Papers by Lourdes Anllo-Vento
Evaluación Subjetiva y Conductual De La Impulsividad Motora en Una " Tarea De Responder/No Responder " (Go/No-Go) Emocional
Behavioral Psychology/Psicologia Conductual
Resumen Este estudio, realizado con adolescentes españoles (N= 78), examinó la relación entre una... more Resumen Este estudio, realizado con adolescentes españoles (N= 78), examinó la relación entre una medida subjetiva y otra conductual del componente motor de la impulsividad. Utilizamos una " tarea responder/no responder " emocional para investigar la modulación emocional asociada con imágenes de diferente valencia afectiva y su relación con el nivel de impulsividad de los adolescentes. También evaluamos variables que podrían verse afectadas por el nivel de impulsividad (autocontrol y sinceridad). Los resultados muestran correlaciones significativas entre las medidas subjetivas y conductuales de la impulsividad, indicando que los adolescentes fueron capaces de evaluarse adecuadamente en esta variable. También obtuvimos una correlación positiva entre impulsividad y sinceridad, así como una relación inversa entre la impulsividad y el autocontrol. Además, observamos modulación emocional en términos tanto de precisión (proporción de aciertos y falsas alarmas) como de velocidad ...
Neuroimaging approaches to the study of visual attention: A tutorial
Converging operations in the study of visual selective attention., 1996
Abstract 1. consider how evidence from neuroimaging studies can serve as converging operations wi... more Abstract 1. consider how evidence from neuroimaging studies can serve as converging operations with behavioral data to advance the development of psychological theories of visual attention neuroimaging techniques/attentional networks in the brain/ERPs [event-...
Shifting attention in visual space: The effects of peripheral cueing on brain cortical potentials
International Journal of Neuroscience, 1995
The effects of attentional shifts following peripheral cues were studied in humans using event-re... more The effects of attentional shifts following peripheral cues were studied in humans using event-related potentials (ERPs) and reaction times. Subjects released a key following the presentation of a target preceded by a predictive cue in the same (valid) or the opposite (invalid) visual field, or a bilateral, non-predictive cue. The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) separating cue and target was either 200 or 600 ms. Subjects were faster and more accurate when responding to validly cued targets. Attentional modulation of the ERP was manifested as an enhancement of P1-N1 amplitude at posterior electrode sites following a validly cued target. Furthermore, the latencies of P1, N1 and P3 were significantly shorter in valid trials than in invalid trials. These results only reached significance with the longer SOA, since ERP refractoriness distorted the response evoked by the target when the SOA was only 200 ms. The findings are discussed in the context of previous behavioral and ERP cueing studies.
On becoming selective: Integrating cognitive and electrophysiological approaches to the development of attention
PsycEXTRA Dataset
Nature Neuroscience, 1999
The panoramic scenes of the world contain more information than we can take in with a single glan... more The panoramic scenes of the world contain more information than we can take in with a single glance. To examine the fine details of a visual scene, we must rely on the brain's capability to focus attention in a spatially selective manner and thereby facilitate the perception of stimuli within a restricted zone of the visual field 1,2. This covert focusing of attention has been likened metaphorically to a 'spotlight' 3 or 'zoom lens' 4 that can be shifted to relevant locations even when the eyes remain stationary. Psychophysical experiments have shown that stimuli falling within the spotlight of attention are detected and discriminated more rapidly and accurately than stimuli at unattended locations 1-4. The brain system that controls the attentional spotlight consists of an interconnected network of cortical and subcortical structures that modulates incoming information in the visual pathways 5-7. A fundamental question that remains unresolved, however, is exactly where along the visual processing pathway this afferent neural activity is first modulated (either enhanced or suppressed) by spatial attention. The preponderance of evidence to date from single-neuron recordings in monkeys 8,9 and from electrophysiological 10,11 , blood-flow neuroimaging 12-16 and optical imaging 17 studies in humans indicates that neural responses to attended-location stimuli are enhanced in higher extrastriate cortical areas but not in the striate cortex itself. Recent single-neuron experiments in monkeys 18-20 and preliminary reports of fMRI studies in humans (M. Worden & W.
