Anxiety overrides the blocking effects of high perceptual load on amygdala reactivity to threat-related distractors

Amygdala reactivity to threat-related distractor stimuli can be abolished in perceptually demanding contexts. Premised on the biological imperative to respond swiftly to threat, we demonstrate, however, that when participants are threatened by shock, greater amygdala responses to fearful compared to neutral distractor faces is preserved under conditions of high attentional demand. Lateral prefrontal cortices also showed selective responding to fearful distractor faces under these conditions, suggesting that threat-related distractor stimuli engaged attentional control mechanisms. We conclude that anxiety elicited by looming threat promotes neurocognitive processes that broaden attention and enhance sensitivity to potential danger cues, even when perceptual systems are taxed.     

Peripheral facial features guiding eye movements and reducing fixational variability

Face processing is a fast and efficient process due to its evolutionary and social importance. A majority of people direct their first eye movement to a featureless point just below the eyes that maximizes accuracy in recognizing a person''s identity and gender. Yet, the exact properties or features of the face that guide the first eye movements and reduce fixational variability are unknown. Here, we manipulated the presence of the facial features and the spatial configuration of features to investigate their effect on the location and variability of first and second fixations to peripherally presented faces. Our results showed that observers can utilize the face outline, individual facial features, and feature spatial configuration to guide the first eye movements to their preferred point of fixation. The eyes have a preferential role in guiding the first eye movements and reducing fixation variability. Eliminating the eyes or altering their position had the greatest influence on the location and variability of fixations and resulted in the largest detriment to face identification performance. The other internal features (nose and mouth) also contribute to reducing fixation variability. A subsequent experiment measuring detection of single features showed that the eyes have the highest detectability (relative to other features) in the visual periphery providing a strong sensory signal to guide the oculomotor system. Together, the results suggest a flexible multiple-cue approach that might be a robust solution to cope with how the varying eccentricities in the real world influence the ability to resolve individual feature properties and the preferential role of the eyes.     

Identifying cognitive preferences for attractive female faces: an event-related potential experiment using a study-test paradigm

In this experiment, sensitivity to female facial attractiveness was examined by comparing event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to attractive and unattractive female faces within a study-test paradigm. Fourteen heterosexual participants (age range 18-24 years, mean age 21.67 years) were required to judge 84 attractive and 84 unattractive face images as either "attractive" or "unattractive." They were then asked whether they had previously viewed each face in a recognition task in which 50% of the images were novel. Analyses indicated that attractive faces elicited more enhanced ERP amplitudes than did unattractive faces in judgment (N300 and P350-550 msec) and recognition (P160 and N250-400 msec and P400-700 msec) tasks on anterior locations. Moreover, longer reaction times and higher accuracy rate were observed in identifying attractive faces than unattractive faces. In sum, this research identified neural and behavioral bases related to cognitive preferences for judging and recognizing attractive female faces. Explanations for the results are that attractive female faces arouse more intense positive emotions in participants than do unattractive faces, and they also represent reproductive fitness and mating value from the evolutionary perspective.     

染病医院发展中出现的问题和对策

本文从我国传染病医院发展面临的政府投入不足、医院经济增长受到抑制等主要问题人手,探讨医院发展的对策,不断促进医院可持续发展.     

Influence of emotional expression on memory recognition bias: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

BACKGROUND: Most studies of the influence of emotion on memory performance have focused on accuracy. However, there is evidence that emotion can influence other aspects of memory, in particular response bias (overall tendency to classify items as new or old regardless of the accuracy of the response). Here we investigated the behavioral and neural-related modulation of response bias by emotion. METHODS: Nineteen healthy individuals performed a recognition memory task on faces with happy, sad, and neutral expressions while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). RESULTS: We observed a familiarity (tendency to say "old") and novelty (tendency to say "new") bias for sad and happy faces, respectively. Novelty response bias was associated with amygdala and prefrontal cortex activity, whereas familiarity bias correlated with superior temporal gyrus activation. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that emotional expressions can have an influence on memory beyond simple accuracy and that this effect is in part mediated by the amygdala, a region previously implicated in emotional perception and memory. Our findings might have important clinical relevance, because they could help explain some of the inconsistencies in the literature regarding emotional memory deficits in psychiatric populations.     

Trauma, stress, and preconscious threat processing in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures

Purpose:   Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) have long been considered as paroxysmal dissociative symptoms characterized by an alteration of attentional functions caused by severe stress or trauma. Although interpersonal trauma is common in PNES, the proposed relation between trauma and attentional functions remains under explored. We examined the attentional processing of social threat in PNES in relation to interpersonal trauma and acute psychological stress.
Methods:   A masked emotional Stroop test, comparing color-naming latencies for backwardly masked angry, neutral, and happy faces, was administered to 19 unmedicated patients with PNES and 20 matched healthy controls, at baseline and in a stress condition. Stress was induced by means of the Trier Social Stress Test and physiologic stress parameters, such as heart rate variability (HRV) and cortisol, were measured throughout the experiment.
Results:   No group differences related to the acute stress induction were found. Compared to controls, however, patients displayed a positive attentional bias for masked angry faces at baseline, which was correlated to self-reported sexual trauma. Moreover, patients showed lower HRV at baseline and during recovery.
Discussion:   These findings are suggestive of a state of hypervigilance in patients with PNES. The relation with self-reported trauma, moreover, offers the first evidence linking psychological risk factors to altered information processing in PNES.     

Threatening faces and social anxiety: A literature review

A threatening facial expression is a potent social sign of hostility or dominance. During the past 20 years, photographs of threatening faces have been increasingly included as stimuli in studies with socially anxious participants, based on the hypothesis that a threatening face is especially salient to people with fears of social interaction or negative evaluation. The purpose of this literature review is to systematically evaluate the accumulated research and suggest possible avenues for further research. The main conclusion is that photographs of threatening faces engage a broad range of perceptual processes in socially anxious participants, particularly when exposure times are very short.     

Examining the sex difference in lateralisation for processing facial emotion: Does biological sex or psychological gender identity matter?

The research examining sex differences in functional lateralisation has shown varying results. While some provide evidence for males being more strongly lateralised than females, a number have shown either no relationship or the opposite pattern of findings. In this study we consider whether psychological gender identity might clarify some of the conflicting results in this area of research. Eight five participants (39 males) aged from 18 to 49 years old were tested. We found that psychological masculinity was associated with stronger patterns of lateralisation for the processing of a range of emotional expressions. We also found an interaction between biological sex and psychological gender identity, with a positive relationship between psychological masculinity and lateralisation found for males, but a negative relationship found for females. The possible role of hormonal exposure in this relationship is discussed.     

抑郁症患者恐惧与中性面孔刺激的脑磁图研究

目的:利用脑磁图探讨抑郁症患者给予重复恐惧、中性面孔刺激后早期神经磁场激活特征。方法:8例抑郁症患者及12名健康右利手对照者,在给予恐惧、中性面孔图片刺激同时记录脑磁图信号,使用SPM8b软件进行数据分析;设两样t检验P<0.005(未校正)和K值≥40个体素范围为差异有统计学意义。结果:在0～50Hz频率范围内,与对照组相比,抑郁组在恐惧面孔图片刺激下显示出左侧眶额皮质、腹外侧前额皮质激活增强;在中性面孔刺激下,抑郁组显示出左侧腹外侧前额皮质和眶额皮质、左前扣带回激活增强,双侧顶叶如楔前叶等激活减弱。结论:抑郁症患者情绪感受脑区左侧前额皮质低频脑磁图功率增强。