Positive emotions preferentially engage an auditory-motor "mirror" system.
Social interaction relies on the ability to react to communication signals. Although cortical sensory-motor "mirror" networks are thought to play a key role in visual aspects of primate communication, evidence for a similar generic role for auditory-motor interaction in primate nonverbal communication is lacking. We demonstrate that a network of human premotor cortical regions activated during facial movement is also involved in auditory processing of affective nonverbal vocalizations. Within this auditory-motor mirror network, distinct functional subsystems respond preferentially to emotional valence and arousal properties of heard vocalizations. Positive emotional valence enhanced activation in a left posterior inferior frontal region involved in representation of prototypic actions, whereas increasing arousal enhanced activation in presupplementary motor area cortex involved in higher-order motor control. Our findings demonstrate that listening to nonverbal vocalizations can automatically engage preparation of responsive orofacial gestures, an effect that is greatest for positive-valence and high-arousal emotions. The automatic engagement of responsive orofacial gestures by emotional vocalizations suggests that auditory-motor interactions provide a fundamental mechanism for mirroring the emotional states of others during primate social behavior. Motor facilitation by positive vocal emotions suggests a basic neural mechanism for establishing cohesive bonds within primate social groups.
Warren
Jane E
JE
Magnetic Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Imperial College London, London W121 0NN, United Kingdom.
Sauter
Disa A
DA
Eisner
Frank
F
Wiland
Jade
J
Dresner
M Alexander
MA
Wise
Richard J S
RJ
Rosen
Stuart
S
Scott
Sophie K
SK
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*