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Cited by 148Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Neural signatures of the response to emotional distraction: A review of evidence from brain imaging investigations

Open access
Iordan, A. D., Dolcos, S., Dolcos, F.·2013·Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
DOI 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00200PMC PMC3672684
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Abstract

Prompt responses to emotional, potentially threatening, stimuli are supported by neural mechanisms that allow for privileged access of emotional information to processing resources. The existence of these mechanisms can also make emotional stimuli potent distracters, particularly when task-irrelevant. The ability to deploy cognitive control in order to cope with emotional distraction is essential for adaptive behavior, while reduced control may lead to enhanced emotional distractibility, which is often a hallmark of affective disorders. Evidence suggests that increased susceptibility to emotional distraction is linked to changes in the processing of emotional information that affect both the basic response to and coping with emotional distraction, but the neural correlates of these phenomena are not clear. The present review discusses emerging evidence from brain imaging studies addressing these issues, and highlights the following three aspects. First, the response to emotional distraction is associated with opposing patterns of activity in a ventral "hot" affective system (HotEmo, showing increased activity) and a dorsal "cold" executive system (ColdEx, showing decreased activity). Second, coping with emotional distraction involves top-down control in order to counteract the bottom-up influence of emotional distraction, and involves interactions between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. Third, both the response to and coping with emotional distraction are influenced by individual differences affecting emotional sensitivity and distractibility, which are linked to alterations of both HotEmo and ColdEx neural systems. Collectively, the available evidence identifies specific neural signatures of the response to emotional challenge, which are fundamental to understanding the mechanisms of emotion-cognition interactions in healthy functioning, and the changes linked to individual variation in emotional distractibility and susceptibility to affective disorders.

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TL;DR

This review synthesizes fMRI evidence on emotional distraction, highlighting opposing activity in a ventral “hot” affective system (increased) and a dorsal “cold” executive system (decreased), plus top–down amygdala–prefrontal coping mechanisms. It also reviews individual differences in anxiety, attentional impulsiveness, and sex, and outlines open questions for future research.

Key findings

  • Emotional distraction is associated with increased activity in ventral HotEmo regions (e.g., AMY, vlPFC) and decreased activity in dorsal ColdEx regions (e.g., dlPFC, LPC); this pattern was linked to impaired working memory performance in delayed-response WM tasks.
  • Coping with emotional distraction involves top–down control and AMY–PFC interactions: AMY acts as an “emotional detector,” left vlPFC/IFC is linked to objective coping (correct vs. incorrect trials), and right vlPFC/IFC is linked to subjective distractibility ratings.
  • Individual differences modulate these effects: greater susceptibility to emotional distraction is associated with greater HotEmo activation and greater ColdEx deactivation; trait attentional impulsiveness correlates with increased AMY and decreased dlPFC activity; anxiety shows opposing ventral/dorsal correlations.
  • Sex differences were identified: women showed increased bottom-up sensitivity in regions such as FG, AMY, and subgenual ACC, while men showed increased top–down sensitivity in polar/dorsal PFC and dorsal ACC; the review notes women have nearly two times higher lifetime prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders than men (cited from Kessler, 2003).

Methods

  • Narrative review of brain imaging (fMRI) studies, focusing primarily on delayed-response working memory tasks with task-irrelevant emotional distraction and similar dual-task paradigms; perceptual, conflict-resolution, and emotion-regulation paradigms are not discussed in depth.
  • Evidence is synthesized from a table of relevant studies (Table 1), including healthy participants and clinical samples (PTSD, major depressive disorder, schizophrenia), with tasks using faces, shapes, or letters as memoranda and IAPS pictures or angry faces as distracters.
  • Main analysis is qualitative synthesis of reported activations, functional connectivity, and correlations with behavioral, personality, and sex-related measures; no meta-analysis or new primary data are reported.

Limitations

  • Stated: the role of emotional valence and arousal in distraction remains unclear; the type of coping strategies participants use is not clear; individual differences in emotional distraction effects on cognitive processes other than WM are less investigated; the link between enhancing and impairing effects of emotion is scarcely investigated; clinical and non-visual distracters need further study.
  • Stated: the review does not provide an in-depth discussion of evidence from perceptual, conflict resolution, and emotion regulation paradigms, which are methodologically different.
  • Evident: as a narrative review, it does not systematically quantify effect sizes or conduct a meta-analysis; several conclusions rely on a limited set of studies, some with female-only samples, and the generalizability of vlPFC coping findings to males is noted as needing clarification.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00200

Cites

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Statistics

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Claims the paper makes

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  • Findingcitation

    A series of studies by Dolcos and colleagues identified dissociable patterns of brain activity in ColdEx versus HotEmo systems that were specific to transient distracting emotions.

