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Lee KM, Satpute AB. More than labels: neural representations of emotion words are widely distributed across the brain. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2024; 19:nsae043. [PMID: 38903026 PMCID: PMC11259136 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Although emotion words such as "anger," "disgust," "happiness," or "pride" are often thought of as mere labels, increasing evidence points to language as being important for emotion perception and experience. Emotion words may be particularly important for facilitating access to the emotion concepts. Indeed, deficits in semantic processing or impaired access to emotion words interfere with emotion perception. Yet, it is unclear what these behavioral findings mean for affective neuroscience. Thus, we examined the brain areas that support processing of emotion words using representational similarity analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data (N = 25). In the task, participants saw 10 emotion words (e.g. "anger," "happiness") while in the scanner. Participants rated each word based on its valence on a continuous scale ranging from 0 (Pleasant/Good) to 1 (Unpleasant/Bad) scale to ensure they were processing the words. Our results revealed that a diverse range of brain areas including prefrontal, midline cortical, and sensorimotor regions contained information about emotion words. Notably, our results overlapped with many regions implicated in decoding emotion experience by prior studies. Our results raise questions about what processes are being supported by these regions during emotion experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kent M Lee
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 125 Nightingale Hall, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Ajay B Satpute
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 125 Nightingale Hall, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Herpertz J, Taylor J, Allen JJB, Herpertz S, Opel N, Richter M, Subic-Wrana C, Dieris-Hirche J, Lane RD. Development and validation of a computer program for measuring emotional awareness in German-The geLEAS (German electronic Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale). Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1129755. [PMID: 37032926 PMCID: PMC10076697 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1129755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Emotional awareness is the ability to identify, interpret, and verbalize the emotional responses of oneself and those of others. The Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS) is an objective performance inventory that accurately measures an individual's emotional awareness. LEAS assessments are typically scored manually and are therefore both time consuming and cognitively demanding. This study presents a German electronic scoring program for the LEAS (geLEAS), the first non-English computerized assessment approach of the LEAS. Methods Data were collected from a healthy German community sample (N = 208). We developed a modern software for computerizing LEAS scoring, an open-source text-based emotion assessment tool called VETA (Verbal Emotion in Text Assessment). We investigated if the software would arrive at similar results as hand scoring in German and if emotional awareness would show similar associations to sociodemographic information and psychometric test results as in previous studies. Results The most frequently used scoring method of the geLEAS shows excellent internal consistency (α = 0.94) and high correlations with hand scoring (r = 0.97, p < 0.001). Higher emotional awareness measured by the geLEAS is associated with female gender, older age, and higher academic achievement (all p < 0.001). Moreover, it is linked to the ability to identify emotions in facial expressions (p < 0.001) and more accurate theory of mind functioning (p < 0.001). Discussion An automated method for evaluating emotional awareness greatly expands the ability to study emotional awareness in clinical care and research. This study aims to advance the use of emotional awareness as a clinical and scientific parameter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Herpertz
- Institute for Translational Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- *Correspondence: Julian Herpertz
| | - Jacob Taylor
- David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - John J. B. Allen
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Stephan Herpertz
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LWL-University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Nils Opel
- Institute for Translational Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Site Jena-Magdeburg-Halle, Jena, Germany
- Center for Intervention and Research on Adaptive and Maladaptive Brain Circuits Underlying Mental Health (C-I-R-C), Jena-Magdeburg-Halle, Jena, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Maike Richter
- Institute for Translational Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Claudia Subic-Wrana
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jan Dieris-Hirche
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LWL-University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Jan Dieris-Hirche
| | - Richard D. Lane
- Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
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Dietz T, Tavenrath S, Schiewer V, Öztürk-Arenz H, Durakovic V, Labouvie H, Jäger RS, Kusch M. Cologne questionnaire on speechlessness: Development and validation. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022; 42:1-12. [PMID: 36531200 PMCID: PMC9741759 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-04102-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Speechlessness forms a psychological concept that describes non-speaking or silence in different situations. Speechlessness occurs in particular during emotional stress. The Cologne Questionnaire on Speechlessness (ger.: Kölner Fragebogen zur Sprachlosigkeit) is an instrument for measuring speechlessness as a function of emotional perception and processing in situations of emotional stress or existing emotional dysregulation. The questionnaire was developed in theoretical proximity to the constructs of alexithymia and expressive suppression. Item selection was performed on a first line sample of N = 307 individuals of a normal population. Acquisition of an exploratory model to classify the phenomenon was conducted within four samples in clinical and non-clinical settings. Validation of the factorial structure was performed using an overarching dataset (N = 1293) consisting of all samples. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated the best model fit (χ2 (df, 146) = 953.856; p < .001; Tucker-Lewis-Index = .891; Comparative Fit Index = .916; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = .065; p < .001; N = 1293) with a four-factorial structure of the questionnaire. Both the overall acceptable validity and reliability recommend the application of KFS on individuals of the normal population as well as clinical subgroups. In addition, the questionnaire can also be used in the context of research on the regulation of emotions. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-04102-x.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thilo Dietz
