Speaker
Description
Mixed affect is characterized by the simultaneous existence of two emotional states, often of opposite valence. To illustrate, remembering a lost love may elicit feelings of warmth and sadness, promoting a sense of bittersweetness. However, the nature of mixed affect remains theoretically debated, with some theories proposing true simultaneous coactivation, and others suggesting rapid alternation between opposite emotions. Recent neurobiological models offer potential insights into this debate, yet progress is limited by methodological inconsistencies, such as non-standardized stimuli and blurred distinctions between personal experience and judgment of stimulus ambivalence.
Here, we synthesized findings on brain correlates of emotional ambivalence, distinguishing between first-person experience (i.e., felt ambivalence) and stimulus-centered (i.e., perceived ambivalence). Key dimensions—such as the type of ambivalence (first person vs stimulus-centered), and type of assessment (explicit vs. implicit) —are examined to characterize mixed emotions at both cerebral and phenomenological levels.
Following PRISMA guidelines, two systematic searches were conducted in MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar up to December 2024 using appropriate keywords, identifying sixty-nine studies for inclusion.
Results show that the majority of studies investigated stimulus-centered ambivalence. Explicit measures were common in first-person experience, while stimulus-centered studies used indirect methods like affective norms. Brain regions consistently engaged during felt and perceived ambivalence include the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex, ventrolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and amygdala.
This review integrates current knowledge on the brain correlates of ambivalence, highlights key methodological limitations, and offers directions for future research, particularly regarding ambivalence’s role in coping and emotional resilience.
