<p>From meta-analyses that include musical emotion inductions, there is not much evidence that we can reliably distinguish between emotions in the brain, independent of the emotion induction procedure or meta-analytical method (<a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioral-and-brain-sciences/article/brain-basis-of-emotion-a-metaanalytic-review/80F95F093305C76BA2C66BBA48D4BC8A" rel="noreferrer">1</a> <a href="http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004066" rel="noreferrer">2</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4329228/" rel="noreferrer">3</a> <a href="https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/10/9/1257/1675553/Intrinsic-connectivity-in-the-human-brain-does-not" rel="noreferrer">4</a> <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cercor/article/3056293" rel="noreferrer">5</a>).</p>

<p>We might be able to distinguish emotions with specificity and reliability within an individual, but this kind of work is just starting to happen.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-19T22:13:48.143Z
2017-09-19T22:13:48.143Z
mrt
<p><strong>Short answer</strong><br>
Pleasant and unpleasant music activate other areas of the cortex, potentially allowing for differentiation of music-related emotions based on fMRI scans alone.</p>

<p><strong>Background</strong><br>
An fMRI study by <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbm.20180/full" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Koelsch <em>et al</em>. (2009)</a> investigated human emotions evoked by pleasant (consonant) and unpleasant (dissonant) music. </p>

<p>Unpleasant music activated the...</p>

<ul>
<li>amygdala</li>
<li>hippocampus</li>
<li>parahippocampal gyrus and </li>
<li>temporal poles.</li>
</ul>

<p>These structures are generally implicated in negative emotions. </p>

<p>In contrast, pleasant music activated the... </p>

<ul>
<li>inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)</li>
<li>anterior superior insula</li>
<li>ventral striatum</li>
<li>Heschl's gyrus</li>
<li>Rolandic operculum. </li>
</ul>

<p>IFG activations appear to reflect processes of music–syntactic analysis and working memory operations. The operculum, anterior superior insula, and ventral striatum are thought to be part of a pre-motor circuit for vocal sound production during the perception of pleasant sounds.</p>

<p><sub><strong>Reference</strong><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbm.20180/full" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Koelsch <em>et al</em>., <em>Human Brain Mapping</em> (2006); <strong>27</strong>(3): 239–50</a></sub></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-19T10:22:15.970Z
Thanks for the anwer and for the improvement of my question.
Hans-Peter Stricker
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-19T10:24:48.130Z
Is the distinction between pleasant and unpleasant the only one that can be made at the moment? What about more specific emotions (that might be neither pleasant nor unpleasant - or both at the same time), e.g. a "sense of tension"?
Hans-Peter Stricker
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-19T10:33:34.130Z
The cited study was the only study I could find relating music and emotions.
AliceD
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-19T11:01:55.537Z
A sense of tension might be exactly this: the simultaneous activity in both (indicating) pleasant and unpleasant parts of the brain.
Hans-Peter Stricker
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-19T11:03:57.967Z
The study I linked to is another one, isn't it?
Hans-Peter Stricker
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-19T11:06:33.770Z
@HansStricker - That's a video. I prefer to base my answers on journal articles.
AliceD
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-19T15:52:50.653Z
The video is based on Oliver Sacks's Musicophilia. In a NYT review on the video it is mentioned that there is a dissertation about the topic. I try to find this dissertation and will post a reference here.
Hans-Peter Stricker
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-19T10:12:01.883Z
2017-09-19T10:19:14.790Z
2017-09-19T10:19:14.790Z
AliceD
<p>I am looking for fMRI studies in which the emotional response of a person listening to music is visible in the fMRI scans, paralleled by a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrospective_think_aloud" rel="nofollow noreferrer">retrospective think aloud</a> report of the person describing his/her emotions while listening. Are there such studies? And did they reveal something comprehensible, i.e. can one see in the fMRI scans how emotions did manifest themselves?</p>

<p>The idea is, that one might be able to distinguish between emotional responses due to characteristic activity patterns or modes, perhaps including the amygdala. </p>

