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In evaluative conditioning, a neutral conditional stimulus (CS) acquires the valence of a pleasant or unpleasant unconditional stimulus (US) after the CS and US are paired (acquisition). Valence acquired by the CS can generalise to other stimuli from the same category. Presenting the CS alone can reduce evaluative conditioning (extinction), but evaluations can return after the US is presented alone (reinstatement). The current research investigated whether extinction and reinstatement generalise to other category members (generalisation stimuli, GS). In Experiment 1, evaluations generalised in acquisition after conditioning with one category exemplar, but GS evaluations were unaffected by extinction and reinstatement. In Experiment 2, we aimed to enhance generalisation by presenting multiple category exemplars during conditioning. This strengthened the generalisation of evaluations in extinction but not reinstatement. In Experiment 3, conditioning with multiple exemplars caused explicit and implicit evaluations (measured using an affective priming task) to generalise in acquisition but not in extinction or reinstatement. The acquisition and extinction of US expectancy generalised in all experiments, but the reinstatement generalised in Experiment 3 only. Overall, we found partial evidence of evaluative generalisation during extinction (but not reinstatement) and demonstrated that the extinction and reinstatement of US expectancy generalises in evaluative conditioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pairing a conditional stimulus (CS) with an aversive unconditional stimulus (US) causes negative valence and US expectancy to generalize to stimuli that are perceptually and/or conceptually similar to the CS. Past research has shown that instructing participants that the US is more likely to follow stimuli that are dissimilar to the CS reversed the generalization of US expectancy but left generalized valence unchanged. Here, we examined whether instructions about the relationship between stimuli that are perceptually similar would affect the generalization of valence. A picture of an alien (CS+) was paired with an electric stimulus, while a perceptually different alien stimulus (CS–) was presented alone. After conditioning, valence, US expectancy, and electrodermal responses generalized to different aliens that were perceptually similar (by color and shape) to the CS+ and CS–. Participants were then instructed that aliens perceptually similar to the CS+ belonged to the same group as the CS‐ and that aliens perceptually similar to the CS– belonged to the same group as the CS+. The instructions caused an elimination (but not a reversal) of generalized expectancy and valence but did not affect generalized electrodermal responses. This suggests that evaluations of generalization stimuli are sensitive to instructions about their relationship to the CS and that dissociations reported in the literature between valence and expectancy after instructions may occur due to the type of instruction used. Past research has shown that instructions about the likelihood of the unconditional stimulus occurrence affect unconditional stimulus expectancy ratings during perceptually similar generalization stimuli but do not influence evaluations. In the current study, we demonstrate that instructions that change how the conditional and generalization stimuli are related affected generalized unconditional stimulus expectancy ratings and evaluations but did not affect electrodermal responding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generalisation in evaluative conditioning occurs when the valence acquired by a conditional stimulus (CS), after repeated pairing with an unconditional stimulus (US), spreads to stimuli that are similar to the CS (generalisation stimuli, GS). CS evaluations can be updated via CS instructions that conflict with prior conditioning (negative conditioning + positive instruction). We examined whether CS instructions can update GS evaluations after conditioning. We used alien stimuli where one alien (CSp) from a fictional group was paired with pleasant US images and another alien (CSu) from a different group was paired with unpleasant US images. The other members from the two groups were used as GSs. After conditioning, participants received negative CSp instructions and positive CSu instructions. In Experiment 1, explicit and implicit GS evaluations were measured before and after the instructions. In Experiment 2, we used a between-participants design where one group received positive/negative CS instructions while a control group received neutral instructions. In both experiments, the positive/negative CS instructions caused a reversal of explicit GS evaluations and an elimination of implicit GS evaluations. The findings suggest that generalised evaluations can change after CS instructions which may have implications for interventions aimed at reducing negative group attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research has shown that Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) affects Pavlovian fear conditioning processes. In particular, extinction of learned fear is delayed in those reporting high IU. Reports of differences during acquisition are less consistent with most of the studies reporting no evidence for effects of IU. This may be due to past studies' focus on first interval electrodermal responses or fear potentiated startle, rather than on indices that may better capture uncertainty – like the response to the absence of a probabilistic unconditional stimulus. The current analysis combined data across three experiments that employed a 50 % reinforcement schedule and assessed electrodermal responses and (in two experiments) ratings of conditional stimulus pleasantness. Participants scoring high on IU showed overall larger electrodermal first interval responses during habituation and acquisition but did not differ from those scoring low on IU in differential conditioning (the difference between CS+ and CS-), as indicated by electrodermal first or second interval responses or ratings of CS pleasantness. However, participants high in IU showed larger differential third interval electrodermal responses to the omission of the electro-tactile unconditional stimulus during acquisition. Some evidence for this difference emerged in each experiment, supporting the reliability of the result. The current results suggest that effects of IU emerge in conditions of high uncertainty in Pavlovian fear learning tasks, such as during the omission of probabilistic unconditional stimuli. • Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) has been shown to affect fear conditioning in particular during extinction. • Past research has yielded mixed effects for IU during fear acquisition. • Participants high in IU show larger electrodermal responses to the omission of a probabilistic unconditional stimulus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presenting unpaired unconditional stimuli (US) during extinction training reduces the renewal of conditional fear due to context change and slows re-acquisition. The present study investigated whether this reduced return of fear is mediated by Pavlovian inhibitory conditioning to the conditional stimulus paired with the US during acquisition (CS+) that is acquired when this stimulus is presented without the US in an excitatory extinction context. Using an ABA renewal paradigm that trained extinction in a context different from acquisition and renewal test, participants either received no USs (Standard), five unsignalled US presentations (Unsignalled) or five presentations of the US preceded by a novel, third CS (Signalled) during extinction training. Extinction was followed by tests for renewal and re-acquisition. Replicating previous results, renewal of electrodermal conditional responses was observed in group Standard, but not in group Unsignalled. Signalling the additional USs, and thus reducing context conditioning and the potential for inhibitory conditioning, did not reduce their effect in that renewal was absent in group Signalled. These results are inconsistent with an inhibitory conditioning account of the effects of unpaired US presentations during extinction. A trial sequence learning account or an arousal account may explain the effects of unpaired presentations of the US during extinction. • Unpaired unconditional stimuli (USs) during extinction reduce fear renewal. • The current study tested an inhibitory conditioning account of this finding. • Signalling the USs should reduce inhibitory conditioning during extinction. • Both signalled and unsignalled USs reduced renewal of fear. • An arousal account may provide an explanation for this result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptual generalisation occurs when conditional responses generalise to novel stimuli from the same category. Past research demonstrates that physiological fear responses generalise across categories, however, conceptual generalisation of stimulus valence evaluations during fear conditioning has not been examined. We investigated whether conceptual generalisation, as indexed by electrodermal