Early spatial attention deployment toward and away from aggressive voices
Nicolas Burra1, Dirk Kerzel1, David Munoz Tord1
1Faculté de Psychologie et des Sciences de l'Education, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
|November 13, 2018
Summary
Threatening voices capture attention early in auditory processing, enhancing both initial orienting and subsequent disengagement. This effect, observed in females, suggests threat detection influences auditory spatial attention.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Aggressive vocalizations are thought to trigger automatic threat detection.
- Research on the temporal dynamics of auditory spatial attention to aggressive voices is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the temporal dynamics of auditory spatial attention to threatening vocalizations.
- To examine event-related potential markers (N2ac and LPCpc) of auditory spatial attention.
Main Methods:
- Utilized event-related potential (ERP) markers, specifically N2ac and LPCpc.
- Compared attentional processing of threatening versus happy vocal signals.
- Analyzed data from female and male participants separately.
Main Results:
- Attentional processing of threatening vocal signals was enhanced at two stages.
- Early enhancement (200 ms) in attentional orienting/engagement for threatening voices.
- Later enhancement (400 ms) in reorienting auditory attention, particularly in female participants.
Conclusions:
- Threatening vocal stimuli enhance early auditory spatial attention, similar to visual modality findings.
- Auditory spatial attention is modulated by threat detection mechanisms.
- Sex differences exist in the attentional processing of threatening vocalizations.
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