Anna Pecchinenda | Università degli Studi "La Sapienza" di Roma (original) (raw)

Papers by Anna Pecchinenda

Research paper thumbnail of Testing Whether and When Abstract Symmetric Patterns Produce Affective Responses

Research paper thumbnail of Electrophysiological responses to visuospatial regularity

Psychophysiology, Aug 14, 2013

Humans are quicker to detect reflectional than rotational or translational symmetry, despite the ... more Humans are quicker to detect reflectional than rotational or translational symmetry, despite the fact that these patterns are equally regular. We were interested in the neural correlates of these perceptual effects. Participants viewed random, reflection, rotation, and translation patterns while we recorded EEG from the scalp. Half the participants classified the pattern regularity overtly, the other half did not explicitly attend to pattern regularity but reported rare oddball trials, where two squares were embedded among the dots. The amplitude of a symmetry-related ERP known as the sustained posterior negativity was most pronounced for reflection, then rotation and translation. We suggest that reflectional symmetry, despite its biological significance, may not be processed by unique visual mechanisms, but instead it could be a preferred stimulus for a more general regularity-sensitive network in the extrastriate visual cortex.

Research paper thumbnail of Influence of Emotional Expression on Gaze Cueing Effects in School Children

Research paper thumbnail of Automatic evaluation of visual symmetry

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Automatic Semantic Activation Is No Myth

Psychological Science, Dec 1, 2004

The claim that semantic activation is an automatic process was recently called a myth, on the bas... more The claim that semantic activation is an automatic process was recently called a myth, on the basis of the finding that if letter search is performed on a prime word, semantic priming effects on response time are eliminated, whereas repetition effects are preserved. The absence of semantic activation, however, cannot be validly inferred from the lack of response time effects, and converging evidence is needed. To this end, we examined the event-related potential correlate of priming, the N400 amplitude modulation, in a letter-search priming paradigm. Our experiment replicated the response time effects and demonstrated that the N400 amplitude successfully differentiates cross-case repetition priming, semantic priming, and neutral conditions. The results clearly indicate that the meaning of the prime word was processed and that semantic activation indeed was present in the letter-search task. The notion that semantic activation is an automatic process should not be abandoned prematurely.

Research paper thumbnail of Role of Left Dorso-Lateral Pre-Frontal Cortex in Cognitive Control for Emotional Stimuli

Research paper thumbnail of The time squares sequences: a new task for assessing visuospatial working memory

Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

IntroductionSeveral studies have shown that the working memory is sensitive to temporal variation... more IntroductionSeveral studies have shown that the working memory is sensitive to temporal variations. We used a new visuospatial working memory task, the “Time Squares Sequences,” to investigate whether implicit variations in stimuli presentation time affect task performance.MethodsA total of 50 healthy participants saw two sequences (S1 and S2) of seven white squares presented in a matrix of gray squares and assessed whether S2 matched S1. There were four conditions depending on the spatial position and the presentation time (i.e., timing) of the white squares in S1 and S2: two with the same (S1 fixed/S2 fixed and S1 variable/S2 variable) and two with different (S1 fixed/S2 variable and S1 variable/S2 fixed) presentation times.ResultsFindings showed impaired performance when S1 had a fixed presentation time and S2 had a variable presentation time.ConclusionThese findings are attributed to increased cognitive load due to S2 timing difference, pointing to a monitoring process, sensitiv...

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring the relationship between perceived loneliness and subjective cognitive decline in older individuals

Aging & Mental Health, Aug 4, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Segregation of Neural Circuits Involved in Social Gaze and Non-Social Arrow Cues: Evidence from an Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis

Neuropsychology Review, Apr 17, 2023

Orienting attention by social gaze cues shares some characteristics with orienting attention by n... more Orienting attention by social gaze cues shares some characteristics with orienting attention by non-social arrow cues, but it is unclear whether they rely on similar neural mechanisms. The present ALE-meta-analysis assessed the pattern of brain activation reported in 40 single experiments (18 with arrows, 22 with gaze), with a total number of 806 participants. Our findings show that the network for orienting attention by social gaze and by non-social arrow cues is in part functionally segregated. Orienting by both types of cues relies on the activity of brain regions involved in endogenous attention (the superior frontal gyrus). Importantly, only orienting by gaze cues was also associated with the activity of brain regions involved in exogenous attention (medial frontal gyrus), processing gaze, and mental state attribution (superior temporal sulcus, temporoparietal junction). Keywords Gaze • Arrow • Frontal gyrus • Temporoparietal junction • Superior temporal sulcus • ALE meta-analysis Highlights • Patterns of brain activation in orienting attention by social and non-social cues. • Superior frontal gyrus and frontal eye field show activation for both cues. • Gaze and arrow cues activate partially segregated brain networks. • Only gaze cues engage brain areas involved in mental state attribution.

