{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]],"date-time":"2026-02-25T14:22:56Z","timestamp":1772029376102,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MIT Press - Journals","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":["direct.mit.edu"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>Emotional stimuli engage corticolimbic circuits and capture attention even when they are task-irrelevant distractors. Whether top\u2013down or contextual factors can modulate the filtering of emotional distractors is a matter of debate. Recent studies have indicated that behavioral interference by emotional distractors habituates rapidly when the same stimuli are repeated across trials. However, little is known as to whether we can attenuate the impact of novel (never repeated) emotional distractors when they occur frequently. In two experiments, we investigated the effects of distractor frequency on the processing of task-irrelevant novel pictures, as reflected in both behavioral interference and neural activity, while participants were engaged in an orientation discrimination task. Experiment 1 showed that, compared with a rare distractor condition (20%), frequent distractors (80%) reduced the interference of emotional stimuli. Moreover, Experiment 2 provided evidence that emotional interference was reduced by distractor frequency even when rare, and unexpected, emotional distractors appeared among frequent neutral distractors. On the other hand, in both experiments, the late positive potential amplitude was enhanced for emotional, compared with neutral, pictures, and this emotional modulation was not reduced when distractors were frequently presented. Altogether, these findings suggest that the high occurrence of task-irrelevant stimuli does not proactively prevent the processing of emotional distractors. Even when attention allocation to novel emotional stimuli is reduced, evaluative processes and the engagement of motivational systems are needed to support the monitoring of the environment for significant events.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_01505","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,26]],"date-time":"2019-11-26T00:36:44Z","timestamp":1574728604000},"page":"621-633","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/mitpressjournals.corrections.policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["Contextual Modulation of Emotional Distraction: Attentional Capture and Motivational Significance"],"prefix":"10.1162","volume":"32","author":[{"given":"Antonia","family":"Micucci","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bologna"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vera","family":"Ferrari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Parma"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"De Cesarei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bologna"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maurizio","family":"Codispoti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bologna"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"281","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Anderson,  B. A.\n           (2018). Neurobiology of value-driven attention. Current Opinion in Psychology, 29, 27\u201333.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2018.11.004"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Augst,  S., Kleinsorge,  T., & Kunde,  W. (2014). Can we shield ourselves from task disturbance by emotion-laden stimulation?Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience, 14, 1009\u20131025.","DOI":"10.3758\/s13415-013-0243-x"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bradley,  M. M.\n           (2009). Natural selective attention: Orienting and emotion. Psychophysiology, 46, 1\u201311.","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-8986.2008.00702.x"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bradley,  M. M., Cuthbert,  B. N., & Lang,  P. J. (1996). Picture media and emotion: Effects of a sustained affective context. Psychophysiology, 33, 662\u2013670.","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-8986.1996.tb02362.x"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Braver,  T. S.\n           (2012). The variable nature of cognitive control: A dual mechanisms framework. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16, 106\u2013113.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2011.12.010"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Buetti,  S., & Lleras,  A. (2016). Distractibility is a function of engagement, not task difficulty: Evidence from a new oculomotor capture paradigm. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 145, 1382\u20131405.","DOI":"10.1037\/xge0000213"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Calvo,  M. G., Guti\u00e9rrez-Garc\u00eda,  A., & Del L\u00edbano,  M. (2015). Sensitivity to emotional scene content outside the focus of attention. Acta Psychologica, 161, 36\u201344.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actpsy.2015.08.002"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Codispoti,  M., De Cesarei,  A., Biondi,  S., & Ferrari,  V. (2016). The fate of unattended stimuli and emotional habituation: Behavioral interference and cortical changes. Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience, 16, 1063\u20131073.","DOI":"10.3758\/s13415-016-0453-0"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Codispoti,  M., Ferrari,  V., & Bradley,  M. M. (2007). Repetition and event-related potentials: Distinguishing early and late processes in affective picture perception. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19, 577\u2013586.","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn.2007.19.4.577"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"De Cesarei,  A., & Codispoti,  M. (2008). Fuzzy picture processing: Effects of size reduction and blurring on emotional processing. Emotion, 8, 352\u2013363.","DOI":"10.1037\/1528-3542.8.3.352"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dieterich,  R., Endrass,  T., Kathmann,  N., & Weinberg,  A. (2019). Unpredictability impairs goal-directed target processing and performance. Biological Psychology, 142, 29\u201336.