Table 1.
Description and main results of ERP studies in chronological order using affective picture stimuli.
| Study (year) | Female/male (F/M) number, age (A) range or mean (yrs) |
Stimulus characteristics (C) [duration in ms] and basis for its selection (B) |
Special study features (F) and task (T) during ERP recording |
Effects of stimulus affect (A) and topography interaction (T) at latency [component] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lifshitz (1966) | F/M: 0/10 A: 18-33 |
C: High-arousing neg, low-arousing neu [1000-2000] B: Not reported |
F: Emotion and P300 T: Passive viewing |
A: ∼400 ms: neg/pos > neu; no statistical analysis reported T: Not reported |
| Begleiter et al. (1967) |
F/M: 0/31 A: 19.0 |
C: Line figures conditioned by unpleasant, neutral and pleasant words [1500] B: Not reported |
F: ERPs to “unconsciously conditioned” visual stimuli T: Passive viewing |
A: ∼100-220 ms [peak-to-peak amplitudes]: neu > pos > neg T: Not reported |
| Begleiter et al. (1969, Study 1) |
F/M: 0/31 A: 19.7 |
C: Line figures conditioned by unpleasant, neutral and pleasant words [1600] B: Not reported |
F: ERPs to conditioned visual stimuli in partly informed participants T: Passive viewing |
A [when informed of a non-specific word-figure association]: ∼100-220 ms [peak-to-peak amplitudes]: neg > pos > neu T: Not reported |
| Begleiter et al. (1969, Study 2) |
F/M: 0/16 A: 19.2 |
C: Line figures conditioned by unpleasant, neutral and pleasant words [1600] B: Not reported |
F: ERPs to conditioned visual stimuli in fully informed participants T: Passive viewing |
A [when informed of the specific word-figure association]: no effects T: Not reported |
| Radilova (1982) | F/M: 1/9 A: 20-50 |
C: High-arousing neg, low-arousing neu [300] B: Not reported |
F: Emotion and P300 T: Passive viewing |
A: ∼300 ms [peak-to-peak N2/P3]: neg > neu T: Not reported |
| Radilova et al., (1983) | F/M: 0/12 A: 24.3 |
C: High-arousing pos (erotica), low- arousing neu (landscapes, etc.) [300] B: Not reported |
F: ERPs for sexually arousing stimuli T: Passive viewing |
A: ∼300 ms [P3]: erotic > neutral; no statistical analysis reported T: Not reported |
| Johnston et al. (1986) |
F/M: 10/10 A: 18-35 |
C: Pictures and CVC trigrams [100] B: Previous study |
F:ERPs to affective pictures paired with CVC trigrams T: Count stimuli |
A: 300-600 P3 and slow wave components, PCA, neg > pos T: Parietal maximum; hemispheric differences |
| Johnston & Wang (1991) | F/M: 30/0 A: 20-35 |
C: Neg (dermatological cases), neu (people), pos (babies, male models, female models) [130] B: Used in previous study |
F: Different menstrual phases T: Passive viewing |
A: 410 ms [P3]: female models > babies/male models/dermatology cases > people T: Not reported |
| Mini et al. (1996) | F/M: 8/5 A: 24 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [2000] B: Not reported |
F/T: Memorization of stimuli |
A: 300-400 and 400-500 ms: neg/pos > neu T: No effects |
| Kayser et al. (1997) | F/M: 23/0 A: 22 |
C: High-arousing neg (dermatological cases before treatment), neu (cases after treatment) [250] B: Pilot study |
F: Laterally presented stimuli T: Passive viewing |
A: 225 ms [N225], 285 ms [P285] and 450 ms [Sw]: neg > neu; 380 ms [P380]: neu > neg T: 225 ms: largest valence effect at medial sites; 285 ms: right-parietal sites; 380 ms: fronto-central sites; 450 ms: centro-posterior sites |
| Palomba et al. (1997) | F/M: 17/3 A: 25.3 |
C: Neg (mutilations), neu (objects), pos (puppies, babies) [6000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Emotional memory T: Memorization of stimuli |
A: 282 ms [N2], 351 ms [P3] and 600-900 ms: neg/pos > neu; 400-600 ms: pos > neu T: Not reported |
| Ito et al. (1998, Study 1) | F/M: 25 A: Undergraduates |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [1000] B: IAPS normative data validated in pilot study |
F: “Negativity bias” in emotional categorizaton T: Emotional categorization of valenced target stimuli |
A: 400-900 ms [LPP]: neg > pos T: No effects |
