Neuroimaging of sensory and affective experience in the human brain

Abstract

Modern neuroimaging and its potential impact on affective design is explored in this paper. Some of the recent exciting developments in neuroimaging techniques are described. The opportunities now provided by current neuroimaging tools to investigate the affective experiences of pleasure and pain are demonstrated. Neurosurgical treatment of pain is used as an example of how the causal link between brain activity and affect can be shown. These examples from our research group show how advances in neuroimaging are deepening our understanding of the affective processing that accompanies all our experiences and decisions. The paper shows how scientists and artists can work together to use neuroimaging to create unique representations of the living human brain, which may themselves help us understand the brain's function.

Keywords:

• Affect
• Neurosurgery
• Neuroscience
• Pain
• Pleasure