Changes in emotional state modulate neuronal firing rates of human speech motor cortex: A case study in long-term recording

In many brain areas, modulations in neuronal firing rates are thought to code information. However, in electrophysiological recording experiments, especially recordings in human patients, the type of information that is coded by a neuron's discharge patterns is often not known, or difficult to determine. From our long experience with chronic recordings in humans, we have come to suspect that such unexplained modulations in firing rates are often due to state changes in the subject. We here present two case studies, with extensive data in one subject to illustrate the point that a change in the subject's emotions, such as sudden fear, surprise, or happiness, may trigger substantial changes in firing rates.