title: Neural Substrates of Processing Anger in Language: Contributions of Prosody and Semantics.
abstract: Emotions are conveyed primarily through two channels in language: semantics and prosody. While many studies confirm the role of a left hemisphere network in processing semantic emotion, there has been debate over the role of the right hemisphere in processing prosodic emotion. Some evidence suggests a preferential role for the right hemisphere, and other evidence supports a bilateral model. The relative contributions of semantics and prosody to the overall processing of affect in language are largely unexplored. The present work used functional magnetic resonance imaging to elucidate the neural bases of processing anger conveyed by prosody or semantic content. Results showed a robust, distributed, bilateral network for processing angry prosody and a more modest left hemisphere network for processing angry semantics when compared to emotionally neutral stimuli. Findings suggest the nervous system may be more responsive to prosodic cues in speech than to the semantic content of speech.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road, Unit 1020, Storrs, CT, 06269-1020, USA. brian.castelluccio@uconn.edu.
authors.forename: Brian C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Castelluccio
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road, Unit 1020, Storrs, CT, 06269-1020, USA.|Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.|Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Emily B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Division of Neuropsychology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Jillian M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schuh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road, Unit 1020, Storrs, CT, 06269-1020, USA.|Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Inge-Marie
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Eigsti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012660:Semantics; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Emotion; Prosody; Semantics; fMRI