Threat-conditioned contexts modulate the late positive potential to faces-A mobile EEG/virtual reality study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Affective Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

• Face perception is influenced by context in everyday life.
• Inherent negative contexts modulate cortical face processing.
• The impact of learned, 3D aversive contexts on face processing is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if learned aversive contexts modulate neural processing of faces.
• To examine the interaction between context type and facial expression.
• To demonstrate the integration of virtual reality (VR) and electroencephalography (EEG) for affective neuroscience.

Main Methods:

• Differential fear conditioning using VR with threat and safe contexts.
• Mobile electroencephalography (EEG) recording during context exposure.
• Presentation of neutral and angry avatar faces within conditioned contexts.

Main Results:

• A significant interaction between context and face type on the late positive potential (LPP).
• Neutral faces showed increased LPP in threat vs. safe contexts.
• Angry faces showed increased early LPP amplitudes irrespective of context.

Conclusions:

• Threat-conditioned contexts alter the neural processing of ambiguous (neutral) faces.
• Learned contexts modulate motivational salience differently based on facial expression.
• Successful integration of VR and EEG advances research in affective neuroscience.