Emotional connotation of words: role of emotion in distributed semantic systems

One current doctrine regarding lexical-semantic functions asserts separate input and output lexicons with access to a central semantic core. In other words, processes related to word form have separate representations for input (comprehension) vs. output (expression), while processes related to meaning are not split along the input-output dimension. Recent evidence from our laboratory suggests that semantic processes related to emotional connotation may be an exception to this rule. The ability to distinguish among different emotional connotations may be linked distinctly both to attention systems that select specific sensory input for further processing and to intention systems that select specific actions for output. In particular, the neuroanatomic substrates for emotional connotation on the input side of the equation appear to differ from the substrates on the output side of the equation. Implications for semantic processing of emotional connotation and its relationship to attention and motivation systems are discussed.