Research from our laboratory suggests that emotion modulates nociceptive reactions assessed from multiple response systems: motoric (nociceptive flexion reflex [NFR]), autonomic (skin conductance response [SCR], heart rate [HR] acceleration), and evaluative (pain ratings). Specifically, positive affect inhibits nociceptive reactivity and negative affect enhances reactivity. This effect is consistent across multiple levels of the CNS, because responses organized at spinal (NFR) and supraspinal (SCR, HR) levels are modulated in parallel. The present study was designed to examine the independent effects of emotional valence and arousal on another reaction to noxious stimulation that is mediated at the brainstem level (eyeblink). To do so, 20 participants viewed 60 images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) that varied in valence [unpleasant (loss, attack), neutral (household objects), pleasant (food, erotica)] and arousal [low (neutral), moderate (loss, food), high (attack, erotica)]. During pictures, noxious electric stimulations were delivered to the sural nerve (balanced across picture contents). Orbicularis oculi electromyogram (EMG) resulting from electric stimulations was used to quantify the blink response by subtracting the average pre-stimulus EMG activity from the peak activity occurring 60–200 ms post-stimulation. Manipulation checks suggested pictures effectively manipulated emotional valence and arousal, and modulated blink responses. Specifically, viewing highly arousing unpleasant pictures (attack) resulted in larger blink responses compared to highly arousing pleasant pictures (erotic). However, the comparison between moderately arousing pleasant (food) and unpleasant (loss) pictures was not significant. These results suggest that emotional valence and arousal independently contribute to the modulation of blink responses to noxious stimuli. Therefore, blink responses represent a brainstem-mediated motoric outcome that can be assessed together with other nociceptive reactions in the current ECON paradigm.