Neural mechanisms of autonomic, affective, and cognitive integration

Influential theoretical models propose a central role for afferent information from the body in the expression of emotional feeling states. Feedback representations of changing states of bodily arousal influence learning and facilitate concurrent and prospective decision-making. Functional neuroimaging studies have increased understanding of brain mechanisms that generate changes in autonomic arousal during behavior and those which respond to internal feedback signals to influence subjective feeling states. In particular, anterior cingulate cortex is implicated in generating autonomic changes, while insula and orbitofrontal cortices may be specialized in mapping visceral responses. Independently, ventromedial…