A Pilot Study of the Neural Correlates of Emotion Recognition: Navarasa, the Essence of Emotions
Rajakumari P Reddy, Anna Mathulla, Jamuna RajeswaranAbstract
Background:
The concept “Navarasa” (nine emotions) is a cornerstone of Indian esthetics. This pilot study used a Navarasa emotion–recognition paradigm to evaluate and compare empathy and its neural correlates in mental health professionals (MHPs) and other professionals (OPs), as a first, feasibility-focused step preceding a larger planned study.
Methods:
Six subjects, three from each group, were assessed using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Standard Progressive Matrices, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy, Emotional Quotient scale, Social Stories Questionnaire and the Faux Pas Recognition Test. An functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan was acquired while participants engaged in the Navarasa Face Paradigm task to assess the neural correlates of emotion recognition.
Results:
On behavioral measures, MHP and OP showed no statistically significant difference in cognitive or affective empathy, emotional quotient, social quotient or interpersonal reactivity. On fMRI imaging, the Navarasa task activated the medial/superior frontal gyri, left inferior parietal lobule, right precuneus, left occipital cortex, right fusiform gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, insula, and bilateral cerebellum.
Conclusion:
Both groups identified the nine emotions, with activation noted in both cortical and subcortical structures; the pattern of activation in MHPs appeared to draw relatively more on cognitively oriented networks than on purely affective networks, relative to OPs, though this observation is preliminary and requires confirmation in a larger, adequately powered sample.