Imagery, emotion, and bioinformational theory: From body to brain

Biol Psychol. 2023 Aug 28:108669. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108669. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe bioinformational theory of emotional imagery is a model of the hypothetical mental representations activated when people imagine emotionally engaging events, and was initially proposed to guide research and practice in the use of imaginal exposure as a treatment for fear and anxiety (Lang, 1979). In this 50 year overview, we discuss the development of bioinformational theory and its impact in the study of psychophysiology and psychopathology, most importantly assessing its viability and predictions in light of more recent brain-based studies of neural functional activation. Bioinformational theory proposes that narrative imagery, typically cued by language scripts, activates an associative memory network in the brain that includes stimulus (e.g., agents, contexts), semantic (e.g., facts and beliefs) and, most critically, response information (e.g., autonomic and somatic) that represent relevant real-world coping actions and reactions. Experimental studies in healthy and clinical samples confirm measurable response output during aversive and appetitive narrative imagery. Neuroimaging studies confirm that emotional imagery is associated with significant activation in motor regions of the brain, as well as in regions implicated in episodic and semantic memory retrieval, supporting the bioinformational view that narrative imagery prompts mental simulation of events that criti...

Source: Biological Psychology - August 30, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Margaret M Bradley Nicola Sambuco Peter J Lang Source Type: research