responses and stimulus evaluations, would occur, and differ after training with single or multiple conditional stimuli (CSs). Stimuli from two of four categories (vegetables, farm animals, clothing, and office supplies) were used as the CS+ (followed by an electric stimulus) or CS- (presented alone). Generalisation was assessed by presenting novel stimuli from the CS categories after acquisition, extinction, and reinstatement. One category exemplar was used as the CS+ and CS- in the single group, whereas three exemplars were used as the CS+ and CS- in the multiple group. Electrodermal responses generalised in acquisition and extinction but did not differ between groups. In the multiple group, CS evaluations generalised in acquisition and extinction, whereas generalisation was not evident in the single group. Training with multiple CSs also resulted in the extinction of stimulus valence. The current findings have implications for future research examining the generalisation of valence and for exposure-based treatments of anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many contemporary studies of human fear conditioning exclude participants who fail to show differential electrodermal responding during late stages of acquisition training, deeming them to be non‐Learners. The current study examined whether non‐Learners, defined as those who fail to show larger electrodermal first interval responses to CS+ than to CS− in the second half of acquisition, show differential electrodermal responding early during acquisition or during extinction or evidence of fear‐learning on other measures, including rated CS valence and contingency report. In a sample of 351 participants who completed a standard differential fear‐conditioning paradigm that employed electrodermal first and second interval responses (FIR, SIR), continuous CS evaluations, and post‐experimental contingency reports to assess fear‐learning, 74 participants were identified as non‐Learners. These non‐Learners displayed overall smaller electrodermal responses but showed evidence for differential conditioning during acquisition in electrodermal FIR (block1) and SIR (blocks 2–3) and in CS evaluations during acquisition (blocks 2–4) and extinction (blocks 1–4). Fifty‐nine non‐Learners correctly reported the contingencies. A lack of differential electrodermal first interval responding during the second half of acquisition does not indicate the absence of fear‐learning. Rather, this criterion appears to capture participants who exhibit low physiological arousal and performance decrements toward the end of acquisition. Applying criteria based on "end of acquisition" electrodermal responding to determine "non‐learning" results in the exclusion of participants who display fear‐learning at other experimental stages or in other measures. A lack of differential electrodermal responding late during acquisition training is frequently taken to indicate a failure to acquire conditioned fear. We show that such non‐Learners display evidence for fear conditioning in stimulus evaluations and contingency reports, but also in electrodermal responses recorded in different latency windows or earlier during acquisition. Given its link to overall stimulus‐driven electrodermal responsiveness, a lack of differential responding seems to reflect a deficit in performance, not in learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prepulse inhibition of perceived stimulus intensity (PPIPSI) is a phenomenon where a weak stimulus preceding a stronger one reduces the perceived intensity of the latter. Previous studies have shown that PPIPSI relies on attention and is sensitive to stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). Longer SOAs may increase conscious awareness of the impact of gating mechanisms on perception by allowing more time for attention to be directed toward relevant processing channels. In other psychophysiological paradigms, temporal predictability improves attention to task relevant stimuli and processes. We hypothesized that temporal predictability may similarly facilitate attention being directed toward the pulse and its processing in PPIPSI. To examine this, we conducted a 2 (SOA: 90 ms, 150 ms) × 2 (predictability: low, high) experiment, where participants were tasked with comparing the perceived intensity of an acoustic pulse‐alone against one preceded by a prepulse. The relationship between PPIPSI and cortical PPI (N1‐P2 inhibition) was also investigated. Significant main effects of temporal predictability, SOA, and cortical PPI were revealed. Under high temporal predictability, both SOAs (90 and 150 ms) elicited greater PPIPSI. The findings indicate that temporal predictability enhances the timely allocation of finite attentional resources, increasing PPIPSI observations by facilitating perceptual access to the gated pulse signal. Moreover, the finding that reductions in N1‐P2 magnitude by a prepulse are associated with increased probability of the participants perceiving the pulse "with prepulse" as less intense, suggests that under various experimental conditions, the link between these cortical processes and perception is similarly engaged. Consistent with other paradigms, our study reveals that temporal predictability enhances sensory gating of conscious perception, as evidenced by increased prepulse inhibition of perceived stimulus intensity (PPIPSI). This enhancement likely occurs through more efficient allocation of attention to sensory channels. Additionally, the link between N1‐P2 gating and PPIPSI suggests that the N1‐P2 response may inform perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin conductance is a commonly used physiological measure during psychology experiments, such as during fear conditioning. Methods for scoring skin conductance responses (SCRs) are highly heterogeneous, though most researchers agree that manually inspected scores provide the highest quality data when compared to most available fully automated scoring methods. However, manual scoring is extremely time‐consuming. We developed a semi‐automated scoring program that reduces the time required to process SCR data at a level of quality akin to manual scoring. In contrast to all previous scoring programs, our program enables scoring of first interval response (FIR), second interval response (SIR), and third interval response (TIR) SCRs. Using interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), Bland–Altman plots and Pareto analysis, we show here that our method is highly reliable and produces data that are almost identical to data that are manually scored and scored using LEDALAB. This software is very easy to use and is freely available to download and modify. We expect that this software will be helpful in reducing the time required to produce high quality FIR, SIR, and TIR skin conductance data for psychology researchers around the world. Existing automated methods for scoring skin conductance responses (SCRs) without manual inspection leave ambiguity whether these methods are scoring SCRs accurately. Our program automatically scores SCRs and allows rapid manual inspection of multiple response intervals for each event. This program provides an option for researchers to produce high quality SCR data in a time‐efficient manner. The program is free, easy to use, and is opensource. The program is fully validated against manually scored data and between independent raters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research has shown that presenting unconditional stimuli (US) during extinction training, either paired with the conditional stimulus (CS) or explicitly unpaired, can reduce spontaneous recovery and slow the re‐acquisition of conditional fear. Whether contextual renewal of conditioned fear as indexed by electrodermal responses and self‐report measures of anxiety and CS evaluations is also reduced after presentation of paired or unpaired USs during extinction training is currently unclear. Three groups of participants (Paired, Unpaired, Standard Extinction) completed a sequence of habituation, acquisition, extinction, renewal, and re‐acquisition phases. During extinction, five CS–US pairings were presented in group Paired, whereas five US were presented alone in group Unpaired. No US were presented during standard extinction. For all groups, extinction was conducted in a context that was different from that of the other phases. Extinction of differential electrodermal responding was evident in groups Unpaired and Standard, but not in group Paired. Contextual renewal and fast re‐acquisition, as indexed by differential electrodermal responding, were evident in group Standard, but not in group Unpaired and differential electrodermal responding persisted in group Paired. After extinction, self‐reported anxiety was higher in groups Paired and Unpaired, but differential CS evaluations were evident in group Paired only. The current results suggest that presenting additional unpaired USs during extinction training strengthens extinction and protects against the renewal of differential electrodermal responding. Relapse after successful exposure‐based therapy of anxiety disorders is a major problem. We assessed whether the extinction of conditioned fear, an