    “A series of studies by Dolcos and colleagues, investigating the neural correlates of the response to emotional distraction, identified dissociable patterns of brain activity in ColdEx vs. HotEmo systems, which were specific to transient distracting emotions”
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  • Findingcitation

    The disruption of dorsal system activation was associated with impaired working memory performance.

    “Importantly, the disruption of dorsal system activation was associated with impaired WM performance.”
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    • cites Dolcos and McCarthy, 2006

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  • Findingcitation

    The opposing pattern of changes in HotEmo and ColdEx regions was confirmed by significant region × condition interactions.

    “This opposing pattern of changes in HotEmo and ColdEx regions was confirmed by significant region × condition interactions (Dolcos and McCarthy, 2006).”
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    • cites Dolcos and McCarthy, 2006

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  • Findingcitation

    Participants had significantly higher levels of state anxiety after the completion of the task compared to the beginning of the study.

    “Confirming that the manipulation worked in inducing anxiety, participants had significantly higher levels of state anxiety after the completion of the task compared to the beginning of the study.”
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  • Findingcitation

    Preliminary findings suggest that similar brain activity effects may also be observed in the case of positive distraction.

    “preliminary findings from an investigation that manipulated other emotional properties of task-irrelevant distracters (arousal: high vs. low, and valence: positive vs. negative) suggest that similar brain activity effects may also be observed in the case of positive distraction (Iordan et al., 2013b).”
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    Findingcitation

    Impaired working memory performance in the presence of emotional distraction is linked to increased activity in ventral system structures involved in emotional processing (e.g., amygdala, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex) while disrupting delay interval activity in dorsal brain regions implicated in attentional processes and active maintenance of task-relevant information in working memory (e.g.,dl

    “the study by Dolcos and McCarthy (2006) provided initial brain imaging evidence that impaired WM performance in the presence of emotional distraction is linked to increased activity in ventral system structures involved in emotional processing (e.g., AMY, vlPFC) while disrupting delay interval activity in dorsal brain regions implicated in attentional processes and active maintenance of task-relev”
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    Findingcitation

    Memoranda-confusable distracters and emotional distracters were associated with opposing changes in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity (increased vs. decreased, respectively), in conditions where both types of distracters produced similar effects on working memory performance.

    “an investigation by Dolcos et al. (2008) directly compared the effects of novel non-emotional distracters that were highly similar to the memoranda (i.e., memoranda-confusable distracters) with those of emotional distracters, and showed that the two types of distracters were associated with opposing changes in dlPFC activity (i.e., increased vs. decreased, respectively), in conditions where both”
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    Interpretationreasoning

    Both the response to and coping with emotional distraction are influenced by individual differences affecting emotional sensitivity and distractibility.

    “Third, both the response to and coping with emotional distraction are influenced by individual differences affecting emotional sensitivity and distractibility”
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    Premisecitation

    The enhancing and distracting effects of emotion have been linked to prioritization of emotional information, possibly due to its enhanced evolutionary value.

    “These effects have been linked to prioritization of emotional information, possibly due to its enhanced evolutionary value”
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    Interpretationreasoning

    These neural signatures are fundamental to understanding the mechanisms of emotion-cognition interactions in healthy functioning, and the changes linked to individual variation in emotional distractibility and susceptibility to affective disorders.

    “which are fundamental to understanding the mechanisms of emotion-cognition interactions in healthy functioning, and the changes linked to individual variation in emotional distractibility and susceptibility to affective disorders.”
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    Premisecitation

    The dorsal ColdEx system includes brain regions typically associated with executive functions, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and lateral parietal cortex, which are critical to active maintenance of goal-relevant information in working memory.

    “The dorsal ColdEx system includes brain regions typically associated with executive functions, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and the lateral parietal cortex (LPC), which are critical to active maintenance of goal-relevant information in working memory (WM).”
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    Interpretationcitation

    Activity in the affective and executive neural systems is interconnected, such that increased activity in ventral affective regions in the presence of transient emotional distracters temporarily takes off-line the dorsal executive system and results in working memory impairment, possibly as a result of a re-allocation of processing resources by emotional distraction.

