1. How to detect an electrocutaneous shock which is not delivered? Overt spatial attention influences decision
- Author
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George A. Michael, Janick Naveteur, Jacques Honoré, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Fonctionnelles et Pathologies (LNFP), and Université de Lille, Droit et Santé-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
Perceptual Masking ,Field Dependence-Independence ,Audiology ,Developmental psychology ,Behavioral Neuroscience ,0302 clinical medicine ,Skin Physiological Phenomena ,Adaptation, Psychological ,Contrast (vision) ,Attention ,media_common ,Skin ,Electroshock ,05 social sciences ,MESH: Subliminal Stimulation ,MESH: Field Dependence-Independence ,MESH: Pain Threshold ,Laterality ,Anxiety ,[SDV.NEU]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC] ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,Cues ,Psychology ,Adult ,Pain Threshold ,medicine.medical_specialty ,MESH: Electroshock ,Adolescent ,media_common.quotation_subject ,MESH: Space Perception ,MESH: Orientation ,Fixation, Ocular ,Subliminal Stimulation ,050105 experimental psychology ,MESH: Skin Physiology ,03 medical and health sciences ,MESH: Skin ,Perception ,Orientation ,Threshold of pain ,medicine ,Reaction Time ,MESH: Adaptation, Psychological ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Dominance, Cerebral ,MESH: Fixation, Ocular ,MESH: Adolescent ,MESH: Attention ,MESH: Humans ,Subliminal stimuli ,MESH: Adult ,MESH: Dominance, Cerebral ,Response bias ,MESH: Reaction Time ,Space Perception ,MESH: Perceptual Masking ,MESH: Female ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,MESH: Cues - Abstract
International audience; Lateral shifts in overt attention have been previously shown to modulate reaction times to lateral electrocutaneous stimuli, as well as perception or unpleasantness thresholds. A response bias can play a role in the elicitation of these lateral differences. Therefore, the present experiment aimed at investigating whether eye orientation induces a decision bias in favour of the ipsilateral hemispace. Participants were asked whether or not they suspected subliminal electrocutaneous shocks, whereas no subliminal stimulation was actually delivered. A secondary visual task led participants to direct their eyes ipsi- or contralateral to the stimulated area. Differences between experimental conditions in the amount of subliminal shocks participants acknowledge to receive (number of positive responses) are thought to reflect decision biases. Low and high trait anxiety participants were involved. Results showed an interaction between the eye orientation and the tested hand. The number of positive responses was smaller in right-hand tests with contralateral eye orienting. This effect fits those described previously with real electrocutaneous stimuli. This interaction is related to hemispheric differences in spatial attention. In contrast to thresholds studies, this study failed to replicate that a lateral difference arises in the low but not in the high trait anxiety individuals, suggesting that this interaction was mostly due to the neurosensory processing of the electrocutaneous stimuli.
- Published
- 2004
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