Researchers combine AI and fMRI to predict the emotional relevance of spontaneous thoughts
A new study led by researchers from the Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research in South Korea and Dartmouth College has revealed that brain activity can predict how people emotionally experience their thoughts. Using brain scans and personalized story narratives, the team developed a method that combines brain imaging with machine learning to decode the emotional aspects of thoughts in real time. The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study addresses a significant challenge in understanding human thought: how do we track and measure the personal and often fleeting emotions that arise during spontaneous thinking? This type of thought can happen at any time, even when we are resting or asleep. Yet, capturing these thoughts without interrupting them has proven difficult, as the very act of focusing on them can change their nature. The researchers wanted to develop a way to predict the emotional quality of thoughts — whether they are positive or negative and how much they relate to the person’s sense of self — without requiring people …