Neutral and negative mood induction in executive tasks of working memory (original) (raw)
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Current Psychology
It is already well established that the working memory system can be influenced by moods or emotional stimuli. However, the exact combined impact of these two on the performance of working memory remains a puzzle. To examine the effect that the emotional content of stimuli has on working memory performance, 90 participants performed a 2-back task with emotional content (positive, neutral, and negative words) when they were in a positive, neutral, or negative mood. Repeated-measures ANOVA with mood as between-subjects factor and emotional load as within-subjects factor revealed a main effect of emotional content for both performance accuracy and reaction times in a 2-back task, and a main effect of mood for performance accuracy. Participants reacted significantly faster to negative words independently of their mood state. They were significantly more accurate when they were in the positive mood, but when they processed positive words they were less accurate. Additionally, to test whe...
A facilitative effect of negative affective valence on working memory
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 2010
A facilitative effect of negative affective valence on working memory. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51,[185][186][187][188][189][190][191] Previous studies have shown that negatively valenced information impaired working memory performance due to an attention-capturing effect. The present study examined whether negative valence could also facilitate working memory. Affective words (negative, neutral, positive) were used as retro-cues in a working memory task that required participants to remember colors at different spatial locations on a computer screen. Following the cue, a target detection task was used to either shift attention to a different location or keep attention at the same location as the retro-cue. Finally, participants were required to discriminate the cued color from a set of distractors. It was found that negative cues yielded shorter response times (RTs) in the attention-shift condition and longer RTs in the attention-stay condition, compared with neutral and positive cues. The results suggest that negative affective valence may enhance working memory performance (RTs), provided that attention can be disengaged.
When do negative and positive emotions modulate working memory performance?
Scientific Reports, 2013
The present study investigated when emotion modulates working memory from the perspective of neural activation. Using fMRI, we measured brain activity during the encoding and retrieval phases of a reading span test (RST) that used emotional contexts. The emotional RST required participants to read sentences that elicited negative, neural or positive emotional states while they were memorizing target words from the sentences. Compared with the neutral RST, the negative RST activated the right amygdala during the reading phase. Significant activation was also found in the parahippocampal gyrus, albeit only after activation of the amygdala became comparable to that in the neutral RST. In contrast, the positive RST activated the substantia nigra during the reading phase relative to the neutral RST. These findings suggest that negative and positive emotions modulate working memory through distinctive neural circuits. We also discuss possible relationships between emotional modulation and working memory capacity. P ositive and negative emotions often affect cognitive task performance 1-4 , with emotionally relevant events being more often remembered than neutral ones, especially in episodic memory 5,6 . Additionally, emotionally valenced stimuli are expected to affect working memory 7 , which supports goal-directed cognitive task performance, by maintaining and manipulating relevant information 8 .
S4.3 Effect of negative and positive emotion on working memory performance: an fMRI study
Clinical Neurophysiology, 2011
The present study investigated when emotion modulates working memory from the perspective of neural activation. Using fMRI, we measured brain activity during the encoding and retrieval phases of a reading span test (RST) that used emotional contexts. The emotional RST required participants to read sentences that elicited negative, neural or positive emotional states while they were memorizing target words from the sentences. Compared with the neutral RST, the negative RST activated the right amygdala during the reading phase. Significant activation was also found in the parahippocampal gyrus, albeit only after activation of the amygdala became comparable to that in the neutral RST. In contrast, the positive RST activated the substantia nigra during the reading phase relative to the neutral RST. These findings suggest that negative and positive emotions modulate working memory through distinctive neural circuits. We also discuss possible relationships between emotional modulation and working memory capacity. P ositive and negative emotions often affect cognitive task performance 1-4 , with emotionally relevant events being more often remembered than neutral ones, especially in episodic memory 5,6 . Additionally, emotionally valenced stimuli are expected to affect working memory 7 , which supports goal-directed cognitive task performance, by maintaining and manipulating relevant information 8 .
Affective Modulation of Working Memory Maintenance: The Role of Positive and Negative Emotions
Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 2021
The present study investigated the impact of task-irrelevant emotional images on the retention of information in spatial working memory (WM). Two experiments employed a delayed matchingto-sample task where participants had to maintain the locations of four briefly presented squares. After a short retention interval, a probe item appeared and participants were required to indicate whether the probe position matched one of the previously occupied square positions. During the retention interval, task-irrelevant negative, positive, or neutral emotional pictures were presented. The results revealed a dissociation between negative and positive affect on the participants' ability to hold spatial locations in WM. While negative affective pictures reduced WM capacity, positive pictures increased WM capacity relative to the neutral images. Moreover, the specific valence and arousal of a given emotional picture was also related to WM performance: While higher valence enhanced WM capacity, higher levels of arousal in turn reduced WM capacity. Together, our findings suggest that emotions up-or down-regulate attention to items in WM and thus modulate the shortterm storage of visual information in memory.
