Inconsistent Effect of Arousal on Early Auditory Perception

Bolders, Anna C.; Band, Guido P. H.; Stallen, Pieter Jan M.

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00447

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…These conclusions from our results relate to the findings of a recent study that also points to different induced moods influencing masked auditory detection thresholds in humans. However, somehow, their data did not allow for drawing unequivocal conclusions (Bolders et al, 2017). Our findings of lower auditory emotion detection sensitivity with higher anxiety are in contrast to earlier reports of enhancements in visual sensitivity with greater anxiety, especially for negative stimuli (Byrne and Eysenck, 1995;Bradley et al, 1998;Fox, 2002;Richards et al, 2002;Koster et al, 2006b;Bar-Haim et al, 2007;Doty et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Trait anxiety modulates the detection sensitivity of negative affect in speech: an online pilot study

Prasad,

Chakrabarty

2023

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Acoustic perception of emotions in speech is relevant for humans to navigate the social environment optimally. While sensory perception is known to be influenced by ambient noise, and bodily internal states (e.g., emotional arousal and anxiety), their relationship to human auditory perception is relatively less understood. In a supervised, online pilot experiment sans the artificially controlled laboratory environment, we asked if the detection sensitivity of emotions conveyed by human speech-in-noise (acoustic signals) varies between individuals with relatively lower and higher levels of subclinical trait-anxiety, respectively. In a task, participants (n = 28) accurately discriminated the target emotion conveyed by the temporally unpredictable acoustic signals (signal to noise ratio = 10 dB), which were manipulated at four levels (Happy, Neutral, Fear, and Disgust). We calculated the empirical area under the curve (a measure of acoustic signal detection sensitivity) based on signal detection theory to answer our questions. A subset of individuals with High trait-anxiety relative to Low in the above sample showed significantly lower detection sensitivities to acoustic signals of negative emotions – Disgust and Fear and significantly lower detection sensitivities to acoustic signals when averaged across all emotions. The results from this pilot study with a small but statistically relevant sample size suggest that trait-anxiety levels influence the overall acoustic detection of speech-in-noise, especially those conveying threatening/negative affect. The findings are relevant for future research on acoustic perception anomalies underlying affective traits and disorders.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Trait anxiety modulates the detection sensitivity of negative affect in speech: an online pilot study

Prasad,

Chakrabarty

2023

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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“…The fact that the effects in our data were observed with predominantly negative, threatening affective signals (Disgust and Fear) could be explained on the premise that such environmental stimuli are processed faster and with more efficiency in the brain towards influencing behaviour [46]. These conclusions from our results advance the findings of a recent study that also points at different induced moods influencing masked auditory detection thresholds in humans but somehow their data did not allow drawing unequivocal conclusions [47].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 58%

Trait anxiety modulates the detection sensitivity of negative affect in speech

Achyuthanand¹,

Prasad²,

Chakrabarty³

2022

Preprint

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Auditory perception of emotions in speech is relevant for humans to optimally navigate the social environment.<b> </b>While sensory perception is known to be influenced by bodily internal states such as anxiety and ambient noise, their relationship on human auditory perception is relatively less understood. In a supervised, internet-based experiment carried out sans the artificially controlled laboratory environment, we asked if the detection sensitivity of emotions conveyed by human speech-in-noise (acoustic signals) is modulated by individual differences in affective internal states, e.g., anxiety. In a task, participants (n=24) accurately discriminated the target emotion conveyed by the temporally unpredictable acoustic signals (signal to noise ratio=10dB), which were manipulated at four levels (Happy, Neutral, Fear and Disgust). We calculated empirical area under the curve (measure of acoustic signal detection sensitivity) based on signal detection theory to quantify our results. Specifically, Disgust and Fear detection sensitivities worsened with increasing individual severities of trait-anxiety. Further, a similar effect was evident when averaging across all four emotions. Altogether, the results suggest that individual trait-anxiety levels moderate the detection of emotions from speech-in-noise, especially those conveying negative/threatening affect. The findings may be relevant for expanding the understanding pertaining to auditory perception anomalies underlying affective states and disorders

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“…And varying levels of arousal induced by valenced pictures were observed to alter participants' perception of height [28]. Strikingly, a recent human auditory study indicated that the auditory masking threshold varied markedly with rated emotional arousal [29]. Such findings are mirrored in the animal literature, demonstrating that emotional arousal enhances the activity of the primary auditory cortex (A1) and enhances the connection between A1 and the medial prefrontal cortex [30].…”

mentioning

confidence: 92%