International Affective Picture System Research Articles

A South African adaptation of the international affective picture system: The influence of socioeconomic status and education level on picture ratings.

The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) is used globally in emotion research. However, normative studies in diverse contexts do not consider the influence of education and socioeconomic status (SES) on picture ratings. We created the South African Affective Picture System (SA-APS) for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by replacing some original IAPS images with pictures featuring more diverse groups of people and culturally appropriate stimuli. Healthy South African adults from higher and lower education/SES backgrounds (n = 80; n = 70 respectively) provided valence and arousal ratings for 340 images from the original IAPS and 340 images from the new SA-APS. Overall, their ratings of SA-APS images were better aligned with the US normative standards than their ratings of IAPS images, particularly with regard to valence. Those with higher SES/education rated IAPS images differently from those with lower SES/education (e.g., valence ratings of the latter were similar to US normative standards, whereas those of the former were more negative). Regression modelling indicated that sex and SES significantly predicted the current sample's IAPS and SA-APS ratings (e.g., women and higher-SES participants rated high-arousal images as being significantly more arousing than men and lower-SES participants); hence, we created regression-based norms for both picture sets. These norms are especially useful in emotion research, because few studies emerge from LMICs, and few instruments account for substantial sociodemographic diversity. Extending the reach of tools such as the IAPS to LMICs can help ensure a more globally representative body of research in this field.

The Challenge of Emotions—An Experimental Approach to Assess the Emotional Competence of People with Intellectual Disabilities

Emotions influence processes of learning and thinking in all people. However, there is a lack of studies in the field of emotion research including people with intellectual disabilities (ID) addressing the existing diversity. The present study investigates the emotional competence of people with ID (N = 32). The first aim was to assess the emotional development using the Scale of Emotional Development (SEED). Based on these insights, the second objective was to replicate existing findings, validating the emotional reaction of people with ID to pictures of the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) based on self-reports. In an additional pilot-like analysis, the third aim was to investigate if these self-reported emotional reactions match the emotions expressed in their faces using the automated and video-based facial expression analysis software ‘Affectiva (Affdex SDK)’. In the present study, the self-reported emotional reactions of participants with ID were in line with previous research. In addition, the present study shows the general potential of this innovative approach of using and applying commercially available automated emotion recognition software for the field of special needs and social science.

Trait anxiety affects attentional bias to emotional stimuli across time: A growth curve analysis.

Many studies have illustrated the close relationship between anxiety disorders and attentional functioning, but the relationship between trait anxiety and attentional bias remains controversial. This study examines the effect of trait anxiety on the time course of attention to emotional stimuli using materials from the International Affective Picture System. Participants with high vs. low trait anxiety (HTA vs. LTA) viewed four categories of pictures simultaneously: dysphoric, threatening, positive, and neutral. Their eye-movements for each emotional stimulus were recorded for static and dynamic analysis. Data were analyzed using a mixed linear model and growth curve analysis. Specifically, the HTA group showed a greater tendency to avoid threatening stimuli and more pupil diameter variation in the early period of stimulus presentation (0–7.9 s). The HTA group also showed a stronger attentional bias toward positive and dysphoric stimuli in the middle and late period of stimulus presentation (7.9–30 s). These results suggest that trait anxiety has a significant temporal effect on attention to emotional stimuli, and that this effect mainly manifests after 7 s. In finding stronger attentional avoidance of threatening stimuli and more changes in neural activity, as well as a stronger attentional bias toward positive stimuli, this study provides novel insights on the relationship between trait anxiety and selective attention.

Emotions are associated with the genesis of visually induced motion sickness in virtual reality

Visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) is a well-known side effect of virtual reality (VR) immersion, with symptoms including nausea, disorientation, and oculomotor discomfort. Previous studies have shown that pleasant music, odor, and taste can mitigate VIMS symptomatology, but the mechanism by which this occurs remains unclear. We predicted that positive emotions influence the VIMS-reducing effects. To investigate this, we conducted an experimental study with 68 subjects divided into two groups. The groups were exposed to either positive or neutral emotions before and during the VIMS-provoking stimulus. Otherwise, they performed exactly the same task of estimating the time-to-contact while confronted with a VIMS-provoking moving starfield stimulation. Emotions were induced by means of pre-tested videos and with International Affective Picture System (IAPS) images embedded in the starfield simulation. We monitored emotion induction before, during, and after the simulation, using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) valence and arousal scales. VIMS was assessed before and after exposure using the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) and during simulation using the Fast Motion Sickness Scale (FMS) and FMS-D for dizziness symptoms. VIMS symptomatology did not differ between groups, but valence and arousal were correlated with perceived VIMS symptoms. For instance, reported positive valence prior to VR exposure was found to be related to milder VIMS symptoms and, conversely, experienced symptoms during simulation were negatively related to subjects’ valence. This study sheds light on the complex and potentially bidirectional relationship of VIMS and emotions and provides starting points for further research on the use of positive emotions to prevent VIMS.