Research paper thumbnail of Segregation of Neural Circuits Involved in Social Gaze and Non-Social Arrow Cues: Evidence from an Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis

Neuropsychology Review, 2023

Orienting attention by social gaze cues shares some characteristics with orienting attention by n... more Orienting attention by social gaze cues shares some characteristics with orienting attention by non-social arrow cues, but it is unclear whether they rely on similar neural mechanisms. The present ALE-meta-analysis assessed the pattern of brain activation reported in 40 single experiments (18 with arrows, 22 with gaze), with a total number of 806 participants. Our findings show that the network for orienting attention by social gaze and by non-social arrow cues is in part functionally segregated. Orienting by both types of cues relies on the activity of brain regions involved in endogenous attention (the superior frontal gyrus). Importantly, only orienting by gaze cues was also associated with the activity of brain regions involved in exogenous attention (medial frontal gyrus), processing gaze, and mental state attribution (superior temporal sulcus, temporoparietal junction). Keywords Gaze • Arrow • Frontal gyrus • Temporoparietal junction • Superior temporal sulcus • ALE meta-analysis Highlights • Patterns of brain activation in orienting attention by social and non-social cues. • Superior frontal gyrus and frontal eye field show activation for both cues. • Gaze and arrow cues activate partially segregated brain networks. • Only gaze cues engage brain areas involved in mental state attribution.

Research paper thumbnail of A Comparative Study on Line Bisection and Landmark Task Performance Using a Hybrid Online Setting

Symmetry

Bisection tasks are commonly used to assess biases and asymmetries in visuospatial attention in b... more Bisection tasks are commonly used to assess biases and asymmetries in visuospatial attention in both patients and neurologically intact individuals. In these tasks, participants are usually asked to identify the midpoint and manually bisect a horizontal line. Typically, healthy individuals tend to show an attention processing advantage for the left visual field, known as “pseudoneglect.” Here, performance at two computerized versions of the task was compared to assess pseudoneglect in neurologically intact individuals. Specifically, we used a hybrid online setting in which subjects (n = 35) performed the online tasks under the video guidance of the experimenter. We measured attentional biases in the line bisection and landmark tasks. We found pseudoneglect in both tasks, although the bias was larger in the line bisection task. Overall, these findings show that hybrid online tasks may provide a valid setting to assess attentional biases and suggest their feasibility in the clinical s...

Research paper thumbnail of The role of arousal and motivation in emotional conflict resolution: Implications for spinal cord injury

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Under many conditions, emotional information is processed with priority and it may lead to cognit... more Under many conditions, emotional information is processed with priority and it may lead to cognitive conflict when it competes with task-relevant information. Accordingly, being able to ignore emotional information relies on cognitive control. The present perspective offers an integrative account of the mechanism that may underlie emotional conflict resolution in tasks involving response activation. We point to the contribution of emotional arousal and primed approach or avoidance motivation in accounting for emotional conflict resolution. We discuss the role of arousal in individuals with impairments in visceral pathways to the brain due to spinal cord lesions, as it may offer important insights into the “typical” mechanisms of emotional conflict control. We argue that a better understanding of emotional conflict control could be critical for adaptive and flexible behavior and has potential implications for the selection of appropriate therapeutic interventions.

Research paper thumbnail of The human middle temporal cortex responds to both active leg movements and egomotion-compatible visual motion

Brain Structure and Function

Research paper thumbnail of Special Issue: “Symmetry in Cognition and Emotion”

Symmetry

The ten contributions of the current Special Issue on “Symmetry in Cognition and Emotion” represe... more The ten contributions of the current Special Issue on “Symmetry in Cognition and Emotion” represent different and original contributions to this topic. The new evidence spans from addressing whether the attentional blink can be elicited by internal events to the role of the fronto-parietal network. The review contributions address the effect of emotion on pseudoneglect and the role of the temporal parietal junction in processing self-related information, respectively. Four contributions provide new evidence on processing different aspects of faces, such as age, gaze, emotional expression, and their effect on response inhibition. Finally, two contributions provide novel evidence on the asymmetric preferences in decisions and on the relation between preferences for visual symmetry, respectively. Taken together, these contributions provide a new insight into the different forms of “Symmetry in Cognition and Emotion”, and we hope they can help to stimulate new research.

