THE CORTICAL EEG IS MODULATED BY 5 BASIC EMOTIONS - RESULTS OF A REPLICATION STUDY

The systematization of five human basic emotions - intention/hunger, a nxiety, aggression, sorrow and joy - could be replicated with a differ ential unterstanding by means of specifical dynamics of EEG spectral p arameters (power: theta-, alpha-, beta-power; site: alpha-bandwidth, t heta- and alpha-Median). Recalling different emotional dispositions of the volunteers biography, we make use of an imagination exercise. The psychophysiological information was analyzed according to the followi ng scheme: 12-s-synchronization between EEG parameters and rating vari ables. The statistical interpretation was performed by nonparametrical tests (Mann-Whitney with an alpha-risk adjustment in multiple tests), correlation analysis and a parametrical and a nonparametrical (decisi on tree) discriminance analysis. Results: the EEG is specifically modu lated by the emotions in order of 20% to 60% (power parameters) and be tween 2% and 20% (site parameters). Physiologically caused hemisphere differences are lying between 10% to 30%. Emotionally caused lateraliz ation effects are interindividually different and in order of 1% to 5% . The discriminance analysis shows that power of distinction increases with the intensity of emotions. The results confirm the trends, which were proposed by Machleidt and co-workers and they oppose various phy siological theories of emotion.