experimental analog of exposure‐based therapy, is strengthened by presenting occasional conditional stimulus (CS)–unconditional stimulus (US) pairings or occasional unpaired USs during extinction training. Occasional CS–US pairings prevented extinction. Relative to standard extinction training, extinction with occasional US presentations reduced the return of conditioned fear as indexed by electrodermal responses after a context change and slowed re‐acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key points: Suppression of corticospinal excitability is reliably observed during preparation for a range of motor actions, leading to the belief that this preparatory inhibition is a physiologically obligatory component of motor preparation. The neurophysiological function of this suppression is uncertain.We restricted the time available for participants to engage in preparation and found no evidence for preparatory inhibition.The function of preparatory inhibition can be inferred from our findings that sensory stimulation can disrupt motor output in the absence of preparatory inhibition, but enhance motor output when inhibition is present.These findings suggest preparatory inhibition may be a strategic process which acts to protect prepared actions from external interference.Our findings have significant theoretical implications for preparatory processes. Findings may also have a pragmatic benefit in that acoustic stimulation could be used therapeutically to facilitate movement, but only if the action can be prepared well in advance. Shortly before movement initiation, the corticospinal system undergoes a transient suppression. This phenomenon has been observed across a range of motor tasks, suggesting that it may be an obligatory component of movement preparation. We probed whether this was also the case when the urgency to perform a motor action was high, in a situation where little time was available to engage in preparatory processes. We controlled the urgency of an impending motor action by increasing or decreasing the foreperiod duration in an anticipatory timing task. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS; experiment 1) or a loud acoustic stimulus (LAS; experiment 2) were used to examine how corticospinal and subcortical excitability were modulated during motor preparation. Preparatory inhibition of the corticospinal tract was absent when movement urgency was high, though motor actions were initiated on time. In contrast, subcortical circuits were progressively inhibited as the time to prepare increased. Interestingly, movement force and vigour were reduced by both TMS and the LAS when movement urgency was high, and enhanced when movement urgency was low. These findings indicate that preparatory inhibition may not be an obligatory component of motor preparation. The behavioural effects we observed in the absence of preparatory inhibition were induced by both TMS and the LAS, suggesting that accessory sensory stimulation may disrupt motor output when such stimulation is presented in the absence of preparatory inhibition. We conclude that preparatory inhibition may be an adaptive strategy which can serve to protect the prepared motor action from external interference. Key points: Suppression of corticospinal excitability is reliably observed during preparation for a range of motor actions, leading to the belief that this preparatory inhibition is a physiologically obligatory component of motor preparation. The neurophysiological function of this suppression is uncertain.We restricted the time available for participants to engage in preparation and found no evidence for preparatory inhibition.The function of preparatory inhibition can be inferred from our findings that sensory stimulation can disrupt motor output in the absence of preparatory inhibition, but enhance motor output when inhibition is present.These findings suggest preparatory inhibition may be a strategic process which acts to protect prepared actions from external interference.Our findings have significant theoretical implications for preparatory processes. Findings may also have a pragmatic benefit in that acoustic stimulation could be used therapeutically to facilitate movement, but only if the action can be prepared well in advance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During evaluative conditioning, a neutral conditional stimulus (CS) becomes pleasant or unpleasant after pairings with a positive/negative unconditional stimulus (US). Measures of US expectancy are commonly assessed during conditioning but it is unclear whether this affects evaluative learning. In Experiment 1, we examined whether the concurrent assessment of US expectancy alongside measures of CS valence would influence the acquisition, extinction, and reinstatement of explicit CS valence. Participants rated both valence and expectancy during conditioning (valence/expectancy group) or only CS valence (valence only group). Evaluative conditioning was acquired in both groups during acquisition, but its magnitude was enhanced in the valence/expectancy group. Measuring US expectancy did not influence the extinction or reinstatement of conditional valence. In Experiment 2, we confirmed the enhancement of evaluative conditioning due to concurrent measurement of US expectancy in an explicit measure, but did not find corresponding evidence in an implicit measure of conditional valence. In Experiment 3, we replicated the results using a different US expectancy scale and demonstrated that measuring CS valence multiple times throughout conditioning also strengthens conditional valence. Overall, the results suggest that the measurement of US expectancy and CS valence throughout conditioning draws attention to the contingencies and strengthens explicit evaluative learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In evaluative conditioning, if one shape (conditional stimulus [CS]; CSp) is paired with pleasant unconditional stimulus (US) images and another (CSu) is paired with unpleasant US images differential CS valence and US expectancy develops, such that participants evaluate the CSp as more pleasant and more predictive of pleasant images than the CSu. This conditional CS valence and US expectancy can be reduced in an extinction procedure in which the CSs are repeatedly presented alone. We investigated whether evaluative and expectancy learning is subject to relapse (spontaneous recovery, reinstatement, and renewal) after extinction in a picture-picture evaluative conditioning paradigm. In Stream 1, after acquisition and extinction, the spontaneous recovery test was completed after a delay. During the spontaneous recovery test, conditional expectancy learning, but not conditional evaluative learning, returned. In Stream 2, the US pictures were presented in a random stream after extinction (reinstatement manipulation) which led to the return of conditional evaluative and expectancy learning. In Stream 3, after acquisition training in Context A and extinction training in Context B, conditional expectancy and evaluative learning returned when participants completed the renewal test in the acquisition context (Context A; ABA renewal). Overall, the results suggest that conditional evaluative learning is subject to reinstatement and renewal, but not to spontaneous recovery, in a picture-picture evaluative conditioning paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the visual oddball paradigm, surprising inputs can seem expanded in time relative to unsurprising repeated events. A horizontal input embedded in a train of successive vertical inputs can, for instance, seem relatively protracted in time, even if all inputs are presented for an identical duration. It is unclear if this effect results from surprising events becoming apparently protracted, or from repeated events becoming apparently contracted in time. To disambiguate, we used a non-relative duration reproduction task, in which several standards preceded a test stimulus that had to be reproduced. We manipulated the predictability of test content over successive presentations. Overall, our data suggest that predictable stimuli induce a contraction of apparent duration (Experiments 1, 3, and 4). We also examine sensitivity to test content, and find that predictable stimuli elicit less uptake of visual information (Experiments 2 and 3). We discuss these findings in relation to the predictive coding framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emotional conflict task measures emotional conflict resolution and adaptation, but some studies are unable to find resolution or adaptation effects using this task. We examined boundary conditions and replicability of the emotional conflict resolution and adaptation effects through secondary data analysis, systematic review, and meta-analysis of studies in the field. In our data, we were unable to fully replicate the emotional conflict resolution or adaptation effects and found that most studies using this task (n= 94) do not report analysis of emotional conflict resolution, with only 28% (n= 26) studies doing so. Our meta-analysis suggests that studies reporting emotional conflict resolution and adaptation analyses overall report significant but small effects, suggesting