    “The results of this study are consistent with the idea that activity in the affective and executive neural systems is interconnected, such that increased activity in the ventral affective regions in the presence of transient emotional distracters temporarily takes off-line the dorsal executive system and results in WM impairment, possibly as a result of a re-allocation of processing resources by”
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    Interpretationcitation

    Other investigations using similar or different tasks, and evidence from clinical research, also support the dorso-ventral dissociation in response to emotional distraction, pointing to the replicability and generalizability of these findings.

    “Finally, other investigations using similar (Anticevic et al., 2010; Diaz et al., 2011; Oei et al., 2012) or different tasks (e.g., “emotional odd-ball task,” Yamasaki et al., 2002; Wang et al., 2005; “emotional interrupt task,” Mitchell et al., 2008), and evidence from clinical research (Morey et al., 2009; Anticevic et al., 2011) also support this dorso-ventral dissociation in response to”
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    Interpretationreasoning

    Emotional distracters tap into the same resources necessary to process task-relevant information and impair working memory performance.

    “Hence, the emotional distracters tap into the same resources necessary to process the task-relevant information, and impair WM performance.”
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    Interpretationcitation

    Emotional distracters may produce a bottom-up impact on processing of goal-relevant information by re-allocating processing resources and impairing performance.

    “Possibly as a result of their salience, emotional distracters may produce a bottom-up impact on processing of goal-relevant information by re-allocating processing resources (Vuilleumier et al., 2001) and impairing performance.”
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    Study design and conductcitation

    The opposing responses observed in the HotEmo and ColdEx systems in response to emotional distraction are robust and replicable, demonstrated with different tasks and replicated by others.

    “The opposing responses observed in the HotEmo and ColdEx systems in response to emotional distraction have proven to be robust and replicable results, demonstrated with different tasks, and also replicated by others.”
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    Premisecitation

    Studies of emotional distraction have typically used transient emotional stimuli such as pictures and faces, which may have distinct characteristics compared to longer-lasting emotion-induction stimuli.

    “It should be noted that these studies have typically used emotional stimuli inducing transient emotions, such as emotional pictures and faces, and that these stimuli may have distinct characteristics compared to those typically employed in emotion-induction studies involving longer-lasting emotional responses (e.g., video clips and conditioned stimuli; see Okon-Singer et al., 2012 for a discussion”
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    Premisecitation

    Task-irrelevant emotion processing is sensitive to both the emotional content of distraction and the level of attentional demand.

    “which showed that task-irrelevant emotion processing is subjective to both the emotional content of distraction and the level of attentional demand.”
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    Premisecitation

    Other investigations show that the dorsal ACC is engaged irrespective of the emotional content of the information to be ignored, whereas the ventral ACC remains selective for emotional information.

    “However, other investigations have not fully supported this dissociation, offering a rather different picture, in which the dorsal ACC is engaged irrespective of the emotional content of the information to be ignored, whereas the ventral ACC remains selective for emotional information”
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    Premisecitation

    vlPFC/inferior frontal cortex shows overall increased activity to emotional distraction, and specific areas within this larger region are involved in coping with emotional distraction.

    “In other words, although consistent with its inclusion in the HotEmo system, vlPFC/inferior frontal cortex (IFC) shows overall increased activity to emotional distraction, consistent with evidence regarding its role in top–down control (Aron et al., 2004; Aron, 2007), specific areas within this larger region have proven to be involved in coping with emotional distraction.”
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    Premisecitation

    Studies of emotional conflict tasks point to a dorsal/ventral dissociation in the ACC, with the dorsal ACC responding mainly to cognitive conflict and the rostral ACC responding mainly to emotional conflict.

    “A number of studies investigating conflict resolution by using emotional adaptations of cognitive conflict tasks (e.g., Stroop) point to a similar dorsal/ventral dissociation in the ACC, with the midcingulate cortex (“dorsal” ACC) responding mainly to cognitive conflict and perigenual-subgenual ACC (“rostral” ACC) responding mainly to emotional conflict”
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    Premisecitation

    Engagement of the IFC leads to successful coping with emotional distraction, reflected in greater activity to correct versus incorrect trials in the working memory task despite the presence of emotional distraction.

