The effect of emotional content on brain activation and the late positive potential in a word n-back task.
INTRODUCTION: There is mounting evidence for the influence of emotional content on working memory performance. This is particularly important in light of the emotion processing that needs to take place when emotional content interferes with executive functions. In this study, we used emotional words...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3784459?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1811235580236791808 |
|---|---|
| author | Juliane Kopf Thomas Dresler Philipp Reicherts Martin J Herrmann Andreas Reif |
| author_facet | Juliane Kopf Thomas Dresler Philipp Reicherts Martin J Herrmann Andreas Reif |
| author_sort | Juliane Kopf |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | INTRODUCTION: There is mounting evidence for the influence of emotional content on working memory performance. This is particularly important in light of the emotion processing that needs to take place when emotional content interferes with executive functions. In this study, we used emotional words of different valence but with similar arousal levels in an n-back task. METHODS: We examined the effects on activation in the prefrontal cortex by means of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and on the late positive potential (LPP). FNIRS and LPP data were examined in 30 healthy subjects. RESULTS: BEHAVIORAL RESULTS SHOW AN INFLUENCE OF VALENCE ON THE ERROR RATE DEPENDING ON THE DIFFICULTY OF THE TASK: more errors were made when the valence was negative and the task difficult. Brain activation was dependent both on the difficulty of the task and on the valence: negative valence of a word diminished the increase in activation, whereas positive valence did not influence the increase in activation, while difficulty levels increased. The LPP also differentiated between the different valences, and in addition was influenced by the task difficulty, the more difficult the task, the less differentiation could be observed. CONCLUSIONS: Summarized, this study shows the influence of valence on a verbal working memory task. When a word contained a negative valence, the emotional content seemed to take precedence in contrast to words containing a positive valence. Working memory and emotion processing sites seemed to overlap and compete for resources even when words are carriers of the emotional content. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T11:54:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-08d1e46ffe504c92b0fe7068b24729dc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T11:54:26Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-08d1e46ffe504c92b0fe7068b24729dc2022-12-22T03:34:03ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0189e7559810.1371/journal.pone.0075598The effect of emotional content on brain activation and the late positive potential in a word n-back task.Juliane KopfThomas DreslerPhilipp ReichertsMartin J HerrmannAndreas ReifINTRODUCTION: There is mounting evidence for the influence of emotional content on working memory performance. This is particularly important in light of the emotion processing that needs to take place when emotional content interferes with executive functions. In this study, we used emotional words of different valence but with similar arousal levels in an n-back task. METHODS: We examined the effects on activation in the prefrontal cortex by means of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and on the late positive potential (LPP). FNIRS and LPP data were examined in 30 healthy subjects. RESULTS: BEHAVIORAL RESULTS SHOW AN INFLUENCE OF VALENCE ON THE ERROR RATE DEPENDING ON THE DIFFICULTY OF THE TASK: more errors were made when the valence was negative and the task difficult. Brain activation was dependent both on the difficulty of the task and on the valence: negative valence of a word diminished the increase in activation, whereas positive valence did not influence the increase in activation, while difficulty levels increased. The LPP also differentiated between the different valences, and in addition was influenced by the task difficulty, the more difficult the task, the less differentiation could be observed. CONCLUSIONS: Summarized, this study shows the influence of valence on a verbal working memory task. When a word contained a negative valence, the emotional content seemed to take precedence in contrast to words containing a positive valence. Working memory and emotion processing sites seemed to overlap and compete for resources even when words are carriers of the emotional content.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3784459?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Juliane Kopf Thomas Dresler Philipp Reicherts Martin J Herrmann Andreas Reif The effect of emotional content on brain activation and the late positive potential in a word n-back task. PLoS ONE |
| title | The effect of emotional content on brain activation and the late positive potential in a word n-back task. |
| title_full | The effect of emotional content on brain activation and the late positive potential in a word n-back task. |
| title_fullStr | The effect of emotional content on brain activation and the late positive potential in a word n-back task. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effect of emotional content on brain activation and the late positive potential in a word n-back task. |
| title_short | The effect of emotional content on brain activation and the late positive potential in a word n-back task. |
| title_sort | effect of emotional content on brain activation and the late positive potential in a word n back task |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3784459?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT julianekopf theeffectofemotionalcontentonbrainactivationandthelatepositivepotentialinawordnbacktask AT thomasdresler theeffectofemotionalcontentonbrainactivationandthelatepositivepotentialinawordnbacktask AT philippreicherts theeffectofemotionalcontentonbrainactivationandthelatepositivepotentialinawordnbacktask AT martinjherrmann theeffectofemotionalcontentonbrainactivationandthelatepositivepotentialinawordnbacktask AT andreasreif theeffectofemotionalcontentonbrainactivationandthelatepositivepotentialinawordnbacktask AT julianekopf effectofemotionalcontentonbrainactivationandthelatepositivepotentialinawordnbacktask AT thomasdresler effectofemotionalcontentonbrainactivationandthelatepositivepotentialinawordnbacktask AT philippreicherts effectofemotionalcontentonbrainactivationandthelatepositivepotentialinawordnbacktask AT martinjherrmann effectofemotionalcontentonbrainactivationandthelatepositivepotentialinawordnbacktask AT andreasreif effectofemotionalcontentonbrainactivationandthelatepositivepotentialinawordnbacktask |