Effect of negative emotional stimuli on working memory: Impact of voluntary and automatic attention.
Attention
Emotion
Working memory
Journal
Psychonomic bulletin & review
ISSN: 1531-5320
Titre abrégé: Psychon Bull Rev
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 9502924
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
07 Oct 2024
07 Oct 2024
Historique:
accepted:
15
09
2024
medline:
8
10
2024
pubmed:
8
10
2024
entrez:
7
10
2024
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
Emotions are known to influence cognitive performance, particularly working memory (WM) in both its aspects, processing, and maintenance. One explanatory mechanism might be that negative stimuli capture attentional resources, leaving fewer resources for attentional maintenance and processing of information in WM. However, this attentional capture was only investigated using WM tasks in which participants were explicitly asked to process negative items. The aim of this paper was to determine whether explicit processing of emotional stimuli is necessary to impair WM performance, or if their mere presence is enough to capture attention. For this purpose, participants performed a complex span task in which they alternated between memorizing a series of neutral words and processing either emotional images or neutral ones. In Experiment 1, participants were instructed to explicitly process emotional images, whereas in Experiment 2, emotional images were presented without any processing being required. In both experiments, we observed a decrease in memory performance when the images were negative compared to neutral. Whether or not voluntary processing is involved, emotional images seem to capture attentional resources, which in turn leads to a decline in memory performance. These results were discussed in relation to attentional theories and the influence of emotion on the specific mechanisms of WM.
Identifiants
pubmed: 39375301
doi: 10.3758/s13423-024-02593-2
pii: 10.3758/s13423-024-02593-2
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Informations de copyright
© 2024. The Psychonomic Society, Inc.
Références
Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In K. W. Spence & J. T. Spence (Eds.), The psychology of learning and motivation: Advances in research and theory (Vol. 2, pp. 89–195). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0079-7421(08)60422-3
Anderson, A. K. (2005). Affective influences on the attentional dynamics supporting awareness. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 134(2), 258–281. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.134.2.258
doi: 10.1037/0096-3445.134.2.258
pubmed: 15869349
Baddeley, A. D., Thomson, N., & Buchanan, M. (1975). Word length and the structure of short-term memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 14(6), 575–589. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(75)80045-4
doi: 10.1016/S0022-5371(75)80045-4
Barrouillet, P., Bernardin, S., & Camos, V. (2004). Time constraints and resource sharing in adults’ working memory spans. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 133(1), 83–100. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.133.1.83
doi: 10.1037/0096-3445.133.1.83
pubmed: 14979753
Barrouillet, P., & Camos, V. (2014). Working memory: Loss and reconstruction. Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315755854
doi: 10.4324/9781315755854
Barrouillet, P., Portrat, S., & Camos, V. (2011). On the law relating processing to storage in working memory. Psychological Review, 118(2), 175–192. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022324
doi: 10.1037/a0022324
pubmed: 21480738
Belleville, S., Peretz, I., & Arguin, M. (1992). Contribution of articulatory rehearsal to short-term memory: Evidence from a case of selective disruption. Brain and Language, 43(4), 713–746. https://doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(92)90092-S
doi: 10.1016/0093-934X(92)90092-S
pubmed: 1483199
Cahill, L., & McGaugh, J. L. (1998). Mechanisms of emotional arousal and lasting declarative memory. Trends in Neuroscience, 21(7), 294–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-2236(97)01214-9
doi: 10.1016/S0166-2236(97)01214-9
Camos, V. (2015). Storing verbal information in working memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(6), 440–445. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721415606630
doi: 10.1177/0963721415606630
Camos, V., & Barrouillet, P. (2014). Attentional and non-attentional systems in the maintenance of verbal information in working memory: The executive and phonological loops. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00900
Carretié, L. (2014). Exogenous (automatic) attention to emotional stimuli: A review. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 14(4), 1228–1258. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-014-0270-2
doi: 10.3758/s13415-014-0270-2
Chainay, H., Ceresetti, R., Pierre-Charles, C., & Plancher, G. (2023). Modulation of maintenance and processing in WM by negative emotions. Memory & Cognition, 51(8), 1774–1784. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-023-01428-0
doi: 10.3758/s13421-023-01428-0
Cowan, N., Elliott, E. M., Scott Saults, J., Morey, C. C., Mattox, S., Hismjatullina, A., & Conway, A. R. A. (2005). On the capacity of attention: Its estimation and its role in WM and cognitive aptitudes. Cognitive Psychology, 51(1), 42–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogpsych.2004.12.001
doi: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2004.12.001
pubmed: 16039935
