Piecing together the puzzle of emotional consciousness
Neuroscience of Consciousness January 1, 2023 Tahnée Engelen, R. Mennella
The paper presents a balanced overview of cognitive and precognitive approaches to emotional consciousness, examining how different theories explain the experiential quality of feeling an emotion. It reviews the evidence supporting these theories, noting methodological challenges unique to studying emotional consciousness and what can be learned from research on perceptual consciousness. The authors identify three key experimental contrasts necessary for investigating neural correlates of emotional consciousness, each with its own limitations. They conclude by highlighting promising avenues that may help overcome current impasses and advance collaborative understanding of emotional consciousness.