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Cited by 43Neurological disorders and treatmentsTranscranial Magnetic Stimulation StudiesNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Intensity of affective experience is modulated by magnitude of intracranial electrical stimulation in human orbitofrontal, cingulate and insular cortices

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Yih, Jennifer, Beam, Danielle E, Fox, Kieran C R, Parvizi, Josef·2019·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
DOI 10.1093/scan/nsz015PMC PMC6537947
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Abstract

The subjective and behavioral effects of intracranial electrical stimulation (iES) have been studied for decades, but there is a knowledge gap regarding the relationship between the magnitude of electric current and the type, intensity and valence of evoked subjective experiences. We report on rare iES data from 18 neurosurgical patients with implanted intracranial electrodes in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the insula (INS) and the anterior portion of cingulate cortex (ACC). ACC stimulation elicited somatic and visceral sensations, whereas OFC stimulation predominantly elicited olfactory and gustatory responses, and INS stimulation elicited a mix of effects involving somatic and visceral sensations, olfaction and gustation. Further, we found striking evidence that the magnitude of electric current delivered intracranially correlated positively with the perceived intensity of subjective experience and the evoked emotional state, a relationship observed across all three regions. Finally, we observed that the majority of reported experiences were negatively valenced and unpleasant, especially those elicited by ACC stimulation. The present study provides novel case studies from the human brain confirming that these structures contribute causally to the creation of affective states and demonstrates a direct relationship between the magnitude of electrical stimulation of these structures and the qualia of elicited subjective experience. Summary: This study provides critical knowledge about the effect of electrical charge magnitude on the intensity of human subjective experiences and emotional states. We shed light on the fundamental relationship between the electrical (physical) state of cortical tissue and the modality and intensity of human (subjective) experience. As electroceutical interventions are increasingly employed to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders, these findings highlight the importance of electrical stimulation magnitude for eliciting specific changes in human subjective experience.

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  • Yih et al. (2019) revealed a significant linear correlation between the magnitude of electrical stimulation (2 to 8 mA) in both the ACC and OFC and the subjective intensity of changes in conscious experience, especially for emotional phenomenology.

    “However, this study also revealed a significant linear correlation between the magnitude of electrical stimulation (ranging from 2 to 8 mA) in both the ACC and OFC and the subjective intensity of changes in conscious experience, especially for emotional phenomenology: that is, increasing the magnitude of stimulation elicited increasingly intense emotional experiences (Yih et al., 2019).”

    From Does the Prefrontal Cortex Play an Essential Role in Consciousness? Insights from Intracranial Electrical Stimulation of the Human Brain (2021) · cites this paper as Yih et al., 2019

    The Results section, “Changes in perceived intensity with changes in stimulation magnitude” (page unavailable), reports a positive association between stimulation magnitude and perceived intensity, with examples from both ACC and OFC. But the Discussion (page unavailable) says the qualitative reports did not permit precise quantitative measurement; the paper does not establish a statistically significant linear correlation. Table 3 also includes stimulation values outside the claimed 2–8 mA range. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Yih et al. (2019) replicated prior work showing that ACC stimulation elicited changes primarily in the visceral and somatic domains, while OFC stimulation elicited changes chiefly in olfactory experience.

    “First, they replicated prior work showing that ACC stimulation elicited changes primarily in the visceral and somatic domains, while stimulation to the OFC elicited changes chiefly in olfactory experience.”

    From Does the Prefrontal Cortex Play an Essential Role in Consciousness? Insights from Intracranial Electrical Stimulation of the Human Brain (2021) · cites this paper as Yih et al., 2019

    The Results section, “Region-specific modalities of elicited affective experiences” (page not provided), reports that 75% of ACC responses were visceral/somatic, supporting that part of the claim. It reports that 75% of OFC responses involved olfactory and gustatory content together; it does not establish that olfactory experience alone predominated. The Introduction describes earlier stimulation reports consistent with these regional patterns. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Relatively rare but nonetheless reliable effects can be elicited from the ACC and OFC.

    “As we have shown, relatively rare, but nonetheless reliable, effects can be elicited from such regions, including the ACC (Talairach et al., 1973;Parvizi et al., 2013;Yih et al., 2019) and OFC”

    From Does the Prefrontal Cortex Play an Essential Role in Consciousness? Insights from Intracranial Electrical Stimulation of the Human Brain (2021) · cites this paper as Yih et al., 2019

    The Results (Region-specific modalities of elicited affective experiences; page unavailable) report distinct responses to ACC and OFC stimulation, supporting that effects can be elicited from both regions. The Patient characteristics section reports affective experiences from 46% of stimulated electrodes across the ACC, OFC and insula, but does not establish that effects in the ACC and OFC are relatively rare or reliably repeatable. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Yih et al. (2019) reported compelling evidence that stimulation parameters directly affect the intensity of subjective effects elicited in prefrontal regions, providing strong support for the suitability of the iES method for probing the link between prefrontal regions and conscious experience.

    “This study reported compelling evidence that stimulation parameters directly affect the intensity of subjective effects elicited in prefrontal regions, providing strong support for the suitability of the iES method for probing the link between prefrontal regions and conscious experience.”

    From Does the Prefrontal Cortex Play an Essential Role in Consciousness? Insights from Intracranial Electrical Stimulation of the Human Brain (2021) · cites this paper as Yih et al., 2019

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Authors
Yih, J., Beam, D. E., Fox, K. C. R., & Parvizi, J.
Affiliations
Stanford Medicine (US)
Corresponding author
Parvizi, Josef
ORCID
Venue
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2019-04
Volume
14
Issue
4
Pages
339-351
ISSN
  • 1749-5016 (ISSN-L)
  • 1749-5024
DOI
10.1093/scan/nsz015
PMC
PMC6537947
OpenAlex
W2922454640
Cited by
43
References
89
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1
FWCI
3.38
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (BCS-1756466)
  • Stanford Undergraduate Advising and Research Student
  • postdoctoral fellowship
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Neurological disorders and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
intracranial electrical stimulation, stimulation intensity, subjective experience, emotional experience, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, visceral sensation, emotional valence, electroceuticals, qualia, neurosurgical patients
MeSH terms
Adult, Affect, Aged, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Electric Stimulation, Electrodes, Implanted, Emotions, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Sensation, Young Adult

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