Clearing the mind: A working memory model of distraction from negative mood.
Emotion, 2007
The present research examined whether and how loading working memory can attenuate negative mood. In three experiments, participants were exposed to neutral, weakly negative, or strongly negative pictures followed by a task and a mood scale. Working memory demands were varied by manipulating task presence (Study 1), complexity (Study 2), and predictability (Study 3). Participants in all three experiments reported less negative moods in negative trials with high compared to low working memory demand. Working memory demands did not affect mood in the neutral trials. When working memory demands were high, participants no longer reported more negative moods in response to strongly negative pictures than to weakly negative pictures. These findings suggest that loading working memory prevents mood-congruent processing, and thereby promotes distraction from negative moods.
Effect of emotionally valenced stimuli on working memory performance
Psychology & Neuroscience, 2015
Working memory (WM) is the ability to keep information cognitively in course for a brief period of time, but with enough duration so as to complete a task. Little is known about how the different emotional valences of the perceived information provoke effect over WM because it is known that for WM task performance, motivated behavior receives important emotional influence. A total of 27 university students, randomly selected, participated in the study. Data were acquired from 23 right-handed subjects (20.22 years mean age, SD ϭ 1.47), 52.2% male (20.09 years mean age, SD ϭ 1.7 years) and 47.8% female (20.35 years mean age, SD ϭ 1.3 years). The influence of emotional valence in a WM task was measured using content from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Subjects were asked to remember the first image of the pair and compare the second image with it. Accuracy of response (AR) was measured by the number of correct responses, and reaction times (RTs) were measured for each subject. Results show that the RT is shortest for pictures with neutral valence and longest for negative valence. Multivariate analyses of variance statistics showed a significant main effect of emotional valence. It was found that the AR is highest for pictures with neutral valence and lowest for negative valence. In conclusion, emotionally charged IAPS pictures were processed worse than neutral ones during WM task performance. There is an effect of emotion valence on RT, and this is higher for negative pictures compared with positive ones.
Frontiers in psychology, 2018
Some studies have demonstrated a beneficial role of Positive Affect on working memory (WM) by either applying protocols of mood induction or assessing naturally occurring state Positive Affect. However, there are no studies directly linking Positive Affect as a stable personality-like trait with WM. We aimed to address this potential relationship using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule scale and contra-lateral delay activity (CDA) as measures of trait Positive Affect and WM Capacity, respectively. We also sought to investigate the impact of a neutral or unpleasant emotional state on this relationship. Participants performed a change detection task, while a neutral or an unpleasant emotional state was induced. Our results showed a positive robust correlation between trait Positive Affect and WM Capacity for both neutral and unpleasant emotional states, as revealed by the neuroelectrophysiological gold-standard measure of WM, namely, CDA. These data suggest a tangible role of ...
Psychology & Neuroscience Effect of emotionally valenced stimuli on working memory performance
Working memory (WM) is the ability to keep information cognitively in course for a brief period of time, but with enough duration as to complete a task. Few is known about how the different emotional valences of the perceived information provoke effect over WM, since it is known that for WM task performance, motivated behavior receives important emotional influence. Method, a total of 27 subjects university students, randomly selected, participated in the study. Data was acquired from 23 right handed subjects (20.22 yr mean age, SD = 1.47), 52.2% male (20.09 yr old mean age, SD = 1.7), 47.8% female (20.35 yr mean age, SD = 1.3). Instruments and procedure, influence of emotional valence in a WM task was measured using content from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), subjects were asked to remember the first image of the pair, compare the second image with it. Accuracy of response (AR) measured by the number of correct responses, and reaction times (RT) were measured for each subject. Results show that the RT is shortest for pictures with neutral valence and longest for negative valence, MANOVA statistics showed a significant main effect of emotional valence. It was found that the AR is highest for pictures with neutral valence and lowest for negative valence. Conclusions, emotionally charged IAPS pictures were processed worse than neutral ones during working memory task performance, there is an effect of emotion valence on RT, and that this is higher for negative pictures compared with positive ones.
Negative stimuli may improve visuospatial working memory
The impact of negative affect on working memory performance is unclear. Visuospatial and verbal working memory are critical in many settings, but may be impaired during exposure to negative stimuli. In Experiment 1, the impact of task-irrelevant negative picture stimuli on verbal compared to visuospatial working memory performance was investigated. Unexpectedly, visuospatial memory performance was superior for trials containing negative stimuli than trials with neutral stimuli. The impact of negative picture stimuli on visuospatial working memory was further examined in Experiment 2. Performance was again superior for negative stimuli relative to neutral stimuli. While much previous research has reported that negative affect is disruptive of visuospatial working memory, the improved performance found here is consistent with other research particularly where negative or arousing stimuli are thought to increase the pool of available processing resources or effort. Implications for contexts where working memory demands occur alongside distressing stimuli are discussed, as well as future research suggestions.