Lane et al. are right: Troublesome memories can be therapeutically recontextualized. Reconsolidation of negative/traumatic memories within the context of positive/prosocial affects can facilitate diverse psychotherapies. Although neural mechanisms remain poorly understood, we discuss how nonlinear dynamics of various positive affects, heavily controlled by primal subcortical networks, may be critical for optimal benefits.

The opioid systems play an important role in mediating both physical pain and negative affects (eg, the pain of social isolation). From an evolutionary perspective, it is not surprising that the neurocircuitry and neurochemistry of physical pain would overlap with that involved in complex social emotions. Exposure to trauma as well as a range of gene variants in the opioid system may be associated with alterations in opioid systems function, with changes in reward processing, and with vulnerability to substance abuse. A role for interventions with opioid agents in depression and anxiety disorders has been suggested.

The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales have been designed to provide a personality assessment tool based on six distinct affective systems. The six neural systems involved were labeled PLAY, SEEK, CARE, FEAR, ANGER and SADNESS. Spirituality has been integrated into the questionnaire as a seventh dimension because, in opinion of Panksepp and his colleagues is one of the most interesting human emotion. The aim of the present paper was introduce the validation of the Spanish version of Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales and their first psychometric results in a sample of 411 college students. Participants completed the Spanish version of ANPS, just as a personality scale of five factors (NEO-FFI-R), and the Scales of Positive and Negative Affect (PANAS). The factor structure obtained and psychometric properties of the scales indicate that the Spanish version of the scales provides an effective tool to measure the seven dimensions of personality proposal in the original questionnaire.

Further understanding at neuroscientific and personality levels should considerably advance our ability to deal with individuals that have strong sociopathic tendencies. An analysis of neurodynamic responses to emotional stimuli will eventually be able to detect sociopathic tendencies of the brain. Such information could be used to enhance the options available to individuals at risk without limiting their personal freedoms.

Emotions seem to arise ultimately from hard-wired neural circuits in the visceral-limbic brain that facilitate diverse and adaptive behavioral and physiological responses to major classes of environmental challenges. Presumably these circuits developed early in mammalian brain evolution, and the underlying control mechanisms remain similar in humans and “lower” mammals. This would suggest that theoretically guided studies of the animal brain can reveal how primitive emotions are organized in the human brain. Conversely, granted this cross-species heritage, it is arguable that human introspective access to emotional states may provide direct information concerning operations of emotive circuits and thus be a primary source of hypotheses for animal brain research. In this article the possibility that emotions are elaborated by transhypothalamic executive (command) circuits that concurrently activate related behavior patterns is assessed. Current neurobehavioral evidence indicates that there are at least four executive circuits of this type – those which elaborate central states of expectancy, rage, fear, and panic. The manner in which learning and psychiatric disorders may arise from activities of such circuits is also discussed.