Abstract: Emotional attention can be defined as a kind of attention that selects and processes sensory stimuli with emotional significance. Because the brain’s sensory and attentional system can be modulated by the emotional valence, attention to emotional stimuli is endowed with a more complicated mechanism than neutral stimuli. Previous studies claimed that the key mechanism is the amygdala’s modulation on the sensory system. Recent evidences showed that the amygdala’s modulation on the attentional networks is also very important. We reviewed recent researches on the relevant area, and emphasized the influence of emotion on the alerting, orienting and executive networks, finding that the neural mechanisms of emotional attention is involved in a multiple function network with the core of amygdala.

Key words: emotional attention, amygdala, sensory cortex, attentional function networks, modulation, cognitive neural mechanisms