The amygdala and insula are two important brain regions involved in processing emotions and facial expressions. The amygdala plays a crucial role in the processing of emotions, particularly fear and threat-related stimuli. It helps in evaluating the emotional significance of various sensory inputs, including facial expressions, and can trigger appropriate emotional responses.
The insula, on the other hand, is involved in the perception and experience of various emotions, including disgust. It is responsible for processing internal bodily sensations and is thought to play a role in the subjective experience of emotions.
It appears that the researchers investigated the neural activity in the amygdala and insula when participants were presented with facial expressions of contempt and disgust. The “preferential responses” in these brain regions might refer to heightened neural activity or increased connectivity observed specifically during the perception of facial expressions associated with contempt and disgust.
© Linda C J Turner
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