Think of the human brain like a computer. It comes preprogrammed with certain software for emotions – six basic ones, in fact, giving us capacity for happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust and surprise. Through our unique experiences and cultures, we gain new software that adds nuance (say, fjaka for happiness) and degrees of intensity (say, rage as a more intense degree of anger). “This new research is meant to make our understanding of emotion much more inclusive of all of those factors that can help shape it,” said Newton, a professor of psychological and brain sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. “There are all of these factors affecting our experiences that research just hasn’t considered before, such as voice, gender, race and culture.” The task force scoured data from some 4.5 million books to identify more than 3,600 words in them describing sensations, emotions and moods. Then, 12 teams of researchers from different countries worked to group those words and connect them to what we know about emotions and feelings from current neuroscience research. Depue and Newton were the only faculty from Kentucky universities to participate. Each of the global teams tackled a different area of emotion, from anger to happiness to motivation. Depue’s group focused on understanding words describing fear, while Newton focused on ones describing social interactions. Each group had a mix of researchers from different Newton and Depue disciplines, which most overtly observable “THE BRAIN MAY BE Depue said gave new parts of humanity and STEERING THE SHIP, insight into how words being human,” Depue BUT EMOTION IS ONE describing emotions said. “I’ve always been OF THE MOST OVERTLY are shaped and, in turn, interested in why OBSERVABLE PARTS OF shape us. humans do what they HUMANITY AND BEING For example, imagine do, and emotion is you’re going to miss insight into that.” HUMAN. I’VE ALWAYS an important work Current research on BEEN INTERESTED IN deadline. Your brain the brain and emotions WHY HUMANS DO WHAT might experience your is fragmented, Newton THEY DO, AND EMOTION said. It’s studied in heart pumping and IS INSIGHT INTO THAT.” your palms sweating pockets and often and name that emotion doesn’t include all of as “fear.” Because the various ways of your brain knows that examining human word, it can reference the emotion going experience – through psychological forward or even invoke it. If you think of interviews, through word choice and, as the word “fear,” you might associate it with with Depue, by looking at the physical that heart-pumping structure of the brain. feeling or work Newton hopes projects like the Human stress. Affectome will create a more holistic That is, while our body of research that could have dramatic brains choose the and wide-ranging impacts, such as more words that describe comprehensive mental health treatments our emotions, those and artificial intelligence programs that words can then affect better emulate human emotions. the way the brain “Anything we can do to work against experiences them. the fragmentation of science is useful,” she “The brain may be said. “Hopefully by pulling this research steering the ship, but together, we can help other researchers look emotion is one of the at this in a more holistic way.” Depue FALL/WINTER 2024 33
University of Louisville Fall 2024: Page 33
