Biology subjects

Kissler, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Kissler, J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Distinct visual pathways of threat retrieval in fear-conditioned faces

Numerous studies have demonstrated rapid (< 100 ms) visuo-cortical differentiation of threat-associated faces. This may be due to low-spatial frequency (LSF) visual information originating from magnocellular pathways. Yet it remains unclear whether potentially magnocellular fear signals extend beyond evolutionarily prepared emotional faces and whether they are subject to short-term neuroplasticity. If so, spatial frequency characteristics should modulate processing of faces with newly acquired threat-relevance. Furthermore, it is unknown whether sub-bands of the visual spectrum are associated with autonomic arousal. Using a differential fear-conditioning paradigm, this study tested whether early visual attentional capture, indicated by the P1 event-related potential component, prioritizes LSF information of threat-associated faces with neutral expressions. Additionally, it was tested whether such effects would be paralleled by threat differentiation in the skin conductance response (SCR). For contingency aware participants, stimulus ratings confirmed successful fear conditioning and participants showed a selective left-hemispheric enhancement of the P1 in response to LSF threat-faces. By contrast, CS differentiation in the SCR was not modulated by spatial frequencies but by stimulus duration, with longer CS presentations resulting in larger SCR to threat compared to neutral faces. For contingency unaware participants, trial-by-trial amplitudes of P1 and SCR were positively correlated. Data support the notion that magnocellular-cortical pathways adapt quickly to novel threat-associations and facilitate rapid threat retrieval even for perceptually neutral faces. However, at least in the short term, these signals do not necessarily associate with anticipatory arousal in SCR. Impact statementOur electroencephalography (EEG) study provides evidence for distinct contributions of subcortical signals during early visual perception of fear-conditioned faces (P1 event-related potential) but not autonomic arousal (skin conductance response). Instead, skin conductance responses reflected conscious anticipatory arousal irrespective of the visual pathway. Together, these results reveal parallel but dissociable mechanisms of fear perception that are differentially sensitive to visual properties of threat-associated faces.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Emotional amnesia in humans with focal temporal pole lesions

Memory is typically better for emotional relative to neutral events, a process involving amygdala modulation of hippocampal activity1-6. These structures, however, form part of a larger emotional brain network, which in humans includes the temporal pole7, a cortical node whose functional role in emotional cognition remains poorly understood8-10. Here, we show, in pharmaco-resistant epilepsy patients performing verbal and visual emotional episodic memory tasks, a selective impairment in recalling verbal emotional memories in left ventral temporal pole (vTP) lesioned patients compared with control patients. Memory for neutral words, and verbal comprehension performance on standard neuropsychological testing, were intact in these patients, indicating absence of general episodic memory or semantic impairment. All patients underwent recordings with intracranial electrodes during memory task performance. Left vTP lesioned patients showed no differences in amygdala or hippocampal electrophysiological responses to emotional words, compared with control patients, putatively isolating a vTP role in emotional memory. Unlike verbal emotional recall, left vTP lesioned patients showed memory enhancement for emotional vs. neutral pictures, whereas two patients with right vTP lesions showed the opposite pattern: impaired memory for emotional pictures but intact verbal emotional memory. These observations establish a critical, lateralized, modality-specific role for human vTP in emotional memory, imply emotional memory deficits in neurological conditions affecting this region, and advance the vTP as a target for neuromodulation in diseases characterized by maladaptive emotional memories.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

The elusive neural signature of emotion regulation capabilities: evidence from a large-scale consortium

Cognitive reappraisal is a fundamental emotion regulation strategy for mental and physical well-being, but how its neural mechanisms relate to individual differences remains poorly understood. In a consortium effort analyzing 40 fMRI datasets (N=2,175), we examined the relationship between neural activation during reappraisal tasks and three core individual difference indices of reappraisal capabilities: (1) trait questionnaires, (2) task-based affective ratings, and (3) amygdala down-regulation. Strikingly, there was no shared overlap across these three common indices. Only a very weak correlation emerged between amygdala down-regulation and task-based affective ratings. Whole-brain analyses revealed no reliable neural associations with trait questionnaires, and associations with task-based affective ratings fell outside canonical emotion regulation networks (e.g., prefrontal circuitry). Moreover, amygdala down-regulation, often interpreted as a stable individual marker, was confounded by person-specific whole-brain responses -- a limitation extending to fMRI research beyond the emotion regulation domain. These findings challenge the assumption that an individuals prefrontal activity is a valid indicator of their reappraisal capabilities and suggest that common trait, behavioral, and neural measures might capture distinct facets of emotion regulation. More broadly, our results highlight concrete methodological challenges for fMRI research on individual differences, with implications extending beyond emotion regulation to the neuroscience of personality, psychopathology, and general well-being.

neuroscience↗