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Aversive picture processing: Effects of a concurrent task on sustained defensive system engagement
Author(s) -
Wangelin Bethany C.,
Löw Andreas,
McTeague Lisa M.,
Bradley Margaret M.,
Lang Peter J.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01041.x
Subject(s) - psychology , distraction , reactivity (psychology) , task (project management) , moro reflex , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , reflex , neuroscience , management , pathology , economics , medicine , alternative medicine
Viewing a series of aversive pictures prompts emotional reactivity reflecting sustained defensive engagement. The present study examined the effects of a concurrent visual task on autonomic, somatic, electrocortical, and facial components of this defensive state. Results indicated that emotional activation was largely preserved despite continuous visual distraction, although evidence of attenuation was observed in startle reflex and electrocortical measures. Concurrent task‐specific reactivity was also apparent, suggesting that motivational circuits can be simultaneously activated by stimuli with intrinsic survival significance and instructed task significance and that these processes interact differently across the separate components of defensive engagement.