University of Amsterdam, 1018 WB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2010 May;10(2):174-81. doi: 10.3758/CABN.10.2.174.
Emotional stimuli may prime the motor system and facilitate action readiness. Direct evidence for this effect has been shown by recent studies using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). When administered over the primary motor cortex involved in responding, TMS pulses elicit motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in the represented muscles. The amplitudes of these MEPs reflect the state of corticospinal excitability. Here, we investigated the dynamic effects of induced emotions on action readiness, as reflected by corticospinal excitability. Subjects performed a choice task while viewing task-irrelevant emotional and neutral pictures. The pattern of MEP amplitudes showed a typical increase as the TMS pulse was presented closer in time to the imminent response. This dynamic pattern was amplified by both pleasant and unpleasant emotional stimuli, but more so when unpleasant pictures were viewed. These patterns present novel evidence in support of the notion that emotional stimuli modulate action readiness.
情绪刺激可能会使运动系统预备，并促进动作准备就绪。最近使用经颅磁刺激 (TMS) 的研究提供了这一效应的直接证据。当 TMS 脉冲施加于参与反应的初级运动皮层时，会在代表的肌肉中引发运动诱发电位 (MEP)。这些 MEP 的振幅反映了皮质脊髓兴奋性的状态。在这里，我们研究了情绪诱导对动作准备就绪的动态影响，这反映在皮质脊髓兴奋性上。被试在观看与任务无关的情绪和中性图片的同时执行选择任务。MEP 振幅的模式随着 TMS 脉冲更接近即将到来的反应而呈现出典型的增加。这种动态模式被愉快和不愉快的情绪刺激放大，但当观看不愉快的图片时放大效果更明显。这些模式为情绪刺激调节动作准备就绪的观点提供了新的证据。
