Objective Embodied emotions arise from interoceptive and somatosensory processes, and are essential to the development of a stable sense of self. Emotional embodiment is therefore inherently interwoven with our sense of bodily self-awareness, and allows us to navigate complex social situations. Given that the core feature of schizophrenia (SZ) is characterized by the presence of bodily self-disturbances and social-emotional deficits, we hypothesized that embodiment of emotion would be disrupted in SZ. Method Twenty-six medicated individuals with SZ and 26 demographically matched controls used a computerized topographical mapping tool (“EmBODY”) to indicate on a body outline where they felt bodily sensations while experiencing an emotion. There were 13 different emotions plus a neutral state. The resulting bodily maps of emotions were quantitatively compared between groups using linear discriminant analysis and similarity scores. Results Bodily maps of emotions were anomalous in SZ as indicated by indistinguishable maps across different emotions. Relative to the control group, patients reported less discrete and less clear bodily sensations across emotions. In particular, bodily maps for low-arousal emotions were atypical in comparison with healthy controls. Conclusions Anomalous and undifferentiated mapping of embodied emotions in SZ could lead to deficits in linking bodily sensations to conceptual categories of emotions. Disrupted emotional embodiment could also contribute to poor social functioning. Abnormal bodily sensations of emotions might therefore be a promising target for future psychosocial interventions.

Gold-based nanoparticles have been used in a number of therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of gold–silica nanoshells (AuNS) in photothermal therapy (PTT) of rat gliomas. Rat alveolar macrophages (Ma) were used as nanoparticle delivery vectors. Uptake of AuNS (bare and PEGylated) was investigated in Ma. AuNS were incubated with Ma for 24 h. Phase contrast microscopy was used to visualize the distribution of loaded Ma in three-dimensional glioma spheroids. PTT efficacy was evaluated for both empty (Ma) and AuNS-loaded Ma (MaNS) in both monolayers and spheroids consisting of C6 rat glioma cells and Ma. Monolayers/spheroids were irradiated for 5 min with light from an 810-nm diode laser at irradiances ranging from 7 to 28 W cm−2. Monolayer survival was evaluated using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay while PTT efficacy in spheroids was determined from growth kinetics and live/dead fluorescence microscopy. PTT efficacy was investigated in vivo using a Sprague–Dawley rat glioma model. Five rats received direct intracranial injection of a mixture of 104 C6 glioma cells and, 2 days later, an equal number of MaNS. Three rats received laser treatment (810 nm; 10 min; 1 W) while the remaining two served as controls (no laser treatment). The uptake ratio of bare to PEGylated AuNS by Ma was 4:1. A significant photothermal effect was observed in vitro, albeit at relatively high radiant exposures (2.1–4.2 kJ cm−2). PTT proved effective in vivo in preventing or delaying tumor development in the PTT-treated animals.