Masaharu Yasuda Department of Physiology, Kansai Medical University

We experience emotional feelings, recognizing the environment based on our behavioral history and memory. In addition to this, emotion is also influenced by the sensory signal of the internal body. However, how these two processes, cognition (top-down) and bodily sense (bottom-up), are integrated within the brain is not well understood. In this study, we will investigate the neuronal correlation with various emotional indices, such as autonomic reactions and facial expression by using the monkey performing the behavioral task in various emotional and cognitive states. Furthermore, we will examine the cognitive and emotional representation of the neurons which receive bodily signals, and the effect of the modulation of bodily signal input on cognition- and emotion-related behavior, by stimulating vagus nerve, which is one of the main pathways of visceral afferent signals.