Research paper thumbnail of Social contacts and loneliness affect the own age bias for emotional faces

Scientific Reports, Sep 27, 2022

Individuals are better at recognizing faces of their own age group (Own Age Bias) but it is uncle... more Individuals are better at recognizing faces of their own age group (Own Age Bias) but it is unclear whether this bias occurs also for emotional faces and to what extent is affected by loneliness. Young individuals (N = 235) completed an age categorization task on faces of young and old individuals showing neutral, happy, and angry expressions. After a filler task, they categorized as seen or novel the original set of faces intermixed with a new set. Findings showed an Own Age Bias for novel young faces but no evidence that emotion eliminates it. Recognition accuracy was better for emotional faces, but the two factors did not interact. Importantly, low loneliness was linked to an Own Age Bias for novel happy faces. These findings are discussed in the context of current theoretical accounts of the Own Age Bias and of the effects of loneliness on attention and memory.

Research paper thumbnail of Weaker inhibition after happy faces: evidence from an attentional blink task with emotional and neutral faces

Motivation and Emotion

In two experiments using a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) we investigated how emotional ... more In two experiments using a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) we investigated how emotional and neutral faces (T1) modulate temporal attention for a following neutral face (T2). Typically, performance for T2 is spared when T2 immediately follows T1 (lag 1 sparing) but it is impaired when T2 is presented within 500 ms from T1 (Attentional Blink). Experiment 1 shows a shorter attentional blink following happy faces, relative to neutral and sad faces, which did not differ. Experiment 2 shows a lag 1 sparing only after happy T1s, but not after angry or neutral T1s, and a greater attentional blink following happy and angry T1-faces, compared to neutral T1-faces. Results indicate that happy faces exert different effects on temporal attention than negative (angry or sad) faces. Findings are discussed in terms of an interplay of resource depletion, due to emotional salience, and emotion-specific inhibitory mechanisms.

Research paper thumbnail of Cerebellum-Cortical Interaction in Spatial Navigation and Its Alteration in Dementias

Brain Sciences

The cerebellum has a homogeneous structure and performs different computational functions such as... more The cerebellum has a homogeneous structure and performs different computational functions such as modulation/coordination of the communication between cerebral regions, and regulation/integration of sensory information. Albeit cerebellar activity is generally associated with motor functions, several recent studies link it to various cognitive functions, including spatial navigation. In addition, cerebellar activity plays a modulatory role in different cognitive domains and brain processes. Depending on the network involved, cerebellar damage results in specific functional alterations, even when no function loss might be detected. In the present review, we discuss evidence of brainstem degeneration and of a substantial reduction of neurons in nuclei connected to the inferior olivary nucleus in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Based on the rich patterns of afferences from the inferior olive nucleus to the cerebellum, we argue that the subtle alterations in spatial navigation d...

Research paper thumbnail of A Systematic Review on the Interaction between Emotion and Pseudoneglect

Symmetry

Background: A large body of research has shown brain asymmetries in spatial attention. Specifical... more Background: A large body of research has shown brain asymmetries in spatial attention. Specifically, there is an attention-processing advantage for the left visual field in healthy, right-handed subjects, known as “pseudoneglect.” Several studies have revealed that emotions modulate this basic spatial phenomenon, but the direction of the effect is still unclear. Here we systematically review empirical evidence on the behavioral effects of emotion on pseudoneglect. Methods: We searched through Pubmed, Scopus, PsycINFO, and PsychArticles. Original peer-reviewed articles published until February 2021 were included if they (1) were written in English; (2) were conducted on adults; (3) included at least one task to measure pseudoneglect, and (4) included at least one task with emotional stimuli or employed a measure of emotional state/trait, as they relate to pseudoneglect. Results: Fifteen studies were included, and 784 healthy participants took part in all studies reviewed. Discussion:...

