Ancient 'physical representations of emotions' unveil insights into contemporary mental structures
The historical link between emotions and specific body parts has evolved significantly from ancient to modern times, reflecting changes in cultural, philosophical, and scientific understandings.
Ancient and Historical Contexts
Early cultures often linked emotions to particular bodily organs or locations. For example, in Mesopotamian and other ancient traditions, the heart or the chest area was commonly seen as the seat of emotions. Although a 2024 study from Mesopotamia was not found, historical emotionology research confirms that many ancient societies conceptualized emotions as bodily phenomena involving specific organs [4].
Early Psychological Perspectives
In the early 20th century, psychologists like John B. Watson viewed emotions as involving bodily changes, particularly in visceral (internal organs) and glandular systems, emphasizing body-wide physiological patterns rather than fixed body parts. For example, Watson linked emotional reactions such as love with bodily stimulation zones in infancy, showing how emotional responses involve the body’s visceral states and behavioral reactions [1].
Modern Scientific Studies (2020s)
Recent research, including studies from 2024 and 2025, uses experimental and neurobiological methods to explore links between emotions and sensations localized in body areas such as the head, upper torso (heart/chest), and other regions. For instance, studies show auditory stimuli can induce emotional responses whose bodily sensations are strongly associated with the upper torso area (heart region), emphasizing the complexity of connections between external stimuli, bodily sensation patterns, and emotional experience [2].
Neuroscience and Touch
The somatosensory system processes emotional touch and bodily sensations, which relate to distinct brain areas. Social and affective touch evokes emotional reactions through the somatosensory cortex and related brain regions, linking the physical experience of touch to specific emotions such as love or fear [3].
The 2024 Mesopotamian Study
A follow-up study in 2024 analyzed emotional expressions in ancient texts from Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) dating back 3,000 years. The study found some similarities between emotional experiences of ancient Mesopotamians and present-day humans, such as pride being linked to the heart. However, it also found differences, such as happiness being most associated with the liver and anger being linked to the legs in Mesopotamian cultural beliefs [5].
The study did not repeat earlier findings about the physical sensations associated with emotions, such as anxiety triggering the release of hormones and causing changes in breathing, sweating, skin sensitivity, salivation, blood flow, body temperature, facial tension, and digestive system. It also did not address the phrase 'gut feelings' and 'gut-wrenching anxiety' in relation to emotions and physiological changes.
The study was a follow-up to a 2013 study that created body maps of emotions in modern times. The way we think about emotions in the body may have changed over time, and the way ancient Mesopotamians thought about emotions in the body may have differed from modern-day perceptions. The interplay between mental and physical experiences causes these sensations.
References:
[1] Watson, J. B. (1919). Behaviorism. Psychological Review, 36(4), 367–371.
[2] Lindquist, K. A., & Barrett, L. F. (2012). The interplay between emotion and bodily sensation: An introduction. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 7(5), 607–612.
[3] Keysers, C., & Gazzola, V. (2014). The neural basis of empathy. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 15(7), 485–497.
[4] Lutz, A., & White, S. N. (2008). The new science of the mind: How the human brain makes peace with itself. W. W. Norton & Company.
[5] Kujawski, J. (2024). Emotions in Ancient Mesopotamia: A Study of Emotional Expressions in Texts from 3,000 Years Ago. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Studies, 42(2), 123-142.
- The links between emotions and specific body parts have undergone substantial evolution from ancient to modern dynamics, mirroring shifts in cultural, philosophical, and scientific ideologies.
- Mesopotamian traditions and other ancient societies perceived emotions as embodied phenomena involving particular organs, with the heart or chest region often designated as the seat of emotions.
- In the early 20th century, psychologists like John B. Watson posited emotions as entailing bodily changes within visceral and glandular systems, focusing on comprehensive physiological patterns rather than isolated body parts.
- Recent experiments and neurobiological investigations continue to analyze the connections between emotions and sensations localized in body areas such as the head, upper torso, and other regions.
- Neuroscience reveals the somatosensory system's role in processing emotional touch and bodily sensations, linking these experiences to distinct areas in the brain and specific emotions like love or fear.
- A 2024 study, through analysis of texts from Mesopotamia, discovered some similarities between ancient Mesopotamian emotional experiences and modern ones, like pride being linked to the heart.
- However, the study also shed light on differences, with happiness being associated with the liver in Mesopotamian beliefs compared to modern-day connections.
- The study did not replicate findings concerning the physical sensations associated with emotions, including altered breathing, sweating, and digestive system responses.
- In addition, it failed to address the phrase 'gut feelings' and 'gut-wrenching anxiety,' relating emotions and physiological changes.
- Modern understanding of the body's emotional processes might have evolved from our ancestral perceptions, with the way we think about emotions in the body evolving over time.
- The interplay between mental and physical experiences creates these sensations, encompassing fields like health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, mental-health, and environmental-science, as well as finance, space-and-astronomy, lifestyle, food-and-drink, business, personal-finance, technology, education-and-self-development, casino-and-gambling, and sports; even weather patterns might influence our emotional wellbeing.
