All articles tagged with #emotional valence
The brain's primary auditory cortex is more responsive to positive human vocalizations coming from the left side than to any other kind of sounds. This bias can be explained by the way our brain is organized, but its evolutionary significance is not yet known. The preference of the primary auditory cortex for positive human vocalizations from the left is still unclear, and it is unknown whether this is a uniquely human characteristic.
Positive human vocalizations, like laughter, coming from the listener’s left side trigger stronger activity in the brain’s auditory cortex. Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor the brain’s response to different types of sounds from varying directions in right-handed participants. They observed the highest activation in the primary auditory cortex when participants listened to positive vocalizations coming from the left, compared to front or right. This finding may imply that the nature, emotional valence, and spatial origin of a sound are initially processed in the primary auditory cortex.