the effect is difficult to consistently replicate. Our meta-analysis revealed that controlling for contingency learning may impact the ability of studies to identify conflict resolution. These findings have implications for assessment and interpretation of the emotional conflict task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young adult participants are faster to detect young adult faces in crowds of infant and child faces than vice versa. These findings have been interpreted as evidence for more efficient attentional capture by own‐age than other‐age faces, but could alternatively reflect faster rejection of other‐age than own‐age distractors, consistent with the previously reported other‐age categorization advantage: faster categorization of other‐age than own‐age faces. Participants searched for own‐age faces in other‐age backgrounds or vice versa. Extending the finding to different other‐age groups, young adult participants were faster to detect young adult faces in both early adolescent (Experiment 1) and older adult backgrounds (Experiment 2). To investigate whether the own‐age detection advantage could be explained by faster categorization and rejection of other‐age background faces, participants in experiments 3 and 4 also completed an age categorization task. Relatively faster categorization of other‐age faces was related to relatively faster search through other‐age backgrounds on target absent trials but not target present trials. These results confirm that other‐age faces are more quickly categorized and searched through and that categorization and search processes are related; however, this correlational approach could not confirm or reject the contribution of background face processing to the own‐age detection advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the human face provides multiple sources of social information concurrently (race, sex, age, etc.), the majority of studies investigating how social category cues influence emotional expression perception have investigated the influence of only one social category at a time. Only a couple of studies have investigated how race and sex cues concurrently influence emotion perception and these studies have produced mixed results. In addition, the concurrent influence of age and sex cues on emotion perception has not been investigated. To address this, participants categorized happy and angry expressions on faces varying in race (Black and White) and sex (Experiments 1a and 1b) or age (older adult and young adult) and sex (Experiment 2). In Experiments 1a and 1b, results indicated that sex but not race influenced emotion categorization. Participants were, on average, faster to categorize happiness than anger on female, but not on male faces. In Experiment 2, both the age and the sex of the face independently influenced emotion categorization. Participants were faster to categorize happiness than anger on female and young adult faces, but not on male or older adult faces. Bayesian ANOVAs provided additional evidence that the sex of the face had the strongest influence on emotion categorization speeds in Experiment 1a and 1b, but both age and sex cues had an equal influence on emotion categorization in Experiment 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial attributes such as race, sex, and age can interact with emotional expressions; however, only a couple of studies have investigated the nature of the interaction between facial age cues and emotional expressions and these have produced inconsistent results. Additionally, these studies have not addressed the mechanism/s driving the influence of facial age cues on emotional expression or vice versa. In the current study, participants categorised young and older adult faces expressing happiness and anger (Experiment 1) or sadness (Experiment 2) by their age and their emotional expression. Age cues moderated categorisation of happiness vs. anger and sadness in the absence of an influence of emotional expression on age categorisation times. This asymmetrical interaction suggests that facial age cues are obligatorily processed prior to emotional expressions. Finding a categorisation advantage for happiness expressed on young faces relative to both anger and sadness which are negative in valence but different in their congruence with old age stereotypes or structural overlap with age cues suggests that the observed influence of facial age cues on emotion perception is due to the congruence between relatively positive evaluations of young faces and happy expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative conditional stimulus (CS) valence acquired during fear conditioning may enhance fear relapse and is difficult to remove as it extinguishes slowly and does not respond to the instruction that unconditional stimulus (US) presentations will cease. We examined whether instructions targeting CS valence would be more effective. In Experiment 1, an image of one person (CS+) was paired with an aversive US, while another (CS−) was presented alone. After acquisition, participants were given positive information about the CS+ poser and negative information about the CS− poser. Instructions reversed the pattern of differential CS valence present during acquisition and eliminated differential electrodermal responding. In Experiment 2, we compared positive and negative CS revaluation by providing positive/negative information about the CS+ and neutral information about CS−. After positive revaluation, differential valence was removed and differential electrodermal responding remained intact. After negative revaluation, differential valence was strengthened and differential electrodermal responding was eliminated. Unexpectedly, the instructions did not affect the reinstatement of differential electrodermal responding. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The perceived intensity of an intense stimulus as well as the startle reflex it elicits can both be reduced when preceded by a weak stimulus (prepulse). Both phenomena are used to characterise the processes of sensory gating in clinical and non-clinical populations. The latter phenomenon, startle prepulse inhibition (PPI), is conceptualised as a measure of pre-attentive sensorimotor gating due to its observation at short latencies. In contrast, the former, prepulse inhibition of perceived stimulus intensity (PPIPSI), is believed to involve higher-order cognitive processes (e.g., attention), which require longer latencies. Although conceptually distinct, PPIPSI is often studied using parameters that elicit maximal PPI, likely limiting what we can learn about sensory gating's influence on conscious perception. Here, we tested an array of stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs; 0–602 ms) and prepulse intensities (0–3× perceptual threshold) to determine the time course and sensitivity to the intensity of electrotactile PPIPSI. Participants were required to compare an 'unpleasant but not painful' electric pulse to their left wrist that was presented alone with the same stimulus preceded by an electric prepulse, and report which pulse stimulus felt more intense. Using a 2× perceptual threshold prepulse, PPIPSI emerged as significant at SOAs from 162 to 602 ms. We conclude that evidence of electrotactile PPIPSI at SOAs of 162 ms or longer is consistent with gating of perception requiring higher-level processes, not measured by startle PPI. The possible role of attentional processes, stimuli intensity, modality-specific differences, and methods of investigating PPIPSI further are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant literature suggests that extinction training delivered during the memory reconsolidation period is superior to traditional extinction training in the reduction of fear recovery, as it targets the original fear memory trace. At present it is debated whether different types of fear memories are differentially sensitive to behavioral manipulations of reconsolidation. Here, we examined post-reconsolidation recovery of fear as a function of conditioned stimulus (CS) fear-relevance, using the unconditioned stimulus (US) to reactivate and destabilize conditioned fear memories. Participants ( N = 56; 25 male; M = 24.39 years, SD = 7.71) in the US-reactivation and control group underwent differential fear conditioning to fear-relevant (spiders/snakes) and fear-irrelevant (geometric shapes) CSs on Day 1. On Day 2, participants received either reminded (US-reactivation) or non-reminded extinction training. Tests of fear recovery, conducted 24 h later, revealed recovery of differential electrodermal responding to both classes of CSs in the control group, but not in the US-reactivation group. These findings indicate that the US reactivation-extinction procedure eliminated recovery of extinguished responding not only to fear-irrelevant, but also to fear-relevant CSs. Contrasting previous reports, our findings show that post-reconsolidation recovery of conditioned responding is not a function of CS fear-relevance and that persistent reduction of fear, conditioned to fear-relevant CSs, can be achieved through behavioral manipulations of reconsolidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blink