title: A Network Model of the Emotional Brain.
abstract: Emotion is often understood in terms of a circumscribed set of cortical and subcortical brain regions. I propose, instead, that emotion should be understood in terms of large-scale network interactions spanning the entire neuroaxis. I describe multiple anatomical and functional principles of brain organization that lead to the concept of 'functionally integrated systems', cortical-subcortical systems that anchor the organization of emotion in the brain. The proposal is illustrated by describing the cortex-amygdala integrated system and how it intersects with systems involving the ventral striatum/accumbens, septum, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and brainstem. The important role of the thalamus is also highlighted. Overall, the model clarifies why the impact of emotion is wide-ranging, and how emotion is interlocked with perception, cognition, motivation, and action.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. Electronic address: pessoa@umd.edu.
authors.forename: Luiz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pessoa
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D003071:Cognition; D032882:Comprehension; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009434:Neural Pathways
keywords: amygdala; brain; brainstem; emotion; networks; thalamus