EMG Methods for Evaluating Muscle and Nerve Function, 2012
Vision Research, 2001
This study investigated the cortical mechanisms of visual-spatial attention in a task where subje... more This study investigated the cortical mechanisms of visual-spatial attention in a task where subjects discriminated patterned targets in one visual field at a time. Functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) was used to localize attention-related changes in neural activity within specific retinotopic visual areas, while recordings of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) traced the time course of these changes. The earliest ERP components enhanced by attention occurred in the time range 70 -130 ms post-stimulus onset, and their neural generators were estimated to lie in the dorsal and ventral extrastriate visual cortex. The anatomical areas activated by attention corresponded closely to those showing increased neural activity during passive visual stimulation. Enhanced neural activity was also observed in the primary visual cortex (area V1) with fMRI, but ERP recordings indicated that the initial sensory response at 50-90 ms that was localized to V1 was not modulated by attention. Modeling of ERP sources over an extended time range showed that attended stimuli elicited a long-latency (160-260 ms) negativity that was attributed to the dipolar source in area V1. This finding is in line with hypotheses that V1 activity may be modulated by delayed, reentrant feedback from higher visual areas.
Psychophysiology, 2010
The attentional and motivational significance of cardiac defense is examined in two studies. In S... more The attentional and motivational significance of cardiac defense is examined in two studies. In Study 1, cardiac defense was evoked by an intense acoustic stimulus in the context of either a visual search or a memory search task using letters as stimuli. Results showed a potentiation of the long latency acceleration of cardiac defense in the visual search task. In Study 2, participants performed the same visual search task using pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant pictures as stimuli. Results showed a further potentiation of the long latency acceleration of cardiac defense when the visual search task was performed with unpleasant, compared to pleasant or neutral pictures. These results indicate that cardiac defense has both attentional and motivational contributions, where the attentional significance is related to increased sensory processing, whereas the motivational significance is associated with preparation for active defense.
Event-Related Potentials, Spatial Orienting, and Reading Disabilities
Psychophysiology, 1989
Event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to investigate the effects of visual-spatial orienting ... more Event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to investigate the effects of visual-spatial orienting on selective neural processing in boys with learning disabilities. Twenty-seven 8-12 year old boys were classified into four groups depending on whether or not they had a reading disability or attention deficit disorder. Event-related potentials were recorded over the left and right occipital, central, and frontal cortical regions. The behavioral task required the subjects 1) to rapidly switch their attention from the center to the periphery of the visual field (spatial component), and 2) to selectively respond to a target versus a nontarget flash when the target was presented in the relevant visual field (nonspatial component). The amplitude of two ERP components was enhanced in response to relevant as compared to irrelevant stimuli. The enhancement of an early negative occipital-central component, which peaked 180-200 ms following targets (N1), indicated that selective neural processing associated with spatial attention could be switched in 600 ms. This enhancement of N1 was greater in boys with than without a reading disability, which implies that reading disability is associated with enhanced spatial attention. The enhancement of a later positive component, which peaked 300-340 ms following targets (P3), suggested that nonspatial target selection was reduced in boys with a reading disability, particularly over the left occipital hemisphere. Target relevance and reading disability also influenced trial-to-trial variability in the ERP waveform. The effects of reading disability on event-related potentials did not vary as a function of attention deficit disorder, indicating that these two disorders are distinct.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1998
Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) provide high-resolution measures of the time course of neur... more Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) provide high-resolution measures of the time course of neuronal activity patterns associated with perceptual and cognitive processes. New techniques for ERP source analysis and comparisons with data from blood-flow neuroimaging studies enable improved localization of cortical activity during visual selective attention. ERP modulations during spatial attention point toward a mechanism of gain control over information flow in extrastriate visual cortical pathways, starting about 80 ms after stimulus onset. Paying attention to nonspatial features such as color, motion, or shape is manifested by qualitatively different ERP patterns in multiple cortical areas that begin with latencies of 100–150 ms. The processing of nonspatial features seems to be contingent upon the prior selection of location, consistent with early selection theories of attention and with the hypothesis that spatial attention is “special.”
PLoS ONE, 2012
We have known for decades that social support is associated with positive health outcomes. And ye... more We have known for decades that social support is associated with positive health outcomes. And yet, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying this association remain poorly understood. The link between social support and positive health outcomes is likely to depend on the neurophysiological regulatory mechanisms underlying reward and defensive reactions. The present study examines the hypothesis that emotional social support (love) provides safety cues that activate the appetitive reward system and simultaneously inhibit defense reactions. Using the startle probe paradigm, 54 undergraduate students (24 men) viewed black and white photographs of loved (romantic partner, father, mother, and best friend), neutral (unknown), and unpleasant (mutilated) faces. Eye-blink startle, zygomatic major activity, heart rate, and skin conductance responses to the faces, together with subjective ratings of valence, arousal, and dominance, were obtained. Viewing loved faces induced a marked inhibition of the eye-blink startle response accompanied by a pattern of zygomatic, heart rate, skin conductance, and subjective changes indicative of an intense positive emotional response. Effects were similar for men and women, but the startle inhibition and the zygomatic response were larger in female participants. A comparison between the faces of the romantic partner and the parent who shares the partner's gender further suggests that this effect is not attributable to familiarity or arousal. We conclude that this inhibitory capacity may contribute to the health benefits associated with social support.
