Dr. Alejandro Sanchez — Alejandro Sanchez, Psy.D.

By: Alejandro Sanchez, Psy.D., Provisional Psychologist Licensee.

Welcome to the first entry in our three-part blog series exploring how movies can profoundly impact our thoughts and emotions. It is no secret that movies can powerfully influence how we feel and think. They engage our senses, feelings, and imagination in a way that few other forms of media can. Research and therapeutic settings have found that movies elicit emotions effectively (Greenwood & Long, 2015). This is partly due to their immersive qualities, which can enhance our responses to emotional stimuli (Gross & Levenson, 1995). Through the experience of watching a movie, our attention is captured, and a series of cognitive, perceptual, and emotional processes are activated.

Filmmakers use various cinematic techniques, such as montage, continuity editing, and close-ups to immerse and captivate audiences while watching movies. These techniques impact how viewers respond to movies cognitively and emotionally (Hasson et al., 2008). However, it still needs to be fully understood how these techniques engage our cognitive processes and drive our attention, thoughts, and feelings (Shimamura, 2013). With the rise of psychocinematics, there has been increasing curiosity about the psychological underpinnings of a viewer’s movie-watching experience (Shimamura, 2013). In the following two entries in this blog series, we will explore how movies affect our emotions and thoughts and how they can be used in research and therapeutic settings.

Your Brain at the Movies

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology has allowed researchers to observe brain activity during movie watching, providing insights into how our brains process films. During movie watching, various brain circuits are activated in mental processes like vision, memory, language, emotion, and decision-making. Studies have shown that individuals are often absorbed into movies, feeling as if they are part of the scenes themselves. This suggests that movies require the whole brain to work together to understand the plot and follow the narrative.

Neuroscientists have coined the term neurocinematics to investigate the neural underpinnings of movie watching. Using a statistical method called “inter-subject correlations” (ISC), researchers like Uri Hasson have analyzed how different movies evoke coherent brain responses in participants. In a study by Hasson et al. (2008), participants watched four movie clips while their brains were scanned in an fMRI machine. The results showed that not all movies elicited the same level of coherent brain activity, with some inducing more brain activity in more participants than others.

The Hasson et al. (2008) study observed brain activity during movie watching and asked participants to view four clips. These clips consisted of a T.V. episode of Alfred Hitchcock’s Bang! You’re Dead (1961), the opening 30 minutes of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly directed by Sergio Leone (1966), an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and a one-take shot of people walking around Washington Square Park near New York University. Participants watched these clips while the fMRI scanned their brains as they lay on their backs in an MRI scanner (Hasson et al., 2004). The video clips were shown with an LCD projector on a screen behind the participants’ heads and were viewed through a mirror displayed over their eyes. 

Bang! You’re Dead evoked coherent brain activity in over 65% of the cortex. A clip from The Good, Bad, and the Ugly elicited coherent activity in 45% of the cortex but much less than (18%) for Curb Your Enthusiasm. Finally, the unedited, one-take segment-of-reality video induced high ISC in a small fraction of the cortex (less than 5%). Less activity was detected in a T.V. episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm and in a single-take video clip of people walking around Washington Square Park. These findings indicated that some movies involve similar brain processes in all subjects, whereas others are less successful (Hasson et al., 2008). 

The unedited clip evoked less ISC than Bang! You’re Dead and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, mainly in brain regions beyond those concerned with basic sensory processing of visual and auditory information (Hasson et al., 2008). These findings indicate that more than a simple video clip of people walking around Washington Square Park is required to activate participants’ brain activity. One reason could be the need for a directorial aim or intervention from a filmmaker in the unedited one-shot. Nevertheless, Hasson et al. (2008) proposed that the four clips contrast in their level of aesthetic control, and the results express significant implications for filmmakers and film theory. The Hitchcock clip was able to elicit many responses from many different brain regions by turning them on and off at the same time across all participants. This is a powerful indicator of Hitchcock’s masterful ability to manipulate audiences’ imaginations through suspense and visually unique cinematic language.

Understanding Neurological Pathways in the Emotional Processing of Film

The “limbic system theory,” proposed by Paul D. MacLean in 1955, suggests an extensive neural network within the human brain governs emotional processing and suppression. Despite the theory’s long-standing status, ongoing debates about its validity and the specific brain regions involved continue to this day. However, researchers have reached a consensus that the limbic system comprises four main parts: the hippocampus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and thalamus. These structures are located in a horseshoe-shaped formation along the border of the cortex and occupy a significant portion of the brain, making them easier to visualize with fMRI.

Understanding the function and placement of these four parts is crucial when considering aspects such as emotional suppression, regulation, and reappraisal. Technological advancements have made it possible to identify the foci of activation in the brain under different laboratory conditions, and this has shed light on the neurobiological aspects of emotions and cognitions.

