Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci.  2023 Nov;21(4):715-723. 10.9758/cpn.22.1029.

Attention Circuits Mediate the Connection between Emotional Experience and Expression within the Emotional Circuit

• Won NR
• Son YD
• Kim SM
• Bae S
• Kim JH
• Kim JH
• Han DH

• KMID: 2548817
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.9758/cpn.22.1029

Abstract

Objective
Most affective neuroscience studies use pictures from the International Affective Picture System or standard facial expressions to elicit emotional experiences. The attention system, including the prefrontal cortex, can mediate emotional regulation in response to stimulation with emotional faces. We hypothesized that emotional experience is associated with brain activity within the neocortex. In addition, modification within the neocortex may be associated with brain activity within the attention system.
Methods
Thirty-one healthy adult participants were recruited to be assessed for emotional expression using clinical scales of happiness, sadness, anxiety, and anger as and for emotional experience using brain activity in response to pictures of facial emotional expressions. The attention system was assessed using brain activity in response to the go-no-go task.
Results
We found that emotional experience was associated with brain activity within the frontotemporal cortices, while emotional expression was associated with brain activity within the temporal and insular cortices. In addition, the association of brain activity between emotional experiences and expressions of sadness and anxiety was affected by brain activity within the anterior cingulate gyrus in response to the go-no-go task.
Conclusion
Emotional expression may be associated with brain activity within the temporal cortex, whereas emotional experience may be associated with brain activity within the frontotemporal cortices. In addition, the attention system may interfere with the connection between emotional expression and experience.

Keyword

Facial emotional expression; Magnetic resonance imaging; Go-no-go task; Attention system; Frontotemporal cortex