Rationale: Electrophysiological studies have identified a scalp potential, the late positive potential (LPP), which is modulated by the emotional intensity of observed stimuli. Previous work has shown that the LPP reflects the modulation of activity in extrastriate visual cortical structures, but little is known about the source of that modulation.
Objectives: The present study investigated whether beta-adrenergic receptors are involved in the generation of the LPP.
Methods: We used a genetic individual differences approach (experiment 1) and a pharmacological manipulation (experiment 2) to test the hypothesis that the LPP is modulated by the activation of β-adrenergic receptors.
Results: In experiment 1, we found that LPP amplitude depends on allelic variation in the β1-receptor gene polymorphism. In experiment 2, we found that LPP amplitude was modulated by the β-blocker propranolol in a direction dependent on subjects' level of trait anxiety: In participants with lower trait anxiety, propranolol led to a (nonsignificant) decrease in the LPP modulation; in participants with higher trait anxiety, propranolol increased the emotion-related LPP modulation.
Conclusions: These results provide initial support for the hypothesis that the LPP reflects the downstream effects, in visual cortical areas, of β-receptor-mediated activation of the amygdala.