startle magnitude is linearly modulated by affect such that, relative to neutral stimuli, startle magnitude is inhibited during pleasant stimuli and potentiated during unpleasant stimuli. Andreatta, Mühlberger, Yarali, Gerber, and Pauli (2010), however, report a dissociation between startle modulation and explicit valence evaluations during backward conditioning, a procedure in which the unconditional stimulus precedes the conditional stimulus (CS). Relative to controls, startles elicited during the CS were inhibited, suggesting that the CS had acquired positive valence, but participants still evaluated the CS as unpleasant after the experiment. In Experiment 1, we aimed to replicate this dissociation using a trial-by-trial measure of CS valence to measure startle modulation and CS valence simultaneously during forward and backward differential fear conditioning. In Experiment 2, we examined whether early and late portions of the CS could acquire differential valence by presenting startle probes at early and late probe positions during the CS. In both experiments, the dissociation between startle modulation and explicit valence evaluations in backward conditioning replicated, with CS+ evaluated as less pleasant than CS-, but startles elicited during CS+ inhibited relative to CS-. In Experiment 2, we provide preliminary evidence that this inhibition was present early, but not late, during the CS+. The results replicate the dissociation between implicit and explicit CS valence reported by Andreatta et al. (2010) using a trial-by-trial measure of valence. We also provide preliminary evidence that this dissociation may occur because the implicit and explicit measures are recorded at different times during the CS presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We encounter and process information from multiple sensory modalities in our daily lives, and research suggests that learning can be more efficient when contexts are multisensory. In this study, we were interested in whether face identity recognition memory might be improved in multisensory learning conditions, and to explore associated changes in pupil dilation during encoding and recognition. In two studies participants completed old/new face recognition tasks wherein visual face stimuli were presented in the context of sounds. Faces were learnt alongside no sound, low arousal sounds (Experiment 1), high arousal non-face relevant, or high arousal face relevant (Experiment 2) sounds. We predicted that the presence of sounds during encoding would improve later recognition accuracy, however, the results did not support this with no effect of sound condition on memory. Pupil dilation, however, was found to predict later successful recognition both at encoding and during recognition. While these results do not provide support to the notion that face learning is improved under multisensory conditions relative to unisensory conditions, they do suggest that pupillometry may be a useful tool to further explore face identity learning and recognition. • Sounds paired with visual stimuli can be beneficial for perceptual learning. • We showed no benefits of pairing unique sounds or voices for face recognition. • We showed that pupil size before faces were presented affected recollection. • Pupil dilation during recognition was predictive of performance and confidence. • Pupillometry is useful for exploring the encoding and recognition of face identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instructed extinction is an experimental manipulation that involves informing participants after the acquisition of fear learning that the unconditional stimulus ( US) will no longer be presented. It has been used as a laboratory analogue to assess the capacity of cognitive interventions to reduce experimentally induced fear. In this review, we examine and integrate research on instructed extinction and discuss its implications for clinical practice. Overall, the results suggest that instructed extinction reduces conditional fear responding and facilitates extinction learning, except when conditional stimulus valence is assessed as an index of fear or when fear is conditioned to images of animal fear-relevant stimuli (snakes and spiders) or with a very intense US. These exceptions highlight potential boundary conditions for the reliance on cognitive interventions when treating fear in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In differential fear conditioning, the instruction that the conditional stimulus (CS) will no longer be followed by the unconditional stimulus (US; instructed extinction) reduces differential physiological responding (expectancy learning) but leaves differential CS valence evaluations (evaluative learning) intact. This dissociation suggests that expectancy, but not evaluative learning, responds to contingency instructions. Alternatively, as instructed extinction removes the threat of receiving the US, this dissociation could be caused by a drop in participants’ arousal levels which could render the physiological indices of fear learning less sensitive. To test this alternative explanation, we examined the impact of an instructed reversal manipulation on electrodermal responding and CS valence evaluations. After instructed reversal, electrodermal responses to CS+ decreased and electrodermal responses to CS− increased, in the instruction, but not in the control group. In addition, there was some evidence for an instruction dependent change in CS valence, however, this finding seems limited to changes in CS+ valence and possible explanations for this finding are discussed. Overall, the study confirms that the dissociation detected in instructed extinction studies is unlikely to be caused by a drop in the participants’ arousal levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrodermal activity in studies of human fear conditioning is often scored by distinguishing two electrodermal responses occurring during the conditional stimulus–unconditional stimulus interval. These responses, known as first interval responding (FIR) and second interval responding (SIR), are reported to be differentially sensitive to the effects of orienting and anticipation. Recently, the FIR/SIR scoring convention has been questioned, with some arguing in favor of scoring a single response within the entire conditional stimulus–unconditional stimulus interval (entire interval responding, EIR). EIR can be advantageous in practical terms but may fail to capture experimental effects when manipulations produce dissociations between orienting and anticipation. As an illustration, we rescored the data reported by Luck and Lipp (2015b) using both FIR/SIR and EIR scoring techniques and provide evidence that the EIR scoring technique fails to detect the effects of instructed extinction, an experimental manipulation which produces a dissociation between orienting and anticipation. Thus, using a technique that scores electrodermal response indices of fear conditioning in multiple latency windows is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion counter‐regulation has been suggested as the core cognitive mechanism of automatic emotion regulation. Emotion counter‐regulation not only induces an unintentional transfer of attention from the current emotional state to stimuli with the opposite valence but also prompts approach to stimuli of the opposite valence and increases response inhibition to stimuli of the same valence. Working memory (WM) updating has been shown to be related to attention selection and response inhibition. However, it remains unclear whether emotion counter‐regulation would affect WM updating with emotional stimuli. In the present study, 48 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to the angry‐priming group that watched highly arousing angry video clips, or the control group that watched neutral video clips. Then participants performed a two‐back face identity matching task with happy and angry face pictures. Behavioral results showed higher accuracy for identity recognition of happy than of angry faces. The event‐related potential (ERP) results revealed smaller P2 to angry faces than to happy faces in the control group. In the angry‐priming group, there was no difference in P2 amplitude between angry and happy trials. Between groups, P2 to angry faces was larger in the priming group than in the control group. Late positive potential (LPP) was smaller for happy faces than for angry faces in the priming group, but not in the control group. These findings suggest that emotion counter‐regulation affects the onset updating and maintenance of emotional face stimuli in WM. Impact Statement: Our findings extend the effect of emotion counter‐regulation from attention allocation and response inhibition to working memory updating. We provide evidence that emotion counter‐regulation of anger changed working memory updating by decreasing attention to angry faces in the early stage as well as by increasing needs of processing resources to maintain angry faces in the late stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stimulus-driven preferential attention to threat can be modulated by goal-driven attention. However, it remains unclear how this goal-driven