Repetitive picture processing: Autonomic and cortical correlates

• Published in: Brain research Vol. 1068; no. 1; pp. 213 - 220
• Main Authors: Codispoti, Maurizio, Ferrari, Vera, Bradley, Margaret M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier B.V 12.01.2006; Amsterdam Elsevier; New York, NY
• Subjects: Adult; Arousal - physiology; Attention; Autonomic nervous system; Autonomic Nervous System - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; Electrocardiography; Electroencephalography; Emotion; Event-related potential; Evoked Potentials, Visual - physiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Galvanic Skin Response - physiology; Habituation; Habituation, Psychophysiologic - physiology; Heart Rate - physiology; Humans; Male; Peripheral nervous system. Autonomic nervous system. Neuromuscular transmission. Ganglionic transmission. Electric organ; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Visual Perception - physiology; Event-related potential; Emotion; Neural basis of behavior; Autonomic nervous system; Attention; Habituation; Human; Cerebral cortex; Habituation Emotion Event-related potential Attention Autonomic nervous system; Central nervous system; Electrophysiology; Emotion emotionality; Encephalon; Visual stimulus; Repetitive stimulus; Event evoked potential
• ISSN: 0006-8993; 1872-6240
• DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2005.11.009

Emotionally arousing pictures elicit larger late positive potentials (LPPs) than neutral pictures during passive viewing. Moreover, these cortical responses do not rely on voluntary evaluation of the hedonic content and are relatively unaffected by task demands. In this study, we examined modulation of the late positive potential as it varies with stimulus repetition. Three pictures (pleasant, neutral, unpleasant) were presented up to 60 times each. Although the amplitude of the late positive potential during picture viewing declined with stimulus repetition, affective modulation remained intact. On the other hand, autonomic responses (skin conductance and heart rate change) habituated rapidly with stimulus repetition. These findings suggest that while stimulus detection and categorization, reflected in the LPP, is mandatory, autonomic modulation reflects initial orienting responses that habituate rapidly.