CONSUMER EMOTION – A NEUROMARKETING RESEARCH

We are exposed to over 2000 ads throughout our lives, the average adult can recognize thousands of brands, 700 new products are being offered daily to consumers, two million brands are competing for us, children are exposed today to 40,000 publicities each year and can recognize logos at 18 months. In terms of perception, attention and memory design, emotions can play an especially significant part. Emotions play an important element in how we behave and think. The emotion we feel every day could influence the decision making in our life. Based on Eysenck’s theory, behavioral differences between individual are influence by the differential arousal. This study was implemented with neuromarketing approach to investigate the effect of arousal level on the process of emotion. ERP was recorded in 90 participants recruited from Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) participated in ERP recording. Visual stimuli were taken randomly from International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and categories into three groups (high, moderate, low) based on the normative mean values of IAPS. In the present study, analysis for P300 component, the effect of arousal level is significant at Cz and Pz electrodes for both amplitude and latency. Meanwhile, O2 electrode indicated significant result for the latency parameter. It’s clear that, consumer emotion could be influence by the level of arousal. This finding shows that, Eysenck’s theory on the connection between individual behavior and level of arousal emotion almost supported. On the basis of the results of the study, marketing managers could prepare effective marketing strategies in order to concentrate consumer arousal emotions to meet their goal and benefit.

Emotion misattribution from complex scene pictures: Evidence for affective processing beyond valence.

The present experiments employed an emotion misattribution procedure to investigate if, and to what extent, emotional pictures are automatically processed on an emotion-specific level. We employed emotional pictures from the International Affective Picture System (Lang, Bradley, & Cuthbert, 2008) depicting joy-, anger-, fear-, and sadness-related contents as prime stimuli in the four-category emotion misattribution procedure (Rohr, Degner, & Wentura, 2015). Pictures were presented briefly and masked to avoid intentional responding. The pattern of results across all experiments provides evidence for an unfolding of emotion specificity along with the degree of visibility of primes. When presentation duration allowed for relatively good prime visibility (40 ms; Experiment 1), we observed emotion-specific misattribution effects for each prime category. With shorter prime presentation reducing prime visibility (30 ms; Experiment 2a and 2b), misattribution effects became less specific: While anger-related emotional scenes were clearly differentiated from fear and sadness-associated scenes, the latter two were not differentiated from one another. This pattern cannot be explained by simple semantic processing, but fits to an early appraisal of the coping ability associated with the emotion triggered by the pictorial content highlighting that specific, emotion-related processes are involved at the very early stages of emotional information processing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The longitudinal trajectory of emotion regulation and associated neural activity in patients with bipolar disorder: A prospective fMRI study.

Impaired emotion regulation is a key feature of bipolar disorder (BD) that presents during acute mood episodes and in remission. The neural correlates of voluntary emotion regulation seem to involve deficient prefrontal top-down regulation already at BD illness onset. However, the trajectory of aberrant neuronal activity during emotion regulation in BD is unclear. We investigated neural activity during emotion regulation in response to aversive pictures from the International Affective Picture System in patients with recently diagnosed BD (n=43) in full or partial remission and in healthy controls (HC) (n=38) longitudinally at baseline and 16 months later. Patients with BD exhibited stable hypo-activity in the left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and impaired emotion regulation compared to HC over the 16 months follow-up time. More DLPFC hypo-activity during emotion regulation correlated with less successful down-regulation (r=0.16, p=0.045), more subsyndromal depression (r=-0.18, p=0.02) and more functional impairment (r=-0.24, p=0.002), while more DMPFC hypo-activity correlated with less efficient emotion regulation (r=0.16, p=0.048). Finally, more DMPFC hypo-activity during emotion regulation at baseline was associated with an increased likelihood of subsequent relapse during the 16 months follow-up time (β=-2.26, 95% CI [0.01; 0.99], p=0.048). The stable DLPFC and DMPFC hypo-activity during emotion regulation represents a neuronal trait-marker of persistent emotion regulation difficulties in BD. Hypo-activity in the DMPFC may contribute to greater risk of relapse.