Affective processing of loved faces: Contributions from peripheral and central electrophysiology
Neuropsychologia, 2010
Research on the neural mechanisms of face identity constitutes a fruitful method to explore the a... more Research on the neural mechanisms of face identity constitutes a fruitful method to explore the affective contributions to face processing. Here, we investigated central and peripheral electrophysiological indices associated with the perception of loved faces. Subjects viewed black-and-white photographs of faces that belonged to one of five categories: loved ones, famous people, unknown people, babies, and neutral faces from the Eckman and Friesen system. Subcategories of loved faces included romantic partner, parents, siblings, second-degree relatives, and friends. Pictures were presented in two separate blocks, differing in viewing time (0.5s vs. 4s), inter-stimulus interval (1.2s vs. 18s), and number of face presentations (200 vs. 50). Heart rate, skin conductance, electromyography of the zygomatic muscle, and event-related potentials (ERPs) were obtained while participants passively viewed the pictures. Subjective picture ratings of valence, arousal, and dominance were obtained at the end of the experiment. Both central and peripheral electrophysiological measures differentiated faces of loved ones from all other categories by eliciting higher heart rate, skin conductance, and zygomatic activity, as well as larger amplitudes of the late ERP components P3 and LPP. Loved faces also resulted in higher valence and arousal, but lower dominance ratings. Additional differences were found among subcategories of loved faces. Faces of romantic partners elicited higher physiological (skin conductance and zygomatic activity) and subjective (emotional arousal) responses than parents, siblings, or friends, suggesting that looking at the image of someone we love evokes strong positive affect and emotional/cognitive arousal that go beyond a feeling of familiarity or simple recognition.
Following the time course of feature extraction with event-related brain potentials
NeuroImage, 1996
Effect of Heart Rate Variability on Defensive Reaction and Eating Disorder Symptomatology in Chocolate Cravers
Journal of Psychophysiology, 2009
The study examines the effect of heart rate variability (HRV) on the cardiac defence response (CD... more The study examines the effect of heart rate variability (HRV) on the cardiac defence response (CDR) and eating disorder symptomatology in chocolate cravers. Female chocolate cravers (n = 36) and noncravers (n = 36) underwent a psychophysiological test to assess their HRV during a 5-min rest period, followed by three trials to explore the CDR, elicited by an intense white noise, during the viewing of chocolate, neutral, and unpleasant pictures. After the test, participants completed a questionnaire to measure eating disorder symptomatology. The HRV was inversely related to the magnitude of the CDR and to eating disorder symptomatology in chocolate cravers. In addition, the HRV was inversely related to the magnitude of the CDR when viewing unpleasant pictures but not to neutral or chocolate ones, across all participants. These findings support the idea that poor autonomic regulation, indexed by low HRV, plays a relevant role in food craving and uncontrolled eating behavior.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2000
We investigated the hypothesis that the covert focusing of spatial attention mediates the on-line... more We investigated the hypothesis that the covert focusing of spatial attention mediates the on-line maintenance of location information in spatial working memory. During the delay period of a spatial working-memory task, behaviorally irrelevant probe stimuli were flashed at both memorized and nonmemorized locations. Multichannel recordings of event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to assess visual processing of the probes at the different locations. Consistent with the hypothesis of attention-based rehearsal, early ERP components were enlarged in response to probes that appeared at memorized locations. These visual modulations were similar in latency and topography to those observed after explicit manipulations of spatial selective attention in a parallel experimental condition that employed an identical stimulus display.
International Journal of Psychophysiology, 2012
A major problem in the electrophysiological studies of emotional processing linked to recognition... more A major problem in the electrophysiological studies of emotional processing linked to recognition of familiar faces is the unambiguous differentiation of effects due to emotional valence, arousal, and familiarity. The present paper summarizes a set of three studies aimed at investigating the affective processing of loved familiar faces using Lang's picture-viewing paradigm, with a special emphasis on teasing apart the individual contributions of affective valence, undifferentiated emotional arousal, and familiarity The results of the three studies support the conclusion that viewing the faces of familiar loved ones elicits an intense positive emotional reaction that cannot be explained either by familiarity or arousal alone.
