Research project Listening to other's emotions. Neural representations of emphaty arising from emotional voices

Empathy is one of the most fundamental human abilities. But what exactly happens in our brains when we put ourselves in someone else’s emotional state? And how is empathy triggered? These questions fascinates linguist Gláucia Laís Salomão.

Gláucia Laís Salomão, doctor of Linguistics and a researcher at the Department of Linguistics, has been awarded a “time grant” from Stockholm University Brain Imaging Centre (SUBIC) for her research on the vocal communication of emotions. The grant includes free access to the magnetic resonance imaging scanner at SUBIC as well as any necessary technical support, and will allow the collection of pilot data for Gláucia’s upcoming research. Gláucia explains that, because the entire voice-production apparatus is embedded in the human body and is built upon structures and processes associated with vital functions – such as respiration, chewing and swallowing – our voices are very susceptible to the neurophysiological variations associated with different emotions. For instance, increasing respiratory muscle tension typically associated with some emotions is likely to intensify the pressure under the vocal folds, where the voice source is generated; under these conditions, it is mostly likely that voice production will involve vocal folds closing more rapidly and with greater adduction forces. The result will be a vocal sound with relatively strong acoustic energy at high frequencies. Gláucia says that, this type of voice will typically be perceived as “tenser”, and perhaps even “angrier”, depending on the context. When experiencing happiness and love, the adduction forces of the vocal folds during voice production tend to be reduced; the voice is perceived as “softer” or “milder”.  In addition to the way the vocal folds vibrate, the shape of the vocal tract (which incorporates cavities above the vocal folds, such as pharynx and mouth) is affected by emotions. When we speak, we may vary the extent to which we open our jaw or lips, and/or the position of the tongue or larynx, depending on our emotional state. Thus, the shape of the vocal tract is affected not only by what we say, but also how we say it. In her new study, Gláucia will use magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how the shape of the vocal tract changes when we express emotions through our voices.

Gláucia Laís Salomão has been granted SEK 3.7 million from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond for an upcoming project on empathy arising from emotional voices. Gláucia Laís Salomão, PhD in Linguistics, is a researcher in speech and voice science with a background in phonetics, speech-language pathology and music. For the project  Listening to others’ emotions: neural representations of empathy arising from emotional voices,  she has now been granted SEK 3.7 million from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ). The project will run during 2023–2025. “The project is about empathy, which is something that has fascinated me for a long time. How is it that we humans can share and even sense other people's feelings? Is it possible to imagine how we would relate to each other if we lacked this ability? Would we survive at all?” says Gláucia Laís Salomão.