Evaluation of an emotional processing circuit in a brain function under mental stress stimuli

This research evaluates a functional relationship between the brain's regions using electroencephalography (EEG) under the emotional stimuli by employing coherence analysis, and finds different brain functional reactions in the psychosomatic states. Twenty-two healthy subjects were assessed for their neurotic states using the Cornell Medical Index (CMI) and assigned to two groups: normal (I) or potentially neurotic (II–IV) group. EEG was measured under emotional tasks (resting sessions, and pleasant and unpleasant sessions) using audio-visual stimuli and analyzed using coherence analysis. The coherence values of the potentially neurotic group in θ2 band in the unpleasant session were significantly larger than those of the normal group. The coherence values of the potentially neurotic group in β2 and β3 bands in resting session were significantly larger than those of the normal group. These events suggest that the information processing mechanism resulting from the emotional stimuli in the brain will be different depending on the individual psychosomatic state.