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. 2015 Jan;10(1):136-44.
doi: 10.1093/scan/nsu034. Epub 2014 Feb 12.

Increased attention and memory for beloved-related information during infatuation: behavioral and electrophysiological data

Sandra J E Langeslag  1 , Jamie R Olivier  2 , Martine E Köhlen  2 , Ilse M Nijs  2 , Jan W Van Strien  2
Affiliations

Increased attention and memory for beloved-related information during infatuation: behavioral and electrophysiological data

Sandra J E Langeslag et al. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2015 Jan.

Abstract

Emotionally salient information is well attended and remembered. It has been shown that infatuated individuals have increased attention for their beloved. It is unknown whether this attention bias generalizes to information related to the beloved. Moreover, infatuated individuals report to remember trivial things about their beloved, but this has not yet been tested empirically. In two studies, we tested whether infatuated individuals have increased attention and memory for beloved-related information. In a passive viewing task (Study 1), the late positive potential, an event-related potential (ERP) component reflecting motivated attention, was enhanced for beloved-related vs friend-related words/phrases. In a recognition task (Study 2), memory performance and the frontal and parietal ERP old/new effects, reflecting familiarity and recollection, respectively, were not enhanced for beloved-related compared with friend-related words/phrases. In free recall tasks in both studies, memory was better for beloved-related than friend-related words/phrases. This research reveals that attention and memory are enhanced for beloved-related information. These attention and memory biases for beloved-related information were not due to valence, semantic relatedness, or experience, but to arousal. To conclude, romantic love has profound effects on cognition that play a clear role in daily life.

Keywords: LPP; attention; memory; old/new effect; romantic love.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Grand-average ERPs at electrodes Fz, Cz and Pz for beloved-related, friend-related and control stimuli, positivity is down.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Voltage scalp distributions for the beloved-related, friend-related and control stimuli, between 500 and 800 ms.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Free recall performance, *significantly different, all Ps < 0.024.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Median RTs for correct responses for new and old beloved-related, friend-related and control stimuli, *significantly different, all Ps < 0.016.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Grand-average ERPs at electrodes Fz, Cz and Pz, for new and old beloved-related, friend-related and control stimuli, positivity is down.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Scalp topographies of the old/new effect in the 350–450 ms and 500–800 ms time windows for beloved-related, friend-related and control stimuli.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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