INTERACTION OF EMOTIONAL PERCEPTION AND VISUAL ATTENTION

描述(由申请人提供)：本申请的目的是了解情绪知觉和视觉注意之间的相互作用机制。中心假设是，情绪刺激的处理需要依赖于注意力的处理资源，因此不会自动发生。我们还假设，情感刺激比中性刺激具有竞争优势。我们的假设部分是基于我们最近的fMRI发现，当受试者同时进行一项要求很高的任务时，对情绪面孔的差异反应会被取消，即使这些面孔位于视野的中心。我们将通过追求三个具体目标来验证我们的假设，这将结合行为研究和功能磁共振研究。在所有的目标中，我们将试图确定情绪感知和注意力之间相互作用的大脑网络。目标1：确定意识到的情绪知觉在多大程度上依赖于注意力。我们预计，情绪刺激被处理的程度，甚至在杏仁核，取决于并发任务消耗处理资源的程度。目标2：确定无意识的情绪知觉在多大程度上依赖于注意力。基于我们最近的结果，这一目标的工作假设是，即使是处理受试者不知道的刺激(“潜意识”知觉)也需要注意资源。目标3：确定情绪处理如何引导注意力和知觉。这个目的的工作假设是，情绪处理偏向知觉，从而使情绪刺激优先(当有足够的处理资源可用时，这是预期的)。此外，我们假设，这种竞争优势与受试者观看情绪图像时观察到的皮质激活的调节直接相关。我们的长期目标是帮助更好地理解情绪和认知大脑系统在复杂行为产生过程中相互作用的基本机制。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of the present application is to understand the mechanisms of interaction between emotional perception and visual attention. The central hypothesis is that the processing of emotional stimuli requires processing resources that depend on attention and therefore does not occur automatically. We also hypothesize that emotional stimuli have a competitive advantage over neutral ones. Our hypotheses are based, in part, upon our recent fMRI findings that differential responses to emotional faces are abolished when subjects are engaged in a concurrent, demanding task, even though the faces were in the center of the visual field. We will test our hypotheses by pursuing three specific aims, which will employ a combination of behavioral and fMRI studies. In all aims, we will attempt to identify the brain networks underlying interactions between emotional perception and attention. Aim #1: Determine the extent to which aware emotional perception depends on attention. We expect that the extent to which emotional stimuli are processed, even in the amygdala, depends on the extent to which processing resources are consumed by concurrent tasks. Aim #2: Determine the extent to which unaware emotional perception depends on attention. The working hypothesis for this aim, based on our recent results, is that even the processing of stimuli that subjects are unaware of ("subliminal" perception) requires attentional resources. Aim #3: Determine how emotional processing guides attention and perception. The working hypothesis for this aim is that emotional processing biases perception, such that emotional stimuli are prioritized (this is expected when sufficient processing resources are available). Moreover, we hypothesize that such competitive advantage is directly linked to the modulation of cortical activation that is observed when subjects view emotional images. Our long-range goal is to contribute to a better understanding of the basic mechanisms by which emotional and cognitive brain systems interact in the generation of complex behavior.