modulation affects specific attentional components implied in threat interference. We hypothesise that goal-driven modulation most strongly impacts delayed disengagement from threat. A spatial cueing task was used that disentangles delayed disengagement from attentional capture by tightly manipulating the locus of attention at the time of target onset. Different top-down goals were induced by instructing participants to identify bird/fish targets (Experiment 1) or spider/cat targets (Experiment 2) among animal non-targets. Delayed disengagement from a non-target spider was observed only when the spider was part of the target set, not when it was task-irrelevant. This corroborates evidence that threat stimuli do not necessarily override goal-driven attentional control and that extended processing of threatening distractors is not obligatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective sensitization has been proposed as an alternative explanation for enhanced responding to animal fear-relevant stimuli-snakes and spiders-during extinction of Pavlovian fear conditioning. The current study sought to replicate the phenomenon using a shock workup procedure as the sensitizing manipulation and to extend it to interpersonal and intergroup fear-relevant stimuli-angry faces and other-race faces. Assessment of selective sensitization was followed by a one-trial fear learning procedure. Selective sensitization, larger electrodermal responses to fear-relevant than to control stimuli after sensitization, or a larger increase in electrodermal responding to fear-relevant than to control stimuli after sensitization was observed across stimulus domains. However, the one-trial fear learning procedure failed to provide evidence for enhanced fear conditioning to fear-relevant stimuli. One-trial fear learning was either absent or present for fear-relevant and nonfear-relevant stimuli. The current study confirms that electrodermal responses to fear-relevant stimuli across stimulus domains are subject to selective sensitization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past literature has indicated that face inversion either attenuates emotion detection advantages in visual search, implying that detection of emotional expressions requires holistic face processing, or has no effect, implying that expression detection is feature based. Across six experiments that utilised different task designs, ranging from simple (single poser, single set size) to complex (multiple posers, multiple set sizes), and stimuli drawn from different databases, significant emotion detection advantages were found for both upright and inverted faces. Consistent with past research, the nature of the expression detection advantage, anger superiority (Experiments 1, 2 and 6) or happiness superiority (Experiments 3, 4 and 5), differed across stimulus sets. However both patterns were evident for upright and inverted faces. These results indicate that face inversion does not interfere with visual search for emotional expressions, and suggest that expression detection in visual search may rely on feature-based mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following differential fear conditioning, the instruction that the unconditional stimulus will no longer be presented (instructed extinction) reduces differential electrodermal responding to CS+ and CS−, but does not affect differential conditional stimulus valence evaluations. Reductions in differential electrodermal responding have been attributed to the provision of verbal instructions; however, during instructed extinction the unconditional stimulus electrode is often removed as well. This removal could reduce the participants' general arousal levels rendering the detection of differential electrodermal responding difficult. The current study examined this alternative interpretation by comparing the electrodermal responses and conditional stimulus valence evaluations of an instruction/electrode-on group, an instruction/electrode-off group, and a control group who were not instructed. Following instructed extinction, differential electrodermal responding was eliminated in both instruction groups, an effect that was not influenced by the attachment/removal of the electrode. Replicating previous findings, conditional stimulus valence was not affected by instructed extinction. The results suggest that verbal instructions, not unconditional stimulus electrode removal, reduce differential electrodermal responding during instructed extinction manipulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relapse of fear after successful intervention is a major problem in clinical practice. However, little is known about how it is mediated. The current study investigated the effects of instructed extinction and removal of the shock electrode on electrodermal responding (Experiment 1), fear potentiated startle (Experiment 2), and a continuous self-report measure of conditional stimulus valence (Experiments 1 and 2) in human differential fear conditioning. Instructed extinction and removal of the shock electrode resulted in the immediate reduction of differential fear potentiated startle and second interval electrodermal responding, but did not affect self-reported conditional stimulus valence. A separate sample of participants (Experiment 3) who were provided with a detailed description of the experimental scenario predicted the inverse outcome, reduced differential stimulus evaluations and continued differential physiological responding, rendering it unlikely that the current results reflect on demand characteristics. These results suggest that the negative valence acquired during fear conditioning is less sensitive to cognitive interventions than are the physiological indices of human fear learning and that valence reduction requires extended exposure training. Persisting negative valence after cognitive intervention may contribute to fear relapse after successful treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oddball paradigm is commonly used to investigate human time perception. Trains of identical repeated events ('standards') are presented, only to be interrupted by a different 'oddball' that seems to have a relatively protracted duration. One theoretical account has been that this effect is driven by repetition suppression for repeated standards. The idea is that repeated events seem shorter as they incur a progressively reduced neural response, which is supported by the finding that oddball perceived duration increases linearly with the number of preceding repeated standards. However, typical oddball paradigms confound the probability of oddball presentations with variable numbers of standard repetitions on each trial, allowing people to increasingly anticipate an oddball presentation as more standards are presented. We eliminated this by making participants aware of what fixed number of standards they would encounter before a final test input and tested different numbers of standards in separate experimental sessions. The final event of sequences, the test event, was equally likely to be an oddball or another repeat. We found a positive linear relationship between the number of preceding repeated standards and the perceived duration of oddball test events. However, we also found this for repeat tests events, which speaks against the repetition suppression account of the temporal oddball effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the relationship between emotion malleability beliefs and daily positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) in adolescents. 639 participants provided information about emotion malleability beliefs and emotion regulation strategies on the first day of the study and six daily measurements of PA and NA. Emotion malleability beliefs had a positive relationship with PA and a negative relationship with NA. Higher emotion malleability beliefs predicted lower carryover effects of PA and NA across assessment days. We also found that cognitive reappraisal might affect the relationship between emotion malleability beliefs and daily affect, such that those who held high levels of malleability beliefs were more likely to engage in cognitive reappraisal and report lower NA and higher PA. The findings of the present study suggest that emotion malleability beliefs could predicate daily emotions and emotion dynamics across days in adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The replicability of fear conditioning research has come under recent scrutiny, with increasing acknowledgment that the use of differing materials and methods may lead to incongruent results. Direct comparisons between the main two unconditional stimuli used in fear conditioning – an electric shock or a loud scream—are scarce, and yet these stimuli are usually used interchangeably. In the present study, we tested whether a scream, a shock, or an unpredictable combination of the two affected fear acquisition, extinction, and return of fear amongst healthy participants (N = 109, 81 female). We also collected hair samples and tested the relationship between fear conditioning and hair endocannabinoid levels. Our findings suggest that, although subjective ratings of pleasantness, arousal, and