Amygdala Processing of Vocal Emotions

2018 ◽  
pp. 472-494
Author(s):  
Jocelyne C. Whitehead ◽  
Jorge L. Armony
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Social Discourse ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Human Voice ◽  
Pitch Frequency ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Lesion Studies ◽  
Vocal Quality

The human voice is a highly regarded tool for conveying and interpreting emotions, essentially to relay one’s intentions while communicating with others. During social discourse, our autonomic nervous system evokes physiological changes within our body, allowing us to project our emotional state through alterations of vocal quality, pitch, frequency, and intensity. Our current understanding of the neural mechanisms involved in processing emotional information has come primarily through studying the neural response to visual stimuli, specifically facial expressions, by means of functional neuroimaging and lesion studies. Recently, there has been a surge of inquiry as to how emotions are perceived and processed via other sensory modalities, most notably, the auditory system. The aim of this chapter is to outline the neural structures that are known to be involved with processing vocal emotional information, and to address and discuss the inconsistencies found in both lesion and neuroimaging studies. Many of these discrepancies can be attributed to differences of experimental design, as the literature continues to expose a complexity to emotional processing that necessitates a number of valid controls.

scholarly journals Neural bases of audio-visual integration of socially meaningful information in macaques

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathilda Froesel ◽  
Maëva Gacoin ◽  
Simon Clavagnier ◽  
Marc Hauser ◽  
Quentin Goudard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Social Meaning ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Visual Integration ◽  
Visual Deficits ◽  
Social Events ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Communicative Signals ◽  
Meaning Representation

Abstract Social interactions rely on the interpretation of semantic and emotional information, often from multiple sensory modalities. In primates, both audition and vision serve the interpretation of communicative signals. Autistic individuals present deficits in both social communication and audio-visual integration. At present, the neural mechanisms subserving the interpretation of complex audio-visual social events are unknown. Based on heart rate estimates and functional neuroimaging, we show that macaque monkeys associate affiliative facial expressions or social scenes with corresponding affiliative vocalizations, aggressive expressions or scenes with corresponding aggressive vocalizations and escape visual scenes with scream vocalizations, while suppressing vocalizations that are incongruent with the visual context. This process is subserved by two distinct functional networks, homologous to the human emotional and attentional networks activated during the processing of visual social information. These networks are thus critical for the construction of social meaning representation, and provide grounds for the audio-visual deficits observed in autism.One-sentence summary Macaques extract social meaning from visual and auditory input recruiting face and voice patches and a broader emotional and attentional network.

scholarly journals Dissections of Larval, Pupal and Adult Butterfly Brains for Immunostaining and Molecular Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Yi Peng Toh ◽  
Emilie Dion ◽  
Antónia Monteiro
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Rna Extraction ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Bicyclus Anynana ◽  
Lepidopteran Species ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Olfactory Preferences ◽  
Adult Butterfly

Butterflies possess impressive cognitive abilities, and investigations into the neural mechanisms underlying these abilities are increasingly being conducted. Exploring butterfly neurobiology may require the isolation of larval, pupal, and/or adult brains for further molecular and histological experiments. This procedure has been largely described in the fruit fly, but a detailed description of butterfly brain dissections is still lacking. Here, we provide a detailed written and video protocol for the removal of Bicyclus anynana adult, pupal, and larval brains. This species is gradually becoming a popular model because it uses a large set of sensory modalities, displays plastic and hormonally controlled courtship behaviour, and learns visual mate preference and olfactory preferences that can be passed on to its offspring. The extracted brain can be used for downstream analyses, such as immunostaining, DNA or RNA extraction, and the procedure can be easily adapted to other lepidopteran species and life stages.

scholarly journals From cognitive to neural models of working memory

2007 ◽  
Vol 362 (1481) ◽  
pp. 761-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D'Esposito
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Cognitive Models ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Internal Representations ◽  
Active Maintenance

Working memory refers to the temporary retention of information that was just experienced or just retrieved from long-term memory but no longer exists in the external environment. These internal representations are short-lived, but can be stored for longer periods of time through active maintenance or rehearsal strategies, and can be subjected to various operations that manipulate the information in such a way that makes it useful for goal-directed behaviour. Empirical studies of working memory using neuroscientific techniques, such as neuronal recordings in monkeys or functional neuroimaging in humans, have advanced our knowledge of the underlying neural mechanisms of working memory. This rich dataset can be reconciled with behavioural findings derived from investigating the cognitive mechanisms underlying working memory. In this paper, I review the progress that has been made towards this effort by illustrating how investigations of the neural mechanisms underlying working memory can be influenced by cognitive models and, in turn, how cognitive models can be shaped and modified by neuroscientific data. One conclusion that arises from this research is that working memory can be viewed as neither a unitary nor a dedicated system. A network of brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex (PFC), is critical for the active maintenance of internal representations that are necessary for goal-directed behaviour. Thus, working memory is not localized to a single brain region but probably is an emergent property of the functional interactions between the PFC and the rest of the brain.

scholarly journals Emotion Processing for Arousal and Neutral Content in Alzheimer's Disease

