To study affect regulation in adults with unipolar (n=38) and bipolar (n=38) forms of childhood-onset depression (COD), as compared with adults with no history of psychiatric illness (n=60), we examined affective modulation of the startle eyeblink reflex. Participants were subjected to binaural bursts of white noise while viewing pictures designed to elicit pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant affe...

Previous studies have indicated that men and women have different amygdala responses to novel (vs familiar) and valenced (positive vs negative) material. It is not known, however, whether these affective sex differences are related. In this study, we tested whether women have more persistent amygdala responses to familiar, negative material than men do. During fMRI, male and female participants...

Previous studies have indicated that men and women have different amygdala responses to novel (vs familiar) and valenced (positive vs negative) material. It is not known, however, whether these affective sex differences are related. In this study, we tested whether women have more persistent amygdala responses to familiar, negative material than men do. During fMRI, male and female participants...

Aesthetic principle not only concerns the perception of visual beauty, but most crucially, cognitive-affective responses derived from experiencing such stimuli. Despite this knowledge, user experience (UX) designers often prioritise beauty over intended end-user affect. This reversed order prioritisation contradicts sequential UX design process, leading to unexpected perceptions and responses. ...

The integrity of decision-making under emotionally evocative circumstances is critical to navigating complex environments, and dysfunctions in these processes may play an important role in the emergence and maintenance of various psychopathologies. The goal of the present study was to examine the spatial and temporal dynamics of neural responses to emotional stimuli and emotion-modulated respon...

The differentiation of faces, facial expressions and affective pictures involves processes of higher mental activity that have considerable applications in the psychology of moods and emotions. At present, the search for functional correlates of brain oscillations is an important trend in neuroscience. Furthermore, analyses of oscillatory responses provide key knowledge on the physiology of bra...

The authors examined the effects of suboptimally presented primes (facial expressions) embedded into video messages on self-reported positive activation (PA) and negative activation (NA). The results showed that joyful facial primes elicited increased PA only for positively valenced messages, whereas angry facial primes prompted increased NA (fear) only for negatively valenced messages. In addi...

Anticipating a stressor elicits robust cardiovascular and affective responses. Despite the possibility that recovery from these responses may have implications for physical and mental well-being, little research has examined this issue. In this study, participants either gave a public speech or anticipated giving a speech. Compared with speech-givers, participants who anticipated giving a speec...

This study explored defensive response mobilization as well as fMRI responses during sustained exposure to phobia-relevant stimuli. To test the specificity of affective physiology and brain activation, neutral and other affective stimuli were included. Phobia-specific startle potentiation was maintained and autonomic responses even increased during sustained phobic stimulation. Viewing of spide...