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Mazzoni N, Celeghin A, Mattavelli G. Editorial: Explicit and implicit emotion processing: neural basis, perceptual and cognitive mechanisms, volume II. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1411947. [PMID: 38784607 PMCID: PMC11113962 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1411947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Noemi Mazzoni
- Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari”, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| | | | - Giulia Mattavelli
- ICoN Center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, Italy
- Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory of Pavia Institute, Pavia, Italy
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Duque A, Picado G, Salgado G, Salgado A, Palacios B, Chaves C. Validation of the Edited Tromsø Infant Faces Database (E-TIF): A study on differences in the processing of children's emotional expressions. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:2507-2518. [PMID: 37369938 PMCID: PMC10991014 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02163-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Images of emotional facial expressions are often used in emotion research, which has promoted the development of different databases. However, most of these standardized sets of images do not include images from infants under 2 years of age, which is relevant for psychology research, especially for perinatal psychology. The present study aims to validate the edited version of the Tromsø Infant Faces Database (E-TIF) in a large sample of participants. The original set of 119 pictures was edited. The pictures were cropped to remove nonrelevant information, fitted in an oval window, and converted to grayscale. Four hundred and eighty participants (72.9% women) took part in the study, rating the images on five dimensions: depicted emotion, clarity, intensity, valence, and genuineness. Valence scores were useful for discriminating between positive, negative, and neutral facial expressions. Results revealed that women were more accurate at recognizing emotions in children. Regarding parental status, parents, in comparison with nonparents, rated neutral expressions as more intense and genuine. They also rated sad, angry, disgusted, and fearful faces as less negative, and happy expressions as less positive. The editing and validation of the E-TIF database offers a useful tool for basic and experimental research in psychology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Almudena Duque
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, C/ Compañía 5, 37002, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Gonzalo Picado
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, C/ Compañía 5, 37002, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Gloria Salgado
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas s/n, 28223, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Spain
| | - Alfonso Salgado
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, C/ Compañía 5, 37002, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Beatriz Palacios
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, C/ Compañía 5, 37002, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Covadonga Chaves
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas s/n, 28223, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Spain.
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Lacroix A, Harquel S, Mermillod M, Garrido M, Barbosa L, Vercueil L, Aleysson D, Dutheil F, Kovarski K, Gomot M. Sex modulation of faces prediction error in the autistic brain. Commun Biol 2024; 7:127. [PMID: 38273091 PMCID: PMC10810845 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-05807-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent research suggests that autistic females may have superior socio-cognitive abilities compared to autistic males, potentially contributing to underdiagnosis in females. However, it remains unclear whether these differences arise from distinct neurophysiological functioning in autistic males and females. This study addresses this question by presenting 41 autistic and 48 non-autistic adults with a spatially filtered faces oddball paradigm. Analysis of event-related potentials from scalp electroencephalography reveal a neurophysiological profile in autistic females that fell between those of autistic males and non-autistic females, highlighting sex differences in autism from the initial stages of face processing. This finding underscores the urgent need to explore neurophysiological sex differences in autism and encourages efforts toward a better comprehension of compensation mechanism and a clearer definition of what is meant by camouflaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adeline Lacroix
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, 38000, Grenoble, France.
