down processing. Bottom-up processing pertains to sensory elements in the physical world
(Smith and Kosslyn 55). We take in information about the world and make sense of it. A knock
on a door compels us to respond. Top-down processing comes from information stored in long-
term memory that helps us interpret what we perceive. The knock at a door compels us to
respond (or not) due to our stored knowledge regarding the sound of a knock at a door. It
suggests that someone is there to get our attention, to deliver a package, to relay a message, to
ask questions, and so on. Furthermore, our emotions influence the manner in which we respond
and communicate certain stimuli. For example, we may respond in an abrupt or in a courteous
manner to a knock at the door.
In addition to the role of cognition in expressions of sorrow, certain neural structures are
implicated in our understanding of emotions, and, by extension, these structures influence our
communicative choice and styles (Reisberg 437). Research in facial expressions, for example,
(e.g. anger, sadness, surprise) has identified certain neural structures that underlie disgust
(Calder, Lawrence, and Young 352). Studies of patients with orbito frontal disorders (base of the
frontal lobe) have shown that patients who have experienced a deficit in a specific part of the
brain do not respond to certain emotional stimuli, when compared to normal subjects (Reisberg
438). Evidence of this sort would support the claim that there are specific neural systems and
brain areas that underlie human emotions. Accordingly, when these regions are stimulated by
sensory stimuli (e.g., mass shootings), an emotional response ensues. In the process, individuals
choose appropriate nonverbal forms of communication to express sorrow and sadness.
Memory as a Factor
The manner in which individuals respond to tragic events, as those cited in this study, is
associated with our memory, specifically episodic memory. Episodic memory is connected to
events that take place at a specific time and place (Smith and Kosslyn 194). For example, most
of us, if asked, can remember the date and place of our high school or our college graduation.
Such an event seems to be permanently stored in our long-term memory and conveys an
emotional significance for us.
We can extend the concept of episodic memory in discussing moments of sorrow. Our
memories about persons involved in tragic events are meaningful in that they have been stored
for a long time in memory and convey emotions. Frequent occurrences of tragic events, near and
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