Temel Duygusal Durumların Hemodinamik Karşılıklarının Taşınabilir bir İşlevsel Yakın Kızılaltı Spektroskopi Sistemi ile Tanımlanması

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) system, for quantification of the similarities and differences in the spatial localization of cerebral hemodynamic activation, induced by visual presentation of neutral, negative and positive valence emotional stimuli.Method: Thirteen healthy subjects viewed neutral, pleasant and unpleasant pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) database in a block design experiment while the prefrontal cortical hemodynamic changes induced by emotional stimuli were continuously recorded with a 20 channel fNIRS system that covered the forehead region.Results: Negative valence pictures induced higher hemodynamic activity in right lateralized regions involving dorsolateral and orbitofrontal cortex, when compared to neutral and positive valence stimuli (pFDR<0.05). Each stimulus condition induced a distinct cortical activation pattern that could be identified with fNIRS.Conclusion: Our findings support the notion that different basic emotions have distinct localization and separable hemodynamic correlates in the prefrontal cortex region, which can be detected with a mobile fNIRS system. The distinct cortical hemodynamic activity patterns associated with each emotional state show the potential of fNIRS technology for decoding and differentiating basic emotions objectively and real time for future clinical and daily life applications.

Detection of EEG Patterns for Induced Fear Emotion State via EMOTIV EEG Testbench

In this study, International Affective Picture System (IAPS) were used to evoke fear and neutral stimuli using EMOTIV EPOC EEG recognition system (n=15). During the experiments, EEG data were recorded using the Test bench program. To synchronize the EEG records, IAPS pictures were reflected on the screen. A Python script was written in the Open Sesame program to provide a synchronized data flow in the Input/Output channels of the installed virtual serial port. The Event-Related Oscillations (ERO) responses and Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) were calculated. Statistically significant differences (p

Detrending Moving Average, Power Spectral Density, and Coherence: Three EEG-Based Methods to Assess Emotion Irradiation during Facial Perception

Understanding brain reactions to facial expressions can help in explaining emotion-processing and memory mechanisms. The purpose of this research is to examine the dynamics of electrical brain activity caused by visual emotional stimuli. The focus is on detecting changes in cognitive mechanisms produced by negative, positive, and neutral expressions on human faces. Three methods were used to study brain reactions: power spectral density, detrending moving average (DMA), and coherence analysis. Using electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings from 48 subjects while presenting facial image stimuli from the International Affective Picture System, the topographic representation of the evoked responses was acquired and evaluated to disclose the specific EEG-based activity patterns in the cortex. The theta and beta systems are two key cognitive systems of the brain that are activated differently on the basis of gender. The obtained results also demonstrate that the DMA method can provide information about the cortical networks’ functioning stability, so it can be coupled with more prevalent methods of EEG analysis.

Decoding the temporal dynamics of affective scene processing

Natural images containing affective scenes are used extensively to investigate the neural mechanisms of visual emotion processing. Functional fMRI studies have shown that these images activate a large-scale distributed brain network that encompasses areas in visual, temporal, and frontal cortices. The underlying spatial and temporal dynamics, however, remain to be better characterized. We recorded simultaneous EEG-fMRI data while participants passively viewed affective images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Applying multivariate pattern analysis to decode EEG data, and representational similarity analysis to fuse EEG data with simultaneously recorded fMRI data, we found that: (1) ∼80 ms after picture onset, perceptual processing of complex visual scenes began in early visual cortex, proceeding to ventral visual cortex at ∼100 ms, (2) between ∼200 and ∼300 ms (pleasant pictures: ∼200 ms; unpleasant pictures: ∼260 ms), affect-specific neural representations began to form, supported mainly by areas in occipital and temporal cortices, and (3) affect-specific neural representations were stable, lasting up to ∼2 s, and exhibited temporally generalizable activity patterns. These results suggest that affective scene representations in the brain are formed temporally in a valence-dependent manner and may be sustained by recurrent neural interactions among distributed brain areas.