| | - Sylvain Harquel
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, 38000, Grenoble, France
- Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, EPFL, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Martial Mermillod
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Marta Garrido
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Computational Psychiatry Lab, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Graeme Clark Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Leonardo Barbosa
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, 38000, Grenoble, France
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Virginia Tech, Roanoke, VA, 24016, USA
| | - Laurent Vercueil
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - David Aleysson
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Frédéric Dutheil
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LaPSCo, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, WittyFit, F-63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Klara Kovarski
- Sorbonne Université, Faculté des Lettres, INSPE, Paris, France
- LaPsyDÉ, Université Paris-Cité, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Marie Gomot
- UMR 1253 iBrain, Université de Tours, Inserm, Tours, France
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Mohamed Aly L, Masi M, Montanaro M, Ricciardelli P. The effect of negative emotion processing on spatial navigation: an experimental study using virtual reality. Front Psychol 2024; 14:1301981. [PMID: 38274671 PMCID: PMC10808736 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1301981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Finding one's way in unfamiliar environments is an essential ability. When navigating, people are overwhelmed with an enormous amount of information. However, some information might be more relevant than others. Despite the mounting knowledge about the mechanisms underlying orientational skills, and the notable effects of facial emotions on human behavior, little is known about emotions' effects on spatial navigation. Hereby, this study aimed to explore how exposure to others' negative emotional facial expressions affects wayfinding performances. Moreover, gender differences that characterize both processes were considered. Fifty-five participants (31 females) entered twice in three realistic virtual reality environments: the first time, to encode a route to find an object and then to recall the learned path to reach the same object again. In between the two explorations of the virtual environment, participants were asked to undergo a gender categorization task during which they were exposed to sixty faces showing either neutral, fearful, or angry expressions. Results showed a significant interaction between emotions, time, and gender. In particular, the exposition to fearful faces, but not angry and neutral ones, decreased males' wayfinding performances (i.e., travel times and distance travelled), while females' performances were unaffected. Possible explanations for such gender and emotional dissimilarities are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Mohamed Aly
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom
- MiBTec, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Matteo Masi
- Department of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | | | - Paola Ricciardelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- MiBTec, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- NeuroMI, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
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5
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Manippa V, Palmisano A, Ventura M, Rivolta D. The Neural Correlates of Developmental Prosopagnosia: Twenty-Five Years on. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1399. [PMID: 37891769 PMCID: PMC10605188 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13101399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Faces play a crucial role in social interactions. Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) refers to the lifelong difficulty in recognizing faces despite the absence of obvious signs of brain lesions. In recent decades, the neural substrate of this condition has been extensively investigated. While early neuroimaging studies did not reveal significant functional and structural abnormalities in the brains of individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DPs), recent evidence identifies abnormalities at multiple levels within DPs' face-processing networks. The current work aims to provide an overview of the convergent and contrasting findings by examining twenty-five years of neuroimaging literature on the anatomo-functional correlates of DP. We included 55 original papers, including 63 studies that compared the brain structure (MRI) and activity (fMRI, EEG, MEG) of healthy control participants and DPs. Despite variations in methods, procedures, outcomes, sample selection, and study design, this scoping review suggests that morphological, functional, and electrophysiological features characterize DPs' brains, primarily within the ventral visual stream. Particularly, the functional and anatomical connectivity between the Fusiform Face Area and the other face-sensitive regions seems strongly impaired. The cognitive and clinical implications as well as the limitations of these findings are discussed in light of the available knowledge and challenges in the context of DP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerio Manippa
- Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70122 Bari, Italy; (V.M.); (A.P.); (M.V.)
| | - Annalisa Palmisano
- Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70122 Bari, Italy; (V.M.); (A.P.); (M.V.)
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, TUD Dresden University of Technology, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Martina Ventura
- Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70122 Bari, Italy; (V.M.); (A.P.); (M.V.)
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour, and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney 2145, Australia
| | - Davide Rivolta
- Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70122 Bari, Italy; (V.M.); (A.P.); (M.V.)
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Pletzer B, Noachtar I, Hidalgo-Lopez E. Hormonal contraception & face processing: Examining face gender, androgenicity & treatment duration. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2023; 154:106292. [PMID: 37210755 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Previous cross-sectional studies observed differences between users and non-users of combined oral contraceptives (COCs) in both the structure and function of the fusiform face area (FFA) related to face processing. For the present study 120 female participants performed high-resolution structural, as well as functional scans at rest, during face encoding and face recognition. Participants were either never-users of COCs (26), current first-time users of androgenic (29) or anti-androgenic COCs (23) or previous users of androgenic (21) or anti-androgenic COCs (21). Results suggest that associations between COC-use and face processing are modulated by androgenicity, but do not persist beyond the duration of COC use. The majority of findings concern the connectivity of the left FFA to the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG), which is a key region in cognitive empathy. While connectivity in anti-androgenic COC users differs from never users irrespective of the duration of COC use already at rest, connectivity in androgenic COC users decreases with longer duration of use during face recognition. Furthermore, longer duration of androgenic COC use was related to reduced identification accuracy, as well as increased connectivity of the left FFA to the right orbitofrontal cortex. Accordingly, the FFA and SMG emerge as promising ROIs for future randomized controlled trials on the effects of COC use on face processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Belinda Pletzer
