University Library
  • Login
A gateway to Melbourne's research publications
Minerva Access is the University's Institutional Repository. It aims to collect, preserve, and showcase the intellectual output of staff and students of the University of Melbourne for a global audience.
View Item 
  • Minerva Access
  • Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences
  • Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences
  • Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Research Publications
  • View Item
  • Minerva Access
  • Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences
  • Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences
  • Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Research Publications
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Emotional valence and arousal affect reading in an interactive way: Neuroimaging evidence for an approach-withdrawal framework

    Thumbnail
    Download
    Published version (1.519Mb)

    Citations
    Scopus
    Altmetric
    54
    Author
    Citron, FMM; Gray, MA; Critchley, HD; Weekes, BS; Ferstl, EC
    Date
    2014-04-01
    Source Title
    Neuropsychologia
    Publisher
    PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    University of Melbourne Author/s
    Weekes, Brendan
    Affiliation
    Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Document Type
    Journal Article
    Citations
    Citron, F. M. M., Gray, M. A., Critchley, H. D., Weekes, B. S. & Ferstl, E. C. (2014). Emotional valence and arousal affect reading in an interactive way: Neuroimaging evidence for an approach-withdrawal framework. NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA, 56 (1), pp.79-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.01.002.
    Access Status
    Open Access
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11343/259633
    DOI
    10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.01.002
    Abstract
    A growing body of literature shows that the emotional content of verbal material affects reading, wherein emotional words are given processing priority compared to neutral words. Human emotions can be conceptualised within a two-dimensional model comprised of emotional valence and arousal (intensity). These variables are at least in part distinct, but recent studies report interactive effects during implicit emotion processing and relate these to stimulus-evoked approach-withdrawal tendencies. The aim of the present study was to explore how valence and arousal interact at the neural level, during implicit emotion word processing. The emotional attributes of written word stimuli were orthogonally manipulated based on behavioural ratings from a corpus of emotion words. Stimuli were presented during an fMRI experiment while 16 participants performed a lexical decision task, which did not require explicit evaluation of a word's emotional content. Results showed greater neural activation within right insular cortex in response to stimuli evoking conflicting approach-withdrawal tendencies (i.e., positive high-arousal and negative low-arousal words) compared to stimuli evoking congruent approach vs. withdrawal tendencies (i.e., positive low-arousal and negative high-arousal words). Further, a significant cluster of activation in the left extra-striate cortex was found in response to emotional than neutral words, suggesting enhanced perceptual processing of emotionally salient stimuli. These findings support an interactive two-dimensional approach to the study of emotion word recognition and suggest that the integration of valence and arousal dimensions recruits a brain region associated with interoception, emotional awareness and sympathetic functions.

    Export Reference in RIS Format     

    Endnote

    • Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format" and choose "open with... Endnote".

    Refworks

    • Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format". Login to Refworks, go to References => Import References


    Collections
    • Minerva Elements Records [52443]
    • Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Research Publications [1222]
    Minerva AccessDepositing Your Work (for University of Melbourne Staff and Students)NewsFAQs

    BrowseCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects
    My AccountLoginRegister
    StatisticsMost Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors