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The behavioral approach system and augmenting/reducing in auditory event-related potentials during emotional visual
Vilfredo De Pascalis1, Francesca Fracasso1, Philip J Corr2
1Department of Psychology, La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Biological Psychology
|November 7, 2016
Summary
The Behavioral Approach System (BAS) and its reward facets, but not impulsivity, predict brain responses to emotional stimuli. Total BAS significantly drives these electrocortical differences, highlighting its role in reward processing.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Personality Research
Background:
- The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ) conceptualizes the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) as multidimensional, separating reward interest/reactivity and goal-drive persistence from impulsivity.
- Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of BAS facets is crucial for a comprehensive personality framework.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the predictive power of the BAS and its facets (Goal-Drive Persistence, Reward Interest, Reward Reactivity, Impulsivity) in differentiating electrocortical responses.
- To examine event-related potentials (ERPs) during an auditory augmenting/reducing paradigm with emotional visual stimulation.
Main Methods:
- Electrocortical responses (ERPs) were recorded in 39 women across five intensity levels during emotional visual stimulation.
- The RST-PQ was administered to measure total BAS (T-BAS) and its four facets: Goal-Drive Persistence (GDP), Reward Interest (RI), Reward Reactivity (RR), and Impulsivity (IMP).
- LORETA analysis was used to examine brain activation patterns.
Main Results:
- Total BAS, Reward Interest, and to a lesser extent Goal-Drive Persistence and Reward Reactivity, were associated with higher N1/P2 amplitudes at central sites across emotional stimuli.
- Impulsivity facet did not show a significant association with N1/P2 amplitudes or slope.
- High T-BAS participants exhibited significant activation in the right inferior parietal lobule and left anterior cingulate gyrus compared to low T-BAS participants.
Conclusions:
- The findings support a revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory framework, differentiating reward components from impulsivity in their neural correlates.
- Total BAS appears to be the primary driver of the observed electrocortical differences, underscoring its significance in reward processing and emotional reactivity.
Keywords:
Augmenting/reducingBehavioral approach system (BAS)Event-related potentialsGoal-drive persistence (GDP)Impulsivity (IMP)LORETAN1/P2 slopeReinforcement sensitivity theory (RST)Reward interest (RI)Reward reactivity (RR)
