The functional neuroanatomy of emotion and affective style

Recently, there has been a convergence in lesion and neuroimaging data in t he identification of circuits underlying positive and negative emotion in t he human brain. Emphasis is placed on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the a mygdala as two key components of this circuitry. Emotion guides action and organizes behaviour towards salient goals. To accomplish this, It is essent ial that the organism have a means of representing affect in the absence of immediate elicitors. It is proposed that the PFC plays a crucial role in a ffective working memory. The ventromedial sector of the PFC is most directl y involved in the representation of elementary positive and negative emotio nal states while the dorsolateral PFC may be involved in the representation of the goal states towards which these elementary positive and negative st ates are directed. The amygdala has been consistently identified as playing a crucial role in both the perception of emotional cues and the production of emotional responses, with some evidence suggesting that it is particula rly involved with fear-related negative affect. Individual differences in a mygdala activation are implicated in dispositional affective styles and inc reased reactivity to negative incentives. The ventral striatum, anterior ci ngulate and insular cortex also provide unique contributions to emotional p rocessing.