Intracerebral stimulation inducing emotions in SEEG: a systematic review.
Lucas Arrighi, Fabrice Bartolomei, Francesca Pizzo
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
In 30 seconds
This systematic review examined subjective emotional responses to direct intracerebral stimulation during SEEG, synthesizing 34 publications (21 cohort studies and 13 clinical cases) involving 2434 patients and 14,492 stimulations. Emotional responses occurred in 3.0% of stimulations and were predominantly negative (78.1%). Valence varied by region: temporo-mesial and temporo-basal stimulation was mainly associated with negative emotions, while cingulo-frontal and subcortical regions had more positive responses than the overall corpus distribution. Hemispheric asymmetries were largely non-significant, and associations with stimulation parameters were inconsistent.
Key findings
- Subjective emotional responses occurred in 3.0% of 14,492 stimulations; 78.1% of responses were negative.
- Temporo-mesial and temporo-basal stimulation was mainly associated with negative emotions.
- Cingulo-frontal and subcortical regions showed overrepresentation of positive responses relative to the overall corpus distribution.
- A trend toward higher stimulation intensities for negative responses did not persist after intra-study normalization.
Why it matters
The review suggests that stimulation-induced emotional experiences are uncommon but have region-dependent valence profiles, supporting a network-based view of affective responses. This may help frame interpretation of emotional effects observed during SEEG and inform research into affective neuromodulation, while the inconsistent parameter findings caution against assuming that stimulation intensity reliably predicts emotional valence.
What to keep in mind
The evidence combines cohort studies and clinical cases, and stimulation-parameter findings were heterogeneous. The review identifies a need for prospective intra-patient titration studies.