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corina Satler ◽  
Carlos Uribe ◽  
Carlos Conde ◽  
Sergio Leme Da-Silva ◽  
Carlos Tomaz
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Linear Regression ◽  
Neuropsychological Tests ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Educational Levels ◽  
Emotional Rating

Objective. To assess the ability of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients to perceive emotional information and to assign subjective emotional rating scores to audiovisual presentations.Materials and Methods. 24 subjects (14 with AD, matched to controls for age and educational levels) were studied. After neuropsychological assessment, they watched a Neutral story and then a story with Emotional content.Results. Recall scores for both stories were significantly lower in AD (Neutral and Emotional:P=.001). CG assigned different emotional scores for each version of the test,P=.001, while ratings of AD did not differ,P=.32. Linear regression analyses determined the best predictors of emotional rating and recognition memory for each group among neuropsychological tests battery.Conclusions. AD patients show changes in emotional processing on declarative memory and a preserved ability to express emotions in face of arousal content. The present findings suggest that these impairments are due to general cognitive decline.

scholarly journals Functional neuroimaging studies of the effects of psychotherapy

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-81 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Psychological Interventions ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Psychotherapeutic Interventions ◽  
Functional Brain Activity ◽  
Neuroimaging Techniques

It has been long established that psychological interventions can markedly alter patients' thinking patterns, beliefs, attitudes, emotional states, and behaviors. Little was known about the neural mechanisms mediating such alterations before the advent of functional neuroimaging techniques. Since the turn of the new millenium, several functional neuroimaging studies have been conducted to tackle this important issue. Some of these studies have explored the neural impact of various forms of psychotherapy in individuals with major depressive disorder. Other neuroimaging studies have investigated the effects of psychological interventions for anxiety disorders. I review these studies in the present article, and discuss the putative neural mechanisms of change in psychotherapy. The findings of these studies suggest that mental and behavioral changes occurring during psychotherapeutic interventions can lead to a normalization of functional brain activity at a global level.

Mental Mechanisms

Mind-Society ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 22-47
Author(s):  
Paul Thagard
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Appraisal ◽  
Mental Representations ◽  
Special Kind ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Sensory Inputs ◽  
The World ◽  
Sensory Motor ◽  
Human Thinking ◽  
High Level

Psychological explanations based on representations and procedures can be deepened by showing how they emerge from neural mechanisms. Neurons represent aspects of the world by collective patterns of firing. These patterns can be bound into more complicated patterns that can transcend the limitations of sensory inputs. Semantic pointers are a special kind of representation that operates by binding neural patterns encompassing sensory, motor, verbal, and emotional information. The semantic pointer theory applies not only to the ordinary operations of mental representations like concepts and rules but also to the most high-level kinds of human thinking, including language, creativity, and consciousness. Semantic pointers also encompass emotions, construed as bindings that combine cognitive appraisal with physiological perception.

scholarly journals The affective neuroscience of socioeconomic status: implications for mental health

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 202-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Hao ◽  
Martha J. Farah
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Affective Neuroscience ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Cortical Regions

SummaryWe review basic science research on neural mechanisms underlying emotional processing in individuals of differing socioeconomic status (SES). We summarise SES differences in response to positive and negative stimuli in limbic and cortical regions associated with emotion and emotion regulation. We discuss the possible relevance of neuroscience to understanding the link between mental health and SES. We hope to provide insights into future neuroscience research on the etiology and pathophysiology of mental disorders relating to SES.

Overactivation of the middle cingulate cortex and the caudate nucleus as neural correlates of the familial liability to major depressiive disorder

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 648-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Lisiecka ◽  
A. Carballedo ◽  
A.J. Fagan ◽  
G. Connolly ◽  
J. Meaney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Caudate Nucleus ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Standard Population ◽  
Left Caudate ◽  
History Of ◽  
Middle Cingulate Cortex

IntroductionUnaffected healthy 1st degree relatives of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) are 3.6 times more liable to develop the disease themselves than the standard population without the history of the disorder. Neural correlates of this liability are of particular interest since the phenomenon does not always have behavioral manifestations and early detected can enhance quicker and better MDD prevention.ObjectiveThe objective of our study was to establish neuronal correlates of susceptibility MDD in unaffected healthy 1st degree relatives of patients with MDD. Inhibition of emotional information was examined in the present study.AimsThe aim of the study was to better understand the development of MDD and the role of altered inhibition of emotional processing in it. That, in consequence, may contribute to establishing new methods of prevention and quicker detection of MDD liability.MethodsTwenty-one unaffected healthy 1st degree relatives of patients with MDD and twenty-five matched healthy controls underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging procedure with a task involving inhibition of emotional processing of positive, negative and neutral emotional information. 2 × 3 ANOVA was performed to establish if the two groups differed significantly in the inhibition of one of the three types of emotions.ResultsThe unaffected healthy 1st degree relatives displayed an increased neural activation during the inhibition of negative emotional information in the bilateral middle cingulate cortex (MCC) and the left caudate nucleus (p< 0.05, family wise error).ConclusionsThe overactivation of the MCC and caudate nucleus can be a marker of MDD liability

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