J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 1997; 9:439-448
Copyright © 1997 by American Neuropsychiatric Association
The neurobiology of emotional experience
KM Heilman
Department of Neurology, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, USA.
The author discusses a neurological model of a modular network that
mediates emotional experience. According to this theory, emotional
experience has three components: valence (positive and negative), arousal,
and motor activation (approach, avoid, neither). In this model, the cortex
is critical in regulating activities of the limbic system, basal ganglia,
and reticular system. The frontal lobes are important for valence: the left
mediates positive emotions, the right negative emotions. The right
hemisphere, especially the parietal lobe, is important in activating
arousal systems, and the left hemisphere modulates inhibition of these
systems. The right hemisphere is also critical in motor activation. The
frontal lobes, especially the orbitofrontal portions, mediate avoidance
behaviors, and the parietal lobes mediate approach behaviors. The cortical
areas discussed have rich interconnections and are also closely connected
with the limbic system, basal ganglia, and reticular systems. Emotional
experience may depend on the patterns of neural activation in this modular
network.
