiersema
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK; Department of Experimental Clinical & Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: Edmund
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sonuga-Barke
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Approach; Avoidance; Emotion regulation; Event-related potentials; Late positive potential