Spatio-temporal dynamics of attention to color: Evidence from human electrophysiology
Human Brain Mapping, 1998
This study characterized patterns of brain electrical activity associated with selective attentio... more This study characterized patterns of brain electrical activity associated with selective attention to the color of a stimulus. Multichannel recordings of event-related potentials (ERPs) were obtained while subjects viewed randomized sequences of checkerboards consisting of isoluminant red or blue checks superimposed on a grey background. Stimuli were presented foveally at a rapid rate, and subjects were required to attend to the red or blue checks in separate blocks of trials and to press a button each time they detected a dimmer target stimulus of the attended color. An early negative ERP component with an onset latency of 50 ms was sensitive to stimulus color but was unaffected by the attentional manipulation. ERPs elicited by attended and unattended stimuli began to diverge after approximately 100 ms following stimulus onset. Inverse dipole modelling of the attended-minus-unattended difference waveform indicated that an initial positive deflection with an onset latency of 100 ms had a source in lateral occipital cortex, while a subsequent negative deflection with an onset at 160 ms had a source in inferior occipito-temporal cortex. Longer-latency attention-sensitive components were localized to premotor frontal areas (onset at 190 ms) and to more anterior regions of the fusiform gyrus (onset at 240 ms). These source localizations correspond closely with cortical areas that were identified in previous neuroimaging studies as being involved in color-selective processing. The present ERP data thus provide information about the time course of stimulus selection processes in cortical areas that subserve attention to color.
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2012
Cue-reactivity studies have shown that when consumers are exposed to a substance-related stimulus... more Cue-reactivity studies have shown that when consumers are exposed to a substance-related stimulus, potential tobacco use contributes significantly to craving and motivational drive. Although the motivational response to cues signaling tobacco availability has been widely studied, less is known about physiological reactivity to perceived cigarette availability. The aim of the present study was to examine the outcome-related negativity (ORN) evoked by stimuli that signal potential tobacco use in abstinent and sated smokers. The ORN is an event-related potential (ERP) component that reflects the emotional and motivational aspects of reward processing and is modulated by motivational value of reward. Thirty-two such smokers performed two distinct and comparable versions of a gambling task, under conditions of abstinence and satiation. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis revealed that ORN amplitude was larger in abstinent than satisfied smokers on those trials in which tobacco could be used. Differences were significant at the Fz electrode (p Ͻ .01) and approached significance at the Cz (p ϭ .061) and Pz (p ϭ .059) electrodes. Moreover, ORN amplitude predicted subjective indices of desire and positive effects from smoking, but only in the abstinence condition. These findings suggest that perceived cigarette availability might influence physiological reactivity in smokers who are nicotine deprived. They also suggest that the ORN component may be related to the motivational mechanisms involved in addictive behavior.
Clinical Neurophysiology, 2001
Objectives: This study investigated whether short-latency (,100 ms) event-related potential (ERP)... more Objectives: This study investigated whether short-latency (,100 ms) event-related potential (ERP) components were modulated during attention to spatial frequency (SF) cues. Methods: Sinusoidally modulated checkerboard stimuli having high (5 cycles per degree (cpd)) or low (0.8 cpd) SF content were presented in random order at intervals of 400-650 ms. Subjects attended to either the high or low SF stimuli, with the task of detecting targets of slightly higher or lower SF, respectively, than the above standards. ERPs were recorded from 42 scalp sites during task performance and spatio-temporal analyses were carried out on sensory-evoked and attention-related components. Results: Attended high SF stimuli elicited an early negative difference potential (ND120) starting at about 100 ms, whereas attended low SF stimuli elicited a positivity (PD130) in the same latency range. The neural sources of both effects were estimated with dipole modeling to lie in dorsal, extrastriate occipital areas. Earlier evoked components evoked at 60-100 ms that were modeled with striate and extrastriate cortical sources were not affected by attention to SF. Starting at 150 ms, attended stimuli of both SFs elicited a broad selection negativity (SN) that was localized to ventral extrastriate visual cortex. The SN was larger over the left/right cerebral hemisphere for attended stimuli of high/low SF. Conclusions: These results support the view that attention to SF does not involve a mechanism of amplitude modulation of early-evoked components prior to 100 ms. Attention to high and low SF information involves qualitatively different and hemispherically specialized neural processing operations.
262. Cortical mechanisms involved in inhibition of automatic consumption behaviour in high craving smokers
Clinical Neurophysiology, 2008
control mothers. The ERP analysis also revealed differences in response to affective stimuli rela... more control mothers. The ERP analysis also revealed differences in response to affective stimuli related to neutral stimuli in both types of mother. Neglectful mothers had a more unspecific brain response to the different valence of affective stimuli, and the anhedonia was a crucial variable modulating this lack of specificity. Differences found in anhedonia and in brain processing of affective stimuli extend previous findings about other personality characteristics and psychophysiological variables that have distinguished between neglectful and control mothers. A better understanding of both the psychological and the electrophysiological style of response to affective stimuli in neglected mothers will help to better understand their disrupted parenting behavior.
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Papers by Lourdes Anllo-Vento