Affective processing in natural scene viewing: Valence and arousal interactions in eye-fixation-related potentials

- Emotional salience captures and holds attention in complex scenes.
- Valence and arousal interactively influence EFRP responses during free viewing.
- Interactions of valence and arousal occur at first fixations to emotional items.
- Congruence in valence and arousal evokes stronger responses than incongruence.

Attention is drawn to emotionally salient stimuli. The present study investigates processing of emotionally salient regions during free viewing of emotional scenes that were categorized according to the two-dimensional model comprising of valence (unpleasant, pleasant) and arousal (high, low). Recent studies have reported interactions between these dimensions, indicative of stimulus-evoked approach or withdrawal tendencies. We addressed the valence and arousal effects when emotional items were embedded in complex real-world scenes by analyzing both eye movement behavior and eye-fixation-related potentials (EFRPs) time-locked to the critical event of fixating the emotionally salient items for the first time. Both data sets showed an interaction between the valence and arousal dimensions. First, the fixation rates and gaze durations on emotionally salient regions were enhanced for unpleasant versus pleasant images in the high arousal condition. In the low arousal condition, both measures were enhanced for pleasant versus unpleasant images. Second, the EFRP results at 140-170 ms [P2] over the central site showed stronger responses for high versus low arousing images in the unpleasant condition. In addition, the parietal LPP responses at 400-500 ms post-fixation were enhanced for stimuli reflecting congruent stimulus dimensions, that is, stronger responses for high versus low arousing images in the unpleasant condition and stronger responses for low versus high arousing images in the pleasant condition. The present findings support the interactive two-dimensional approach, according to which the integration of valence and arousal recruits brain regions associated with action tendencies of approach or withdrawal.