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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection
Published on: August 26, 2011
Central and autonomic nervous system integration in emotion
Dirk Hagemann1, Shari R Waldstein, Julian F Thayer
1Laboratory of Personality and Cognition, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Gerontology Research Center, 5600 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. hagemann@uni-trier.de
Abstract:
Emotions involve physiological responses that are regulated by the brain. The present paper reviews the empirical literature on central nervous system (CNS) and autonomic nervous system (ANS) concomitants of emotional states, with a focus on studies that simultaneously assessed CNS and ANS activity. The reviewed data support two primary conclusions: (1) numerous cortical and subcortical regions show co-occurring activity with ANS responses in emotion, and (2) there may be reversed asymmetries on cortical and subcortical levels with respect to CNS/ANS interrelations. These observations are interpreted in terms of a model of neurovisceral integration in emotion, and directions for future research are presented.
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