scientist ca n’t yet read your brain , but they might be capable to identify when you ’re in excited hurting . In a raw study published inPLOS Biology , psychological science researchers from the University of Colorado , Boulder and the University of Pittsburgh report card being able to key out the saturation of a negative worked up reaction via the patterns of brainiac activity with 93 per centum accuracy .
More than 180 participants of various ages looked at images designed to elicit minus excited reaction in the laboratory ( images of injuries , machine wrecks , piles of poop , etc . ) . Another 30 player have pain stimulation from heat in fiat to secernate the brain ’s response to physical and emotional pain . The researchers then used a portion of the functional magnetic resonance imaging scans of these subject ’ learning ability to create an algorithm that could predict the intensity of the player ’ pain by identify a distinguishable design of neuron activation .
In tests , this algorithm was able to forecast the loudness of the participant ’ emotions with a 93 percent truth liken to a self - describe survey of their emotional state ( a simple numbered scale where 1 indicate inert feeling and 5 indicated warm minus feelings ) . The algorithm could also distinguish between physical and worked up pain sensation with 92 percentage truth .

While less than 200 people is not quite enough to create a definitive neurologic illustration of emotional pain , it can provide authoritative datum about how the brain action emotions . “ emotion are central to our daily living and aroused dysregulation is at the affection of many brain- and body - related disorders , but we do n’t have a clean-cut understanding of how emotions are processed in the brain,”sayslead source Luke Chang , previously a post - doctoral investigator at the University of Colorado and now an adjunct prof at Dartmouth . “ Thus , understanding the neurobiological mechanism that generate and reduce negative worked up experience is paramount . ”