Neurobiology of emotions: an update

Abstract

The ‘nature’ of emotions is one of the archaic themes of Western thought, thematized in different cultural manifestations – such as art, science, philosophy, myths and religion –, since Ancient times. In the last decades, the advances in neurosciences have permitted the construction of hypotheses that explain emotions, especially through the studies involving the limbic system. To present an updated discussion about the neurobiology of processes relating to emotions – focusing (1) on the main neural structures that relate to emotions, (2) the paths and circuits of greater relevance, (3) the implicated neurotransmitters, (4) the connections that possess neurovegetative control and (5) the discussion about the main emotions – is the objective of this present article.

KEYWORDS:

• Limbic system
• emotions
• neurosciences
• neurobiology

View correction statement:

Correction to: V. Esperidião-Antonio et al., Neurobiology of emotions: an update

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Funding

The authors are grateful to CNPq and FADIP for financial support.