Differences in emotions are often expressed using sensory modalities or body images. This study aimed to analyze how basic-emotions（happiness,  sadness, fear, anger, surprise, disgust） are related to sensory modality images using the modality differential（MD）  method. Furthermore, in order to analyze how basic-emotions are related to body images, we devised a body-image location（BIL）  scale. Participants （N=156） rated the relevance of each of the six emotions（happiness,  sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust） for ten sensory modalities and eight body locations on a 7-point scale. The MD method revealed a strong relevance of happiness to gustatory sense. According to the BIL, chest had strong relevance to all six emotions. Thus, we found that both the MD method and BIL would be useful for capturing the sensory modality and body-image relevance of basic-emotions.

Non-invasive neuroimaging methods, especially functional magnetic resonance imaging（fMRI） , has become an essential tool for psychological research. Conventional fMRI studies employed so-called ‘cognitive subtraction analysis’, which compares the overall brain activities under the experimental condition and those in the control condition to extract the neural substrates related to a particular cognitive process. Recent developments in multi-voxel pattern analysis（MVPA）  enables us to investigate neural representations using decoding or classification methods. For example, using cross-classification between different modalities, we could investigate invariance or commonalities in neural representations. This paper introduces recent advancements in neuroimaging methods, together with our two studies using MVPA. 

Following by the recent development of enhanced cameras, the technology of human sensing has become more advanced to automatically extract useful information from camera images. In psychological research, this technology will enable automation of behavior analysis during conversation, eye-tracking from ordinary cameras, and enhancement on the testing procedure based on eye movement characteristics for eidetic imagery studies. Here, we demonstrated an omnidirectional camera to analyze behaviors（utterances,  facial expressions, head-nod, and -posture） of participants in a conversation, a gaze-keyboard to demonstrate eye-tracking using a built-in laptop camera, and a customized software and hardware system for eidetic imagery tests.

Recently, in the research field of cognitive therapy, there is a movement to apply the theory obtainedfrom empirical research on the relationship between mental image and emotion to the theoreticalinterpretation of mental disorders or intervention in psychotherapy. Dr. Emily, A. Holmes of KarolinskaInstitutet is the leading researcher of this movement. She has been focusing on the relationship betweenmental image and emotion and has been studying the influence of mental image on mental disorder. Inaddition, she has been studying intervention techniques using positive images as a treatment for mentaldisorders. In this report, we introduce research by Dr. Holmes on image intervention method. We thenreport a study on the effect of image training method using positive scenario.

This study investigated mechanisms suppressing the generation of visual imagery and those that suppress visual perceptual processing without competing with visual imagery generation. The brain region that plays a role in the former function was identified. Moreover, it has been suggested that this is process is mental functions. Furthermore, it has been reported that the performance decreases in concurrent visual perceptual tasks as a result of visual imagery generation, compared to concurrent visual perceptual processing, possible because of suppressing visual perceptual processing during visual imagery generation. Finally, we have discussed the relationship between these two functions and uncontrollable mental imagery observed in clinical situations.

The process of dream generation is closely related with information-processing during rapid eye movement sleep. The sleep polysomnography experiment confirmed that frequent dream recallers have higher rapid eye movement density and higher anxiety level of dream content than infrequent dream recallers. Also, when the dream imagery is fearsome and vivid, the dream becomes a nightmare. Clinically defined nightmares have extremely high REM frequency and sudden arousal from sleep. In the guideline of nightmare treatment of American Academy of Sleep Medicine（2010） , many of cognitive behavioral therapies（CBT） , including image rehearsal therapy, image exposure and EMDR（eye  movement desensitization and reprocessing）, are recommended as non-pharmacological therapies. In this study, we are reporting the case pertaining to how the imagery of dreams changes and if symptoms disappear when we give short-term cognitive behavioral therapy to post-traumatic nightmares.