Biology subjects

Putkinen, V.

Publications and source records attributed to Putkinen, V..

10 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Neural Representations of Embodied Musical Emotions

Bodily sensations shape the emotional experience of music, yet the neural underpinnings of embodied musical emotions remain poorly understood. Here we investigated the correspondence between neural activity patterns and self-reported bodily sensations induced by emotional music. Participants (n=74) listened to emotionally engaging (aggressive, happy, sad, scary) music while their hemodynamic brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Music-induced bodily sensations were measured after imaging. Representational similarity analysis (RSA) was used to identify brain regions where the representational geometries of neural responses to music align with the topographical patterns of the corresponding bodily sensations, emotions, and musical features. Bodily sensations maps (BSMs) showed emotion-specific topographies. Univariate general linear model (GLM) analysis revealed increased neural activity within motor, somatosensory, interoceptive, limbic, and auditory brain regions during music listening, with little difference between the emotion categories. In contrast, RSA revealed significant correspondence between the representational geometries of neural activity patterns and emotion category-specific bodily sensations in motor, somatosensory, emotion-related and auditory brain regions. Multivariate pattern (MVP) classification analysis showed that activity in the auditory cortex accurately predicted the emotion categories. Our results indicate neural correspondence to bodily sensations in somatomotor and somatosensory brain regions, providing novel evidence for the neural basis of embodied music-induced emotions.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Mapping the brain basis of appraisals and discrete emotions

The Component Process Model of Emotion conceptualizes any emotional episode (e.g., the discrete emotions of sadness, anger, fear, or interest) as being driven by the multiple appraisal components. However, both the specificity of the neural mechanisms underlying appraisal processes and the way these appraisal networks relate to the neural circuits underlying discrete emotions remain unclear. Here we investigated the neural correlates of appraisal processes and compared them with those of discrete emotions. Participants (n = 97) were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while watching short movie clips with varying emotional contents. Intensity for 12 appraisals and 12 basic and epistemic emotions evoked by the movie clips were rated by independent participants (n = 444). The neural responses were modelled with convolved ratings of appraisals and discrete emotions. The results indicated that appraisals and discrete emotions are supported by a shared set of distributed brain regions that extend beyond typically reported emotion-related areas, encompassing perceptual, action-related, and higher-order cognitive systems. Activations were more consistent for and better explained by appraisals versus discrete emotions. Within this network, epistemic emotions elicited less consistent activations than basic emotions, particularly in limbic regions. Our results highlight the functional organization of appraisals and discrete emotions under dynamic and complex conditions and indicate that appraisal theories better explain neural responses than discrete emotion models.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Autistic traits modulate neural responses to social signals during natural vision

Impairments in social perception, a hallmark of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are also evident at subclinical levels in the general population. However, it remains unclear how such variation in autistic traits modulate neural processing of different types of social information. Here, we investigated whether autistic traits in neurotypical individuals are associated with neural responses to a broad array of social perceptual features during viewing naturalistic stimuli using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We also tested the generalizability of these effects across two experiments. Ninety-seven participants completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and watched a set of 96 movie clips and a full movie during an fMRI scan. Intensity of 126 social features in the movie stimuli was continuously annotated by independent observers, and 44 most reliably rated features were used to model neural responses. We examined how consistently the responses to each social feature were dependent on the participants AQ scores. Replicable AQ-dependent neural responses to social features were found in both datasets. The temporal cortex and especially the superior temporal gyrus (STG), served as a central "hub" where autistic traits consistently modulated responses to social features across datasets. Different AQ subscales also revealed distinct association patterns in other brain regions. These findings indicate that autism-related traits broadly influence neural processing of naturalistic social signals, providing insight into how characteristics of autistic symptoms relate to socioemotional processing.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Exposure to bullying engages social distress circuits in the adolescent and adult brain

