La PFC nell’elaborazione di stimoli emotivi: misure emodinamiche (fNIRS), elettrofisiologiche e autonomiche a confronto

[Autom. eng. transl.] The recent interest in affective neuroscience has made it possible to identify, through studies of functional neuroimaging, the role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the processes of processing and emotional regulation. Despite the numerous evidences supporting imaging data, the relationship that exists between hemodynamic, electrophysiological and peripheral autonomic manifestations related to emotional processing remains to be clarified, according to an integrated perspective. In this context, an event-related fNIRS (functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy) paradigm was developed, in EEG co-registration and autonomic detection (arousal-related), which involved the presentation of emotional images (IAPS) selected on the basis of valence scores and arousal. At the end of the task the evaluation of the stimuli and the compilation of the BIS / BAS scale (psychometric indices) for the measurement of personological components was required. The hemodynamic data were acquired by a "continuous" detection system (CW: continuous-wave), with a 6-channel prefrontal assembly. From the results it emerged that the presentation of emotional images is associated with a greater activation of PFC compared to neutral images, and that the hemodynamic response profile varies according to the valence of the stimulus. In particular, during the presentation of negative images, a greater activation of PFC is observed, with an increase in the level of O2Hb and a decrease in the level of HHb. An opposite pattern emerges, however, for positive images. These evidences have been interpreted in relation to neurophysiological, autonomic and psychometric data. The results confirmed the presence of a prefrontal involvement during the presentation of emotional images and suggest the advantage of an integrated methodological approach for the study of complex phenomena such as those related to emotional processing.