Fractal dimension of EEG signals and heart dynamics in discrete emotional states

Abstract In this study, we explored the fractal dimension (FD; a measure of signal complexity) of 28 EEG channels with positive and negative emotional states. The EEG of participants and their ECG were registered while watching short video clips that induced fear, disgust, humour, or neutral emotions. In order to better understand the nature of these emotions, the Higuchi FD of EEG segments and the heart rate variability (HRV) of the ECG associated with each emotion were obtained. Our results exhibited similar patterns of results with both measures. Humour elicited the highest FD scores in most EEG channels and the highest HRV, while fear, among all emotions, produced the lowest scores in both measures. These results may contribute to the understanding of the relationship between cortical and heart dynamics and their role on emotion perception.