- Department of Psychology & Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
| | - Isabel Noachtar
- Department of Psychology & Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Esmeralda Hidalgo-Lopez
- Department of Psychology & Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
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Qiu F, Zhou Y, Zhang L, Zhang J, Liu H. Gender dimorphic M1 excitability during emotional processing: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13987. [PMID: 36061749 PMCID: PMC9438768 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background It is widely held that emotions prime the body for action. However, the influence of gender on primary motor cortex (M1) excitability during emotional processing is not well explored. Methods Using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we stimulated the right or left M1 at 150 ms and 300 ms after emotional stimulation onset (presentation of negative, neutral, and positive pictures to male and female subjects). Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) ratio induced by single-pulse TMS was used to assess changes in corticospinal excitability. Results In response to right M1 stimulation, males demonstrated higher MEP ratios following presentation of negative pictures at 150 ms while MEP ratios in response to presentation of positive pictures were greater at 300 ms. Furthermore, male subjects showed larger MEP ratios in right M1 versus left M1 at 300 ms after initiation of positive pictures, indicating lateralization of motor excitability in male subjects. Conclusions The current study thus provides neurophysiological evidence to support gender differences and functional lateralization of motor excitability in response to emotional stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanghui Qiu
- Department of Physical Education, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Yu Zhou
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Qingdao University, China
| | - Lanlan Zhang
- Department of Leisure Sports and Management, Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Hui Liu
- Shanghai Punan Hospital of Pudong New District, Shanghai, China
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8
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Sha Z, van Rooij D, Anagnostou E, Arango C, Auzias G, Behrmann M, Bernhardt B, Bolte S, Busatto GF, Calderoni S, Calvo R, Daly E, Deruelle C, Duan M, Duran FLS, Durston S, Ecker C, Ehrlich S, Fair D, Fedor J, Fitzgerald J, Floris DL, Franke B, Freitag CM, Gallagher L, Glahn DC, Haar S, Hoekstra L, Jahanshad N, Jalbrzikowski M, Janssen J, King JA, Lazaro L, Luna B, McGrath J, Medland SE, Muratori F, Murphy DGM, Neufeld J, O'Hearn K, Oranje B, Parellada M, Pariente JC, Postema MC, Remnelius KL, Retico A, Rosa PGP, Rubia K, Shook D, Tammimies K, Taylor MJ, Tosetti M, Wallace GL, Zhou F, Thompson PM, Fisher SE, Buitelaar JK, Francks C. Subtly altered topological asymmetry of brain structural covariance networks in autism spectrum disorder across 43 datasets from the ENIGMA consortium. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:2114-2125. [PMID: 35136228 PMCID: PMC9126820 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01452-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Small average differences in the left-right asymmetry of cerebral cortical thickness have been reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to typically developing controls, affecting widespread cortical regions. The possible impacts of these regional alterations in terms of structural network effects have not previously been characterized. Inter-regional morphological covariance analysis can capture network connectivity between different cortical areas at the macroscale level. Here, we used cortical thickness data from 1455 individuals with ASD and 1560 controls, across 43 independent datasets of the ENIGMA consortium's ASD Working Group, to assess hemispheric asymmetries of intra-individual structural covariance networks, using graph theory-based topological metrics. Compared with typical features of small-world architecture in controls, the ASD sample showed significantly altered average asymmetry of networks involving the fusiform, rostral middle frontal, and medial orbitofrontal cortex, involving higher randomization of the corresponding right-hemispheric networks in ASD. A network involving the superior frontal cortex showed decreased right-hemisphere randomization. Based on comparisons with meta-analyzed functional neuroimaging data, the altered connectivity asymmetry particularly affected networks that subserve executive functions, language-related and sensorimotor processes. These findings provide a network-level characterization of altered left-right brain asymmetry in ASD, based on a large combined sample. Altered asymmetrical brain development in ASD may be partly propagated among spatially distant regions through structural connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Sha
- Department of Language & Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Daan van Rooij
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Evdokia Anagnostou
- Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Celso Arango
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Gregorio Maran General University Hospital, School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, IiSGM, CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain
| | - Guillaume Auzias
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, UMR 7289, Aix Marseille Universit, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Marlene Behrmann
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Boris Bernhardt
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Sven Bolte
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
- Curtin Autism Research Group, Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Geraldo F Busatto
- Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging (LIM-21), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Sara Calderoni
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Pisa, Italy
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Rosa Calvo
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology Hospital Clinic, Psychiatry Unit, Department of Medicine, 2017SGR881, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eileen Daly
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience King's College London, London, UK
| | - Christine Deruelle
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, UMR 7289, Aix Marseille Universit, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Meiyu Duan