    “In turn, the engagement of IFC leads to successful coping with emotional distraction, as reflected in greater activity to correct vs. incorrect trials in the WM task, despite the presence of emotional distraction (Dolcos et al., 2006).”
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    Premisecitation

    Among lateral PFC regions, the IFC/vlPFC provides the most substantial connections to the AMY, making it the best candidate to exert direct control over the AMY.

    “Of all the lateral PFC regions, which are generally sparsely connected to the AMY, the IFC/vlPFC provides the most substantial connections, thus making it the best candidate among the lateral PFC regions to potentially exert direct control over AMY (Ray and Zald, 2012; see also Pessoa, 2010).”
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    Premisecitation

    The dorsal PFC is implicated in emotion processing and the vlPFC in inhibition and affect regulation.

    “These results are consistent with other investigations that have implicated the dorsal PFC in emotion processing and the vlPFC in inhibition and affect regulation, respectively (see Aron, 2007; Kober et al., 2008; Vytal and Hamann, 2010; Ochsner et al., 2012 for recent reviews and meta-analyses).”
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    Interpretationreasoning

    Studies point to an interplay between two major neural systems: a ventral HotEmo system showing increased activity and a dorsal ColdEx system showing decreased activity.

    “In summary, studies investigating the neural correlates of the basic response to emotional distraction point to an interplay between two major neural systems: a ventral system, associated with “hot” emotional processing (HotEmo system), showing increased activity, and a dorsal system, associated with “cold” executive processing (ColdEx system), showing decreased activity.”
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    Premisecitation

    Activity in the right vlPFC/IFC does not distinguish between correct and incorrect trials but shows a negative correlation with subjective ratings of distractibility for emotional but not neutral distracters.

    “On the other hand, activity in the right vlPFC/IFC did not distinguish between correct and incorrect trials, but showed a negative correlation with subjective ratings of distractibility, for emotional but not for neutral distracters (Figure 5C).”
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    Premisecitation

    The vlPFC is a site of cross-modal inhibition generally associated with inhibitory processes, and the vlPFC/IFC is associated with the inhibition of negative emotions.

    “Overall, these findings are consistent with evidence pointing to vlPFC as a site of cross-modal inhibition, generally associated with inhibitory processes (Aron et al., 2004; Aron, 2007; Berkman et al., 2009) and with evidence associating vlPFC/IFC with the inhibition of negative emotions (Petrovic et al., 2002; Ochsner et al., 2004), in addition to ventromedial PFC (Diekhof et al., 2011).”
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    Interpretationcitation

    The AMY signals the emotional relevance of stimuli to PFC regions, which integrate and interpret them according to current goals and take context-appropriate decisions that may dampen the emotional experience and benefit working memory processing.

    “Our interpretation is consistent with the idea that AMY is signaling the emotional relevance of the stimuli to PFC regions, such as ventrolateral and ventromedial PFC, which are integrating and interpreting them according to the current goals, and “taking” context-appropriate decisions which may dampen the emotional experience and benefit WM processing (Wager et al., 2008; Chuah et al., 2010; Den”
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    Interpretationcitation

    There is a hemispheric asymmetry in the IFC: the left vlPFC/IFC is involved in actually coping with distraction, while the right vlPFC/IFC is involved in coping with the subjective feeling of being distracted.

    “Taken together, these findings suggest a hemispheric asymmetry in the IFC with respect to its role in actually coping with distraction (left vlPFC/IFC) vs. coping with the subjective feeling of being distracted (right vlPFC/IFC).”
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    Interpretationcitation

    Emotional distracters may trigger automatic reallocation of processing resources from the main cognitive task and impair working memory performance.

    “By virtue of their salience, emotional distracters may trigger automatic reallocation of processing resources from the main cognitive task and impair WM performance (Anticevic et al., 2010; Chuah et al., 2010).”
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    Premisecitation

    Sex differences exist in emotion processing, with women showing enhanced emotional reactivity and emotional memory compared to men.

    “Other studies identified sex differences in emotion processing, and pointed to specific differences in brain activity associated with enhanced emotional reactivity and emotional memory in women compared to men (Lang et al., 1993; Canli et al., 2002a; Cahill et al., 2004; see also Andreano and Cahill, 2009; Kret and De Gelder, 2012 for reviews).”
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    Interpretationreasoning

    Both the basic response to and coping with emotional distraction are influenced by individual differences.

