Arousal—how alert or excited one feels—is a basic part of emotions, along with whether those emotions are positive or negative. Scientists still don’t fully understand how the brain creates these feelings of arousal, or if the brain uses the same or different systems for emotional arousal compared to states such as being awake or having a bodily reaction.
A recent study led by Professor Benjamin Becker from the Department of Psychology at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and published in Nature Communications uncovers a brain signature that reveals how emotional intensity is consciously experienced—and whether this experience is distinct from automatic bodily reactions.
Using a powerful combination of AI-driven modeling, advanced brain imaging, and close-to-real-life experimental paradigms, the team was able to uncover a brain signature that precisely measures emotional intensity (arousal) across diverse situations ranging from seeing a loved one to watching a horror movie. Notably, the team was able to disentangle the conscious emotional experience from automatic physiological responses such as sweating or heart racing.