Deweese, M. M., Müller, M., & Keil, A. (2016). Extent and time-course of competition in visual cortex between emotionally arousing distractors and a concurrent task. European Journal of Neuroscience, 43, 961–970. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.13180
doi: 10.1111/ejn.13180
pubmed: 26790572
Dolcos, F., Katsumi, Y., Moore, M., Berggren, N., de Gelder, B., Derakshan, N., & Dolcos, S. (2020). Neural correlates of emotion-attention interactions: From perception, learning, and memory to social cognition, individual differences, and training interventions. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 108, 559–601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.08.017
doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.08.017
pubmed: 31446010
Erthal, F. S., de Oliveira, L., Mocaiber, I., Pereira, M. G., Machado-Pinheiro, W., Volchan, E., & Pessoa, L. (2005). Load-dependent modulation of affective picture processing. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 5(4), 388–395. https://doi.org/10.3758/CABN.5.4.388
doi: 10.3758/CABN.5.4.388
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A. G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03193146
doi: 10.3758/bf03193146
pubmed: 17695343
Fanuel, L., Portrat, S., Tillmann, B., & Plancher, G. (2018). Temporal regularities allow saving time for maintenance in working memory. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1424, 202–211. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13611
doi: 10.1111/nyas.13611
pubmed: 29542818
Fernandes, O., Jr., Portugal, L. C. L., Alves, R. C. S., Campagnoli, R. R., Mocaiber, I., David, I. P. A., . . . Pereira, M. G. (2013). How you perceive threat determines your behavior. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, Article 632. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00632
Fournier, H., & Koenig, O. (2023). Emotional attention: Time course and effects of agonistic and antagonistic overlay of intrinsic and goal relevances. Emotion. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001315
Garrison, K. E., & Schmeichel, B. J. (2018). Effects of emotional content on working memory capacity. Cognition & Emotion, 33(2), 370–377. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2018.1438989
doi: 10.1080/02699931.2018.1438989
Gobin, P., Camblats, A.-M., Faurous, W., & Mathey, S. (2017). Une base de l’émotionalité (valence, arousal, catégories) de 1286 mots français selon l’âge (EMA) [A base of emotionality (valence, arousal, category) of 1286 French words according to age (EMA)]. European Review of Applied Psychology/revue Européenne De Psychologie Appliquée, 67(1), 25–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erap.2016.12.001
doi: 10.1016/j.erap.2016.12.001
Kahneman, D. (1973). Attention and effort. Prentice-Hall.
Kensinger, E. A., & Schacter, D. L. (2016). Memory and emotion. In M. Lewis, J. M. Haviland‐Jones, & L. F. Barrett (Eds.), Handbook of emotion (4th ed., pp. 564–578). Guilford Press.
LaBar, K. S., & Cabeza, R. (2006). Cognitive neuroscience of emotional memory. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 7(1), 54–64. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1825
doi: 10.1038/nrn1825
pubmed: 16371950
Lee, A. Y., & Sternthal, B. (1999). The effects of positive mood on memory. Journal of Consumer Research, 26(2), 115–127. https://doi.org/10.1086/209554
doi: 10.1086/209554
Lewis, P. A., Cairney, S., Manning, L., & Critchley, H. D. (2011). The impact of overnight consolidation upon memory for emotional and neutral encoding contexts. Neuropsychologia, 49(9), 2619–2629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.05.009
doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.05.009
pubmed: 21621549
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7
doi: 10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7
pubmed: 22083660
Mayer, J. D., & Gaschke, Y. N. (1988). The experience and meta-experience of mood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55(1), 102–111. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.55.1.102
doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.55.1.102
pubmed: 3418484
Mickley Steinmetz, K. R., Waring, J. D., & Kensinger, E. A. (2014). The effect of divided attention on emotion-induced memory narrowing. Cognition and Emotion, 28(5), 881–892. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2013.858616
doi: 10.1080/02699931.2013.858616
pubmed: 24295041
Müller, H. J., & Findlay, J. M. (1988). The effect of visual attention on peripheral discrimination thresholds in single and multiple element displays. Acta Psychologica, 69(2), 129–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6918(88)90003-0
doi: 10.1016/0001-6918(88)90003-0
pubmed: 3245479
Naveh-Benjamin, M., & Jonides, J. (1984). Cognitive load and maintenance rehearsal. Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior, 23(4), 494–507. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(84)90318-9
doi: 10.1016/S0022-5371(84)90318-9
New, B., Pallier, C., Brysbaert, M., & Ferrand, L. (2004). Lexique 2: A new French lexical database. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36, 516–524. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195598
doi: 10.3758/BF03195598
Öhman, A., Flykt, A., & Esteves, F. (2001). Emotion drives attention: Detecting the snake in the grass. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130(3), 466–478. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.130.3.466
doi: 10.1037/0096-3445.130.3.466
pubmed: 11561921
Pereira, M. G., de Oliveira, L., Erthal, F. S., Joffily, M., Mocaiber, I. F., Volchan, E., & Pessoa, L. (2010). Emotion affects action: Midcingulate cortex as a pivotal node of interaction between negative emotion and motor signals. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 10(1), 94–106. https://doi.org/10.3758/CABN.10.1.94
