Approach-avoidance activation without anterior asymmetry.

Occasionally, the expected effects of approach-avoidance motivation on anterior EEG alpha asymmetry fail to emerge, particularly in studies using affective picture stimuli. These null findings have been explained by insufficient motivational intensity of, and/or overshadowing interindividual variability within the responses to emotional pictures. These explanations were systematically tested using data from 70 students watching 5 types of affective pictures ranging from very pleasant to unpleasant.

Unintentionality of affective attention across visual processing stages.

Affective attention involves bottom-up perceptual selection that prioritizes motivationally significant stimuli. To clarify the extent to which this process is automatic, we investigated the dependence of affective attention on the intention to process emotional meaning. Affective attention was manipulated by presenting affective images with variable arousal and intentionality by requiring participants to make affective and non-affective evaluations.

EEG alpha and cortical inhibition in affective attention.

Recent progress in cognitive neuroscience suggests that alpha activity may reflect selective cortical inhibition involved in signal amplification, rather than neural idling. Unfortunately, these theoretical advances remain largely ignored in affective neuroscience. To address this limitation the present paper proposes a novel research avenue aimed at using alpha to elucidate cortical inhibitory mechanisms involved in affective processes.

Attention to eye contact in the West and East: autonomic responses and evaluative ratings.

Eye contact has a fundamental role in human social interaction. The special appearance of the human eye (i.e.