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Faculty of Medicine, Cologne University Hospital, University of Cologne, Kerpener Straße 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany
| | - Sally Tavenrath
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Faculty of Medicine, Cologne University Hospital, University of Cologne, Kerpener Straße 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany
| | - Vera Schiewer
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Faculty of Medicine, Cologne University Hospital, University of Cologne, Kerpener Straße 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany
| | - Hülya Öztürk-Arenz
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Faculty of Medicine, Cologne University Hospital, University of Cologne, Kerpener Straße 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany
| | - Vanessa Durakovic
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Faculty of Medicine, Cologne University Hospital, University of Cologne, Kerpener Straße 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany
| | - Hildegard Labouvie
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Faculty of Medicine, Cologne University Hospital, University of Cologne, Kerpener Straße 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany
| | - Reinhold S. Jäger
- Centre for Educational Research, University Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau, Bürgerstraße 23, 76829 Landau in der Pfalz, Germany
| | - Michael Kusch
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Faculty of Medicine, Cologne University Hospital, University of Cologne, Kerpener Straße 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany
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Higher emotional awareness is associated with greater domain-general reflective tendencies. Sci Rep 2022; 12:3123. [PMID: 35210517 PMCID: PMC8873306 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07141-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The tendency to reflect on the emotions of self and others is a key aspect of emotional awareness (EA)—a trait widely recognized as relevant to mental health. However, the degree to which EA draws on general reflective cognition vs. specialized socio-emotional mechanisms remains unclear. Based on a synthesis of work in neuroscience and psychology, we recently proposed that EA is best understood as a learned application of domain-general cognitive processes to socio-emotional information. In this paper, we report a study in which we tested this hypothesis in 448 (125 male) individuals who completed measures of EA and both general reflective cognition and socio-emotional performance. As predicted, we observed a significant relationship between EA measures and both general reflectiveness and socio-emotional measures, with the strongest contribution from measures of the general tendency to engage in effortful, reflective cognition. This is consistent with the hypothesis that EA corresponds to the application of general reflective cognitive processes to socio-emotional signals.
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Lane RD, Smith R. Levels of Emotional Awareness: Theory and Measurement of a Socio-Emotional Skill. J Intell 2021; 9:42. [PMID: 34449662 PMCID: PMC8395748 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence9030042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2021] [Revised: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotional awareness is the ability to conceptualize and describe one's own emotions and those of others. Over thirty years ago, a cognitive-developmental theory of emotional awareness patterned after Piaget's theory of cognitive development was created as well as a performance measure of this ability called the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS). Since then, a large number of studies have been completed in healthy volunteers and clinical populations including those with mental health or systemic medical disorders. Along the way, there have also been further refinements and adaptations of the LEAS such as the creation of a digital version in addition to further advances in the theory itself. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the evolving theoretical background, measurement methods, and empirical findings with the LEAS. The LEAS is a reliable and valid measure of emotional awareness. Evidence suggests that emotional awareness facilitates better emotion self-regulation, better ability to navigate complex social situations and enjoy relationships, and better physical and mental health. This is a relatively new but promising area of research in the domain of socio-emotional skills. The paper concludes with some recommendations for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard D. Lane
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
| | - Ryan Smith
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 South Yale Ave., Tulsa, OK 74136, USA;
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Lane RD, Solms M, Weihs KL, Hishaw A, Smith R. Is the concept of affective agnosia a useful addition to the alexithymia literature? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 127:747-748. [PMID: 34004243 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Richard D Lane
- From the Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, AZ, 85724-5002, United States; From the Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, 1503 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States; From the Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona, 1040 E. 4th St., P.O. Box 210077, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States.
| | - Mark Solms
- Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa.
| | - Karen L Weihs
- From the Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, AZ, 85724-5002, United States; From the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona, 1450 N. Cherry Ave., #101, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States.
| | - Alex Hishaw
- From the Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, AZ, 85724-5002, United States; From the Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, AZ, 85724-5023, United States.
| | - Ryan Smith
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 S. Yale Ave., Tulsa, OK, 74136, United States.
