Abstract

Studied 12 normal volunteers who were asked to imagine and plan their behavior in emotional and nonemotional situations while their regional cerebral blood flow was measured with positron emission tomography. The dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior temporal cortex were more activated during the nonemotional situation whereas the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior temporal cortex were more activated during the emotional situation. Using visual analog scales, Subjects expressed significantly more sadness after generating the emotional script when compared to their affect after generating the nonemotional script. Results demonstrate that distinctive regions of the prefrontal and temporal cortex used to imagine and plan behavior are activated during the expression of emotional and nonemotional plans.