Single-neuron responses to emotional visual stimuli recorded in human ventral prefrontal cortex.

Both lesion and functional imaging studies in humans, as well as neurophysiological studies in nonhuman primates, demonstrate the importance of the prefrontal cortex in representing the emotional value of sensory stimuli. Here we investigated single-neuron responses to emotional stimuli in an awake person with normal intellect. Recording from neurons within healthy tissue in ventral sites of the right prefrontal cortex, we found short-latency (120-160 ms) responses selective for aversive visual stimuli.