doi: 10.3758/CABN.10.1.94
Pereira, M. G., Volchan, E., de Souza, G. G. L., Oliveira, L., Campagnoli, R. R., Pinheiro, W. M., & Pessoa, L. (2006). Sustained and transient modulation of performance induced by emotional picture viewing. Emotion, 6(4), 622–634. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.6.4.622
doi: 10.1037/1528-3542.6.4.622
pubmed: 17144753
Pessoa, L. (2008). On the relationship between emotion and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9(2), 148–158. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2317
doi: 10.1038/nrn2317
pubmed: 18209732
Plancher, G., & Barrouillet, P. (2013). Forgetting from working memory: Does novelty encoding matter? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 39(1), 110–125. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028475
doi: 10.1037/a0028475
pubmed: 22563635
Plancher, G., & Barrouillet, P. (2020). On some of the main criticisms of the modal model: Reappraisal from a TBRS perspective. Memory & Cognition, 48(3), 455–468. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-019-00982-w
doi: 10.3758/s13421-019-00982-w
Plancher, G., Boyer, H., Lemaire, B., & Portrat, S. (2017). Under which conditions can older participants maintain information in working memory? Experimental Aging Research, 43(5), 409–429. https://doi.org/10.1080/0361073X.2017.1369730
doi: 10.1080/0361073X.2017.1369730
pubmed: 28949874
Plancher, G., Massol, S., Dorel, T., & Chainay, H. (2019). Effect of negative emotional content on attentional maintenance in working memory. Cognition and Emotion, 33(7), 1489–1496. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2018.1561420
doi: 10.1080/02699931.2018.1561420
pubmed: 30584794
Riggs, L., McQuiggan, D. A., Farb, N., Anderson, A. K., & Ryan, J. D. (2011). The role of overt attention in emotion-modulated memory. Emotion, 11(4), 776–785. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022591
doi: 10.1037/a0022591
pubmed: 21517167
Rock, P. L., Roiser, J. P., Riedel, W. J., & Blackwell, A. D. (2014). Cognitive impairment in depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 44(10), 2029–2040. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291713002535
doi: 10.1017/s0033291713002535
pubmed: 24168753
Santangelo, V., Botta, F., Lupiáñez, J., & Spence, C. (2011). The time course of attentional capture under dual-task conditions. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 73(1), 15–23. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-010-0017-2
doi: 10.3758/s13414-010-0017-2
Schweizer, S., & Dalgleish, T. (2011). Emotional working memory capacity in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49(8), 498–504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2011.05.007
doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2011.05.007
pubmed: 21684525
Schweizer, S., & Dalgleish, T. (2016). The impact of affective contexts on working memory capacity in healthy populations and in individuals with PTSD. Emotion, 16(1), 16–23. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000072
doi: 10.1037/emo0000072
pubmed: 26414191
Schweizer, S., Satpute, A. B., Atzil, S., Field, A. P., Hitchcock, C., Black, M., . . . Dalgleish, T. (2019). The impact of affective information on working memory: A pair of meta-analytic reviews of behavioral and neuroimaging evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 145(6), 566–609. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000193
Songco, A., Patel, S. D., Dawes, K., Rodrigues, E., O'Leary, C., Hitchcock, C., . . . Schweizer, S. (2023). Affective working memory in depression. Emotion, 23(6), 1802–1807. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001130
Talmi, D., & McGarry, L. M. (2012). Accounting for immediate emotional memory enhancement. Journal of Memory and Language, 66(1), 93–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2011.07.009
doi: 10.1016/j.jml.2011.07.009
Uher, R., Brooks, S. J., Bartholdy, S., Tchanturia, K., & Campbell, I. C. (2014). Increasing cognitive load reduces interference from masked appetitive and aversive but not neutral stimuli. PLoS ONE, 7(4), e94417. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094417
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094417
Vuilleumier, P. (2005). How brains beware: Neural mechanisms of emotional attention. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(12), 585–594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2005.10.011
doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2005.10.011
pubmed: 16289871
Vuilleumier, P., & Schwartz, S. (2001). Beware and be aware: Capture of spatial attention by fear-related stimuli in neglect. NeuroReport, 12, 1119–1122. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001756-200105080-00014
doi: 10.1097/00001756-200105080-00014
pubmed: 11338176
Williams, J. R., Brady, T. F., & Störmer, V. S. (2022). Guidance of attention by working memory is a matter of representational fidelity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 48(3), 202–231. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000985
doi: 10.1037/xhp0000985
pubmed: 35084932
Williams, J. M. G., Mathews, A., & MacLoad, C. (1996). The Emotional Stroop Task and Psychopathology, 120(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.120.1.3
doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.120.1.3
Yates, A., Ashwin, C., & Fox, E. (2010). Does emotion processing require attention? The effects of fear conditioning and perceptual load. Emotion, 10(6), 822–830. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020325
doi: 10.1037/a0020325
pubmed: 21058839