Separating neural activity associated with emotion and implied motion: An fMRI study.

Abstract

Previous research provides evidence for an emo-motoric neural network allowing emotion to modulate activity in regions of the nervous system related to movement. However, recent research suggests that these results may be due to the movement depicted in the stimuli. The purpose of the current study was to differentiate the unique neural activity of emotion and implied motion using functional MRI. Thirteen healthy participants viewed 4 sets of images: (a) negative stimuli implying movement, (b) negative stimuli not implying movement, (c) neutral stimuli implying movement, and (d) neutral stimuli not implying movement. A main effect for implied motion was found, primarily in regions associated with multimodal integration (bilateral insula and cingulate), and visual areas that process motion (bilateral middle temporal gyrus). A main effect for emotion was found primarily in occipital and parietal regions, indicating that emotion enhances visual perception. Surprisingly, emotion also activated the left precentral gyrus, a motor region. These results demonstrate that emotion elicits activity above and beyond that evoked by the perception of implied movement, but that the neural representations of these characteristics overlap. (PsycINFO Database Record

Associations Between Daily Mood States and Brain Gray Matter Volume, Resting-State Functional Connectivity and Task-Based Activity in Healthy Adults

“…Lastly, a positive association was found between daily positive mood and brain activation in response to negative (i.e., sad) emotional stimuli in the precentral gyri. In addition to its role in motor behavior, heightened activity in precentral gyri – distinct structure in the posterior portion of the frontal lobe – has also been implicated in the retrieving and processing of (positive or negative) emotionally valenced stimuli ( Maratos et al, 2001 ; Kolesar et al, 2017 ). Worth noting, precentral regional activity has also been positively associated with emotional interference in cognitive and behavioral control, condition in which one’s attention and goal-directed behavior is challenged by emotionally salient stimuli (see meta-analysis by Song et al, 2017 ).…”

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