The effects of valence and arousal on the emotional modulation of motor timing

Abstract

The effect of emotion on temporal processing has been widely investigated; however, the mechanism(s) underlying this effect remains unclear. The current study investigated emotional modulation on motor timing for 1-s and 3-s target durations using emotional versions of duration-based (temporal production) and beat-based (rhythmic finger tapping) motor timing tasks. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a significant effect of valence on duration-based motor timing for the 1-s target duration and a significant effect of arousal on both duration-based and beat-based motor timing for the 3-s target duration. These results suggest there are different mechanisms underlying emotional modulation of motor timing for shorter (below 2-3 s) and longer (above 2-3 s) target durations.