    “As we will see in the next section, both the basic response to and coping with emotional distraction are influenced by individual differences, the investigation of which allows for a more refined understanding of the associated neural correlates.”
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    Premisecitation

    In most participants emotional distraction impaired working memory performance, but in some subjects it did not have a detrimental effect.

    “Results of this investigation revealed that, while in most participants emotional distraction impaired WM performance, in some subjects it did not have a detrimental effect.”
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    Premisecitation

    Participants who were more susceptible to the working memory impairing effect of emotion showed greater HotEmo activations and greater ColdEx deactivations.

    “Specifically, participants who were more susceptible to the WM impairing effect of emotion showed greater HotEmo activations and greater ColdEx deactivations.”
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    Premisecitation

    Trait attentional impulsiveness is associated with increased activity in the AMY and decreased activity in the dlPFC.

    “Specifically, trait attentional impulsiveness (AI), as assessed by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (Spinella, 2007), was associated with increased activity in the AMY and decreased activity in the dlPFC (Figure 6).”
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    Interpretationcitation

    Individual differences in the susceptibility to emotional distraction are associated with differences in both top-down ColdEx regions (dlPFC) and ventral/bottom-up regions (AMY).

    “These findings complement the results of the Dolcos et al. (2008) study, by showing that individual differences in the susceptibility to emotional distraction are associated not only with differences in top–down ColdEx regions (dlPFC), but also in ventral/bottom-up regions (AMY).”
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    Premisecitation

    The left vlPFC/IFC is involved in successful coping with emotional distraction, and there is a hemispheric dissociation between brain activity linked to the short-term versus long-term impact of emotional distraction on working memory and episodic memory.

    “Results from the same investigation also provided further support for the role of the left vlPFC/IFC in successful coping with emotional distraction, and revealed an interesting hemispheric dissociation between brain activity linked to the short-term vs. long-term impact of emotional distraction on WM and episodic memory (EM), respectively (Dolcos et al., 2013).”
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    Interpretationcitation

    Relationships between brain activity and personality-related differences exist not only for general traits but also for traits reflecting differences in processing and experiencing specific emotions such as anxiety.

    “Relationships between brain activity and personality-related differences were identified not only for traits reflecting general aspects of cognitive/executive and affective processing, but also for traits reflecting differences in processing and experiencing of specific emotions, such as anxiety.”
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    Premisecitation

    Increased left IFC activity is associated with working memory success, supporting a role of this area in controlling the objective impact of emotional distraction.

    “Analyses of the fMRI data associated with WM success (by comparing the trials with correct vs. incorrect WM responses) identified increased left IFC activity, which provide further support for a role of this area in controlling the objective impact of emotional distraction (Dolcos et al., 2006).”
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    Premisecitation

    In Denkova et al. (2010), dorsal regions showed negative correlations with trait anxiety and positive correlations with WM performance.

    “dorsal regions showed patterns of negative correlation with trait anxiety and positive correlation with WM performance”
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    Premisecitation

    In Denkova et al. (2010), ventral regions showed positive correlations with trait anxiety and negative correlations with working memory (WM) performance.

    “ventral regions showed patterns of positive correlation with trait anxiety and negative correlation with WM performance”
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    Premisecitation

    In Denkova et al. (2010), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) showed increased overall activity and positive correlations with trait anxiety scores.

    “medial prefrontal regions associated with experiencing of emotion (e.g., ventromedial PFC—vmPFC) showed increased overall activity and positive correlations with trait anxiety scores”
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    Premisecitation

    The left fusiform gyrus shows a positive correlation with anxiety scores, while the right fusiform gyrus shows a negative correlation with working memory performance.

    “Specifically, results pointed to a dissociation between the left and right fusiform gyrus (FG, BA 37), a perceptual region susceptible to emotion modulation (Kanwisher and Yovel, 2006), with the left FG showing positive correlation with anxiety scores and the right FG showing negative correlation with WM performance (Figure 7).”
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    Premisecitation

    The fusiform gyrus shows bilateral increased activity in response to anxiety-inducing distraction, with a dissociation in the bottom-up response linked to individual differences in trait anxiety and cognitive performance.

    “Although these perceptual areas showed bilateral increased activity in response to anxiety-inducing distraction (red clusters and middle time course graph), a dissociation in the bottom-up response could be observed, linked to individual differences in trait anxiety and cognitive performance.”
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    Premisecitation

    In Denkova et al. (2010), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) showed decreased overall activity and negative correlations with trait anxiety scores.

