Based on findings showing that attention is captured by aversive stimuli, previous studies have hypothesized that inhibition of return (IOR) is reduced at spatial locations previously occupied by threat cues. Yet evidence for this view is limited: Only a few studies have demonstrated a reduced degree of IOR following threat cues, while most have not found differences in IOR between aversive and neutral cues. In contrast to previous studies that used the spatial cuing paradigm and for the most part employed mild negative stimuli as cues, we examined the influence of highly aversive, colored and complex pictures of real life situations. As opposed to the stimuli used in previous studies, these pictures are thought to result in enhanced processing as well as in specific enhancement for threat pictures in comparison to neutral ones. Based on evidence indicating that enhanced processing of spatial cues results in increased IOR, we hypothesized that the negative picture cues employed in the present study would yield increased IOR. This hypothesis was confirmed in two experiments. We suggest that the enhancement of IOR following highly threatening cues may be related to efficient spatial orienting of attention in response to stimuli that are important from an evolutionary point of view. The results are discussed in the context of neurocognitive mechanisms that may underlie the modulation of IOR by emotional information.

中文翻译：

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负面提示后抑制作用增强：增强加工能力的可能作用。

基于发现注意力被厌恶性刺激吸引的发现，以前的研究假设在先前受到威胁提示占据的空间位置上，抑制返回（IOR）的作用降低了。然而，这种观点的证据是有限的：只有很少的研究表明，在受到威胁提示后，IOR的程度降低了，而大多数研究并未发现厌恶提示和中性提示之间的IOR差异。与以前的使用空间提示范式并且大部分使用轻度负面刺激作为提示的研究相比，我们研究了现实生活中令人厌恶，色彩丰富且复杂的图片的影响。与先前研究中使用的刺激相反，与中性图像相比，这些图像被认为可以增强处理能力，并可以对威胁图像进行特定的增强。基于表明增强空间线索处理导致IOR增加的证据，我们假设本研究中使用的负面图片线索将导致IOR增加。这个假设在两个实验中得到了证实。我们建议，在高度威胁的线索之后，IOR的增强可能与注意力对刺激的有效空间定向有关，这从进化的角度来看很重要。在可能是情绪信息对IOR进行调节的神经认知机制的背景下讨论了结果。我们建议，在高度威胁的提示之后，IOR的增强可能与注意力对刺激响应的有效空间定向有关，这从进化的角度来看很重要。在可能是情绪信息对IOR进行调节的神经认知机制的背景下讨论了结果。我们建议，在高度威胁的提示之后，IOR的增强可能与注意力对刺激响应的有效空间定向有关，这从进化的角度来看很重要。在可能是情绪信息对IOR进行调节的神经认知机制的背景下讨论了结果。