Main Postulates and Communicative Role
According to the informational theory proposed by P.V. Simonov, any emotion is a product of the brain reflecting two critical variables: the organism's most urgent need at a given moment and the probability that this need will be successfully satisfied.
In addition to reflecting internal states, emotions carry crucial interpersonal informational significance. Their primary function is to facilitate communication and interaction among living organisms, which is especially important for intraspecific communication (for example, coordinating actions within a pack or herd).
External expression of emotional tension includes three main components:
- Autonomic reactions (changes in internal organ function).
- Facial expressions (the most characteristic and easily read signs, such as baring teeth in animals).
- Behavioral manifestations (postures, gestures, active actions).
This signaling system is of immense importance: it allows individuals to unmistakably recognize an opponent's intentions. Explicit aggression or, conversely, friendliness is read even during interspecies contact—for example, during interactions between a child and a dog.
Connection Between Emotions and Speech Activity
Subjective emotional sensations historically and physiologically lie at the very foundation of human speech activity. The evolutionary development of communication occurred in stages: from primitive emotional experiences to produced sounds, which then transformed into articulate words and full-fledged speech.
Even today, basic emotional communication retains its universality. Active articulation and expressive gestures allow people to effectively exchange basic information and understand each other even in the complete absence of a shared spoken language.
Objectification of Emotions: The Self-Stimulation Method
For a long time, proving the existence of subjective experiences in animals was considered challenging. This problem was solved by the self-stimulation method, the essence of which is as follows: electrodes are implanted into specific areas of an animal's brain, and the animal is given the ability to close the electrical circuit independently. As a result, animals begin to persistently seek repeated electrical stimulation of their own brains.
This reaction possesses enormous motivational power. Trained animals strive to reach the self-stimulation lever, overcoming even severe damaging factors (such as electric shocks or hot bars in their path). This behavior serves as undeniable proof that the stimulation is extremely pleasant for the animal and objectively confirms the presence of subjective positive sensations.
This reaction can be elicited in virtually any animal species whose nervous system has reached the limbic level of organization.
Anatomical Substrate and Types of Structures
The self-stimulation reaction is distributed unevenly throughout the brain. There is a clear anatomical gradient of intensity:
- Maximum expression is observed during stimulation of hypothalamic and limbic structures.
- The intensity of the drive for self-stimulation smoothly decreases toward the cerebral hemispheres.
- When stimulating the cerebral cortex directly, it is practically impossible to elicit a self-stimulation reaction.
All responding brain zones can be divided into three types:
- Self-stimulation structures — their stimulation causes positive emotions, possessing a pleasant and motivating character. Notably, by total nervous tissue mass, these zones significantly predominate.
- Avoidance structures — their stimulation produces a pronounced negative reaction. Animals demonstrate a persistent negative attitude not only to the fact of stimulation itself but also to surrounding objects or the experimental environment.
- Emotionally neutral zones — stimulation causes neither the drive for repetition nor active avoidance.
It is important to note that similar mechanisms have been confirmed in humans. Data from researcher J. Delgado show that when electrodes were implanted in humans (strictly for therapeutic purposes), patients also exhibited a persistent drive for self-stimulation of certain brain structures.