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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Published on: November 16, 2017

Encouraging expressions affect the brain and alter visual attention.

Manuel Martín-Loeches¹, Alejandra Sel, Pilar Casado

¹Center for Human Evolution and Behavior, UCM-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain. mmartinloeches@edu.ucm.es

|June 19, 2009

Summary

Encouraging expressions enhance cognitive processes like visual attention, impacting performance. This study scientifically validates their effectiveness in sports and other contexts by measuring brain activity.

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Last Updated: Jun 22, 2026

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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Published on: May 4, 2011

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Psychology
Neuroscience

Background:

Expressions in competitive settings aim to evoke emotional responses influencing cognition and performance.
The scientific efficacy of these expressions remains largely untested.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the scientific effects of encouraging, discouraging, and neutral expressions on brain activity.
To assess the impact of these expressions on visual selective attention tasks.

Main Methods:

Event-related brain electrical activity was measured during a visual selective attention task.
Participants performed a task involving targets defined by location, shape, and color.

Main Results:

Both encouraging and discouraging expressions induced similar, long-lasting emotional brain responses.
Encouraging expressions modulated visual attention for shape selection, altering specific neural signals (P1, SP, SN).

Conclusions:

Encouraging expressions enhance attentional processes for shape selection in attended locations.
These findings scientifically validate the efficiency of encouraging expressions in eliciting emotional reactions and measurable cognitive effects.