Foster, P.S. and
Harrison, D.W. (2002)
The relationship
between magnitude of cerebral activation and intensity of emotional arousal
International Journal
Neuroscience, 112, 1463-1477
P 1465
‘Very little know about the cerebral representation of subjective emotional
intensity’
P1466 ‘
numerous investigations have implicated the temporal lobes in the experience of
both positively and negatively valenced emotions’.
Hypothesis
‘increased subjective intensity of angry memories would be associated with
increasing cerebral activation’
especially of low beta (13-21) and high beta (21-32) Hz. But doesn’t say why beta is targeted
Method
Monopolar
QEEG recordings , linked ear references. Sampling rate 256 Hz frequencies below
2 Hz eliminated.
Target
frequencies
Alpha (8-13
Hz)
High beta
(21-32 Hz)
Low beta
(13-21) Hz
Eyes closed
throughout
Procedure
- Base line measure : 46 1 sec epochs
- 5-6 mins to relax
- instructed to recall a memory to which they had
responded with anger – 46 secs. Therefore collected 46 1 sec epochs during
recall of an emotional (angry) event
Participants
asked to rate memory on intensity from 1 to 7.
Data reduction
P1486 ‘
Change scores were created for the purpose of calculating correlations between
changes in cerebral activation, as measured by EEG, and the ratings of
subjective intensity of angry memories’.
Change
score average mv ( memory condition) – average mV (baseline) after artefact
removal. Male and female analysed
separately.
Results
Males
Alpha – no
correlation
High beta -
FP1, FP2, F8, T6, P3, O1
Low beta
- F8,
T5, T6, PZ,P4,O1,O2
Females
Alpha - no
correlation
High beta –
T6
Low beta –
no correlation
Discussion
Results are
consistent with research that sees the right hemisphere as being implicated in
emotion processing, particularly negative emotions, and that laterality effects
are stronger in men.