Research paper thumbnail of Rethinking the Body in the Brain after Spinal Cord Injury

Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2022

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are disruptive neurological events that severly affect the body leadin... more Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are disruptive neurological events that severly affect the body leading to the interruption of sensorimotor and autonomic pathways. Recent research highlighted SCI-related alterations extend beyond than the expected network, involving most of the central nervous system and goes far beyond primary sensorimotor cortices. The present perspective offers an alternative, useful way to interpret conflicting findings by focusing on the deafferented and deefferented body as the central object of interest. After an introduction to the main processes involved in reorganization according to SCI, we will focus separately on the body regions of the head, upper limbs, and lower limbs in complete, incomplete, and deafferent SCI participants. On one hand, the imprinting of the body’s spatial organization is entrenched in the brain such that its representation likely lasts for the entire lifetime of patients, independent of the severity of the SCI. However, neural activity ...

Research paper thumbnail of Fearful expressions of rapidly presented hybrid-faces modulate the lag 1 sparing in the attentional blink

Acta Psychologica, 2020

There is evidence that emotional stimuli impair attention for subsequent stimuli when presented i... more There is evidence that emotional stimuli impair attention for subsequent stimuli when presented in rapid visual succession. We investigated whether non-visible emotions of hybrid faces showing either happy or afraid expressions only in their Low Spatial Frequencies (LSF) and neutral expressions in their High Spatial Frequencies (HSF) modulate temporal selective attention. In a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) paradigm, two target-faces (T1 and T2) were presented briefly at different temporal distances (lags) in a stream of inverted distractor-faces: T1s were either neutral, happy-hybrid or afraid-hybrid faces; T2s were always neutral faces. When participants reported T1 and T2 gender, performance was impaired across all early lags, especially after afraid-hybrid faces. When participants reported T1 orientation and T2 gender, results showed that the LSF emotion of T1s affected temporal selective attention engendering a longer AB (over lag 2 and lag 3) than neutral T1s. Interestingly, only afraid-hybrid T1s improved processing of T2 at lag 1 (i.e., sparing). Our findings show that some core emotional content is implicitly processed from the LSF of hybrid T1s since the effects on temporal selective attention are emotion specific.

Research paper thumbnail of Testing Whether and When Abstract Symmetric Patterns Produce Affective Responses

Research paper thumbnail of Electrophysiological responses to visuospatial regularity

Psychophysiology, Aug 14, 2013

Humans are quicker to detect reflectional than rotational or translational symmetry, despite the ... more Humans are quicker to detect reflectional than rotational or translational symmetry, despite the fact that these patterns are equally regular. We were interested in the neural correlates of these perceptual effects. Participants viewed random, reflection, rotation, and translation patterns while we recorded EEG from the scalp. Half the participants classified the pattern regularity overtly, the other half did not explicitly attend to pattern regularity but reported rare oddball trials, where two squares were embedded among the dots. The amplitude of a symmetry-related ERP known as the sustained posterior negativity was most pronounced for reflection, then rotation and translation. We suggest that reflectional symmetry, despite its biological significance, may not be processed by unique visual mechanisms, but instead it could be a preferred stimulus for a more general regularity-sensitive network in the extrastriate visual cortex.

Research paper thumbnail of Influence of Emotional Expression on Gaze Cueing Effects in School Children

Research paper thumbnail of Automatic evaluation of visual symmetry

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Automatic Semantic Activation Is No Myth

Psychological Science, Dec 1, 2004

The claim that semantic activation is an automatic process was recently called a myth, on the bas... more The claim that semantic activation is an automatic process was recently called a myth, on the basis of the finding that if letter search is performed on a prime word, semantic priming effects on response time are eliminated, whereas repetition effects are preserved. The absence of semantic activation, however, cannot be validly inferred from the lack of response time effects, and converging evidence is needed. To this end, we examined the event-related potential correlate of priming, the N400 amplitude modulation, in a letter-search priming paradigm. Our experiment replicated the response time effects and demonstrated that the N400 amplitude successfully differentiates cross-case repetition priming, semantic priming, and neutral conditions. The results clearly indicate that the meaning of the prime word was processed and that semantic activation indeed was present in the letter-search task. The notion that semantic activation is an automatic process should not be abandoned prematurely.

