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Mapping physiological changes in the body when we feel strong emotions

18/1/2014

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Nummenmaa, L., Glerean, E., Hari, R. & Hietanen, J.K. (27 November 2013) 
'Bodily Maps of Emotions', Psychological and Cognitive Sciences (pnas.org)
Original article:  http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/12/26/1321664111.full.pdf
Data:  http://www.pnas.org/content/suppl/2013/12/26/1321664111.DCSupplemental/pnas.201321664SI.pdf
Ok, so we know that emotions are produced in the body, as a result of our thinking brain stimulating hormone production. So it's not surprising that the body has a measurable response. 

What I like about this study is this image of the self-reported sensations that participants experienced in response to the stimuli. Also, they looked at so called 'non-basic' emotions, such as anxiety, love, pride and shame. Love looks like the warmest place to be! And just look at the burning cheek areas of shame and it's deactivated legs, also shared strongly in sadness, depression and anxiety. Such familiar feelings for all of us at some level.

There were 5 experimental conditions and 701 participants were asked to colour two silhouettes of human bodies depending on increases and decreases in their internal bodily activation response to emotional words, stories, movies, or facial expressions. 

The researchers state that "Different emotions were consistently associated with statistically separable bodily sensation maps across experiments." The body mapping results showed concordance across participants from Western Europe and East Asia, suggesting cultural universality of these very human emotional experiences - no surprise there!

All the emotions triggered sensations in the head, which suggests physiological changes such as activation of facial musculature, skin temperature and tear secretion, as well as the changes experienced in the mind. There also appears to be an upward energy to approach-oriented emotions (ie. anger, happiness), and a decrease in activation in the lower limbs is seen in the avoidance-oriented ones (ie. depression, shame). 

It's interesting to speculate how we may perceive emotions in those with whom we are interacting, through facial expression, limb activation, temperature for instance, and how we tend to respond. In their discussion, the researchers wondered whether emotional perception and emotional contagion (when we inadvertently pick up another's feeling state as if it were our own) may involve automatic activation of the body's sensory response to emotion, which is then evaluated cognitively. They considered the idea that sensations may underlie our conscious emotional experience, looking for an answer to the chicken and egg question about whether the sensations cause the emotion or vice versa, and was unable to draw any firm conclusions. 

However, it's clear that somatic sensation and embodied experience are both critical in emotional processing, and this points to the effectiveness of body-centred interventions for regulating affect.
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Effie Gray Event - star studded film & opportunity to study subtle dynamics of developmental & attachment trauma

14/1/2014

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Saturday 8th March 2014, 10:00-17:00 at The Barbican
Tickets for the full symposium, or for the film screening only available from The Barbican Centre

From Catherine Cox's website:
With its star-studded cast, Emma Thompson’s screenplay about the relationship between Effie Gray and John Ruskin is due to be released in the UK in March 2014.

Starring Julie Walters, Derek Jacobi, David Suchet, Dakota Fanning, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Sturridge, Greg Wise, James Fox, Claudia Cardinale and Emma Thompson herself, the film is a subtle but disturbing portrayal of developmental trauma, the failure of a man to follow the promptings of his anima and the rite of passage of a young woman.

Produced by Donald Rosenfeld, formerly of Merchant Ivory (Howards End, Remains of the Day), and more recently winner of the Palme d’Or for Terrence Malik’s film The Tree of Life (starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain), the film is exquisitely shot.

This unique event will bring together the worlds of psychoanalysis and film. Donald Rosenfeld (and hopefully some of the actors in the film) will be engaging with psychoanalysts on a number of the themes so elegantly portrayed in the film.

The event will include a viewing of the film, lunch at Gin Joint by Searcys and, we hope, an opportunity to meet Donald and  some of the actors.

Event organised by Catherine Cox and Graham Fuller in conjunction with the Barbican Centre, Sovereign Films, the Guild of Analytical Psychologists (G.A.P.) and the Society of Analytical Psychology (SAP)
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Tickets still available for An Evening with Daniel Goleman next Thursday

14/10/2013

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Tickets are still available for the Action for Happiness Event -  An Evening with Daniel Goleman 
Thursday, 24 October 2013 from 18:30 to 20:30 at the Camden Centre, Euston Road, London WC1H 9JE

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    Belinda Rydings,
    Coaching Psychologist

    Helping courageous people to grow and manage transitions, stress & self-criticism by coaching with mindfulness, compassion & non-judgement 

    Trauma treatment for PTSD, single event or developmental trauma. Including bullying, abuse, accidents and witnessing traumatic events.

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