Perceived arousal of facial expressions of emotion modulates the N170, regardless of emotional category: Time domain and time–frequency dynamics

• Modulation of the N170 by perceived arousal in facial expressions of emotion
• The N170 is modulated by perceived arousal, independently of emotional category.
• Theta, alpha and beta power are parametrically modulated by perceived arousal.
• Fear is related to increased inter-trial phase coherence.
• The N170 is essentially responsive to perceived arousal, while fear retains some primacy.

Findings concerning the emotional modulation of the N170 component of the visual event-related potential are mixed. In the present report we tested the hypothesis that the emotional modulation of the N170 may be driven by the perceived emotional arousal of the stimuli, rather than by specific emotional categories.Fifty-four participants viewed facial expressions of anger, disgust, fear and happiness, plus low arousal neutral faces. All emotional categories were matched in arousal, while stimuli within each category varied parametrically in this dimension. The modulation of the electrocortical activity on the N170 time-window was analyzed in the time domain and via time–frequency decomposition. The effects of emotion and arousal were analyzed separately.In the time domain N170 amplitudes co-varied parametrically with perceived arousal, regardless of emotional category. This modulation was linearly associated with the power of the theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands. Moreover, fear was associated with a trend for increased N170 amplitudes, enhanced alpha power, and increased broad band inter-trial phase coherence.These results support the views that a) the activity in N170 time window is fundamentally modulated by perceived arousal, b) the modulation of the N170 may be the product of an increased evoked response, rather than the result of phase resetting processes, and c) facial expressions of fear retain some processing primacy, that may be related to their increased value as environmental cues.