Maps of subjective feelings.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America September 11, 2018 Lauri Nummenmaa, Riitta Hari, Jari K Hietanen et al.
Subjective feelings—ranging from emotions and thoughts to bodily sensations and illnesses—can be mapped in a structured space. Over 1,000 participants rated 100 feelings on basic dimensions, judged their similarity, and drew where on the body each feeling was sensed. Neural similarity data from nearly 10,000 brain-imaging studies were also used. All feelings were emotionally valenced, and the intensity of bodily sensations matched the intensity of mental experiences. Five clusters emerged: positive emotions, negative emotions, cognitive processes, somatic states and illnesses, and homeostatic states. The feeling space was best explained by emotional valence, mental experiences, and bodily sensations, showing that feelings are categorical, emotional, and embodied.