Despite advances in understanding the psychological and social consequences of peer victimization, the immediate effects of bullying on the central nervous system remain elusive. Here we mapped the neural responses to simulated bullying in adolescents and adults and tested whether these responses are associated with real-life victimization experiences. Fifty-one adolescents aged 11-14 years, and 47 adults underwent a functional MRI (fMRI) while watching first-person videos of bullying (victimization) in the school environment, as well as neutral and positive social interactions in a similar setting. Exposure to bullying versus positive social interaction engaged the socio-emotional and threat response systems, as well as regions related to social cognition, sensory and interoceptive processing, and motor control. These responses were consistent across adolescents and adults and dependent on the current and past victimization experiences of the participants. This large-scale activation of neural systems subserving socioemotional, somatosensory, and interoceptive processing highlights how peer victimization evokes a severe stress and alarm state in the central nervous system.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Endogenous opioid receptor system mediates costly altruism in the human brain

Functional neuroimaging studies suggest that a large-scale brain network transforms others pain into its vicarious representation in the observer, potentially modulating helping behaviour. The neuromolecular basis of individual differences in vicarious pain and helping, however, have remain poorly understood. Here we investigated the role of the endogenous -opioid receptor (MOR) system - known for its role in analgesia and sociability - in altruistic costly helping. MOR density was measured with high-affinity agonist radioligand [11C]carfentanil. In a separate fMRI experiment, participants could choose to donate money to reduce the pain of the confederate who was subjected to electric shocks of varying intensity. We found that subjects were in general willing to engage in costly helping, and haemodynamic activity in amydala, anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex, striatum, primary motor cortex, primary somatosensory cortex, and thalamus increased when participants witnessed the pain of others. These haemodynamic responses were negatively associated with MORs availability in the striatolimbic and cortical emotion circuits. In turn, haemodynamic responses during helping were positively associated with MOR availability in the anterior cingulate cortex and hippocampus. Altogether these data suggest that the endogenous MOR system modulates the processing of altruistic behaviour and costly helping in the human brain.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Endogenous opioid release following orgasm in man: A combined PET-fMRI study

Sex is one of the most rewarding and motivating behaviours for humans. Endogenous mu-opioid receptor system (MORs) plays a key role in the mammalian reward circuit. Both human and animal experiments suggest the involvements of MORs in human sexual pleasure, yet this hypothesis currently lacks in vivo support. We used positron emission tomography (PET) with the radioligand [11C]carfentanil, which has high affinity for MORs to quantify endogenous opioid release following orgasm in man. Subjects were scanned twice: Once immediately after reaching an orgasm and once in a baseline state. Haemodynamic activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging during penile stimulation from partner. The PET data revealed significant opioid release in hippocampus. Haemodynamic activity in somatosensory and motor cortices as well as hippocampus and thalamus increased during penile stimulation, and thalamic activation was linearly dependent on self-reported sexual arousal. Altogether these data show that endogenous opioidergic activation in the medial temporal lobe is centrally involved in sexual arousal.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Functional organization of social perception in the human brain

Humans rapidly extract diverse and complex information from ongoing social interactions, but the perceptual and neural organization of the different aspects of social perception remains unresolved. We showed short film clips with rich social content to 97 healthy participants while their haemodynamic brain activity was measured with fMRI. The clips were annotated moment-to-moment for 112 social features. Cluster analysis revealed that 13 dimensions were sufficient for describing the social perceptual space. Regression analysis was used to map regional neural response profiles to different social features. Multivariate pattern analysis was then utilized to establish the spatial specificity of these responses. The results revealed a gradient in the processing of social information in the brain. Posterior temporal and occipital regions were broadly tuned to most social dimensions and the classifier revealed that these responses showed spatial specificity for social dimensions; in contrast Heschl gyri and parietal areas were also broadly associated with different social signals, yet the spatial patterns of responses did not differentiate social dimensions. Frontal and subcortical regions responded only to a limited number of social dimensions and the spatial response patterns did not differentiate social dimension. Altogether these results highlight the distributed nature of social processing in the brain.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Age and sex dependent variability of type 2 dopamine receptors in the human brain: A large-scale PET cohort

