Event Abstract Back to Event Reduced inhibition of return for threat cues: an event-related potential study Stijn A. Massar1*, Wouter F. Hoenderdaal1, Johanna M. Baas1 and J Leon Kenemans1 1 Utrecht University, Netherlands Spatial attention can be modulated by stimuli that signal a threat. Although many studies use spatial cuing tasks, only few have examined the influence of threat on inhibition of return (IOR). IOR refers to slower orienting towards locations that have recently been attended. Reduced IOR after pictorial or verbal threat cues have been reported, but results are mixed. In this study threat was induced by associating peripheral cues with the occurrence of an aversive event (loud noise). Furthermore, event-related potentials were recorded in order to track the potential influence of threat on stimulus processing. In two experiments, participants performed an exogenous cuing task. Peripheral target stimuli were preceded by cue stimulus which could be presented at the same (valid) or opposite location (invalid) as the target. Participants had to respond to the location of the target (Experiment 1) or to its identity (Experiment 2). After a pre-association baseline phase, cue stimuli were differentially associated to an aversive noise (threat cue) or a soft beep tone (neutral cue). Behavioral results showed faster reaction times for invalid than for valid cues (IOR). This effect was similar for both cue types in the baseline phase. In the threat phase, inhibition of return was reduced after threat cues compared to neutral cues. This reduction in RT effects was preceded by a cue-locked medial frontal positive potential (cue-locked P2) that was increased for threat cues. Target locked P1 showed a clear inhibition of return effect (valid target-P1< invalid target-P1), however no significant interaction with threat was observed. These results suggest that threat cues evoke stronger processing which may reduce IOR on a behavioral level. Keywords: Attention, IOR Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Sessions: Neurophysiology of Cognition and Attention Citation: Massar SA, Hoenderdaal WF, Baas JM and Kenemans J (2011). Reduced inhibition of return for threat cues: an event-related potential study. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00460 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 25 Nov 2011; Published Online: 28 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Stijn A Massar, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands, stijn.massar@nus.edu.sg Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Stijn A Massar Wouter F Hoenderdaal Johanna M Baas J Leon Kenemans Google Stijn A Massar Wouter F Hoenderdaal Johanna M Baas J Leon Kenemans Google Scholar Stijn A Massar Wouter F Hoenderdaal Johanna M Baas J Leon Kenemans PubMed Stijn A Massar Wouter F Hoenderdaal Johanna M Baas J Leon Kenemans Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.