How does the human brain track emotions and support transitions between these emotions? In a new eNeuro paper, Matthew Sachs and colleagues, from Colombia University, used music and an advanced approach for assessing brain activity to shed light on the context dependence and fluctuating nature of emotions.
The researchers collaborated with composers to create songs that evoked different emotions at separate time points. They then assessed the brain activity of study participants as they listened to these songs. Sachs et al. discovered that changes in patterns of activity in brain areas that support sound processing and social cognition reflected transitions between different emotions triggered by music. Notably, these changes in patterns of brain activity were influenced by the previous emotional state. For example, if someone listened to a joyful passage of music before listening to a sad passage, their brain responded differently to the sad passage than someone who previously listened to a tense musical passage. The researchers also found that when the previous emotion was more similar to the new emotion triggered by music, the emotional transition in the brain occurred earlier in time. These findings suggest that the relationship between neural activity and emotional responses may depend on the context of a person’s previous emotional state.
Expressing excitement about the therapeutic potential of this work, says Sachs, “We know that people who suffer from mood disorders or depression often demonstrate emotional rigidity, where they basically get stuck in an emotional state. This study suggests that maybe we could take someone with depression, for instance, and use the approach we developed to identify neural markers for the emotional rigidity that keeps them in a very negative state.”
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About eNeuro
eNeuro is an online, open-access journal published by the Society for Neuroscience. Established in 2014, eNeuro publishes a wide variety of content, including research articles, short reports, reviews, commentaries and opinions.
About The Society for Neuroscience
The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 35,000 members in more than 95 countries.
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Emotions in the Brain Are Dynamic and Contextually Dependent: Using Music to Measure Affective Transitions
30-Jun-2025
The authors declare no competing financial interests.