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsycho.2019.01.007"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Donchin,  E., Ritter,  W., & McCallum,  W. C. (1978). Cognitive psychophysiology: The endogenous components of the ERP. In E.Callaway, P.Tueting & S. H.Koslow (Eds.), Event-related brain potentials in man (pp. 349\u2013411). New York: Academic Press.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-155150-6.50019-5"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Eysenck,  M. W., Derakhshan,  N., Santos,  R., & Calvo,  M. G. (2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory. Emotion, 7, 336\u2013353.","DOI":"10.1037\/1528-3542.7.2.336"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Failing,  M., & Theeuwes,  J. (2018). Selection history: How reward modulates selectivity of visual attention. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 25, 514\u2013538.","DOI":"10.3758\/s13423-017-1380-y"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"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, 175\u2013191.","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03193146"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ferrari,  V., Bradley,  M. M., Codispoti,  M., & Lang,  P. J. (2011). Massed and distributed repetition of natural scenes: Brain potentials and oscillatory activity. Psychophysiology, 52, 865\u2013872.","DOI":"10.1111\/psyp.12424"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib17","unstructured":"Folk,  C. L.\n           (2015). Controlling spatial attention: Lessons from the lab and implications for everyday life. In J. M.Fawcett, E. F.Risko, & A.Kingstone (Eds.), The handbook of attention (pp. 3\u201325). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press."},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Folk,  C. L., & Remington,  R. W. (2015). Unexpected abrupt onsets can override a top\u2013down set for color. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 41, 1153\u20131165.","DOI":"10.1037\/xhp0000084"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Geyer,  T., M\u00fcller,  H. J., & Krummenacher,  J. (2008). Expectancies modulate attentional capture by salient color singletons. Vision Research, 48, 1315\u20131326.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.visres.2008.02.006"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Grimshaw,  G. M., Kranz,  L. S., Carmel,  D., Moody,  R. E., & Devue,  C. (2018). Contrasting reactive and proactive control of emotional distraction. Emotion, 18, 26\u201338.","DOI":"10.1037\/emo0000337"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hajcak,  G., Weinberg,  A., MacNamara,  A., & Foti,  D. (2012). ERPs and the study of emotion. In E.Kappenman & S. J.Luck (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of event-related potential components (pp. 441\u2013472). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.","DOI":"10.1093\/oxfordhb\/9780195374148.013.0222"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Huff,  M., Papenmeier,  F., & Zacks,  J. M. (2012). Visual target detection is impaired at event boundaries. Visual Cognition, 20, 848\u2013864.","DOI":"10.1080\/13506285.2012.705359"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ihssen,  N., Heim,  S., & Keil,  A. (2007). The costs of emotional attention: Affective processing inhibits subsequent lexico-semantic analysis. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19, 1932\u20131949.","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn.2007.19.12.1932"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jungh\u00f6fer,  M., Elbert,  T., Tucker,  D. M., & Rockstroh,  B. (2000). Statistical control of artifacts in dense array EEG\/MEG studies. Psychophysiology, 37, 523\u2013532.","DOI":"10.1111\/1469-8986.3740523"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kelley,  T. A., & Yantis,  S. (2009). Learning to attend: Effects of practice on information selection. Journal of Vision, 9, 16.","DOI":"10.1167\/9.7.16"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kennedy,  B. L., Newman,  V. E., & Most,  S. B. (2018). Proactive deprioritization of emotional distractors enhances target perception. Emotion, 18, 1052\u20131061.","DOI":"10.1037\/emo0000362"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lakens,  D.\n           (2017). Equivalence tests: A practical primer for t tests, correlations, and meta-analyses. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8, 355\u2013362.","DOI":"10.1177\/1948550617697177"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lang,  P., & Bradley,  M. M. (2010). Emotion and the motivational brain. Biological Psychology, 84, 437\u2013450.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsycho.2009.10.007"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib29","unstructured":"Lang,  P. J., Bradley,  M. M., & Cuthbert,  B. N. (1997). Motivated attention: Affect, activation, and action. In P. J.Lang, R. F.Simons, & M.Balaban (Eds.), Attention and orienting (pp. 97\u2013135). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum."},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib30","unstructured":"Lang,  P. J., Bradley,  M. M., & Cuthbert,  B. N. (2008). International Affective Picture System (IAPS): Affective ratings of pictures and instruction manual (Technical Report A-8). Gainesville, FL: University of Florida."},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib31","unstructured":"Luck,  S. J.\n           (2014). An introduction to the event-related potential technique (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press."},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Max,  C., Widmann,  A., Kotz,  S. A., Schr\u00f6ger,  E., & Wetzel,  N. (2015). Distraction by emotional sounds: Disentangling arousal benefits and orienting costs. Emotion, 15, 428\u2013437.","DOI":"10.1037\/a0039041"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Moran,  T. P.