A Network Model of the Emotional Brain

Publication date: Available online 28 March 2017
Source:Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Author(s): Luiz Pessoa
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.



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