Affective picture processing: event-related synchronization within individually defined human theta band is modulated by valence dimension.

Event-related desynchronization (ERD) and synchronization (ERS) in the theta frequency band was measured while subjects viewed stimuli with differing emotional content (from the International Affective Picture System). A significant valence by hemisphere interaction emerged only in the anterior temporal regions, showing relatively greater right hemisphere ERS for negative and left hemisphere ERS for positive stimuli. In turn, in the posterior brain regions affectively valenced vs neutral stimuli prompted larger extent of ERS against the background of the overall right hemisphere dominance in theta synchronization. The findings document that valence discrimination is associated with the early (200-500 ms poststimulus) time-locked synchronized theta activity as well as hemispheric asymmetries in anterior-posterior direction.