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Are females more responsive to emotional stimuli? A neurophysiological study across arousal and valence dimensions.

TitleAre females more responsive to emotional stimuli? A neurophysiological study across arousal and valence dimensions.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2010
AuthorsLithari, C., Frantzidis C. A., Papadelis C., Vivas A. B., Klados M. A., Kourtidou-Papadeli C., Pappas C., Ioannides A. A., & Bamidis P. D.
JournalBrain Topogr
Volume23
Issue1
Pagination27-40
Date Published2010 Mar
ISSN1573-6792
KeywordsAdult, Brain, Electroencephalography, Emotions, Evoked Potentials, Female, Galvanic Skin Response, Humans, Male, Photic Stimulation, Sex Characteristics, Time Factors, Visual Perception
Abstract

Men and women seem to process emotions and react to them differently. Yet, few neurophysiological studies have systematically investigated gender differences in emotional processing. Here, we studied gender differences using Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and Skin Conductance Responses (SCR) recorded from participants who passively viewed emotional pictures selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). The arousal and valence dimension of the stimuli were manipulated orthogonally. The peak amplitude and peak latency of ERP components and SCR were analyzed separately, and the scalp topographies of significant ERP differences were documented. Females responded with enhanced negative components (N100 and N200), in comparison to males, especially to the unpleasant visual stimuli, whereas both genders responded faster to high arousing or unpleasant stimuli. Scalp topographies revealed more pronounced gender differences on central and left hemisphere areas. Our results suggest a difference in the way emotional stimuli are processed by genders: unpleasant and high arousing stimuli evoke greater ERP amplitudes in women relatively to men. It also seems that unpleasant or high arousing stimuli are temporally prioritized during visual processing by both genders.

DOI10.1007/s10548-009-0130-5
Alternate JournalBrain Topogr
PubMed ID20043199
PubMed Central IDPMC2816804

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