Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in brain regions associated with processing variety of different emotions (joy, humor, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Forty-two healthy right-handed volunteers pariticipated in the study. Six clips were excerpted from movies through our previous experiments of which purpose was to evoke different emotional responses. Subjects were scanned under six emotion-producing conditions. There found significant differences while participants were experiencing emotions. Sadness was associated with significant loci of activation in the superior frontal gyrus and putamen. In the joy condition, significant loci of activation were noted in the superior and middle temporal gyrus. Disugst was accompanied by specific activations of the superior temporal gyrus and hippocampus. Fear was correlated with significant loci of activation in the superior temporal gyrus and putamen. Humor was associated with significant loci of activation in the middle temporal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus. In anger condition, significant loci of activation were noted in the superior temporal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus. These findings suggest that different brain regions are involved in processing different emotions.
