Abstract
The aim of the study was to determine whether experiencing a non-emotional event in a positive or negative emotional context affected recognition of the event and the related electrophysiological activity. Twenty-eight adults participated in a betting-game task in which they could win (positive emotional context) or lose (negative emotional context) money. The participants also completed a non-betting task (non-emotional context). Afterward, the participants completed an old/new recognition task for faces with neutral expressions that were encoded during the betting and non-betting game. Event-related potentials and autonomic responses were recorded. The stimuli learned in the positive emotional context were better recognized than those learned in the non-emotional context. The FN400, the parietal old/new effect and the late frontal old/new effect were modulated by positive valence. Learning information under a positive emotional condition enhances its later recognition and the brain activity that underlies this process.
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Acknowledgments
This study was financially supported through grants from CONACYT (238826, 263128) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (DGAPA PAPIIT IG300115).
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Martínez-Galindo, J.G., Cansino, S. Emotional context during encoding modulates recognition electrophysiological activity. Exp Brain Res 235, 169–179 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-016-4780-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-016-4780-8