BACKGROUNDThe dopamine system contributes to a multitude of functions ranging from reward and motivation to learning and movement control, making it a key component in goal-directed behavior. Altered dopaminergic function is observed in neurological and psychiatric conditions. Numerous factors have been proposed to influence dopamine function, but due to small sample sizes and heterogeneous data analysis methods in previous studies their specific and joint contributions remain unresolved. METHODSIn this cross-sectional register-based study we investigated how age, sex, body mass index (BMI), as well as cerebral hemisphere and regional volume influence striatal type 2 dopamine receptor (D2R) availability in the human brain. We analyzed a large historical dataset (n=156, 120 males and 36 females) of [11C]raclopride PET scans performed between 2004 and 2018. RESULTSStriatal D2R availability decreased through age for both sexes and was higher in females versus males throughout age. BMI and striatal D2R availability were weakly associated. There was no consistent lateralization of striatal D2R. The observed effects were independent of regional volumes. These results were validated using two different spatial normalization methods, and the age and sex effects also replicated in an independent sample (n=135). CONCLUSIONSD2R density is dependent on age and sex, which may contribute to the vulnerability of neurological and psychiatric conditions involving altering D2R expression.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Decoding music-evoked emotions in the auditory and motor cortex

Music can induce strong subjective experience of emotions, but it is debated whether these responses engage the same neural circuits as emotions elicited by biologically significant events. We examined the functional neural basis of music-induced emotions in a large sample (n=102) of subjects who listened to emotionally engaging (happy, sad, fearful, and tender) pieces of instrumental music while their haemodynamic brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Ratings of the four categorical emotions and liking were used to predict haemodynamic responses in general linear model (GLM) analysis of the fMRI data. Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) was used to reveal discrete neural signatures of the four categories of music-induced emotions. To map neural circuits governing non-musical emotions, the subjects were scanned while viewing short emotionally evocative film clips. The GLM revealed that most emotions were associated with activity in the auditory, somatosensory and motor cortices, cingulate gyrus, insula, and precuneus. Fear and liking also engaged the amygdala. In contrast, the film clips strongly activated limbic and cortical regions implicated in emotional processing. MVPA revealed that activity in the auditory cortex in particular as well as in the primary motor cortices reliably discriminated the emotion categories. Our results indicate that different music-induced basic emotions have distinct representations in regions supporting auditory processing, motor control, somatosensation and interoception but do not strongly rely on limbic and medial prefrontal regions critical for emotions with survival value.

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bioRxiv2019

Dissociable neural systems for unconditioned acute and sustained fear

Fear protects organisms by increasing vigilance and preparedness, and by coordinating survival responses during life-threatening encounters. The fear circuit must thus operate on multiple timescales ranging from preparatory sustained alertness to acute fight-or-flight responses. Here we studied the brain basis of sustained (\"looming\") and acute fear using naturalistic functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) enabling analysis of different time-scales of fear responses. Subjects (N = 51) watched feature-length horror movies while their hemodynamic brain activity was measured with fMRI. Time-variable intersubject correlation (ISC) was used to quantify the reliability of brain activity across participants, and seed-based phase synchronization was used for characterizing dynamic connectivity. Subjective ratings of fear were obtained from a separate sample, and were used to assess how synchronization and functional connectivity varied with emotional intensity. These data suggest that acute and sustained fear are supported by distinct neural pathways, with sustained fear amplifying mainly sensory responses, and acute fear increasing activity in brainstem, thalamus, amygdala and cingulate cortices. Sustained fear increased ISC in regions associated with acute fear, and also amplified functional connectivity within this network. The results were replicated in two independent experiments with different subject samples. The functional interplay between cortical networks involved in sustained anticipation of, and acute response to, threat involves a complex and dynamic interaction that depends on the proximity of threat, and the need to employ threat appraisals and vigilance for decision making and response selection.

neuroscience↗