This story is from January 2, 2014

Our bodies let us feel the emotions

Wonder why your ears feel warm when you are tensed or why your chest aches when you are anxious?
Our bodies let us feel the emotions
LONDON: Wonder why your ears feel warm when you are tensed or why your chest aches when you are anxious?
Researchers from Aalto University say that all known human emotions have different ways of playing out in our body. The sensations arising from bodily changes are an important feature of our emotional experience.
For example, anxiety may be experienced as pain in the chest, whereas falling in love may trigger warm, pleasurable sensations all over the body.
The new body map constitutes the most accurate description available to date of subjective emotion-related bodily sensations.
"Our data highlights that consistent patterns of bodily sensations are associated with six basic emotions, and that these sensations are represented in a categorical manner in the body. They are in line with evidence from brain imaging and behavioural studies. Most basic emotions were associated with sensations of elevated activity in the upper chest area, like changes in breathing pattern and heart rate."
"Sensations in the upper limbs were most prominent in approach-oriented emotions, anger and happiness, whereas sensations of decreased limb activity were a defining feature of sadness. Sensations in the digestive system and around the throat region were mainly found in disgust. In contrast with all of the other emotions, happiness was associated with enhanced sensations all over the body," researchers said.

The researchers found that the most common emotions trigger strong bodily sensations and the bodily maps of these sensations were topographically different for different emotions.
The sensation patterns were, however, consistent across different West European and East Asian cultures, highlighting that emotions and their corresponding bodily sensation patterns have a biological basis.
Professor Lauri Nummenmaa from Aalto University carried out the study online and over 700 individuals from Finland, Sweden and Taiwan took part in it.
The researchers induced different emotional states in their Finnish and Taiwanese participants. Subsequently the participants were shown pictures of human bodies on a computer and asked to colour the regions whose activity they felt increasing or decreasing.
"We often experience emotions directly in the body. When strolling through the park to meet with our sweetheart we walk lightly with our hearts pounding with excitement, whereas anxiety might tighten our muscles and make our hands sweat and tremble before an important job interview. Numerous studies have established that emotion systems prepare us to meet challenges encountered in the environment by adjusting the activation of the cardiovascular, skeletomuscular, neuroendocrine and autonomic nervous system.
This link between emotions and bodily states is also reflected in the way we speak of emotions: a young bride getting married next week may suddenly have "cold feet," severely disappointed lovers may be "heartbroken," and our favourite song may send "a shiver down our spine."
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