Research paper thumbnail of Role of Left Dorso-Lateral Pre-Frontal Cortex in Cognitive Control for Emotional Stimuli

Research paper thumbnail of The time squares sequences: a new task for assessing visuospatial working memory

Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

IntroductionSeveral studies have shown that the working memory is sensitive to temporal variation... more IntroductionSeveral studies have shown that the working memory is sensitive to temporal variations. We used a new visuospatial working memory task, the “Time Squares Sequences,” to investigate whether implicit variations in stimuli presentation time affect task performance.MethodsA total of 50 healthy participants saw two sequences (S1 and S2) of seven white squares presented in a matrix of gray squares and assessed whether S2 matched S1. There were four conditions depending on the spatial position and the presentation time (i.e., timing) of the white squares in S1 and S2: two with the same (S1 fixed/S2 fixed and S1 variable/S2 variable) and two with different (S1 fixed/S2 variable and S1 variable/S2 fixed) presentation times.ResultsFindings showed impaired performance when S1 had a fixed presentation time and S2 had a variable presentation time.ConclusionThese findings are attributed to increased cognitive load due to S2 timing difference, pointing to a monitoring process, sensitiv...

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring the relationship between perceived loneliness and subjective cognitive decline in older individuals

Aging & Mental Health, Aug 4, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Segregation of Neural Circuits Involved in Social Gaze and Non-Social Arrow Cues: Evidence from an Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis

Neuropsychology Review, Apr 17, 2023

Orienting attention by social gaze cues shares some characteristics with orienting attention by n... more Orienting attention by social gaze cues shares some characteristics with orienting attention by non-social arrow cues, but it is unclear whether they rely on similar neural mechanisms. The present ALE-meta-analysis assessed the pattern of brain activation reported in 40 single experiments (18 with arrows, 22 with gaze), with a total number of 806 participants. Our findings show that the network for orienting attention by social gaze and by non-social arrow cues is in part functionally segregated. Orienting by both types of cues relies on the activity of brain regions involved in endogenous attention (the superior frontal gyrus). Importantly, only orienting by gaze cues was also associated with the activity of brain regions involved in exogenous attention (medial frontal gyrus), processing gaze, and mental state attribution (superior temporal sulcus, temporoparietal junction). Keywords Gaze • Arrow • Frontal gyrus • Temporoparietal junction • Superior temporal sulcus • ALE meta-analysis Highlights • Patterns of brain activation in orienting attention by social and non-social cues. • Superior frontal gyrus and frontal eye field show activation for both cues. • Gaze and arrow cues activate partially segregated brain networks. • Only gaze cues engage brain areas involved in mental state attribution.

Research paper thumbnail of Segregation of Neural Circuits Involved in Social Gaze and Non-Social Arrow Cues: Evidence from an Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis

Neuropsychology Review, 2023

Orienting attention by social gaze cues shares some characteristics with orienting attention by n... more Orienting attention by social gaze cues shares some characteristics with orienting attention by non-social arrow cues, but it is unclear whether they rely on similar neural mechanisms. The present ALE-meta-analysis assessed the pattern of brain activation reported in 40 single experiments (18 with arrows, 22 with gaze), with a total number of 806 participants. Our findings show that the network for orienting attention by social gaze and by non-social arrow cues is in part functionally segregated. Orienting by both types of cues relies on the activity of brain regions involved in endogenous attention (the superior frontal gyrus). Importantly, only orienting by gaze cues was also associated with the activity of brain regions involved in exogenous attention (medial frontal gyrus), processing gaze, and mental state attribution (superior temporal sulcus, temporoparietal junction). Keywords Gaze • Arrow • Frontal gyrus • Temporoparietal junction • Superior temporal sulcus • ALE meta-analysis Highlights • Patterns of brain activation in orienting attention by social and non-social cues. • Superior frontal gyrus and frontal eye field show activation for both cues. • Gaze and arrow cues activate partially segregated brain networks. • Only gaze cues engage brain areas involved in mental state attribution.

