Emotional Processing Deficits in Individuals With Unilateral Brain Damage

Abstract

This article presents a review of the neural mechanisms underlying emotional processing deficits (EPDs) in individuals with unilateral brain damage. First, key theoretical issues pertaining to the neuropsychology of emotion are presented. These include parameters of emotional processing, the componential approach, emotional domains, and hypotheses regarding hemispheric specialization for emotion. Second, the literature on hemispheric asymmetries for emotion is reviewed in terms of processing mode (perception and expression) and communication channel (facial, prosodic-intonational, and lexical-verbal). Studies involving normal adults and individuals with right- or left-sided brain damage are reviewed. Third, recent findings identifying the role of the right hemisphere in emotional processing are described. The article is concluded by aligning these new data with findings from the general literature, providing added support for the right-hemisphere emotion hypothesis.

Affective and Sensorimotor Components of Emotional Prosody Generation

“…We dissociated affective from sensorimotor aspects of this speech behavior to test the assumptions of two existing mostly lesion-based models in emotional prosody generation: a first model which emphasizes the role of BG, together with anterior temporal regions and insula (Cancelliere and Kertesz, 1990), and a second model proposing that emotional prosody is a dominant function of the right hemisphere (Ross, 1981;Shapiro and Danly, 1985;Borod et al, 2002). We found support for both models as we show a strong bilateral involvement of BG, limbic regions, temporal pole, and anterior insula during preparation for emotional prosody and right-lateralized auditory feedback-related processing during actual production of prosodic speech.…”

“…The lateralization hypothesis considers that affective prosody is a lateralized and dominant function of the right hemisphere (Ross, 1981;Shapiro and Danly, 1985;Borod et al, 2002). Regarding comprehension, several fMRI studies have emphasized the role of a right-lateralized network involving the superior temporal sulcus (STS; BA22/42) and inferior frontal cortex (BA45/ 47), with no clear influence of emotional valence or category of emotion (for review, see Kotz et al, 2006).…”

The overlapping relationship between emotion perception and theory of mind

“…To orient the reader, focussed literature on the neurology of EP has suggested a number of key themes, namely that EP as a whole may be right-lateralised (J. C. Borod, Bloom, Brickman, Nakhutina, & Curko, 2002;Yuvaraj, Murugappan, Norlinah, Sundaraj, & Khairiyah, 2013), or that it may be lateralised according to valence with the right hemisphere being responsible for the perception of negative emotions and the left hemisphere being important for perceiving positive emotions (Ahern & Schwartz, 1979;Davidson, Mednick, Moss, Saron, & Schaffer, 1987). Both the right-hemisphere and valence hypotheses have, however, been contested (Abbott, Wijeratne, Hughes, Perre, & Lindell, 2014).…”

“…Both the right-hemisphere and valence hypotheses have, however, been contested (Abbott, Wijeratne, Hughes, Perre, & Lindell, 2014). Right hemisphere lateralisation of emotional prosody perception to match that suggested for facial emotion perception has also been mooted (J. C. Borod, et al, 2002;Pell, 2006;Ross & Monnot, 2011), but similarly contested (Witteman, van Ijzendoorn, van de Velde, van Heuven, & Schiller, 2011). There is also evidence for the recognition of specific emotions being impaired by damage to specific brain regions, with the association between amygdala damage and impaired fear perception and that between insula damage and impaired disgust recognition being particularly prominent (M. L. Phillips, Drevets, Rauch, & Lane, 2003).…”

Cerebral Laterality, Emotion, and Cardiopulmonary Functions: An Investigation of Left and Right Cva Patients

“…While much of the early work leading up to the Right Hemisphere Model focused primarily on the posterior regions of the brain, especially the parietal lobes (Denny-Brown, Meyer, & Horenstein, 1952), researchers subsequently expanded its application into the frontal lobes (Heilman, Blonder, Bowers, & Valenstein, 1993). This work lends itself to suggest that the right hemisphere maintains an excitatory role over the reticular activating system, and the left hemisphere possibly portrays an inhibitory role over the right hemisphere or the reticular activating system (Heilman, Support for the Right Hemisphere Model has grown to include right hemisphere dominance during emotional provocation (Borod, Vingiano, & Cytryn, 1988;Tucker, Roth, Arneson, & Buckingham, 1977) and in the comprehension and expression of emotional prosodic speech (Borod, Andelman, Obler, Tweedy, & Welkowitz, 1992;Borod et al, 1998, Borod, Bloom, Brickman, Nakhutina, & Curko, 2002Bowers, Coslett, Bauer, Speedie, & Heilman, 1987;Emerson, Harrison, & Everhart, 1999;Heilman, Scholes, and Watson, 1975;Schmitt, Hartje, & Willmes, 1997). Additionally, there is evidence for right hemisphere specialization in the perception of negative emotional faces (Herridge, Harrison, Mollet, & Shenal, 2004;Mandel, Tandon, & Asthana, 1991;Wittling & Roschmann, 1993) and in the expression of emotional facial gestures (Borod, Haywood, & Koff, 1997;Herridge, Harrison, & Demaree, 1997;Rhodes, Hu, & Harrison, 2000).…”