Decoding the neural responses to experiencing disgust and sadness

Being able to classify experienced emotions by identifying distinct neural responses has tremendous value in both fundamental research (e.g. positive psychology, emotion regulation theory) and in applied settings (clinical, healthcare, commercial). We aimed to decode the neural representation of the experience of two discrete emotions: sadness and disgust, devoid of differences in valence and arousal. In a passive viewing paradigm, we showed emotion evoking images from the International Affective Picture System to participants while recording their EEG. We then selected a subset of those images that were distinct in evoking either sadness or disgust (20 for each), yet were indistinguishable on normative valence and arousal. Event-related potential analysis of 69 participants showed differential responses in the N1 and EPN components and a support-vector machine classifier was able to accurately classify (58%) whole-brain EEG patterns of sadness and disgust experiences. These results support and expand on earlier findings that discrete emotions do have differential neural responses that are not caused by differences in valence or arousal.

Do emotions influence safe browsing? Toward an electroencephalography marker of affective responses to cybersecurity notifications.

Cybersecurity notifications play an important role in encouraging users to use computers safely. Emotional reactions to such notifications are known to positively influence users’ adherence to these notifications, though it is challenging for researchers to identify and quantify users’ emotional reactions. In this study, we explored electroencephalography (EEG) signals that were elicited by the presentation of various emotionally charged image stimuli provided by the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and compared signals to those elicited by images of cybersecurity notifications and other computer-related stimuli. Participants provided behavioral assessments of valence and arousal elicited by the images which were used to cross-reference the results. We found that EEG amplitudes corresponding to the late positive potential (LPP) were elevated in reaction to images of cybersecurity notifications as well as IAPS images known to elicit strong positive and negative valence, when compared to neutral valence or other computer-related stimuli. These findings suggest that the LPP may account for emotional deliberation about cybersecurity notifications, which could be a useful measure when conducting future studies into the role such emotional reactions play in encouraging safe computer behavior.

Analysis of the skin conductance and pupil signals for evaluation of emotional elicitation by images and sounds.

Many studies in the literature attempt recognition of emotions through the use of videos or images, but very few have explored the role that sounds have in evoking emotions. In this study we have devised an experimental protocol for elicitation of emotions by using, separately and jointly, images and sounds from the widely used International Affective Pictures System and International Affective Digital Sounds databases. During the experiments we have recorded the skin conductance and pupillary signals and processed them with the goal of extracting indices linked to the autonomic nervous system, thus revealing specific patterns of behavior depending on the different stimulation modalities. Our results show that skin conductance helps discriminate emotions along the arousal dimension, whereas features derived from the pupillary signal are able to discriminate different states along both valence and arousal dimensions. In particular, the pupillary diameter was found to be significantly greater at increasing arousal and during elicitation of negative emotions in the phases of viewing images and images with sounds. In the sound-only phase, on the other hand, the power calculated in the high and very high frequency bands of the pupillary diameter were significantly greater at higher valence (valence ratings > 5). Clinical relevance- This study demonstrates the ability of physiological signals to assess specific emotional states by providing different activation patterns depending on the stimulation through images, sounds and images with sounds. The approach has high clinical relevance as it could be extended to evaluate mood disorders (e.g. depression, bipolar disorders, or just stress), or to use physiological patterns found for sounds in order to study whether hearing aids can lead to increased emotional perception.

Severity of childhood maltreatment predicts reaction times and heart rate variability during an emotional working memory task in borderline personality disorder

