Attentional bias during emotional processing: Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence from an Emotional Flanker Task

Threatening stimuli seem to capture attention more swiftly than neutral stimuli. This bias has been observed under different experimental conditions and with types of It remains unclear whether this adaptive behaviour reflects the function automatic or controlled mechanisms. Additionally, spatiotemporal dynamics its neural correlates are largely unknown. The present study investigates these issues using an Emotional Flanker Task synchronized EEG recordings. A group 32 healthy participants saw response-relevant images (emotional scenes from IAPS line drawings objects) flanked by response-irrelevant distracters (i.e., emotional vice versa). We assessed behavioural ERP responses drawn four task (Threat-Central, Neutral-Central, Threat-Peripheral, Neutral-Peripheral) subjected repeated-measures ANOVA models. When presented as targets, threatening attracted faster accurate responses. They did not affect response accuracy targets when flankers. However, times were significantly slower objects shown result replicated well-known Effect. Behavioural accompanied significant modulations activity across all time-windows regions interest displayed some meaningful correlations. Effect was a modulation over parietal central-parietal within time-window between 550-690ms. Such suggests that attentional disruption caused flankers appears reflect less resources available, which seemingly away distracting concur understanding important role attributed threat-related bias.