    “lateral regions associated with executive functions (e.g., dlPFC) showed decreased overall activity and negative correlations with trait anxiety scores”
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    Interpretationcitation

    The left fusiform gyrus is involved in the subjective impact and experiencing of anxiety-inducing distraction, while the right fusiform gyrus is involved in the actual/objective impact on working memory performance.

    “This suggests a potential dissociation in the bottom-up impact of emotional distraction in the two hemispheres, with the left FG being involved in the subjective impact and experiencing of anxiety-inducing distraction and the right FG being involved in the actual/objective impact on WM performance.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Denkova et al., 2010

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Women have nearly two times higher lifetime prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders than men.

    “increased susceptibility to affective disorders (i.e., nearly two times higher lifetime prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders than men; Kessler, 2003; Bekker and Van Mens-Verhulst, 2007)”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Kessler, 2003

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Bekker and Van Mens-Verhulst, 2007

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In Denkova et al. (2010), left vlPFC activity positively correlated with WM performance, such that participants showing less reduction in left vlPFC activity performed better in the WM task.

    “results identified a positive correlation between activity in this region and WM performance, suggesting that participants showing less reduction in the left vlPFC activity (and hence, overall greater activity), also performed better in the WM task”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Denkova et al., 2010

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Iordan et al. (2013a) identified dissociable patterns of activity in the HotEmo and ColdEx networks in women and men, in the context of similar overall patterns of response to emotional distraction in the two sexes.

    “The study by Iordan et al. (2013a) identified dissociable patterns of activity in the HotEmo and ColdEx networks in women and men, in the context of similar overall patterns of response to emotional distraction in the two sexes.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Iordan et al., 2013a

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Iordan et al. (2013a) identified sex differences in the basic response to emotional distraction, consistent with increased bottom-up impact of emotional distraction in women relative to men.

    “The study by Iordan et al. (2013a) identified sex differences in the basic response to emotional distraction, consistent with the idea of increased bottom-up impact of emotional distraction in women relative to men.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Iordan et al., 2013a

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Despite sex differences, men and women show overall similar response to emotional distraction, suggesting similar general mechanisms in response to transient emotional distraction.

    “Noteworthy, these differences were identified in the context of overall similar response to emotional distraction in women and men, suggesting that, at a more general level, men and women also deploy similar mechanisms in response to transient emotional distraction.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In Denkova et al. (2010), the right FG (BA 37) showed increased activity and negative correlation with WM performance in women.

    “in which a pattern of increased activity and negative correlation with WM performance was observed in the right FG (BA 37)”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Denkova et al., 2010

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In Iordan et al. (2013a), a dorsal-ventral hemispheric dissociation within the lateral PFC was found: left ventral PFC linked to individual differences in WM performance in women, and right dorsal PFC linked to individual differences in men.

    “Results revealed a dorsal-ventral hemispheric dissociation within the lateral PFC, with the left ventral PFC being linked to individual differences in WM performance in women, and the right dorsal PFC being linked to individual differences in men (Figure 9).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Iordan et al., 2013a

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Sex-related dissociations in the basic response to emotional distraction are consistent with increased sensitivity in bottom-up responses in women, linked to impaired WM performance, and increased sensitivity in top-down responses in men, linked to increased performance.

    “Overall, these sex-related dissociations in the basic response to emotional distraction are consistent with increased sensitivity in “bottom-up” responses in women, linked to impaired WM performance, and increased sensitivity in “top–down” responses in men, linked to increased performance, in the face of emotional distraction.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In men, activity in the same right FG area was not different and did not co-vary with WM performance.

    “Activity in the same right FG area, however, was not different and did not co-vary with WM performance in men.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Iordan et al., 2013a

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  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The left FG showed increased activity in response to angry-face distracters in women relative to men and negative correlation with WM performance in women only.

    “the left FG, a perceptual area susceptible to modulation by emotion, showed a pattern of increased activity in response to angry-face distracters in women relative to men and negative correlation with WM performance in women only”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Iordan et al., 2013a

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In men, right lateral PFC showed reduced activity as a group compared to women, but those with increased activity coped successfully with emotional distraction.

