Neuroanatomical correlates of emotions mapped with functional neuroimaging techniques

Abstract

Nowadays, the use of functional imaging techniques allows detailed investigations of the brain circuits engaged during the performance of stimulation paradigms that involve different aspects of emotional processing in the healthy human brain. This article discusses the basic principles of the methods most often employed in functional neuroimaging studies of emotion, selectively reviews recent findings obtained in these studies, provide examples of new paradigms currently being used in such kind of investigation, and outlines recent neuroanatomical models of emotional processing that have emerged from the contemporary functional imaging literature. Finally, we emphasize the potential of functional imaging techniques to increase knowledge about the modulatory action of medications used to treat mental conditions that alter specific emotional processes, such as depression and anxiety disorders.