ABSTRACT Background: Difficulties in emotion regulation are a core symptom of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and often interfere with cognitive functions, such as working memory (WM). Traumatic childhood experiences, including severe maltreatment, can contribute to emotion dysregulation, possibly mediated by changes in high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV). However, it is not yet entirely understood if HF-HRV alterations underlie impaired WM during emotional distraction in BPD and if this is related to traumatic childhood experiences and to comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objective: Our aim was to investigate performance (reaction times, RTs) and HF-HRV during an emotional working memory task (EWMT) in relation to childhood maltreatment severity and comorbid PTSD in BPD. Method: Eighty-one women (n = 28 healthy controls (HC) and n = 53 BPD patients of which n = 18 had comorbid PTSD) performed an adapted Sternberg item recognition WM task with neutral and negative social cues (interpersonal scenes from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), and neutral, fearful, and angry faces) as distractors. Dependent variables were RTs of correct trials and HF-HRV. Childhood maltreatment was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Results: Compared to healthy participants, patients with BPD showed prolonged RTs across all distractor conditions with social cues, regardless of their emotional valence. Patients with BPD, especially those with PTSD, demonstrated reduced HF-HRV both at rest and during EWMT. Severity of childhood maltreatment predicted longer RTs and lower HF-HRV during the EWMT. Conclusions: Findings suggest that adverse childhood experiences accelerate difficulties in shifting attention away from social information and that these are more pronounced in individuals with BPD. Reduced HF-HRV (low parasympathetic-tonus) may be an important psychophysiological mechanism underlying impaired WM in the presence of distracting social cues in patients with BPD, especially in those with comorbid PTSD. HIGHLIGHTS This study provides evidence that childhood maltreatment experiences are associated with hypersensitivity to social information and reduced high-frequency heart rate variability during a working memory task in borderline personality disorder.

Comparing Autobiographical Brand Images and Neutral Images Regarding False Memory Formation.

Consumers' prior experiences form an episodic memory that largely influences their decision-making process. This episodic memory is mainly linked to cognitive and emotional perception and we know that brand image influences our cognitive and emotional perception. Nevertheless, it has not been well described how autobiographical memories of brand images differ from other types of images. In this study, we hypothesized that brand pictures have a higher chance to create false memories as compared to neutral ones. We investigated this hypothesis using the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm with lists of brand pictures from the local market and associated neutral images from the international affective picture system. Thirty graduate students were exposed to image stimuli, followed by a distractor task and a recognition task. After the normality test, reaction times (RT), and false recognition rate of brands and neutral images were statistically compared using a pairwise t-test. The results showed a significant decrease in reaction time (RT) and an increase in the false recognition rate of brand pictures compared to neutral images. Interestingly, the effect of gender on the creation of false memory by autobiographical brand images was not significant. We hope these findings can pave the way for a better understanding of the false memory mechanism. Autobiographical brand images give a higher chance of false memory as compared to neutral imagesMen and women do not differ in the formation of false memoryReaction time in false memory is longer than in true memory.False positives create more cognitive load. We see many images around us every day, such as the image of different brands in our daily shopping, which puts us in front of different types of images, many of which are old, these brands become part of our life memories, and their images are aspects of autobiography. Therefore, these brands can form false memories for people. The image stimuli of this study are to investigate whether these images can form false memories or not. The results showed that the images that we see every day in the street of the supermarket and can change our memories.

Promise for Personalized Diagnosis? Assessing the Precision of Wireless Consumer-Grade Electroencephalography across Mental States

In the last decade there has been significant growth in the interest and application of using EEG (electroencephalography) outside of laboratory as well as in medical and clinical settings, for more ecological and mobile applications. However, for now such applications have mainly included military, educational, cognitive enhancement, and consumer-based games. Given the monetary and ecological advantages, consumer-grade EEG devices such as the Emotiv EPOC have emerged, however consumer-grade devices make certain compromises of data quality in order to become affordable and easy to use. The goal of this study was to investigate the reliability and accuracy of EPOC as compared to a research-grade device, Brainvision. To this end, we collected data from participants using both devices during three distinct cognitive tasks designed to elicit changes in arousal, valence, and cognitive load: namely, Affective Norms for English Words, International Affective Picture System, and the n-Back task. Our design and analytical strategies followed an ideographic person-level approach (electrode-wise analysis of vincentized repeated measures). We aimed to assess how well the Emotiv could differentiate between mental states using an Event-Related Band Power approach and EEG features such as amplitude and power, as compared to Brainvision. The Emotiv device was able to differentiate mental states during these tasks to some degree, however it was generally poorer than Brainvision, with smaller effect sizes. The Emotiv may be used with reasonable reliability and accuracy in ecological settings and in some clinical contexts (for example, for training professionals), however Brainvision or other, equivalent research-grade devices are still recommended for laboratory or medical based applications.

Comparison of Hemodynamic Brain Responses Between Big Wave Surfers and Non-big Wave Surfers During Affective Image Presentation.

