title: Threat/reward-sensitivity and hypomanic-personality modulate cognitive-control and attentional neural processes to emotional stimuli.
abstract: Temperamental-traits (e.g. threat/reward-sensitivity) are found to modulate cognitive-control and attentional-processes. Yet, it is unclear exactly how these traits interact with emotional-stimuli in the modulation of cognitive-control, as reflected by the N2 event-related potential (ERP), and attentional-processes, as reflected by the P2 and P3 ERPs. Here in an ERP emotional-Go/NoGo task, 36 participants were instructed to inhibit their response to Fearful- and Happy-faces. Individual-differences in threat-sensitivity, reward-sensitivity and hypomanic-personality were assessed through self-report. Hypomanic-personality was assessed, given its relationship with reward-sensitivity and relevance to mood-disorder symptoms. Concerning cognitive-control, individuals with elevated threat-sensitivity displayed more-negative N2s to Happy-NoGo (relative to Fearful-NoGo) faces, whereas both individuals with elevated reward-sensitivity and hypomanic-personality displayed more-negative N2s to Fearful-NoGo (relative to Happy-NoGo) faces. Accordingly, when cognitive-control is required (during Go/NoGo), a mismatch between one's temperament and the valence of the NoGo-stimulus elevates detection of the need for cognitive-control. Conversely, the modulation of attentional-processing was specific to threat-sensitivity, as there was no relationship between either reward-sensitivity or hypomanic-personality and attentional-processing. Elevated threat-sensitivity was associated with enhanced early (P2s) and later (P3s) attentional-processing to Fearful-NoGo (relative to Happy-NoGo) faces. These latter findings support the negative attentional-bias model relating elevated threat-sensitivity with attentional-biases toward negative-stimuli and away from positive-stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Narun
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pornpattananangkul
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaoqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nusslock
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D012201:Reward; D013694:Temperament / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: N2; P2; cognitive-control; hypomanic-personality; reward-sensitivity; threat-sensitivity