Emotion-Oriented Systems

Chapter 2

Emotion and the Brain ¹

2.1. Introduction

Since the 1990s, research into the cerebral mechanisms involved in emotional processes has seen a substantial boom, coinciding with the establishment of affective neuroscience as a field in its own right. This latest area of research relies on concepts and methods from a variety of disciplines, including philosophy, anthropology, psychology, psychiatry, biology, neurology and computational sciences as well as neurosciences in the broader sense of the term. While technological advances have strongly improved our knowledge of cerebral functions, strong traditions nevertheless still influence current conceptualizations of emotion and the brain. This new technology, combined with centuries of reflection, has therefore resulted in a more integrated perspective on emotional processes.

The main aim of this chapter is to examine the neuronal bases underlying various emotional processes and subsequently highlight that affective neuroscience is a multidisciplinary approach. As a form of introduction, we will outline a brief history of the main steps that have punctuated the understanding about the relationships between emotions and the brain. We will then spend some time describing the neuroscientific approach to emotions and how it has contributed to our knowledge about emotional phenomena. Afterwards, we will focus on some initial theoretical assumptions about the role of emotions in the brain. We will then examine the main cerebral ...