Effects of Experiences of Racial Discrimination on the Processing of Positive and Negative Emotional Stimuli

Abstract

Racial discrimination is a common and potentially chronic psychosocial stressor that influences affective processing. Prior research suggests experiences of discrimination (EOD) can enhance anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and amygdala reactivity to negative stimuli. It is unclear if frequent discrimination influences positive emotional processing especially during passive engagement with emotionally salient stimuli. This study explored EOD's influence on neural processing of positive stimuli, predicting a positive association with ACC response to rewarding images. 59 Black women, ages 18–65, from a community-based sample were enrolled in a study assessing trauma and its influence on mental health. Participants completed fMRI scans viewing positive, negative, and neutral images. They reported subjective emotional responses to the affective images. Participants completed the Experiences of Discrimination interview, measuring frequency of racial discrimination, as well as reporting on nondiscrimination-related traumatic events. EOD frequency was not associated with subjective ratings of emotional arousal or valence, nor amygdala, nucleus accumbens (NAc) or ACC responses to negative or positive stimuli. There was a significant positive association between EOD and the ventral lateral prefrontal cortex response to positive scenes, p = 0.04, but this did not withstand false discovery rate correction. Whole-brain analyses revealed EOD frequency predicted lower right fusiform gyrus responses to positive > neutral images (p_FDR0.05). Findings suggest that greater racial discrimination frequency was associated with lower response in the fusiform gyrus- which is involved with processing of face stimuli and specifically sensitive to race- in response to positive images. Results indicate that past EOD influences visual sensitivity to positively valenced visual stimuli.