A sensorimotor control framework for understanding emotional communication and regulation

Journal article

Justin H G Williams, Charlotte F Huggins, Barbra Zupan, Megan Willis, Tamsyn E Van Rheenen, Wataru Sato, Romina Palermo, Catherine Ortner, Martin Krippl, Mariska Kret, Joanne M. Dickson, Chiang-Shan R. Li and Leroy Lowe. (2020). A sensorimotor control framework for understanding emotional communication and regulation. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 112, pp. 503-518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.02.014
AuthorsJustin H G Williams, Charlotte F Huggins, Barbra Zupan, Megan Willis, Tamsyn E Van Rheenen, Wataru Sato, Romina Palermo, Catherine Ortner, Martin Krippl, Mariska Kret, Joanne M. Dickson, Chiang-Shan R. Li and Leroy Lowe
Abstract

Our research team was asked to consider the relationship of the neuroscience of sensorimotor control to the language of emotions and feelings. Actions are the principal means for the communication of emotions and feelings in both humans and other animals, and the allostatic mechanisms controlling action also apply to the regulation of emotional states by the self and others. We consider how motor control of hierarchically organised, feedback-based, goal-directed action has evolved in humans, within a context of consciousness, appraisal and cultural learning, to serve emotions and feelings. In our linguistic analysis, we found that many emotion and feelings words could be assigned to stages in the sensorimotor learning process, but the assignment was often arbitrary. The embodied nature of emotional communication means that action words are frequently used, but that the meanings or senses of the word depend on its contextual use, just as the relationship of an action to an emotion is also contextually dependent.

Keywordsemotion; feeling; action; facial expression; motor; sensorimotor; planning; linguistics; emotion regulation; cognitive appraisal; embodied cognition; mirror neurons
Year2020
JournalNeuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
Journal citation112, pp. 503-518
PublisherElsevier Ltd
ISSN0149-7634
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.02.014
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85080066950
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
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Open
Publication process dates
Deposited27 Apr 2021
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