HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Liddell, B. J. Articles by Gordon, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Liddell, B. J. Articles by Gordon, E.

A Temporal Dissociation of Subliminal versus Supraliminal Fear Perception: An Event-Related Potential Study

Westmead Hospital
University of Sydney

Howard Shevrin

University of Michigan Medical Center

Evian Gordon

Westmead Hospital
University of Sydney

Current theories of emotion suggest that threat-related stimuli are first processed via an automatically engaged neural mechanism, which occurs outside conscious awareness. This mechanism operates in conjunction with a slower and more comprehensive process that allows a detailed evaluation of the potentially harmful stimulus (LeDoux, 1998). We drew on the Halgren and Marinkovic (1995) model to examine these processes using event-related potentials (ERPs) within a backward masking paradigm. Stimuli used were faces with fear and neutral (as baseline control) expressions, presented above (supraliminal) and below (subliminal) the threshold for conscious detection. ERP data revealed a double dissociation for the supraliminal versus subliminal perception of fear. In the subliminal condition, responses to the perception of fear stimuli were enhanced relative to neutral for the N2 "excitatory" component, which is thought to represent orienting and automatic aspects of face processing. By contrast, supraliminal perception of fear was associated with relatively enhanced responses for the late P3 "inhibitory" component, implicated in the integration of emotional processes. These findings provide evidence in support of Halgren and Marinkovic's temporal model of emotion processing, and indicate that the neural mechanisms for appraising signals of threat may be initiated, not only automatically, but also without the need for conscious detection of these signals.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S.-M. HSU, W. P. HETRICK, and L. PESSOA Depth of facial expression processing depends on stimulus visibility: Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence of priming effects Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci, September 1, 2008; 8(3): 282 - 292. [Abstract] [PDF]

				W. Li, R. E. Zinbarg, S. G. Boehm, and K. A. Paller Neural and behavioral evidence for affective priming from unconsciously perceived emotional facial expressions and the influence of trait anxiety. J. Cogn. Neurosci., January 1, 2008; 20(1): 95 - 107. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. M. Williams, A. H. Kemp, K. Felmingham, B. J. Liddell, D. M. Palmer, and R. A. Bryant Neural biases to covert and overt signals of fear: dissociation by trait anxiety and depression. J. Cogn. Neurosci., October 1, 2007; 19(10): 1595 - 1608. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. M. Williams and E. Gordon Dynamic Organization of the Emotional Brain: Responsivity, Stability, and Instability Neuroscientist, August 1, 2007; 13(4): 349 - 370. [Abstract] [PDF]