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. 2022 Dec;22(6):1250-1263.
doi: 10.3758/s13415-022-01025-9. Epub 2022 Jul 25.

Emotional salience but not valence impacts anterior cingulate cortex conflict processing

Suvarnalata Xanthate Duggirala  1   2   3 , Michel Belyk  4   5 , Michael Schwartze  1 , Philipp Kanske  6 , Sonja A Kotz  7
Affiliations

Emotional salience but not valence impacts anterior cingulate cortex conflict processing

Suvarnalata Xanthate Duggirala et al. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Stimuli that evoke emotions are salient, draw attentional resources, and facilitate situationally appropriate behavior in complex or conflicting environments. However, negative and positive emotions may motivate different response strategies. For example, a threatening stimulus might evoke avoidant behavior, whereas a positive stimulus may prompt approaching behavior. Therefore, emotional stimuli might either elicit differential behavioral responses when a conflict arises or simply mark salience. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate valence-specific emotion effects on attentional control in conflict processing by employing an adapted flanker task with neutral, negative, and positive stimuli. Slower responses were observed for incongruent than congruent trials. Neural activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex was associated with conflict processing regardless of emotional stimulus quality. These findings confirm that both negative and positive emotional stimuli mark salience in both low (congruent) and high (incongruent) conflict scenarios. Regardless of the conflict level, emotional stimuli deployed greater attentional resources in goal directed behavior.

Keywords: Conflict processing; Emotion; Salience; Valence; fMRI.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Modified version of the flanker task (Kanske & Kotz, 2011c)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a Mean reaction times for correct responses in milliseconds. b Mean accuracy expressed as percent correct responses for each condition. Vertical bars indicate the standard error of mean. IC = incongruent, C = congruent; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Percent signal change and contrast estimates for dorsal ACC [−11 7 44]. Vertical bars in the graphs indicate SEM. Activations are reported at p < 0.001, cluster FDR < 0.05 (in accordance with Monte Carlo simulations), cluster size >17 voxels; IC = incongruent, C = congruent. Activations are reported at p < 0.001, cluster FDR < 0.05 (in accordance with Monte Carlo simulations), cluster size >17 voxels; IC = incongruent; C = congruent; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Whole brain activations: a Main effect of congruency (IC > C irrespective of stimulus type); b Main effect of emotions [(Positive + Negative) vs. Neutral]; c Main effect of negative (vs. neutral) emotion; d Main effect of positive (vs. neutral) emotion. Note: Activations are reported at p < 0.001, cluster FDR < 0.05 (in accordance with Monte Carlo simulations), cluster size >17 voxels; IC = incongruent, C = congruent; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001
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