    “A similar pattern was observed in the right lateral PFC in men—although as a group they showed reduced activity in this region, compared to women, those who had increased activity also coped successfully with emotional distraction.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Iordan et al., 2013a

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The same left vlPFC region that showed enhanced activation in better-performing women in Denkova et al. (2010) showed overall increased activity in males, who also had higher WM performance.

    “the same left vlPFC region showing enhanced activation in the female participants who performed better in the WM task (Denkova et al., 2010) showed “by default” an overall increased level of activity in males, who also had higher levels of WM performance”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Denkova et al., 2010

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Iordan et al., 2013a

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  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Sex differences exist in both bottom-up and top-down effects of emotional distraction, by linking increased recruitment of emotion processing areas with decreased cognitive performance in women and revealing dissociations in coping with distraction mechanisms between women and men.

    “Additionally, evidence points to sex differences in both bottom-up and top–down effects of emotional distraction, by linking increased recruitment of emotion processing areas with decreased cognitive performance in women and revealing dissociations in coping with distraction mechanisms between women and men.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Converging functional and anatomical evidence identifies specific roles: AMY as an emotion detector, PFC (especially vlPFC) as a top-down controller; ACC and medial PFC are also involved.

    “This interplay is supported by converging functional and anatomical evidence identifying specific roles for the involved structures, such as the AMY, acting as an “emotion detector,” and the PFC, particularly the vlPFC, acting as “top–down controller”; other regions, such as the ACC and medial PFC, are also involved.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    The impact of task-irrelevant emotional distraction is associated with opposing patterns of activity in two major neural systems: increased activity in a ventral HotEmo system (AMY, vlPFC) and simultaneous decreased activity in a dorsal ColdEx system (dlPFC, LPC).

    “Regarding (1), the impact of task-irrelevant emotional distraction is associated with opposing patterns of activity in two major neural systems: a ventral system associated with “hot” emotional processing (HotEmo system), comprising regions such as AMY and vlPFC, which shows increased activity, and a dorsal system associated with “cold” executive processing (ColdEx system), comprising regions such”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The reviewed evidence demonstrates that the opposing pattern of activity is robust and has been systematically replicated using different types of tasks and stimuli.

    “The reviewed evidence demonstrates that this is a robust pattern of activity, which has been systematically replicated using different types of tasks and stimuli.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Top-down control mechanisms are engaged to counteract the bottom-up influence produced by emotional distraction, cope with distracting emotions, and maintain cognitive performance.

    “Regarding (2), top–down control mechanisms are engaged in order to counteract the bottom-up influence produced by emotional distraction, cope with distracting emotions, and maintain cognitive performance.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The detrimental impact of task-irrelevant emotional distraction on goal-oriented processing is linked to bottom-up mechanisms that hijack processing resources and divert attention, leading to impaired cognitive performance.

    “Moreover, this evidence suggests that the detrimental impact of task-irrelevant emotional distraction on goal-oriented processing is linked to bottom-up mechanisms, which are able to “hijack” processing resources and divert attention from the ongoing task to processing emotional information, which in turn leads to impaired cognitive performance.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Task-irrelevant emotion processing is subject to both the emotional content of distraction and the level of attentional demand.

    “by showing that task-irrelevant emotion processing is subjective to both the emotional content of distraction and the level of attentional demand”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Shafer et al., 2012

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Lavie, 2005

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Pessoa, 2005

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Individual differences linked to both general and specific aspects of cognitive/executive and emotion processing, along with sex differences, also modulate activity in HotEmo and ColdEx systems.

    “Individual differences linked to both general and specific aspects of cognitive/executive and emotion processing, along with sex differences, also modulate activity in HotEmo and ColdEx systems.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Increased susceptibility to recollecting negative events is linked with both symptom severity and cognitive impairment in emotional disorders such as depression and PTSD.

    “clinical research has linked increased susceptibility to recollecting negative events with both symptom severity and cognitive impairment in emotional disorders such as depression and PTSD (e.g., Davis and Nolen-Hoeksema, 2000; Rubin et al., 2008)”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Davis and Nolen-Hoeksema, 2000

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Rubin et al., 2008

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In PTSD patients, Morey et al. (2009) identified increased activity in ventral processing regions related to trauma-related distracters and greater disruptions in cognitive processing regions.