| Ito et al. (1998, Study 2) | F/M: 14 A: Undergraduates |
C: High-arousing neg/pos (dead animals/food), low-arousing neu [1000] B: Same as Study 1 |
F: Same as Study 1 T: Emotional categorization |
A: 400-900 ms [LPP]: neg > pos T: No effects |
| Cuthbert et al. (2000) | F/M: 14/23 A: Undergraduates |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [6000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Autonomic arousal T: Arousal and valence rating of stimuli |
A: 200-300 ms: pos > neu; 300-400 ms: pos > neg/neu; 400- 700 ms: pos > neg > neu; 700-5000 ms: neg/pos > neu T: Not reported |
| Schupp et al. (2000) | F/M: 23 (not specified) A: Undergraduates |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [1500] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Emotional stimulus context effects T: Valence categorization of stimuli |
A: 350-750 ms: neg/pos > neu T: 350-750 ms: largest arousal effect at Cz/Pz sites |
| Carretié et al. (2001) |
F/M: 23/6 A: 22.4 |
C: High-arousing neg, low-arousing neu, high- and low-arousing pos [1750] B: Participant ratings |
F: Cues indicating stimulus category T: Matching of picture stimuli to schematic cues |
A: 176-224 ms [P200]: pos > neg/neu; 312-368 ms [P340]: neg > pos/neu T: 176-224 and 312-368 ms: largest valence effect at visual association cortex (temporal lobe; LORETA algorithm) |
| Junghöfer et al. (2001) | F/M: 17 (not specified) A: 12 students, 5 researchers |
C: High-arousing, low-arousing [200-333] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Rapid stimulus presentation (3-5 Hz) T: Passive viewing |
A: 168-232 ms [P200]: high arousal > low arousal (at 3 Hz); 232-296 ms [N260]: high arousal > low arousal (at 3 Hz) T: 168-232 and 232-296 ms: largest arousal effect at right- hemisphere (occipital and parietal) sites |
| Keil et al. (2001) | F/M: 7/3 A: 26.1 |
C: Arousal: neg > pos > neu [1000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Laterally presented pictures T: Passive viewing |
A: 160 ms [N1]: neg/pos > neu; 400-600 ms [Sw]: neg/pos > neu T: 160 ms: no effect; 400-600 ms: largest arousal effect at parietal sites |
| Dolcos & Cabeza (2002) | F/M: 15/0 A: Students |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [2000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Emotional memory T: Emotion rating and memorization of stimuli |
A: 500-800 ms: neg/pos > neu T: 500-800 ms: largest valence effect at right-hemisphiere sites; largest arousal effect at parietal sites |
| Keil et al. (2002) | F/M: 0/11 A: 26 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu: neg > pos > neu [6000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Source analysis T: Passive viewing |
A: 120-150 ms [N1]: pos > neg/neu; 300-340 ms [early P3], 380-440 ms [late P3] and 550-900 ms [SW]: neg/pos > neu T: 380-900 ms: largest valence effect at centro-parietal sites, largest arousal effect at right hemisphere; 550-900 ms: largest valence effect at right-parietal sites |
| Carretié et al. (2003) | F/M: 19/6 A: 22.3 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [200] B: Participant ratings |
F: Habituation to cued affective stimuli T: Valence discrimination |
A: 176 ms [N1]: habituation larger for pos/neu than neg T: 176 ms: habituation/affect interaction largest at frontal sites |
| Schupp et al. (2003a) | F/M: 8/7 A: Undergraduates |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [333] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Task-irrelevant affective pictures T: Detection of non-picture stimuli |
A: 160-224 ms [N1] and 232-292 ms [N2]: neg/pos > neu; erotica > other pos, mutilations/threat > other neg T: 160-224 ms: largest valence effect at occipito-temporal sites; 232-292 ms: largest valence effect at right temporo- occipital sites |
| Schupp et al. (2003b) | F/M: 12/8 A: Undergraduates |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [1500] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Multi-channel ERP T: Emotional categorization |
