Abstract
This study investigated the event-related brain potentials associated with the olfactory-visual cross-modal Stroop effect and its modulation by olfactory-induced and self-reported affective states. Eighteen healthy participants were presented with an olfactory stimulus and the image of a plant, and they had to categorize the olfactory attribute of the image as “aromatic” or “pungent” by pressing the relevant button as quickly as possible. The type of olfactory-visual stimuli (congruent or incongruent) and the valence of the olfactory-induced emotional states (positive or negative) were manipulated following a 2 × 2 factorial design. Interference effects were observed at the behavioral and the electrophysiological levels: response times recorded in the incongruent condition were higher than those observed in the congruent condition; an incongruent minus congruent negative difference component was discovered between 350 and 550 ms after stimulus onset in the negative—but not in the positive—olfactory-induced emotional state condition. This ND350-550 component was interpreted as reflecting the amount of selective attention involved in the olfactory-visual cross-modal Stroop effect. These results are also consistent with a facilitatory effect of positive emotional state on selective attention which could reduce brain potentials associated with the cross-modal interference effect.
Highlights
Selective attention involves filtering out irrelevant information from the surrounding environment and focusing on the task at hand
Repeated measures ANOVAs were performed on log-transformed RTs of accurate responses and accuracy in order to compare the effect of the olfactory-visual stimuli conditions and the olfactory-induced emotional states
No significant main effect or interaction was found in the ANOVA on accuracy, whereas a significant main effect of olfactory-visual stimuli condition was found in the ANOVA on log-transformed RTs [F(1,17) = 24.2, p = 0.00013] suggesting the participants spent a longer time processing stimuli in the incongruent condition than in the congruent condition
Summary
Selective attention involves filtering out irrelevant information from the surrounding environment and focusing on the task at hand. Many situations in everyday life require selective attention. Bus drivers must ignore distracting neon signs on surrounding buildings and focus on traffic lights in order to take appropriate decisions at an intersection. A sprinter at the Olympic Games must filter out the noise from the crowd in order to perceive and react promptly to the starter gun. Selective attention plays a central role in animals.
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