Horizontal eye movements foster approach to negative pictures but do not change emotional valence: A dopaminergic regulation hypothesis
Description
A new dopaminergic regulation hypothesis is proposed based on two experiments exploring eye-movement effects. In the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Saccade-Induced Retrieval Enhancement (SIRE) domains, eye-movement mechanisms are mainly studied with explicit measures. Here implicit and explicit measures of emotion and memory for positive and negative pictures were investigated after eye movements or fixation in extreme right-handers. Eye movements enhanced explicit recognition predominantly for negative pictures. The absence of implicit repetition priming in both experiments supported a dissociation between implicit and explicit memory. Motivational eye-movement effects emerged but implicit and explicit affect remained unchanged. Experiment 2 revealed, after initial freezing to negative pictures, an acceleration, particularly of approach responses. Eye movements are postulated to foster approach towards negative memories, and promote, though dopaminergic pathways from the Superior Colliculus, enhanced explicit memory and active emotion regulation, primarily in persons with a collateralization of eye and dopamine dominance.
Format
Journal
Language
English
Original Work Citation
Phaf, R. H., Hermans, M. E., Krepel, A., Lieuw-On, R. L. R., Mulder, C. B., & Weijland, S. (2021, August). Horizontal eye movements foster approach to negative pictures but do not change emotional valence: A dopaminergic regulation hypothesis. New Ideas in Psychology, 62, 100872. doi:10.1016/j.newideapsych.2021.100872
Citation
“Horizontal eye movements foster approach to negative pictures but do not change emotional valence: A dopaminergic regulation hypothesis,” Francine Shapiro Library, accessed April 30, 2024, https://francineshapirolibrary.omeka.net/items/show/26797.