Syntactic structural parallelisms influence processing of positive stimuli: evidence from cross-modal ERP priming.

Language can strongly influence the emotional state of the recipient. In contrast to the broad body of experimental and neuroscientific research on semantic information and prosodic speech, the emotional impact of grammatical structure has rarely been investigated. One reason for this might be, that measuring effects of syntactic structure involves the use of complex stimuli, for which the emotional impact of grammar is difficult to isolate.

Age differences in valence judgments of emotional faces: the influence of personality traits and current mood.

Previous research on emotion processing revealed a positivity bias that progressively evolves across the adult age range. This study obtained gradual valence judgments of emotional faces across the adult age span, to see whether this positivity bias persists when positive and negative stimuli are matched for arousal; and whether bias relates to personality traits or to current mood. With increasing age subjects judged negative and neutral faces less negatively.

Aging, probabilistic learning and performance monitoring.

This study examined age-related alterations in electrocortical indices of performance monitoring in a probabilistic learning situation. The results showed differences between younger and older adults in the modulation of response- and feedback-related negativities by feedback validity. In younger adults, the error-related negativity/error negativity (ERN/Ne) was larger than the correct response-related negativity (CRN) in the high and medium feedback validity condition, whereas the feedback-related negativity (FRN) differentiated between positive and negative feedback in the low feedback validity condition.