- BioKnow Health Informatics Lab, College of Computer Science and Technology, and Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering of Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130012, China
| | - Fabio Luis Souza Duran
- Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging (LIM-21), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Sarah Durston
- Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Christine Ecker
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany
- The Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Stefan Ehrlich
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry & Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Damien Fair
- Institute of Child Development, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Institute of the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Jennifer Fedor
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jacqueline Fitzgerald
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
- The Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Dorothea L Floris
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Barbara Franke
- Department of Human Genetics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Christine M Freitag
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Louise Gallagher
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
- The Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
| | - David C Glahn
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115-5724, USA
- Olin Neuropsychiatric Research Center, Hartford, CT, USA
| | - Shlomi Haar
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Liesbeth Hoekstra
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Neda Jahanshad
- Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA, USA
| | - Maria Jalbrzikowski
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Joost Janssen
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Gregorio Maran General University Hospital, School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, IiSGM, CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain
| | - Joseph A King
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry & Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Luisa Lazaro
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology Hospital Clinic, Psychiatry Unit, Department of Medicine, 2017SGR881, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Beatriz Luna
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jane McGrath
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
- The Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Sarah E Medland
- Psychiatric Genetics, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Filippo Muratori
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Pisa, Italy
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Declan G M Murphy
- The Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Behavioural Genetics Clinic, Adult Autism Service, Behavioural and Developmental Psychiatry Clinical Academic Group, South London and Maudsley Foundation NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Janina Neufeld
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kirsten O'Hearn
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Bob Oranje
- Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Mara Parellada
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Gregorio Maran General University Hospital, School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, IiSGM, CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jose C Pariente
- Magnetic Resonance Image Core Facility, IDIBAPS (Institut d'Investigacions Biomdiques August Pi i Sunyer), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Merel C Postema
- Department of Language & Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Karl Lundin Remnelius
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alessandra Retico
- National Institute for Nuclear Physics, Pisa Division, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, Pisa, Italy
| | - Pedro Gomes Penteado Rosa
- Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging (LIM-21), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Katya Rubia
- Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Devon Shook
- Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Kristiina Tammimies
- Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Region, Stockholm, Sweden
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Womens and Childrens Health, Karolinska Institutet and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Margot J Taylor
- Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, and Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | - Gregory L Wallace
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Fengfeng Zhou
- BioKnow Health Informatics Lab, College of Computer Science and Technology, and Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering of Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130012, China
| | - Paul M Thompson
- Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA, USA
| | - Simon E Fisher
- Department of Language & Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan K Buitelaar
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Clyde Francks
- Department of Language & Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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9
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Lin Y, Ding H, Zhang Y. Unisensory and Multisensory Stroop Effects Modulate Gender Differences in Verbal and Nonverbal Emotion Perception. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2021; 64:4439-4457. [PMID: 34469179 DOI: 10.1044/2021_jslhr-20-00338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Purpose This study aimed to examine the Stroop effects of verbal and nonverbal cues and their relative impacts on gender differences in unisensory and multisensory emotion perception. Method Experiment 1 investigated how well 88 normal Chinese adults (43 women and 45 men) could identify emotions conveyed through face, prosody and semantics as three independent channels. Experiments 2 and 3 further explored gender differences during multisensory integration of emotion through a cross-channel (prosody-semantics) and a cross-modal (face-prosody-semantics) Stroop task, respectively, in which 78 participants (41 women and 37 men) were asked to selectively attend to one of the two or three communication channels. Results The integration of accuracy and reaction time data indicated that paralinguistic cues (i.e., face and prosody) of emotions were consistently more salient than linguistic ones (i.e., semantics) throughout the study. Additionally, women demonstrated advantages in processing all three types of emotional signals in the unisensory task, but only preserved their strengths in paralinguistic processing and showed greater Stroop effects of nonverbal cues on verbal ones during multisensory perception. Conclusions These findings demonstrate clear gender differences in verbal and nonverbal emotion perception that are modulated by sensory channels, which have important theoretical and practical implications. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16435599.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Lin
- Speech-Language-Hearing Center, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
| | - Hongwei Ding
- Speech-Language-Hearing Center, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences & Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