Karama, Armony, and Beauregard (2011) conducted a study using fMRI technology to examine the neural pathways thought to make up the limbic system. The study included 20 healthy male participants who were scanned while watching film excerpts aimed at inducing different emotions. The primary objective of the study was to observe how the various parts of the limbic system react during three distinct emotional states: disgust, amusement, and sexual arousal. The researchers used visual data obtained from fMRI scans to identify the areas of the brain that were most active during the study. The participants watched film excerpts containing scenes of mutilation to elicit disgust, comedy films to elicit amusement, and visual clips of male/female sexual interaction to elicit sexual arousal. A neutral condition was also included to establish a baseline for comparison purposes. The neutral condition involved watching film excerpts that depicted mundane human activities such as carpentry.

The findings of the study indicated the existence of a broader neural network (the limbic system) involved in the processing of emotional and visual stimuli. Certain areas within the cortex and limbic system demonstrated increased activation during the three emotional conditions compared to the neutral condition. This suggests that the limbic system is involved in emotional processing and regulation. Furthermore, greater activation during the emotional clips suggests a potential direction for future studies examining selective attention. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the neural mechanisms of emotional processing and regulation within the limbic system concerning movie-watching. 

Understanding neurological pathways in the emotional processing of movie-watching is a crucial research area. A film can drive an individual’s emotions by instilling suspense, laughter, sadness, fear, and astonishment along the way. Through exploring the current literature surrounding how movies impact cognitions, future blog entries aim to provide more insights into why movies are a powerful vehicle of emotion elicitation, their social impact, and how they can be a helpful supplemental tool in the therapy room. 

References

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Brody, A. L., Barsom, M. W., Bota, R. G., & Saxena, S. (2001, April). Prefrontal-subcortical and limbic circuit mediation of major depressive disorder. In Seminars in clinical neuropsychiatry (Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 102-112).

Corr, K. (2008). Movie therapy: Do you believe in the healing power of film? The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/3330249/Movie-therapy-Do-you-believe-in-the-healing-power-of-film.html

Dermer, S. B., & Hutchings, J. B. (2000). Utilizing Movies in Family Therapy: Applications for Individuals, Couples, and Families. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 28(2), 163-180. doi:10.1080/019261800261734

Fredrickson, B. L., & Levenson, R. W. (1998). Positive emotions speed recovery from the cardiovascular sequelae of negative emotions. Cognition & emotion, 12(2), 191.

Gallese, V., & Guerra, M. (2012). Embodying movies: Embodied simulation and film studies. Cinema: Journal of Philosophy and the Moving Image, 3, 183-210.

Greenwood, D., & Long, C. R. (2014). When Movies Matter. Journal of Adolescent Research, 30(5), 625-650. doi:10.1177/0743558414561296

Gross, J. J., & Levenson, R. W. (1995). Emotion elicitation using films. Cognition & emotion, 9(1), 87-108.

Hasson, U., Landesman, O., Knappmeyer, B., Vallines, I., Rubin, N., & Heeger, D. J. (2008). Neurocinematics: The neuroscience of film. Projections, 2(1), 1-26.

Karama, S., Armony, J., & Beauregard, M. (2011). Film excerpts shown to specifically elicit various affects lead to overlapping activation foci in a large set of symmetrical brain regions in males. PloS one, 6(7), e22343.

Lampropoulos, G. K., Kazantzis, N., & Deane, F. (2004). Psychologists’ use of motion pictures in clinical practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35, 535–541.

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Lévesque, J., Joanette, Y., Mensour, B., Beaudoin, G., Leroux, J. M., Bourgouin, P., & Beauregard, M. (2004). Neural basis of emotional self-regulation in childhood. Neuroscience, 129(2), 361-369.

Rogge, R. D., Cobb, R. J., Lawrence, E., Johnson, M. D., & Bradbury, T. N. (2013). Is skills training necessary for the primary prevention of marital distress and dissolution? A 3-year experimental study of three interventions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 81(6), 949.

Shapiro, J., & Rucker, L. (2004). The Don Quixote Effect: Why Going to the Movies Can Help Develop Empathy and Altruism in Medical Students and Residents. Families, Systems, & Health, 22(4), 445.

Shimamura, A. P. (Ed.). (2013). Psychocinematics: Exploring cognition at the movies. Oxford University Press.

Shimamura, A. P., Cohn-Sheehy, B. I., Pogue, B. L., & Shimamura, T. A. (2015). How attention is driven by film edits: A multimodal experience. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 9(4), 417-422. doi:10.1037/aca0000025

Shimamura, A. P., Cohn-Sheehy, B. I., & Shimamura, T. A. (2014). Perceiving movement across film edits: A psychocinematic analysis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 8(1), 77-80. doi:10.1037/a0034595

Visch, V. T., Tan, E. S., & Molenaar, D. (2010). The emotional and cognitive effect of immersion in film viewing. Cognition & Emotion, 24(8), 1439-1445. doi:10.1080/02699930903498186

A Cinematic Leap into Cognitions and Emotions Part I

Your Brain at the Movies

Understanding Neurological Pathways in the Emotional Processing of Film

References

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Your Brain at the Movies

Understanding Neurological Pathways in the Emotional Processing of Film

References

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