<p>I know of this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyY1ul_DbcQ" rel="nofollow noreferrer">video</a> with Oliver Sacks being the person, but it disappointed me: we only see that he is emotionally touched stronger by Bach than by Beethoven. But - as I have the impression - we cannot distinguish between positive and negative emotions by just looking at the fMRI scans, can we?</p>

<cognitive-neuroscience><emotion><neuroimaging><fmri><brain>
Can we identify specific emotions on the basis of fMRI scans?
Hans-Peter Stricker
# Can we identify specific emotions on the basis of fMRI scans?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-19)

I am looking for fMRI studies in which the emotional response of a person listening to music is visible in the fMRI scans, paralleled by a [retrospective think aloud](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrospective_think_aloud) report of the person describing his/her emotions while listening. Are there such studies? And did they reveal something comprehensible, i.e. can one see in the fMRI scans how emotions did manifest themselves?

The idea is, that one might be able to distinguish between emotional responses due to characteristic activity patterns or modes, perhaps including the amygdala.

I know of this [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyY1ul_DbcQ) with Oliver Sacks being the person, but it disappointed me: we only see that he is emotionally touched stronger by Bach than by Beethoven. But - as I have the impression - we cannot distinguish between positive and negative emotions by just looking at the fMRI scans, can we?

**Tags:** cognitive-neuroscience, emotion, neuroimaging, fmri, brain


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-09-19. Score: 5

From meta-analyses that include musical emotion inductions, there is not much evidence that we can reliably distinguish between emotions in the brain, independent of the emotion induction procedure or meta-analytical method ([1](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioral-and-brain-sciences/article/brain-basis-of-emotion-a-metaanalytic-review/80F95F093305C76BA2C66BBA48D4BC8A) [2](http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004066) [3](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4329228/) [4](https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/10/9/1257/1675553/Intrinsic-connectivity-in-the-human-brain-does-not) [5](https://academic.oup.com/cercor/article/3056293)).

We might be able to distinguish emotions with specificity and reliability within an individual, but this kind of work is just starting to happen.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-09-19. Score: 2

**Short answer**  
Pleasant and unpleasant music activate other areas of the cortex, potentially allowing for differentiation of music-related emotions based on fMRI scans alone.

**Background**  
An fMRI study by [Koelsch *et al*. (2009)](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbm.20180/full) investigated human emotions evoked by pleasant (consonant) and unpleasant (dissonant) music.

Unpleasant music activated the...

* amygdala
* hippocampus
* parahippocampal gyrus and
* temporal poles.

These structures are generally implicated in negative emotions.

In contrast, pleasant music activated the...

* inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)
* anterior superior insula
* ventral striatum
* Heschl's gyrus
* Rolandic operculum.

IFG activations appear to reflect processes of music–syntactic analysis and working memory operations. The operculum, anterior superior insula, and ventral striatum are thought to be part of a pre-motor circuit for vocal sound production during the perception of pleasant sounds.

**Reference**  
**-** [Koelsch *et al*., *Human Brain Mapping* (2006); **27**(3): 239–50](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbm.20180/full)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for the anwer and for the improvement of my question.  
> **username_0**: Is the distinction between pleasant and unpleasant the only one that can be made at the moment? What about more specific emotions (that might be neither pleasant nor unpleasant - or both at the same time), e.g. a "sense of tension"?  
> **username_2**: The cited study was the only study I could find relating music and emotions.  
> **username_0**: A sense of tension might be exactly this: the simultaneous activity in both (indicating) pleasant and unpleasant parts of the brain.  
> **username_0**: The study I linked to is another one, isn't it?  
> **username_2**: @HansStricker - That's a video. I prefer to base my answers on journal articles.  
> **username_0**: The video is based on Oliver Sacks's Musicophilia. In a NYT review on the video it is mentioned that there is a dissertation about the topic. I try to find this dissertation and will post a reference here.  

---