BackgroundBig wave surfers are extreme sports athletes who expose themselves to life-threatening risk when training and competing. Little is known about how and why extreme sports athletes choose to participate in their chosen sports. This exploratory study investigated potential neurophysiological and psychometric differences between big and non-big wave surfers.MethodsThirteen big wave surfers (BWS) and 10 non-big wave surfers (CON) viewed a series of images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) while undergoing brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The Fear Schedule Survey-III, Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking, Discrete Emotions Questionnaire, and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule were also completed.ResultsThe BWS group demonstrated higher blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal change in the insula, visual cortex, and periaqueductal gray, whereas the CON group displayed increased hypothalamus activation in response to high amplitude negative-valence (HAN) image presentation. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses found CON showed significant interactions between frontal and temporal cortical regions as well as between the hypothalamus and the insula, frontal, and temporal cortices during HAN image presentation that were not seen in BWS. No differences between groups were found in their responses to the questionnaires.ConclusionOur findings demonstrate significant differences in brain activation between BWS and CON in response to the presentation of HAN IAPS images, despite no significant differences in scores on psychometric questionnaires.

A Novel Method of Exploring the Uncanny Valley in Avatar Gender(Sex) and Realism Using Electromyography

Despite the variety of applications that use avatars (virtual humans), how end-users perceive avatars are not fully understood, and accurately measuring these perceptions remains a challenge. To measure end-user responses more accurately to avatars, this pilot study uses a novel methodology which aims to examine and categorize end-user facial electromyography (f-EMG) responses. These responses (n = 92) can be categorized as pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral using control images sourced from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). This methodology can also account for variability between participant responses to avatars. The novel methodology taken here can assist in the comparisons of avatars, such as gender(sex)-based differences. To examine these gender(sex) differences, participant responses to an avatar can be categorized as either pleasant, unpleasant, neutral or a combination. Although other factors such as age may unconsciously affect the participant responses, age was not directly considered in this work. This method may allow avatar developers to better understand how end-users objectively perceive an avatar. The recommendation of this methodology is to aim for an avatar that returns a pleasant, neutral, or pleasant-neutral response, unless an unpleasant response is the intended. This methodology demonstrates a novel and useful way forward to address some of the known variability issues found in f-EMG responses, and responses to avatar realism and uncanniness that can be used to examine gender(sex) perceptions.

0185 N2 Sleep Spindle Activity is Associated with Better Next-Day Emotion Regulation in Healthy Children

Abstract Introduction Children's day-to-day mental health is dependent on adequate quantity and quality of sleep, but far less is known about the microstructural sleep features that support emotional functioning in children. NREM sleep spindles (rhythmic EEG oscillations between 10 and 15 Hz) are closely linked with intellectual abilities and cognitive processing, and have also been shown to relate to children’s emotional behavior, both concurrently and longitudinally. For example, socially-anxious youth showed reduction in sleep spindle activity compared to healthy controls, which correlated negatively with subjective reports of arousal in response to negative images (Wilhelm et al., 2017). In younger children, greater NREM 2 spindle density was associated with greater prosocial behavior concurrently and fewer behavioral and social problems one year later (Mikoteit et al., 2012; 2013). However, studies in pediatric samples are limited overall and haven’t examined spindles in relation to objective measures of emotion regulation. Methods We examined relationships between spindle activity during NREM stage 2 (N2) and next-day subjective and objective emotional responses among N=26 healthy children, 7-11 years old. Children completed a full-night of at-home PSG monitoring (10hr sleep opportunity) followed by two in-lab tasks. In task 1, children rated arousal/reactivity in response to negative images from the International Affective Pictures System (IAPS). In task 2, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was measured while children were directed to suppress all facial expressions of emotion (i.e., regulate emotional responses to negative content) while watching negatively-valenced movie clips. All analyses controlled for total sleep time on PSG night and RSA analyses controlled for a resting baseline period. Results Greater C3 spindle count (r = .51, p < .05) and density (r = .53, p < .05) were significantly associated with less child-reported arousal towards negative images. Greater F3 peak spindle frequency was positively associated with higher RSA during negative movies (r = .54, p < .05), suggesting better regulatory control of emotional responses to correspond with greater spindle peak frequency. Conclusion Together with previous data, our findings suggest that sleep spindle activity may partially reflect children’s capacity to regulate emotional responses in relation to stressful situations, thereby potentially reducing risk of mental health problems. Support (If Any)