Affective Visual Perception
Affective Visual Perception
The evidence reviewed in this chapter suggests that the idea of a subcortical pathway specialized for the processing of emotional visual stimuli as maintained by the “standard hypothesis” is much in need of revision. The chapter describes the multiple waves model, which has several implications for the characterization of amygdala function in the processing of emotional visual information. The amygdala plays significant functions in a wide array of networks. Though the precise contribution of the amygdala in these networks is still unknown, it does not map specifically onto emotion but, instead, corresponds to broader and more abstract dimensions of information processing, including salience, ambiguity, unpredictability, and other aspects of biological value. The chapter also describes the anatomy and physiology of the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus, and specifies how this structure is important for emotional processing.
Keywords: low road, subcortical pathway, amygdala, pulvinar, thalamus
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