anxiety were similar regardless of the unconditional stimuli used, skin conductance responses were significantly lower for stimuli paired with the scream compared to a shock alone. Further, reducing the predictability of the unconditional stimulus reduced habituation of skin conductance responses during acquisition and reacquisition, but did not produce stronger conditioning compared to shock alone. Exploratory analyses suggested that hair endocannabinoids were associated with overall physiological arousal during fear conditioning, as well as higher return of fear to the threat cue, but not to the safety cue. These findings have multiple implications for the design and replicability of fear conditioning research and provide the first evidence for an association between hair levels of endocannabinoids and human fear conditioning. This study shows for the first time that reducing the predictability of the nature of the unconditional stimuli does not increase human fear conditioning. Hair endocannabinoids were also measured in conjunction with conditioning, and preliminary results suggest that 2‐AG may be associated with fear renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined whether the inhibitory Conditional Stimulus (CS)—no Unconditional Stimulus (US) association formed during extinction can be triggered by a novel US during the reinstatement of conditional electrodermal responding and self‐reported CS valence in human differential fear conditioning. Participants were trained with either a shock or an aversive scream US before undergoing extinction. Participants then received either the same (i.e., shock_shock or scream_scream) or a different US during reinstatement (i.e., shock_scream, scream_shock). Differential conditioning across all indices was stronger when a shock US was used during acquisition. After reinstatement, electrodermal responding to both the CS+ and the CS− increased regardless of the type of US used during reinstatement (non‐differential reinstatement). Differential CS valence evaluations were larger after reinstatement in the groups that received the same US during acquisition and reinstatement (differential reinstatement), but differential evaluations did not increase in the groups receiving a different US at reinstatement. This dissociation suggests that the reinstatement of negative stimulus valence and the reinstatement of expectancy learning may differ. Our research examines whether the inhibitory conditional stimulus‐no unconditional stimulus association formed during extinction can be triggered by a different aversive stimulus during reinstatement. We demonstrate that differential reinstatement only occurs for conditional stimulus valence when the acquisition and reinstatement unconditional stimulus are the same. For electrodermal responses, however, non‐differential reinstatement occurs regardless of whether the acquisition and reinstatement unconditional stimulus are the same or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of evidence suggests that conscious visual awareness is not a prerequisite for human fear learning. For instance, humans can learn to be fearful of subliminal fear relevant images – images depicting stimuli thought to have been fear relevant in our evolutionary context, such as snakes, spiders, and angry human faces. Such stimuli could have a privileged status in relation to manipulations used to suppress usually salient images from awareness, possibly due to the existence of a designated sub-cortical ‘fear module’. Here we assess this proposition, and find it wanting. We use binocular masking to suppress awareness of images of snakes and wallabies (particularly cute, non-threatening marsupials). We find that subliminal presentations of both classes of image can induce differential fear conditioning. These data show that learning, as indexed by fear conditioning, is neither contingent on conscious visual awareness nor on subliminal conditional stimuli being fear relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial cues of threat such as anger and other race membership are detected preferentially in visual search tasks. However, it remains unclear whether these facial cues interact in visual search. If both cues equally facilitate search, a symmetrical interaction would be predicted; anger cues should facilitate detection of other race faces and cues of other race membership should facilitate detection of anger. Past research investigating this race by emotional expression interaction in categorisation tasks revealed an asymmetrical interaction. This suggests that cues of other race membership may facilitate the detection of angry faces but not vice versa. Utilising the same stimuli and procedures across two search tasks, participants were asked to search for targets defined by either race or emotional expression. Contrary to the results revealed in the categorisation paradigm, cues of anger facilitated detection of other race faces whereas differences in race did not differentially influence detection of emotion targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prepared learning theory posits that prepared associations are acquired rapidly and resist extinction. Although it has been shown repeatedly that prepared associations resist extinction, there is currently little evidence to support the proposal of faster acquisition. The current study provides such evidence using a within-subjects conditioning procedure with a 50% reinforcement schedule. Participants were presented with pictures of four animals, two fear-relevant (snake, spider) and two nonfear-relevant (fish, bird), one of each paired with an unpleasant electrotactile stimulus on 50% of the trials during acquisition. Differential electrodermal responding was observed within the first two blocks of acquisition for fear-relevant but not for nonfear-relevant conditional stimuli, confirming the prediction that prepared associations are acquired faster than nonprepared associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies of the face in the crowd effect, the faster detection of angry than of happy faces in visual search, suggest that for schematic faces it reflects on perceptual features like inward pointing lines rather than on emotional expressions. Removing a potential confound, Experiments 1–2 replicate the preferential detection of stimuli with inward pointing lines, but Experiment 2a indicates that a surrounding circle is required for the effect to emerge. Experiments 3–7 failed to find evidence for faster detection of schematic faces comprising only the elements critical for the faster detection of angry faces according to a low level visual feature account, inward tilted brows and upturned mouth. Faster detection of anger was evident if eyes or eyes and noses were added, but only if their placement was consistent with the first order relations among these elements in a human face. Drawing the critical elements in thicker, higher contrast lines also led to an anger advantage, but this was smaller than that seen for the complete faces. The present results suggest that, while able to support faster target detection, a prevalence of inward pointing lines is not sufficient to explain the detection advantage of angry schematic faces. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The preparedness theory of classical conditioning proposed by Seligman (1970, 1971) has been applied extensively over the past 40 years to explain the nature and “source” of human fear and phobias. In this review we examine the formative studies that tested the four defining characteristics of prepared learning with animal fear-relevant stimuli (typically snakes and spiders) and consider claims that fear of social stimuli, such as angry faces, or faces of racial out-group members, may also be acquired utilising the same preferential learning mechanism. Exposition of critical differences between fear learning to animal and social stimuli suggests that a single account cannot adequately explain fear learning with animal and social stimuli. We demonstrate that fear conditioned to social stimuli is less robust than fear conditioned to animal stimuli as it is susceptible to cognitive influence and propose that it may instead reflect on negative stereotypes and social norms. Thus, a theoretical model that can accommodate the influence of both biological and cultural factors is likely to have broader utility in the explanation of fear and avoidance responses than accounts based on a single mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult humans demonstrate differential processing of stimuli that were recurrent threats to safety and survival throughout evolutionary history. Recent studies suggest that differential processing of evolutionarily ancient threats occurs in human infants, leading to the proposal of an inborn mechanism for rapid identification of, and response to, evolutionary fear-relevant stimuli. The current study provides novel data in support of this proposal, showing for the first time that human infants differentially process evolutionary threats presented in the auditory modality. Sixty-one 9-month-olds listened to evolutionary fear-relevant, modern fear-relevant, and pleasant sounds, while