The feeling of anger: From brain networks to linguistic expressions

Nelly Alia-Klein; Gabriela Gan; Gadi Gilam; Jessica Bezek; Antonio Bruno; Thomas F Denson; Talma Hendler; Leroy Lowe; Veronica Mariotti; Maria R Muscatello; Sara Palumbo; Silvia Pellegrini; Pietro Pietrini; Amelia Rizzo; Edelyn Verona

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.002

The feeling of anger: From brain networks to linguistic expressions

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2020 Jan:108:480-497. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.002. Epub 2019 Dec 3.

Authors

Nelly Alia-Klein¹, Gabriela Gan², Gadi Gilam³, Jessica Bezek⁴, Antonio Bruno⁵, Thomas F Denson⁶, Talma Hendler⁷, Leroy Lowe⁸, Veronica Mariotti⁹, Maria R Muscatello⁵, Sara Palumbo⁹, Silvia Pellegrini¹⁰, Pietro Pietrini¹¹, Amelia Rizzo⁵, Edelyn Verona¹²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: nelly.alia-klein@mssm.edu.
² Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
³ Systems Neuroscience and Pain Laboratory, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
⁵ Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morpho-Functional Imaging - University of Messina, Italy.
⁶ School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁷ Tel Aviv Center for Brain Function, Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
⁸ Neuroqualia (NGO), Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada.
⁹ Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
¹⁰ Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and of Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
¹¹ IMT School for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy.
¹² Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, USA.

PMID: 31809773
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.002

Abstract

This review of the neuroscience of anger is part of The Human Affectome Project, where we attempt to map anger and its components (i.e., physiological, cognitive, experiential) to the neuroscience literature (i.e., genetic markers, functional imaging of human brain networks) and to linguistic expressions used to describe anger feelings. Given the ubiquity of anger in both its normative and chronic states, specific language is used in humans to express states of anger. Following a review of the neuroscience literature, we explore the language that is used to convey angry feelings, as well as metaphors reflecting inner states of anger experience. We then discuss whether these linguistic expressions can be mapped on to the neural circuits during anger experience and to distinct components of anger. We also identify relationships between anger components, brain networks, and other affective research relevant to motivational states of dominance and basic needs for safety.

Keywords: Aggression; Anger; Brain; Emotion; Feeling; Genes; Language; Polymorphisms; Prefrontal cortex; Rage; fMRI.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Aggression / physiology*
Amygdala / diagnostic imaging
Amygdala / physiology*
Anger / physiology*
Cerebral Cortex / diagnostic imaging
Cerebral Cortex / physiology*
Humans
Nerve Net / physiology*
Psycholinguistics*
Self-Control*