A: 312 ms: neg/pos > neu; 416-456 ms: neg/pos > neu T: 312 ms: neg > neu largest at temporo-occipital sites, pos > neu largest at centro-medial sites |
| Smith et al. (2003) | F/M: 16/16 A: Undergraduates |
C: Neg/pos, matched for arousal level [1000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Affective target pictures presented on affective background pictures T: Emotional discrimination |
A: 117 ms [P1]: neg > pos T: 117 ms: largest valence effect at occipital sites |
| Amrhein et al. (2004) | F/M: 6/10 A: 29.5 |
C: High-arousing neg > pos, low-arousing neu [8000] B: Participant ratings |
F: Habituation of psychophysiological responses T: Passive viewing |
A: 200-300, 300-400 and 400-700 ms: neg/pos > neu T: No effects |
| Carretié et al. (2004) | F/M: 28/9 A: 21.5 |
C: Neg (snarling wolf), neu (wristwatch), pos (opposite-gender nude) [200] B: Participant ratings |
F: Source analysis T: Count of target stimuli (oddball paradigm) |
A: 105 ms [P1]: neg > pos/neu; 180 ms [P2]: neg/pos > neu; 240 ms [N2]: neg > pos T: 105 ms: largest valence effect in occipital cortex; 180 ms and 240 ms: anterior cingulate (LORETA algorithms) |
| Delplanque et al. (2004) | F/M: 12/0 A: 20.6 |
C: Neg/neu/pos balanced for arousal [1000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Valence effects T: Detection of affective picture target stimuli |
A: 150-165 ms [late P1]: neg > pos; 180-213 ms [P2]: neg > pos > neu; 406-603 ms [P3b]: neg < pos T: 150-165 and 180-213 ms: largest valence effect at occipito-temporal sites; 406-603 ms: fronto-central site |
| Schupp et al. (2004) | F/M: 14/2 A: 21.2 |
C: High-arousing neg > pos, low-arousing neu [120] B: Participant categorization |
F: Short stimulus presentation T: Emotional categorization of stimuli |
A: 200-350 ms [EPN]: erotic > babies; 400-500 ms [LPP]: erotic > babies/mutilations > threat T: 200-350 ms: largest valence effect at occipital-temporal sites; 400-500 ms: centro-parietal sites |
| Delplanque et al. (2005) | F/M: 17/0 A: 21.7 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [750] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Task-irrelevant affective picture stimuli T: Detection of non- affective target stimuli |
A: 411-599 ms [P3b]: neg/pos > neu T: 411-599 ms: largest valence effect for neg at posterior sites, largest effect for pos at anterior sites |
| Pollatos et al. (2005) | F/M: 28/16 A: 25.5 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [6000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Interoceptive awareness T: Rating of valence and arousal |
A: 290-500 ms [P3]: pos > neg > neu; 550-900 ms [SW]: pos/neg > neu T: 290-500 ms: largest valence effect for pos > neg/neu at frontal/centro-lateral sites and for arousal neg/pos > neu at posterior sites; 550-900 ms: global effect |
| Carretié et al. (2006) | F/M: 21/ 9 A: 21.7 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [1500] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Source analysis T: Non-emotional categorization |
A: 160 and 680 ms: neg > neu/pos; 400 ms: pos > neg/neu T: 160 ms: largest valence effect in prefrontal cortex; 400 ms: visual association cortex; 680 ms: left precentral gyrus (LORETA algorithm) |
| Codispoti et al. (2006) | F/M: 26/24 A: 22-34 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [6000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Habituation of psychophysiological responses T: Passive viewing |
A: 400-800 ms [LPP]: neg/pos > neu [also effects of habituation] T: 400-800 ms: largest arousal effect at posterior sites |
| De Cesarei & Codispoti (2006) | F/M: 8/8 A: 22.7 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [100] B: Not reported |
F: Stimulus size T: Non-emotional categorization |
A: 150-300 ms: pos > neg/neu; 400-600 [LPP]: pos/neg > neu T: 400-600: largest arousal effect at parietal sites |
| Delplanque et al. (2006) | F/M: 17/0 A: 21.5 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [750] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Affective influences on P3a and P3b T: Emotional categorization |
