The effect of positive and negative emotions in modulating the spatial scopes of visual selective attention

The ability to selectively process relevant sensory information while filtering out irrelevant distractors is crucial for speedy and efficient sensory encoding. Previous studies have established a strong connection between visual attention and emotion; however, the precise mechanisms by which emotion modulates attention and the susceptibility of this effect to participants' psychological states remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the mechanisms through which emotional valence shapes the spatial extent of visual selective attention. Additionally, we investigated whether this valence-related change in attention depends on inter- subject variability in emotional state. We employed an adapted version of the Eriksen flanker task, where participants observed shape stimuli embedded in a circular array and made judgments about the target shape (bowtie vs. diamond). Critically, the target's location was cued by a preceding face image displaying one of three emotions: happy, angry, and neutral. Prior to the experiment, participants completed a questionnaire (i.e., the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 items or DASS-21) to assess their self-reported levels of negative emotional state. Our findings revealed that emotional valence significantly influenced attention, resulting in a broader spatial scope of processed visual information when positive faces were presented, relative to negative or neutral faces. Moreover, we observed a stronger effect of emotional valence on attention among participants reporting fewer symptoms related to depression, anxiety, or stress. These results shed light on the intricate interactions between selective attention and the affective system, while also highlighting the potential for developing a neural index to measure current emotional states.