Distributed affective space represents multiple emotion categories across the human brain

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Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
Date
2018-05-01
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
12
471-482
Series
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Volume 13, issue 5
Abstract
The functional organization of human emotion systems as well as their neuroanatomical basis and segregation in the brain remains unresolved. Here, we used pattern classification and hierarchical clustering to characterize the organization of a wide array of emotion categories in the human brain. We induced 14 emotions (6 'basic', e.g. fear and anger; and 8 'nonbasic', e.g. shame and gratitude) and a neutral state using guided mental imagery while participants' brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twelve out of 14 emotions could be reliably classified from the haemodynamic signals. All emotions engaged a multitude of brain areas, primarily in midline cortices including anterior and posterior cingulate gyri and precuneus, in subcortical regions, and in motor regions including cerebellum and premotor cortex. Similarity of subjective emotional experiences was associated with similarity of the corresponding neural activation patterns. We conclude that different basic and non-basic emotions have distinguishable neural bases characterized by specific, distributed activation patterns in widespread cortical and subcortical circuits. Regionally differentiated engagement of these circuits defines the unique neural activity pattern and the corresponding subjective feeling associated with each emotion.
Description
Keywords
Emotion, fMRI, MVPA, Pattern classification
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Citation
Saarimäki , H , Ejtehadian , L F , Glerean , E , Jääskeläinen , I P , Vuilleumier , P , Sams , M & Nummenmaa , L 2018 , ' Distributed affective space represents multiple emotion categories across the human brain ' , Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience , vol. 13 , no. 5 , pp. 471-482 . https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsy018