The pupil as a measure of emotional arousal and autonomic activation

Pupil diameter was monitored during picture viewing to assess effects of hedonic valence and emotional arousal on pupillary responses. Autonomic activity (heart rate and skin conductance) was concurrently measured to determine whether pupillary changes are mediated by parasympathetic or sympathetic...

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Published inPsychophysiology Vol. 45; no. 4; pp. 602 - 607
Main Authors Bradley, Margaret M., Miccoli, Laura, Escrig, Miguel A., Lang, Peter J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.07.2008
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Arousal
Arousal - physiology
Autonomic Nervous System - physiology
Emotion
Emotions
Emotions - physiology
Eyes & eyesight
Female
Galvanic Skin Response - physiology
Heart Rate - physiology
Humans
Light
Male
Neurosciences
Photic Stimulation
Physiological psychology
Pleasure
Pupil
Pupil - physiology
Skin conductance
Sympathetic
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ISSN0048-5772
1469-8986
1540-5958
DOI10.1111/j.1469-8986.2008.00654.x

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Summary:Pupil diameter was monitored during picture viewing to assess effects of hedonic valence and emotional arousal on pupillary responses. Autonomic activity (heart rate and skin conductance) was concurrently measured to determine whether pupillary changes are mediated by parasympathetic or sympathetic activation. Following an initial light reflex, pupillary changes were larger when viewing emotionally arousing pictures, regardless of whether these were pleasant or unpleasant. Pupillary changes during picture viewing covaried with skin conductance change, supporting the interpretation that sympathetic nervous system activity modulates these changes in the context of affective picture viewing. Taken together, the data provide strong support for the hypothesis that the pupil's response during affective picture viewing reflects emotional arousal associated with increased sympathetic activity.
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This research was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (P50 MH 72850) to the Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention (CSEA) at the University of Florida. Laura Miccoli and Miguel Escrig are now at the Jaume I University of Castellón, Spain.
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Address reprint requests to: Margaret M. Bradley, Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, Box 112766, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. bradley@ufl.edu
ISSN:0048-5772
1469-8986
1540-5958
DOI:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2008.00654.x