    “a recent investigation in PTSD patients (Morey et al., 2009) has identified increased activity in ventral processing regions related to trauma-related distracters and greater disruptions in cognitive processing regions”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Morey et al., 2009

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Evidence points to specific neural signatures of the response to emotional challenge that may be used as neurobiological markers to enhance diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficacy.

    “This evidence points to specific neural signatures of the response to emotional challenge, which may be used as neurobiological markers to enhance diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficacy.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Iordan et al. (2013b) preliminary findings suggest that bottom-up responses to emotional distraction engage mechanisms jointly sensitive to both arousal and valence (e.g., AMY), while top-down responses are more specialized, with clearer dissociations between brain regions sensitive to arousal or valence.

    “Preliminary findings from a recent investigation from our group (Iordan et al., 2013b) suggest that while “bottom-up” responses to emotional distraction engage mechanisms jointly sensitive to both arousal and valence (e.g., AMY), “top–down” responses are more specialized, with clearer dissociations between brain regions sensitive to arousal or valence.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Iordan et al., 2013b

      Not checked in the free run.

65 of 65

  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The detrimental impact of emotional distraction on cognitive functions may be linked to reduced activity in brain regions subserving the functions impaired by emotion.

    “Based on the findings regarding the memory-enhancing effect of emotion, a default assumption concerning the impairing effect is that the detrimental impact of emotional distraction on cognitive functions may be linked to reduced activity in brain regions subserving the functions impaired by emotion.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The ability to deploy cognitive control in order to cope with emotional distraction is essential for adaptive behavior.

    “The ability to deploy cognitive control in order to cope with emotional distraction is essential for adaptive behavior”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Reduced cognitive control may lead to enhanced emotional distractibility.

    “while reduced control may lead to enhanced emotional distractibility”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Enhanced emotional distractibility is often a hallmark of affective disorders.

    “which is often a hallmark of affective disorders”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The neural correlates of the response to and coping with emotional distraction are not clear.

    “but the neural correlates of these phenomena are not clear”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The capacity to engage coping mechanisms modulates the impairing effect of emotion.

    “An important factor modulating the impairing effect of emotion is the capacity to engage coping mechanisms in order to resist emotional distraction.”
6 of 6

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Amygdala activity is modulated by cognitive control processes, including inhibitory control and reason-based appraisal.

    “Moreover, its activity is modulated by cognitive control processes, including inhibitory control and reason-based appraisal (Buhle et al., 2014;Cohen et al., 2015;Iordan, Dolcos, & Dolcos, 2013;Kanske, Heissler, Schonfelder, Bongers, &Wessa, 2010;Kohn et al., 2014;McRae et al., 2010;Ochsner & Gross, 2005;Phan et al., 2005).”

    From Anxiety and attention to threat: cognitive mechanisms and treatment with attention bias modification (2016) · cites this paper as Iordan, Dolcos, & Dolcos, 2013

  • Reactivity of the stimulus-salience-evaluation mechanism to threat cues can be downregulated by top-down cognitive control.

    “Importantly, despite largely operating automatically, reactivity of this stimulus-salience-evaluation mechanism to threat cues can be downregulated by top-down cognitive control (Bar-Haim et al., 2007;Cohen et al., 2015;Iordan et al., 2013;Ochsner & Gross, 2005).”

    From Anxiety and attention to threat: cognitive mechanisms and treatment with attention bias modification (2016) · cites this paper as Iordan et al., 2013

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Subjective coping attributed to bilateral versus right inferior frontal cortex

    Minor

    Figure 10 describes bilateral inferior frontal areas as controlling the subjective feeling of being distracted, whereas Figure 5 assigns that role to the right vlPFC/IFC and distinguishes it from the left area's role in objective coping.

1 of 1

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Shields S. A. (1991). Gender in the psychology of emotion: a selective research review, in International Review of Studies on Emotion, ed Strongman K. T. (New York, NY: Wiley), 227– 245

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Iordan, A. D., Dolcos, S., & Dolcos, F.
Affiliations
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2013
Volume
7
Pages
200-200
ISSN
1662-5161 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fnhum.2013.00200
PMC
PMC3672684
OpenAlex
W2142405326
Semantic Scholar
e9a8614cf85189a6c33246c29a93f00c7dd596bd
Cited by
148
References
163
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 3
FWCI
7.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
emotional distraction, cognitive control, top-down control, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, emotion-cognition interaction, individual differences, emotional sensitivity, mood disorders, neural correlates

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