Upper-lower visual field asymmetries in oculomotor inhibition of emotional distractors

Vision Research
Kalina Petrova, Dirk Wentura

Abstract

The present study investigated oculomotor inhibition of emotional faces as indicated by saccade curvatures. In Experiment 1, participants saccaded towards a target that appeared above or below fixation while single facial distractors depicting neutral, happy, and angry expressions appeared in one of the four quadrants of the screen. In Experiment 2, participants selected between two objects on the screen by saccading towards a predefined target, while again single facial emotional distractors were presented in one of the four screen quadrants. In both experiments, saccade trajectories curved most strongly away from angry distractors indicating enhanced attentional capture by angry faces. This effect occurred with upright faces but not with inverted faces. The emotion effect was restricted to targets at the lower vertical meridian. The lower visual field has been argued to be specialized for action in peripersonal space and near vision. The modulation by target location might be attributed to activation of near space representation by saccades toward a lower target, inducing increased vigilance for stimuli of action relevance to protect the peripersonal space from interference.

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Citations

Apr 29, 2015·Experimental Brain Research·Haoyue QianZhiguo Wang
Apr 6, 2017·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Dirk WenturaAndreas Voss
Oct 27, 2018·Attention, Perception & Psychophysics·Risako ShiraiHirokazu Ogawa
Jan 1, 2016·Otology & Neurotology : Official Publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology·Holger A Rambold
Jan 5, 2021·Journal of Vision·Antoine BarbotMarisa Carrasco

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