Although it is known that visual imagery is accompanied by activity in visual cortical areas, including primary visual cortex, whether olfactory imagery exists remains controversial. Here we asked whether cue-dependent olfactory imagery was similarly accompanied by activity in olfactory cortex, and in particular whether hedonic-specific patterns of activity evident in olfactory perception would...

In the present study, we investigated the effect of prior aversive life events on freezing-like responses. Fifty healthy females were presented neutral, pleasant, and unpleasant images from the International Affective Picture System while standing on a stabilometric platform and wearing a polar band to assess body sway and heart rate. In the total sample, only unpleasant pictures elicited reduc...

Does compassion feel pleasant or unpleasant? Westerners tend to categorize compassion as a pleasant or positive emotion, but laboratory compassion inductions, which present another's suffering, may elicit unpleasant feelings. Across two studies, we examined whether prototypical conceptualizations of compassion (as pleasant) differ from experiences of compassion (as unpleasant). After laboratory...

BACKGROUND Various affective disorders are linked with enhanced processing of unpleasant stimuli. However, this link is likely a result of the dominant negative mood derived from the disorder, rather than a result of the disorder itself. Additionally, little is currently known about the influence of mood on the susceptibility to emotional events in healthy populations. METHOD Event-Related Po...

Studies of social dysfunction in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have generally focused on the perception of emotional words and facial affect. Brain imaging studies have suggested that the fusiform gyrus is associated with both the comprehension of language and face recognition. We hypothesized that patients with ASD would have decreased ability to recognize affect via emotional w...

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Pupil diameter is enhanced in a variety of emotional contexts, including viewing pictures, listening to sounds, and during threat of shock. In this study, we investigated pupil diameter changes during emotional imagery. Participants imagined scenes describing pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral events while pupil diameter was continuously recorded. Second by second changes in pupil diameter were a...