Research paper thumbnail of A Comparative Study on Line Bisection and Landmark Task Performance Using a Hybrid Online Setting

Symmetry

Bisection tasks are commonly used to assess biases and asymmetries in visuospatial attention in b... more Bisection tasks are commonly used to assess biases and asymmetries in visuospatial attention in both patients and neurologically intact individuals. In these tasks, participants are usually asked to identify the midpoint and manually bisect a horizontal line. Typically, healthy individuals tend to show an attention processing advantage for the left visual field, known as “pseudoneglect.” Here, performance at two computerized versions of the task was compared to assess pseudoneglect in neurologically intact individuals. Specifically, we used a hybrid online setting in which subjects (n = 35) performed the online tasks under the video guidance of the experimenter. We measured attentional biases in the line bisection and landmark tasks. We found pseudoneglect in both tasks, although the bias was larger in the line bisection task. Overall, these findings show that hybrid online tasks may provide a valid setting to assess attentional biases and suggest their feasibility in the clinical s...

Research paper thumbnail of The role of arousal and motivation in emotional conflict resolution: Implications for spinal cord injury

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Under many conditions, emotional information is processed with priority and it may lead to cognit... more Under many conditions, emotional information is processed with priority and it may lead to cognitive conflict when it competes with task-relevant information. Accordingly, being able to ignore emotional information relies on cognitive control. The present perspective offers an integrative account of the mechanism that may underlie emotional conflict resolution in tasks involving response activation. We point to the contribution of emotional arousal and primed approach or avoidance motivation in accounting for emotional conflict resolution. We discuss the role of arousal in individuals with impairments in visceral pathways to the brain due to spinal cord lesions, as it may offer important insights into the “typical” mechanisms of emotional conflict control. We argue that a better understanding of emotional conflict control could be critical for adaptive and flexible behavior and has potential implications for the selection of appropriate therapeutic interventions.

Research paper thumbnail of The human middle temporal cortex responds to both active leg movements and egomotion-compatible visual motion

Brain Structure and Function

Research paper thumbnail of Special Issue: “Symmetry in Cognition and Emotion”

Symmetry

The ten contributions of the current Special Issue on “Symmetry in Cognition and Emotion” represe... more The ten contributions of the current Special Issue on “Symmetry in Cognition and Emotion” represent different and original contributions to this topic. The new evidence spans from addressing whether the attentional blink can be elicited by internal events to the role of the fronto-parietal network. The review contributions address the effect of emotion on pseudoneglect and the role of the temporal parietal junction in processing self-related information, respectively. Four contributions provide new evidence on processing different aspects of faces, such as age, gaze, emotional expression, and their effect on response inhibition. Finally, two contributions provide novel evidence on the asymmetric preferences in decisions and on the relation between preferences for visual symmetry, respectively. Taken together, these contributions provide a new insight into the different forms of “Symmetry in Cognition and Emotion”, and we hope they can help to stimulate new research.

Research paper thumbnail of Social contacts and loneliness affect the own age bias for emotional faces

Scientific Reports, Sep 27, 2022

Individuals are better at recognizing faces of their own age group (Own Age Bias) but it is uncle... more Individuals are better at recognizing faces of their own age group (Own Age Bias) but it is unclear whether this bias occurs also for emotional faces and to what extent is affected by loneliness. Young individuals (N = 235) completed an age categorization task on faces of young and old individuals showing neutral, happy, and angry expressions. After a filler task, they categorized as seen or novel the original set of faces intermixed with a new set. Findings showed an Own Age Bias for novel young faces but no evidence that emotion eliminates it. Recognition accuracy was better for emotional faces, but the two factors did not interact. Importantly, low loneliness was linked to an Own Age Bias for novel happy faces. These findings are discussed in the context of current theoretical accounts of the Own Age Bias and of the effects of loneliness on attention and memory.

Research paper thumbnail of Weaker inhibition after happy faces: evidence from an attentional blink task with emotional and neutral faces

Motivation and Emotion

In two experiments using a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) we investigated how emotional ... more In two experiments using a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) we investigated how emotional and neutral faces (T1) modulate temporal attention for a following neutral face (T2). Typically, performance for T2 is spared when T2 immediately follows T1 (lag 1 sparing) but it is impaired when T2 is presented within 500 ms from T1 (Attentional Blink). Experiment 1 shows a shorter attentional blink following happy faces, relative to neutral and sad faces, which did not differ. Experiment 2 shows a lag 1 sparing only after happy T1s, but not after angry or neutral T1s, and a greater attentional blink following happy and angry T1-faces, compared to neutral T1-faces. Results indicate that happy faces exert different effects on temporal attention than negative (angry or sad) faces. Findings are discussed in terms of an interplay of resource depletion, due to emotional salience, and emotion-specific inhibitory mechanisms.

