Intensity of affective experience is modulated by magnitude of intracranial electrical stimulation in human orbitofrontal, cingulate and insular cortices.
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience May 17, 2019 Jennifer Yih, Danielle E Beam, Kieran C. R. Fox et al.
Intracranial electrical stimulation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and insula (INS) in 18 neurosurgical patients produced distinct subjective experiences: ACC stimulation elicited somatic and visceral sensations, OFC stimulation predominantly olfactory and gustatory responses, and INS stimulation a mix of these. The magnitude of electric current correlated positively with the perceived intensity of subjective experience and evoked emotional state across all three regions. Most reported experiences were negatively valenced and unpleasant, especially those from ACC stimulation. These findings demonstrate a direct relationship between electrical stimulation magnitude and the qualia of subjective experience, highlighting the importance of charge magnitude for eliciting specific changes in human experience.