1 The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology Neuropsychological Underpinnings of Emotional Responsiveness to Media Elly A. Konijn 1 & Michelle Achterberg 2 1 VU University Amsterdam, Media Psychology Program: elly.konijn@vu.nl 2 Leiden University, Developmental Psychology: m.achterberg@fsw.leidenuniv.nl Abstract Responding emotionally to a movie, video game, Instagram post, or a social robot is quite a common experience. Whereas the experience felt is real, the mediated encounter or message often is fabricated, just fiction, and involves artificial non-existent characters. An intriguing question is thus ‘why does media use feel so real and how are emotions induced by processing media?’ The current entry aims to answer that question by outlining the neuropsychological underpinnings of emotional responsiveness to media. We discuss how emotions and emotion regulation are processed in the brain and exemplify neuro- psychological models. Key is the fast processing of feelings and emotions, mostly operated in subcortical-limbic brain regions, relative to slower and more reflective processing through the prefrontal cortex, which dynamically interact as one system. Then, we outline the neural underpinnings of the rewarding and disturbing effects of (social) media use. Finally, we show how the parallel processing of emotions in neuropsychological models may explain the often- found emotion-bias in media use. In all, this entry aims to provide insights in the psychology behind media use and open new perspectives for relevant media psychological research. Keywords Emotional processing; Media-based emotions; Neuropsychology; Brain mechanisms; Emotion-bias; Media-based realism Please cite as: Konijn, E.A. & Achterberg, M. (2020). Neuropsychological underpinnings of emotional responsiveness to media. In: van den Bulck, J., Sharrer, E., Ewoldsen, D. & Mares, M-L. (Eds). The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology. Wiley Publishers. See: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/International-Encyclopedia-of- Media-Psychology-by-Jan-van-den-Bulck-author/9781119011064