Author: Jung WM1, Ryu Y2, Lee YS1, Wallraven C3, Chae Y1
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>Acupuncture & Meridian Science Research Center, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
<sup>2</sup>Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Meridian Research Center, Division of Standard Research, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
<sup>3</sup>Department of Brain Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Conference/Journal: PLoS One.
Date published: 2017 Sep 6
Other:
Volume ID: 12 , Issue ID: 9 , Pages: e0183211 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183211. eCollection 2017. , Word Count: 172
The emotion-associated bodily sensation map is composed of a specific topographical distribution of bodily sensations to categorical emotions. The present study investigated whether or not interoceptive accuracy was associated with topographical changes in this map following emotion-induced bodily sensations. This study included 31 participants who observed short video clips containing emotional stimuli and then reported their sensations on the body map. Interoceptive accuracy was evaluated with a heartbeat detection task and the spatial patterns of bodily sensations to specific emotions, including anger, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, and neutral, were visualized using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) analyses. Distinct patterns of bodily sensations were identified for different emotional states. In addition, positive correlations were found between the magnitude of sensation in emotion-specific regions and interoceptive accuracy across individuals. A greater degree of interoceptive accuracy was associated with more specific topographical changes after emotional stimuli. These results suggest that the awareness of one's internal bodily states might play a crucial role as a required messenger of sensory information during the affective process.
PMID: 28877218 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183211