VISUOSPATIAL INFLUENCES ON EMOTIONAL PERCEPTION: EFFECTS OF SPATIAL LOCATION ON RATINGS OF EMOTIONAL VALENCE By DANA MARIE SZELES A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2015 © 2015 Dana Marie Szeles To my parents, Rose and Rick Szeles ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I want to thank my dissertation chair and mentor, Dr. Tim Conway for his wise leadership, dedicated support, and constant direction throughout my graduate career – both in research and in my development as a professional, clinical neuropsychologist. Likewise, I want to thank my research advisor, Dr. Kenneth Heilman for his guidance during the development of this project, compassionate life advice, and unfailing faith in my scientific endeavors and career pursuits. I am thankful to Dr. Michael Robinson, whose statistical knowledge helped strengthen and validate the methodological approaches applied herein. I want to thank Liliana Salazar, Scott Norberg, and Damon Lamb – members of Dr. Heilman’s Center for Neuropsychological Studies – for directly assisting in recruitment and administration of the Vertical Neglect project that supported data collection for this study as well as the Department of Veteran’s Affairs for funding this important investigation. I am grateful to the entire lab for their insight throughout the evolution of my dissertation and their suggestions regarding both my study design and analyses. Most notably within the lab, I would like to recognize Dr. Kenneth Heilman, Dr. John Williamson, Dr. Adam Falchook, Dr. Keith White, Dr. Ira Fischler, Dr. Leah Acosta, Dr. Joanne Byars, Dr. Eduardo Zilli, Dr. Brandon Burtis, Liliana Salazar, Scott Norberg, and Dr. Damon Lamb. Last but certainly not least, I am grateful to Dr. Nicholas Milano and Dr. Susan Leon in the Center for Neuropsychological Studies for their role model mentorship, irreplaceable friendship, and constant faith in my capacity for success. I thank my countless family and friends for always anticipating that my hard work and desire would yield accomplishment, and for helping me celebrate each graduate school milestone with more anticipation and enthusiasm than surprise. 4 Finally, I would like to thank the distinguished members of my dissertation committee, Dr. Tim Conway, Dr. Russell Bauer, Dr. Kenneth Heilman, Dr. Patricia Durning, and Dr. Lisa Edmonds, who have committed their valuable time and efforts to reviewing and determining the scientific rigor of this project. Their insight has undeniably enhanced both this project, and my growth as a scientific researcher during my time at the University of Florida. I am grateful to have benefited from each of their unique perspectives during my graduate studies, and delight in knowing I will not be the last student who will. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 9 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 10 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... 12 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 15 Vertical (Upper and Lower) Emotion ....................................................................... 15 Horizontal (Left and Right) Emotion ........................................................................ 17 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................................................ 21 Neurological Underpinnings .................................................................................... 21 Influence of Spatial Attention on Emotion ............................................................... 24 Influence of Emotion on Spatial Attention ............................................................... 26 Influence of Emotion on Action-Intention ................................................................ 29 Emotion and Physiology ......................................................................................... 32 3 STUDY AIMS AND HYPOTHESES-PREDICTIONS .............................................. 37 Purpose of the Study .............................................................................................. 37 Specific Aim #1: Influence of Spatial Attention on the Perception of Emotions ....... 43 Upper and Lower Space ................................................................................... 43 Hypothesis-1 .............................................................................................. 43 Prediction-1 ................................................................................................ 43 Alternative prediction-1 .............................................................................. 45 Right and Left Space ........................................................................................ 46 Hypothesis-2 .............................................................................................. 46 Prediction-2 ................................................................................................ 47 Alternative prediction-2 .............................................................................. 48 Specific Aim #2: Influence of Emotion Processing on Attention or Intentional Spatial Biases ...................................................................................................... 48 Ventral versus Dorsal Stream Engagement ..................................................... 48 Hypothesis-3 .............................................................................................. 50 Prediction-3 ................................................................................................ 50 Alternative prediction-3 .............................................................................. 52 6 Right versus Left Hemisphere Engagement ..................................................... 53 Hypothesis-4 .............................................................................................. 53 Prediction-4 ................................................................................................ 54 Alternative prediction-4 .............................................................................. 55 Specific Aim #3: Influence of Emotion Processing on Physiological Responding ... 57 Upper versus Lower Space .............................................................................. 57 Hypothesis-5 .............................................................................................. 57 Prediction-5 ................................................................................................ 57 Alternative prediction-5 .............................................................................. 57 Right versus Left Space ................................................................................... 58 Hypothesis-6 .............................................................................................. 58 Prediction-6 ................................................................................................ 58 Alternative prediction-6 .............................................................................. 58 4 METHODS .............................................................................................................. 60 Research Design .................................................................................................... 60 Apparatus ......................................................................................................... 60 Emotional Picture Stimuli.................................................................................. 62 Equating for valence and arousal across Upper-Lower and Right-Left conditions................................................................................................ 65 Equating for valence and arousal across spatial assignment, within conditions................................................................................................ 66 Valence Lines ................................................................................................... 68 Participants ............................................................................................................. 70 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria ....................................................................... 70 Screening Measures ........................................................................................ 71 Benton Handedness Questionnaire ........................................................... 71 Beck Depression Inventory, second edition (BDI-II) ................................... 72 Demographics across Counterbalanced, Between-Subjects Factors ............... 72 Experimental Paradigm ........................................................................................... 73 Instructions ....................................................................................................... 73 Computer Presentation ...................................................................................