\n           (2016). Anxiety and working memory capacity: A meta-analysis and narrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 142, 831\u2013864.","DOI":"10.1037\/bul0000051"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib34","unstructured":"Most,  S. B.\n           (2014). The regulation of vision: How motivation and emotion shape what we see. In J. P.Forgas & E.Harmon-Jones (Eds.), Motivation and its regulation: The control within (pp. 153\u2013168). New York: Psychology Press."},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"M\u00fcller,  H. J., Geyer,  T., Zehetleitner,  M., & Krummenacher,  J. (2009). Attentional capture by salient color singleton distractors is modulated by top\u2013down dimensional set. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 35, 1\u201316.","DOI":"10.1037\/0096-1523.35.1.1"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib36","unstructured":"N\u00e4\u00e4t\u00e4nen,  R.\n           (1992). Attention and brain function. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum."},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"O'Brien,  F., & Cousineau,  D. (2014). Representing error bars in within-subject designs in typical software packages. Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 10, 56\u201367.","DOI":"10.20982\/tqmp.10.1.p056"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib38","unstructured":"\u00d6hman,  A., & Wiens,  S. (2003). On the automaticity of autonomic responses in emotion: An evolutionary perspective. In R. J.Davidson, K. R.Scherer, & H. H.Goldsmith (Eds.), Handbook of affective sciences (pp. 256\u2013275). New York: Oxford University Press."},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pessoa,  L.\n           (2017). Cognitive control and emotional processing. In T.Egner (Ed.), The Wiley handbook of cognitive control (pp. 394\u2013409). Chichester, UK: Wiley.","DOI":"10.1002\/9781118920497.ch22"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Peyk,  P., De Cesarei,  A., & Jungh\u00f6fer,  M. (2011). ElectroMagnetoEncephaloGraphy software (EMEGS): Overview and integration with other EEG\/MEG toolboxes. Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, 2011, 11.","DOI":"10.1155\/2011\/861705"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pourtois,  G., Schettino,  A., & Vuilleumier,  P. (2013). Brain mechanisms for emotional influences on perception and attention: What is magic and what is not. Biological Psychology, 92, 492\u2013512.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsycho.2012.02.007"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Schl\u00f6gl,  A., Keinrath,  C., Zimmermann,  D., Scherer,  R., Leeb,  R., & Pfurtscheller,  G. (2007). A fully automated correction method of EOG artifacts in EEG recordings. Clinical Neurophysiology, 118, 98\u2013104.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clinph.2006.09.003"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib43","unstructured":"Schneider,  W., Eschman,  A., & Zuccolotto,  A. (2002). E-Prime user's guide. Pittsburgh, PA: Psychology Software Tools."},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Schupp,  H. T., Flaisch,  T., Stockburger,  J., & Jungh\u00f6fer,  M. (2006). Emotion and attention: Event-related brain potential studies. Progress Brain Research, 156, 31\u201351.","DOI":"10.1016\/S0079-6123(06)56002-9"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib45","unstructured":"Sokolov,  E. N.\n           (1963). Perception and the conditioned reflex. New York: Macmillan."},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Staude-M\u00fcller,  F., Bliesener,  T., & Luthman,  S. (2008). Hostile and hardened? An experimental study on (de-) sensitization to violence and suffering through playing video games. Swiss Journal of Psychology, 67, 41\u201350.","DOI":"10.1024\/1421-0185.67.1.41"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vecera,  S. P., Cosman,  J. D., Vatterott,  D. B., & Roper,  Z. J. (2014). The control of visual attention: Toward a unified account. In B. H.Ross (Ed.), Psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 60, pp. 303\u2013347). Burlington: Academic Press.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-800090-8.00008-1"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vuilleumier,  P., Armony,  J. L., & Dolan,  R. J. (2004). Reciprocal links between emotion and attention. In R. J. S.Frackowiak & J.Mazziotta (Eds.), Human brain function (pp. 419\u2013444). London: Elsevier.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-012264841-0\/50022-6"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Weinberg,  A., & Hajcak,  G. (2011). The late positive potential predicts subsequent interference with target processing. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23, 2994\u20133007.","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn.2011.21630"},{"key":"2022042815031090200_bib50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhao,  J. L., & Most,  S. B. (2019). Manipulations of distractor frequency do not mitigate emotion-induced blindness. Cognition and Emotion, 33, 442\u2013451.","DOI":"10.1080\/02699931.2018.1459490"}],"container-title":["Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/jocn\/article-pdf\/32\/4\/621\/2013240\/jocn_a_01505.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/jocn\/article-pdf\/32\/4\/621\/2013240\/jocn_a_01505.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,29]],"date-time":"2022-04-29T00:17:06Z","timestamp":1651191426000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/jocn\/article\/32\/4\/621\/95389\/Contextual-Modulation-of-Emotional-Distraction"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,1]]},"references-count":50,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/jocn_a_01505","relation":{},"ISSN":["0898-929X","1530-8898"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0898-929X","type":"print"},{"value":"1530-8898","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published-other":{"date-parts":[[2020,4]]},"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,1]]}}}