Neuroanatomical correlates of externally and internally generated human emotion

• Published in: The American journal of psychiatry Vol. 154; no. 7; pp. 918 - 925
• Main Authors: REIMAN, E. M, LANE, R. D, AHERN, G. L, SCHWARTZ, G. E, DAVIDSON, R. J, FRISTON, K. J, YUN, L.-S, CHEN, K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychiatric Publishing 01-07-1997; American Psychiatric Association
• Subjects: Adult; Affective Symptoms - etiology; Anatomical correlates of behavior; Arousal - physiology; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain; Brain - anatomy & histology; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiology; Brain Mapping; Cognition - physiology; Correlates; Emotions; Emotions - physiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Mental Recall - physiology; Middle Aged; Motion Pictures; Neurons; Neurophysiology; Oxygen Radioisotopes; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Research Design; Sensation - physiology; Tomography; Tomography, Emission-Computed; Visual Perception - physiology; Water; Radionuclide study; Human; Laboratory study; Central nervous system; Female; Thalamus; Emotion emotionality; Prefrontal cortex; Metabolism; Brain (vertebrata); Positron; Emission tomography
• ISSN: 0002-953X; 1535-7228
• DOI: 10.1176/ajp.154.7.918

OBJECTIVE: Positron emission tomography was used to investigate the
neural substrates of normal human emotional and their dependence on the
types of emotional stimulus. METHOD: Twelve healthy female subjects
underwent 12 measurements of regional brain activity following the
intravenous bolus administration of [15O]H2O as they alternated between
emotion-generating and control film and recall tasks. Automated image
analysis techniques were used to characterize and compare the increases in
regional brain activity associated with the emotional response to complex
visual (film) and cognitive (recall) stimuli. RESULTS: Film- and
recall-generated emotion were each associated with significantly increased
activity in the vicinity of the medial prefrontal cortex and thalamus,
suggesting that these regions participate in aspects of emotion that do not
depend on the nature of the emotional stimulus. Film-generated emotion was
associated with significantly greater increases in activity bilaterally in
the occipitotemporparietal cortex, lateral cerebellum, hypothalamus, and a
region that includes the anterior temporal cortex, amygdala, and
hippocampal formation, suggesting that these regions participate in the
emotional response to certain exteroceptive sensory stimuli.
Recall-generated sadness was associated with significantly greater
increases in activity in the vicinity of the anterior insular cortex,
suggesting that this region participates in the emotional response to
potentially distressing cognitive or interoceptive sensory stimuli.
CONCLUSIONS: While this study should be considered preliminary, it
identified brain regions that participate in externally and internally
generated human emotion.