A: 333-384 ms [P3a]: neg > pos/neu; 439-630 ms [P3b]: pos > neg > neu; T: 333-384 ms: largest valence effect at parietal site; 439- 630 ms: pos > neg effect largest at frontal/central sites |
| Gasbarri et al. (2006) | F/M: 24/24 A: 28 |
C: High-arousing neg, low-arousing neu [10000] B: Participant ratings |
F: Memory and gender T: Affective rating of picture sequences |
A: 250-700 ms [P3]: females > males for arousing stimuli; T: 250-700 ms: largest gender effect at left-hemisphere sites |
| Hajcak & Nieuwenhuis (2006) | F/M: 11/3 A: Students |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [1000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Emotional reappraisal vs passive viewing T: Emotional rating |
A: 200-400, 600-1000, 1200-1800 [LPP]: reappraisal < passive viewing for arousing pictures T: largest effects of reappraisal at centro-parietal sites |
| Hajcak et al. (2006) | F/M: 10/6 A: Undergraduates |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [1000] B: IAPS normative data |
F/T: Emotional vs. non- emotional categorization of stimuli |
A: 500-650 ms [LPP]: emotional categorization task > non- emotional categorization task T: Not reported |
| Hot et al. (2006) | F/M: 16/14 A: 22.6 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [1500] B: IAPS normative data validated in pilot study |
F: Cultural differences: French/Japanese T: Passive viewing |
A: 105-140, 176-230, 255-455 ms: pos/neg > neu; 176-230 and 255-455 ms: French > Japanese (parieto-occipital area) T: 105-140 ms: largest arousal effect at frontal-occipital sites; 176-230 ms: largest arousal effects at frontal sites; 255-455 ms: largest arousal and group effects at parieto- occipital[b]r sites |
| Moser et al. (2006) | F/M: 16/3 A: Undergraduates |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [1000] B: IAPS normative data |
F/T: Emotional enhancement vs. suppression |
A: 250-350 and 350-600 ms [LPP]: emotional enhancement/passive viewing instructions > emotional suppression instructions T: Not reported |
| Schupp et al. (2006) | F/M: 4/4 A: 24.0 |
C: High-arousing neg > pos, low-arousing neu [330] B: Not reported |
F: Habituation effects under rapid presentation T: Passive viewing |
A: 200-300 ms [EPN]: pos/neg vs neu T: 200-300 ms: largest arousal effect at occipito-temporal and fronto-central sites, and over the right hemisphere |
| Spreckelmeyer et al. (2006) | F/M: 8/6 A: 21 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [302-515] B: IAPS normative data validated in pilot study |
F: Multi-sensory processing (pictures/voices) T: Emotional ratings of stimuli |
A: 150-250 [P2]: pos > neg/neu; 380-420 [P3]: pos/neg > neu; 500-1400 ms [LPP]: larger for congruent pairing (sad pictures/sad voices) than other combinations T: >380 ms: largest effect of pos > neu/neg at frontal sites |
| Wood & Kisley (2006) | F/M: 15/5 (young), 12/8 (old) A: 21.0 (Y), 68.5 (O) |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [1200] B: IAPS normative data, validated by participant ratings |
F: Age effects T: Emotional ratings of pictures |
A: 400-900 [LPP]: neg > pos only for young adults. Neg/pos > neu overall, but stronger effect in young adults T: 400-900: not reported |
| Bradley et al. (2007) | F/M: 31/9 A: Undergraduates |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [6000] B: IAPS normative data, picture composition, ratings of complexity |
F: Picture composition; figure-ground vs. complex scenes T: Passive viewing |
A: 150-250: figure-ground vs complex scenes; 400-700 [LPP]: arousal effect; for pos/neg, figure-ground vs complex scenes T: 150-250: largest effect of composition at fronto-occipital sites; 400-700: parietal locus of arousal effect |
| Codispoti et al. (2007) | F/M: 12/12 A: 21-28 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [1000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Habituation of early and late affective processes T: Passive viewing |