Research paper thumbnail of Cerebellum-Cortical Interaction in Spatial Navigation and Its Alteration in Dementias

Brain Sciences

The cerebellum has a homogeneous structure and performs different computational functions such as... more The cerebellum has a homogeneous structure and performs different computational functions such as modulation/coordination of the communication between cerebral regions, and regulation/integration of sensory information. Albeit cerebellar activity is generally associated with motor functions, several recent studies link it to various cognitive functions, including spatial navigation. In addition, cerebellar activity plays a modulatory role in different cognitive domains and brain processes. Depending on the network involved, cerebellar damage results in specific functional alterations, even when no function loss might be detected. In the present review, we discuss evidence of brainstem degeneration and of a substantial reduction of neurons in nuclei connected to the inferior olivary nucleus in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Based on the rich patterns of afferences from the inferior olive nucleus to the cerebellum, we argue that the subtle alterations in spatial navigation d...

Research paper thumbnail of A Systematic Review on the Interaction between Emotion and Pseudoneglect

Symmetry

Background: A large body of research has shown brain asymmetries in spatial attention. Specifical... more Background: A large body of research has shown brain asymmetries in spatial attention. Specifically, there is an attention-processing advantage for the left visual field in healthy, right-handed subjects, known as “pseudoneglect.” Several studies have revealed that emotions modulate this basic spatial phenomenon, but the direction of the effect is still unclear. Here we systematically review empirical evidence on the behavioral effects of emotion on pseudoneglect. Methods: We searched through Pubmed, Scopus, PsycINFO, and PsychArticles. Original peer-reviewed articles published until February 2021 were included if they (1) were written in English; (2) were conducted on adults; (3) included at least one task to measure pseudoneglect, and (4) included at least one task with emotional stimuli or employed a measure of emotional state/trait, as they relate to pseudoneglect. Results: Fifteen studies were included, and 784 healthy participants took part in all studies reviewed. Discussion:...

Research paper thumbnail of Rethinking the Body in the Brain after Spinal Cord Injury

Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2022

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are disruptive neurological events that severly affect the body leadin... more Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are disruptive neurological events that severly affect the body leading to the interruption of sensorimotor and autonomic pathways. Recent research highlighted SCI-related alterations extend beyond than the expected network, involving most of the central nervous system and goes far beyond primary sensorimotor cortices. The present perspective offers an alternative, useful way to interpret conflicting findings by focusing on the deafferented and deefferented body as the central object of interest. After an introduction to the main processes involved in reorganization according to SCI, we will focus separately on the body regions of the head, upper limbs, and lower limbs in complete, incomplete, and deafferent SCI participants. On one hand, the imprinting of the body’s spatial organization is entrenched in the brain such that its representation likely lasts for the entire lifetime of patients, independent of the severity of the SCI. However, neural activity ...

Research paper thumbnail of Fearful expressions of rapidly presented hybrid-faces modulate the lag 1 sparing in the attentional blink

Acta Psychologica, 2020

There is evidence that emotional stimuli impair attention for subsequent stimuli when presented i... more There is evidence that emotional stimuli impair attention for subsequent stimuli when presented in rapid visual succession. We investigated whether non-visible emotions of hybrid faces showing either happy or afraid expressions only in their Low Spatial Frequencies (LSF) and neutral expressions in their High Spatial Frequencies (HSF) modulate temporal selective attention. In a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) paradigm, two target-faces (T1 and T2) were presented briefly at different temporal distances (lags) in a stream of inverted distractor-faces: T1s were either neutral, happy-hybrid or afraid-hybrid faces; T2s were always neutral faces. When participants reported T1 and T2 gender, performance was impaired across all early lags, especially after afraid-hybrid faces. When participants reported T1 orientation and T2 gender, results showed that the LSF emotion of T1s affected temporal selective attention engendering a longer AB (over lag 2 and lag 3) than neutral T1s. Interestingly, only afraid-hybrid T1s improved processing of T2 at lag 1 (i.e., sparing). Our findings show that some core emotional content is implicitly processed from the LSF of hybrid T1s since the effects on temporal selective attention are emotion specific.