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Hesp C, Smith R, Parr T, Allen M, Friston KJ, Ramstead MJD. Deeply Felt Affect: The Emergence of Valence in Deep Active Inference. Neural Comput 2021; 33:398-446. [PMID: 33253028 PMCID: PMC8594962 DOI: 10.1162/neco_a_01341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
The positive-negative axis of emotional valence has long been recognized as fundamental to adaptive behavior, but its origin and underlying function have largely eluded formal theorizing and computational modeling. Using deep active inference, a hierarchical inference scheme that rests on inverting a model of how sensory data are generated, we develop a principled Bayesian model of emotional valence. This formulation asserts that agents infer their valence state based on the expected precision of their action model-an internal estimate of overall model fitness ("subjective fitness"). This index of subjective fitness can be estimated within any environment and exploits the domain generality of second-order beliefs (beliefs about beliefs). We show how maintaining internal valence representations allows the ensuing affective agent to optimize confidence in action selection preemptively. Valence representations can in turn be optimized by leveraging the (Bayes-optimal) updating term for subjective fitness, which we label affective charge (AC). AC tracks changes in fitness estimates and lends a sign to otherwise unsigned divergences between predictions and outcomes. We simulate the resulting affective inference by subjecting an in silico affective agent to a T-maze paradigm requiring context learning, followed by context reversal. This formulation of affective inference offers a principled account of the link between affect, (mental) action, and implicit metacognition. It characterizes how a deep biological system can infer its affective state and reduce uncertainty about such inferences through internal action (i.e., top-down modulation of priors that underwrite confidence). Thus, we demonstrate the potential of active inference to provide a formal and computationally tractable account of affect. Our demonstration of the face validity and potential utility of this formulation represents the first step within a larger research program. Next, this model can be leveraged to test the hypothesized role of valence by fitting the model to behavioral and neuronal responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casper Hesp
- Department of Psychology and Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Centre, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, Netherlands; Institute for Advanced Study, University of Amsterdam, 1012 GC Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, U.K.
| | - Ryan Smith
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK 74136, U.S.A.
| | - Thomas Parr
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, U.K.
| | - Micah Allen
- Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark; Centre of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8200, Denmark; and Cambridge Psychiatry, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 8AH, U.K.
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, U.K.
| | - Maxwell J D Ramstead
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, U.K.; Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Montreal H3A 0G4, QC, Canada
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Gaggero G, Bonassi A, Dellantonio S, Pastore L, Aryadoust V, Esposito G. A Scientometric Review of Alexithymia: Mapping Thematic and Disciplinary Shifts in Half a Century of Research. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:611489. [PMID: 33362614 PMCID: PMC7758403 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.611489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The term "alexithymia" was introduced in the lexicon of psychiatry in the early '70s by Sifneos to outline the difficulties manifested by some patients in identifying and describing their own emotions. Since then, the construct has been broadened and partially modified. Today this describes a condition characterized by an altered emotional awareness which leads to difficulties in recognizing your own and others' emotions. In half a century, the volume of scientific products focusing on alexithymia has exceeded 5,000. Such an expansive knowledge domain poses a difficulty for those willing to understand how alexithymia research has developed. Scientometrics embodies a solution to this issue, employing computational, and visual analytic methods to uncover meaningful patterns within large bibliographical corpora. In this study, we used the CiteSpace software to examine a corpus of 4,930 publications on alexithymia ranging from 1980 to 2020 and their 100,251 references included in Web of Science. Document co-citation analysis was performed to highlight pivotal publications and major research areas on alexithymia, whereas journal co-citation analysis was conducted to find the related editorial venues and disciplinary communities. The analyses suggest that the construct of alexithymia experienced a gradual thematic and disciplinary shift. Although the first conceptualization of alexithymia came from psychoanalysis and psychosomatics, empirical research was pushed by the operationalization of the construct formulated at the end of the '80s. Specifically, the development of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, currently the most used self-report instrument, seems to have encouraged both the entrance of new disciplines in the study of alexithymia (i.e., cognitive science and neuroscience) and an implicit redefinition of its conceptual nucleus. Overall, we discuss opportunities and limitations in the application of this bottom-up approach, which highlights trends in alexithymia research that were previously identified only through a qualitative, theory-driven approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Gaggero
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Andrea Bonassi
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,Mobile and Social Computing Lab, Bruno Kessler Foundation, Trento, Italy
| | - Sara Dellantonio
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Luigi Pastore
- Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Vahid Aryadoust
- National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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