A: 150-300: valence/arousal effects; overall habituation within stimulus blocks, least habituation for pos; 300-600: valence/arousal effects; habituation within/between blocks T: 150-300; 300-600: valence/arousal effects and their interactions with habituation vary with scalp region |
| Cano & Polich (2007) |
F/M: 16/0 | C: Moderate identical arousal for neg, neut, pos [1000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Normal vs. scrambled pictures; color vs. bl/w T: Detection of affective stimuli |
A: Exp. 1, 400 ms valence effects for color not bl/w; Exp 2 valence differences eliminated with scrambled images T: 400 ms valence effects strongest over frontal areas |
| Carretié et al. (2007) | F/M: 27/4 A: 23.4 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [100] B: Participant ratings of valence/arousal |
F: Spatial frequency (fuzzy vs clear images) T: Non-emotional categorization |
A: 135: spatial frequency effect; 135, 180, 240: spatial frequency interacts with emotional content. T: 135: largest spatial frequency effect in occipito-parietal cortex [LORETA]; 180, 240: interaction effects largest at frontal sites |
| Conroy & Polich (2007) | F/M: 12/0 | C: Moderately arousing neg, neut, pos [1000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Arousal level controlled across valence; T: Detection of affective stimuli |
A: 400 ms left frontal amplitude decreased P300 amplitude for neg relative to neut or pos stimuli T: P300 strongest valence effect over frontal areas |
| Olofsson & Polich (2007) | F/M: 18/0 A: 18-27 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [1000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Repetition and time-on- task T: Detection of affective picture stimuli |
A: 160-220 ms [P2]: neg > neu; 300-450 ms [P3] and 500- 850 ms [SW]: neg/pos > neu T: Largest arousal effects at posterior sites |
| Rozenkrants & Polich (2007) | F/M: 16/16 | C: Low/high arousal at neg/pos valence, scrambled control stimuli for each picture condition [1000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Gender effects in arousal and valence parameters T: Detection of affective picture stimuli, repeated stimulus conditions |
A: 400-800 [P300, SW]: high arousal > low arousal, weak valence effects, no gender differences T: Valence effects strongest over frontal areas |
| Rozenkrants et al. (2007) | F/M: 16/16 | C: Low/high arousal at neg/pos valence, scrambled control stimuli for each picture condition [1000] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Independent manipulation of arousal and valence parameters T: Detection of affective picture stimuli, repeated stimulus conditions |
A: 400-800 [P300, SW]: high arousal > low arousal differences that were found for both normal and scrambled stimuli, no valence effects, no gender differences T: 220-300: Arousal effect largest at parietal sites, stable across repetions |
| Sabatinelli et al. (2007) | F/M: 10/8 A: 20 |
C: High-arousing neg/pos, low-arousing neu [6000] B: IAPS normative data; categories balanced on perceptual dimensions |
F: ERP-fMRI correlations T: Passive viewing |
A: 400-900 [LPP]: neg/pos > neu T: 400-900: largest effect at centro-parietal sites; correlations to hemodynamic activity in occipital, parietal and temporal lobes |
| Schupp et al. (2007) | F/M: 8/8 A: 25 |
C: High-arousing neg (mutilations)/pos (erotica), low-arousing neu (people) [333] B: IAPS normative data |
F: Attention manipulation through varying target categories T: Count target stimuli |
A: 200-350 [EPN]: neg/pos < neu; effect of attention similar across affect categories; 400-600 [LPP]; neg/pos > neu; effect of attention largest for neg/pos T: 200-350; 400-600: largest effect at posterior sites |
Neg = stimuli of unpleasant valence; neu = stimuli of neutral valence; pos = stimuli of pleasant valence. In the results column, only statistically significant contrasts are reported. In description of stimuli, x < y refers to lower affective ratings of x compared to y. In description of effects, x < y refers to smaller positive-going amplitude (or factor loading) for x compared to y. Complex interaction effects are not presented.