their heart rate, startle, and visual orienting behaviours were measured. Infants demonstrated significantly enhanced heart rate deceleration, larger eye-blinks, and more visual orienting when listening to evolutionary fear-relevant sounds compared to sounds from the other two categories. These results support the proposal that human infants possess evolved mechanisms for the differential processing of a range of ancient environmental threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During preparation for action, the presentation of loud acoustic stimuli (LAS) can trigger movements at very short latencies in a phenomenon called the StartReact effect. It was initially proposed that a special, separate subcortical mechanism that bypasses slower cortical areas could be involved. We sought to examine the evidence for a separate mechanism against the alternative that responses to LAS can be explained by a combination of stimulus intensity effects and preparatory states. To investigate whether cortically mediated preparatory processes are involved in mediating reactions to LAS, we used an auditory reaction task where we manipulated the preparation level within each trial by altering the conditional probability of the imperative stimulus. We contrasted responses to non‐intense tones and LAS and examined whether cortical activation and subcortical excitability and motor responses were influenced by preparation levels. Increases in preparation levels were marked by gradual reductions in reaction time (RT) coupled with increases in cortical activation and subcortical excitability – at both condition and trial levels. Interestingly, changes in cortical activation influenced motor and auditory but not visual areas – highlighting the widespread yet selective nature of preparation. RTs were shorter to LAS than tones, but the overall pattern of preparation level effects was the same for both stimuli. Collectively, the results demonstrate that LAS responses are indeed shaped by cortically mediated preparatory processes. The concurrent changes observed in brain and behavior with increasing preparation reinforce the notion that preparation is marked by evolving brain states which shape the motor system for action. Our findings challenge the notion that fast responses to intense sensory stimuli bypass motor regions of the cortex. They also show that the dynamic nature of movement preparation is highly tuned to the conditional probability of an event. Furthermore, our results corroborate recent findings suggesting that movement preparation may be supported by activity in the auditory cortex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated whether, like fear conditioned to pictures of snakes and spiders, fear conditioned to angry faces resists extinction even after verbal instruction and removal of the shock electrode. Participants were trained in a differential Pavlovian fear conditioning procedure with angry face or happy face conditional stimuli ( CSs). Prior to extinction, half the participants in each group were informed that no more unconditional stimuli would be presented and the shock electrode was removed. In the absence of this manipulation, participants showed resistance to extinction after training with angry face CSs, but not after training with happy face CSs. Instructed extinction and electrode removal abolished fear conditioning regardless of the emotion expressed by the CS faces. This finding suggests that fear conditioned to angry faces, like fear conditioned to racial out-group faces, is more malleable than fear conditioned to snakes and spiders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earlier research found evidence for electro-cortical race bias towards black target faces in white American participants irrespective of the task relevance of race. The present study investigated whether an implicit race bias generalizes across cultural contexts and racial in- and out-groups. An Australian sample of 56 Chinese and Caucasian males and females completed four oddball tasks that required sex judgements for pictures of male and female Chinese and Caucasian posers. The nature of the background (across task) and of the deviant stimuli (within task) was fully counterbalanced. Event-related potentials (ERPs) to deviant stimuli recorded from three midline sites were quantified in terms of mean amplitude for four components: N1, P2, N2 and a late positive complex (LPC; 350–700 ms). Deviants that differed from the backgrounds in sex or race elicited enhanced LPC activity. These differences were not modulated by participant race or sex. The current results replicate earlier reports of effects of poser race relative to background race on the LPC component of the ERP waveform. In addition, they indicate that an implicit race bias occurs regardless of participant’s or poser’s race and is not confined to a particular cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Judgments of upright faces tend to be more rapid than judgments of inverted faces. This is consistent with encoding at different rates via discrepant mechanisms, or via a common mechanism that is more sensitive to upright input. However, to the best of our knowledge no previous study of facial coding speed has tried to equate sensitivity across the characteristics under investigation (eg emotional expression, facial gender, or facial orientation). Consequently we cannot tell whether different decision speeds result from mechanisms that accrue information at different rates, or because facial images can differ in the amount of information they make available. To address this, we examined temporal integration times, the times across which information is accrued toward a perceptual decision. We examined facial gender and emotional expressions. We first identified image pairs that could be differentiated on 80% of trials with protracted presentations (1 s). We then presented these images at a range of brief durations to determine how rapidly performance plateaued, which is indicative of integration time. For upright faces gender was associated with a protracted integration relative to expression judgments. This difference was eliminated by inversion, with both gender and expression judgments associated with a common, rapid, integration time. Overall, our data suggest that upright facial gender and expression are encoded via distinct processes and that inversion does not just result in impaired sensitivity. Rather, inversion caused gender judgments, which had been associated with a protracted integration, to become associated with a more rapid process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The effect of stimulus valence and arousal on facial electromyographic (EMG) asymmetry was investigated to inform the debate about two contrasting hypotheses of emotion: the right hemisphere dominance hypothesis and the valence hypothesis. EMG was recorded from the left and right corrugator and zygomaticus muscles while participants (N=21) viewed blocks of negative and positive pictures that were high or low in arousal. Ratings of valence and arousal were taken before and after each of the four emotion blocks. Corrugator muscle activity yielded evidence for left hemi-face dominance during high and low arousal negative picture blocks whereas zygomaticus muscle activity yielded evidence for right hemi-face dominance during high arousal positive picture blocks, especially early during the picture sequence. This pattern of results is consistent with the valence hypothesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Pleasant and unpleasant emotional stimuli are frequently conceptualized as motivators for action. This notion was examined using focal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Ten healthy participants viewed pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). During picture viewing, focal TMS was applied to the right motor cortex over the area innervating the first dorsal interosseous muscle of the left hand. Corticomotor excitability was larger while viewing negative pictures than while viewing neutral or positive images, as evidenced by greater motor evoked potentials. No difference was found between pleasant and neutral pictures. These results are consistent with models of emotion in which the neural networks underlying negative emotions have selective, direct connections to brain structures that mediate motor responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Evaluative learning is said to differ from Pavlovian associative learning in that it reflects stimulus contiguity, not contingency. Thus, evaluative learning should not be subject to stimulus competition, a proposal tested in the current experiments. Participants were presented in elemental and compound training phases with pictures of shapes as CSs. Each shape/pair of shapes was followed by a picture of a happy or an angry face as the US. In Experiments 1 and 2, evaluative ratings were collected before and after the experiment, and, in Experiment 3, participants provided evaluations online. Stimulus competition was evident in all experiments confirming that evaluative learning is sensitive to stimulus contingencies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]