Somatosensory and motor contributions to emotion representation

Abstract: Emotion is often described as something people 'feel' in their bodies. Embodied emotion theorists propose that this connection is not purely linguistic; perceiving an emotion may require somatosensory and motor re-experiencing. However, it remains unclear whether self-reports of emotion-related bodily sensations (i.e., 'lump in my throat') are related to neural simulations of bodily action and sensation or whether they can be explained by cognitive appraisals or the visual features of socioemotional signals. To investigate this, participants (N = 21) were shown arousing emotional images that varied in valence, complexity, and content while undergoing fMRI scans. Participants then rated the images on a set of emotion appraisal scales and indicated where, on a body map, they experienced sensation in response to the image. To derive normative models of responses on these scales, a separate larger online sample online (N = 56 - 128) also rated these images. Representational similarity analysis (RSA) was used to compare the emotional content in the body maps with appraisals and visual features. A pairwise distance matrix between the body maps generated for each stimulus was then used in a whole brain voxel-wise searchlight analysis to identify brain regions which reflect the representational geometry of embodied emotion. This analysis revealed a network including bilateral primary somatosensory and motor cortices, precuneus, insula, and medial prefrontal cortex. The results of this study suggest that the relationship between emotion and the body is not purely conceptual: It is supported by sensorimotor cortical activations.