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The mystery of reduced emotional expression: Which brain region is behind it?
Reduced affect display is a topic of great concern in the mental health field. This phenomenon, also known as affective paralysis or affective blunting, describes a reduction in an individual's emotional responsiveness, manifested in verbal and nonverbal expressions of emotion. In this case, whether it is facial expressions or voice intonation, the individual's emotional expression appears to be lackluster. There are various causes of this condition, including autism, schizophrenia, depression, and side effects of certain medications.
“Reduced emotion is often associated with changes in brain structure, particularly in areas involved in emotion processing.”
Reduced emotional expression is divided into several types, including contracted emotions, blunted emotions, and flattened emotions. Specifically, contracted emotion refers to a reduction in the scope and intensity of individual emotional expression; blunted emotion refers to a significant decrease in the energy of emotional responses; and flat emotion means almost no emotional expression, even to those that usually arouse strong emotions. The situation was also unresponsive. This lack of emotion is often cited as one of the core features of psychological disorders such as schizophrenia.
Empirical research shows that people with schizophrenia show different patterns of brain activity in brain scans that look at emotional stimuli. For example, when patients with schizophrenia without blunted emotion are shown negative emotional pictures, they activate multiple key brain areas including the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and amygdala, while patients with blunted emotion mainly activate some of the midbrain and temporal lobes.
“Emotional processing pathways in the brain show that patients with blunted emotion have modulated neural processes when perceiving emotional stimuli, which in turn affects the function of the prefrontal cortex and affects the integrity of the emotional response.”
In addition to the different structures of the brain, the brainstem is also inextricably linked to changes in emotional expression. The brainstem is responsible for passive emotional coping strategies that can cause an individual to detach from the external environment. Research shows that when patients with schizophrenia, who have blunted emotions, watch sad film clips, certain parts of the brain stem are activated, which may be related to the perceptual processing of emotional stimuli.
The function of the prefrontal cortex is also related to the generation and regulation of emotions. Researchers found that patients with schizophrenia did not have significant changes in activation of their prefrontal cortex when faced with external sad stimuli, which may be related to their impairment in emotional processing. In this case, a lack of activity in the prefrontal cortex may be one reason for the blunted emotion.
"The reduction in emotional expression may not only be due to a lack of emotion, but also from poor connections between different brain regions, affecting the overall efficiency of emotional processing."
In certain psychological disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), blunting of emotion is also a major symptom. Many service members who have experienced significant psychological trauma often experience feelings of disconnection and difficulty expressing positive emotions, leaving them feeling psychologically isolated.
In clinical diagnosis, it is very important to distinguish blunted affect from other negative symptoms. Blunted affect is often associated with anhedonia, both of which are considered negative symptoms. During clinical assessment, the impact of cultural differences and situational factors on emotional expression must be carefully considered to avoid erroneous evaluations without full understanding.
Looking at the big picture, the problem of reduced emotional expression involves multiple neurobiological levels, which makes it crucial for researchers to explore treatments and intervention methods. Future research has the potential to reveal the complex interactions of more brain regions and provide new insights into improving emotional responses in people with mental disorders. As we continue to delve deeper into this topic, perhaps a bigger question arises: Can we truly understand what a person is feeling deep down when their outward appearance tells us the opposite story?
