A Hierarchical Emotion Regulated Sensorimotor Model: Case Studies

Inspired by the hierarchical cognitive architecture and the perception-action model (PAM), we propose that the internal status acts as a kind of common-coding representation which affects, mediates and even regulates the sensorimotor behaviours. These regulation can be depicted in the Bayesian framework, that is why cognitive agents are able to generate behaviours with subtle differences according to their emotion or recognize the emotion by perception. A novel recurrent neural network called recurrent neural network with parametric bias units (RNNPB) runs in three modes, constructing a two-level emotion regulated learning model, was further applied to testify this theory in two different cases.Comment: Accepted at The 5th International Conference on Data-Driven Control and Learning Systems. 201

Suppressing sensorimotor activity modulates the discrimination of auditory emotions but not speaker identity

Our ability to recognize the emotions of others is a crucial feature of human social cognition. Functional neuroimaging studies indicate that activity in sensorimotor cortices is evoked during the perception of emotion. In the visual domain, right somatosensory cortex activity has been shown to be critical for facial emotion recognition. However, the importance of sensorimotor representations in modalities outside of vision remains unknown. Here we use continuous theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) to investigate whether neural activity in the right postcentral gyrus (rPoG) and right lateral premotor cortex (rPM) is involved in nonverbal auditory emotion recognition. Three groups of participants completed same-different tasks on auditory stimuli, discriminating between the emotion expressed and the speakers' identities, before and following cTBS targeted at rPoG, rPM, or the vertex (control site). A task-selective deficit in auditory emotion discrimination was observed. Stimulation to rPoG and rPM resulted in a disruption of participants' abilities to discriminate emotion, but not identity, from vocal signals. These findings suggest that sensorimotor activity may be a modality-independent mechanism which aids emotion discrimination. Copyright © 2010 the authors

The gray matter volume of the amygdala is correlated with the perception of melodic intervals: a voxel-based morphometry study

Music is not simply a series of organized pitches, rhythms, and timbres, it is capable of evoking emotions. In the present study, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was employed to explore the neural basis that may link music to emotion. To do this, we identified the neuroanatomical correlates of the ability to extract pitch interval size in a music segment (i.e., interval perception) in a large population of healthy young adults (N = 264). Behaviorally, we found that interval perception was correlated with daily emotional experiences, indicating the intrinsic link between music and emotion. Neurally, and as expected, we found that interval perception was positively correlated with the gray matter volume (GMV) of the bilateral temporal cortex. More important, a larger GMV of the bilateral amygdala was associated with better interval perception, suggesting that the amygdala, which is the neural substrate of emotional processing, is also involved in music processing. In sum, our study provides one of first neuroanatomical evidence on the association between the amygdala and music, which contributes to our understanding of exactly how music evokes emotional responses

Biased facial emotion perception in mental health disorders:a possible target for psychological intervention?

Our perception of emotion in the faces of others affects our own behavior and mood. Indeed, individuals with mood disorders such as depression and aggression often show biases in facial-emotion perception. Here, we review recent and ongoing research suggesting that biased emotion perception may be on the causal pathway of the onset and maintenance of mood disorders, and hence a potential target for intervention. Simple cognitive-bias modification tasks that change participants’ perception of facial expressions of emotion have shown some promise as a therapeutic technique. We outline further directions for continued research investigating the robustness and clinical impact of emotion-bias modification in real-world settings. </jats:p

Hyposmia, not emotion perception, is associated with psychosocial outcome after severe traumatic brain injury

OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to determine whether 2 variables associated with orbitofrontal damage, hyposmia and emotion perception deficits, are associated with socially disinhibited behavior and psychosocial outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: The Brief Smell Identification Test (BSIT), an emotion labeling task, an emotion intensity rating task, and an observational measure of social disinhibition were completed by 23 individuals with severe TBI. The disinhibition domain of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory and the interpersonal relationships subscale of the Sydney Psychosocial Reintegration Scale (SPRS-IR) were completed by a close other. Fifteen control participants provided norms against which to assess performance on the emotion intensity rating task. RESULTS: BSIT scores predicted informant-reported change in interpersonal relationships on the SPRS-IR. Hyposmia, though, was not associated with informant-reported or observed social disinhibition. An impairment in accuracy scores on both emotion perceptions tasks was found for participants with TBI, yet intensity ratings did not differ between groups. This suggests that people with TBI are not actually impaired at detecting intensity of emotion but are less likely to perceive the target emotion as the dominant emotion. Emotion perception was not related to disinhibition or change in interpersonal relationships. CONCLUSIONS: These results support previous claims that hyposmia has prognostic significance following TBI. On the other hand, emotion perception impairment measured by standardized tasks does not appear to be an important factor in interpersonal outcomes. Finally, these results suggest that standardized emotion perception tasks may underestimate the emotion perception capabilities of people with TBI

Single chords convey distinct emotional qualities to both naïve and expert listeners.

Previous research on music and emotions has been able to pinpoint many structural features conveying emotions. Empirical research on vertical harmony’s emotional qualities, however, has been rare. The main studies in harmony and emotions usually concern the horizontal aspects of harmony, ignoring emotional qualities of chords as such. An empirical experiment was conducted where participants (N = 269) evaluated pre-chosen chords on a 9-item scale of given emotional dimensions. 14 different chords (major, minor, diminished, augmented triads and dominant, major and minor seventh chords with inversions) were played with two distinct timbres (piano and strings). The results suggest significant differences in emotion perception across chords. These were consistent with notions about musical conventions, while providing novel data on how seventh chords affect emotion perception. The inversions and timbre also contributed to the evaluations. Moreover, certain chords played on the strings scored moderately high on the dimension of ‘nostalgia/longing,’ which is usually held as a musical emotion rising only from extra-musical connotations and conditioning, not intrinsically from the structural features of the music. The role of background variables to the results was largely negligible, suggesting the capacity of vertical harmony to convey distinct emotional qualities to both naïve and expert listeners