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10
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Palmisano A, Bossi F, Barlabà C, Febbraio F, Loconte R, Lupo A, Nitsche MA, Rivolta D. Anodal tDCS effects over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) on the rating of facial expression: evidence for a gender-specific effect. Heliyon 2021; 7:e08267. [PMID: 34765784 PMCID: PMC8571084 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The accurate recognition of others' facial expressions is a core skill for social interactions. The left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (L-DLPFC) represents a key node in the network for facial emotion recognition. However, its specific role is still under debate. As such, the aim of the current neuromodulation study was to assess the causal role of the L-DLPFC in humans' rating of facial expressions of emotions and implicit attitudes toward other races. In this sham-controlled single-blind between-subject experiment, we offline administered L-DLPFC transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to 69 healthy participants who were divided into three groups of 23 (each receiving anodal 1 mA tDCS, anodal 2 mA tDCS, or Sham), before completing an "Emotion Rating task and two Implicit Association Tests (IATs). The former required the intensity rating of 192 faces (half black and half white) displaying happiness, sadness, anger, or fear. The IATs were designed to assess participants' automatic associations of positive or negative attributes with racial contents. Results on the Emotion Rating task showed participants' gender-specific effect of tDCS. Specifically, a gender bias, with only males showing a tendency to underestimate negative emotions was found in Sham, and absent in the tDCS groups. When considering the race of the stimuli, females but not males in Sham exhibited a racial bias, that is, the tendency to overestimate negative emotions of other-race faces. Again, the bias disappeared in the tDCS groups. Concerning the IATs, no significant effects emerged. We conclude that the L-DLPFC plays a critical role in humans' rating of facial expressions, and for variability in other-race emotional judgements. These results shed light on the neural bases of the human emotional system and its gender-related differences, and have potential implications for interventional settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalisa Palmisano
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | | | - Cecilia Barlabà
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Francesco Febbraio
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Riccardo Loconte
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Antonella Lupo
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Michael A. Nitsche
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Center for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany
| | - Davide Rivolta
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
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11
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Manfredi M, Boggio PS. Neural correlates of sex differences in communicative gestures and speech comprehension: A preliminary study. Soc Neurosci 2021; 16:653-667. [PMID: 34697990 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2021.1997800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The goal of this study was to investigate whether the semantic processing of the audiovisual combination of communicative gestures with speech differs between men and women. We recorded event-related brain potentials in women and men during the presentation of communicative gestures that were either congruent or incongruent with the speech.Our results showed that incongruent gestures elicited an N400 effect over frontal sites compared to congruent ones in both groups. Moreover, the females showed an earlier N2 response to incongruent stimuli than congruent ones, while larger sustained negativity and late positivity in response to incongruent stimuli was observed only in males. These results suggest that women rapidly recognize and process audiovisual combinations of communicative gestures and speech (as early as 300 ms) whereas men analyze them at the later stages of the process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirella Manfredi
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Paulo Sergio Boggio
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Center for Biological Science and Health, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
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12
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Long N, Yu W, Wang Y, Gong X, Zhang W, Chen J. Do Infant Faces Maintain the Attention of Adults With High Avoidant Attachment? Front Psychol 2021; 12:631751. [PMID: 34025505 PMCID: PMC8137973 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.631751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated whether adults have attentional bias toward infant faces, whether it is moderated by infant facial expression, and the predictive effect of the adult attachment state on it. One hundred unmarried nulliparous college students [50 men and 50 women; aged 17–24 years (M = 19.70, SD = 1.35)] were recruited. Each completed a self-report questionnaire—the Chinese version of the State Adult Attachment Measure (SAAM), and a dot-probe task with a stimulus presentation duration of 500 ms, which used 192 black-and-white photographs of 64 people (32 infants and 32 adults; each person displayed three expressions: happy, neutral, and sad) as the experimental stimuli. The results showed that, at the duration of 500 ms, individuals' attentional bias toward infant faces disappeared, regardless of the facial expression. However, when the interaction between avoidant attachment state and face was controlled, the attentional bias was significant again, and the avoidant attachment state negatively predicted individuals' attentional bias toward infant faces. This indicates that at the suprathreshold stage, there are individual differences in the attentional bias toward infant faces, and high avoidant attachment will weaken individuals' attentional bias toward infant faces. This study advances previous studies that focused only on individuals' attention to infant faces occurring at the early processing stage of attention. The results provide direction for interventions; specifically, changing the attachment state of avoidant individuals can affect their attention to infants, which may promote the establishment of parent–child relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nü Long
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.,Center for Rural Children and Adolescents Mental Health Education, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
| | - Wei Yu
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.,Center for Rural Children and Adolescents Mental Health Education, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
| | - Ying Wang
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.,Center for Rural Children and Adolescents Mental Health Education, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
| | - Xiaohan Gong
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.,Center for Rural Children and Adolescents Mental Health Education, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
| | - Wen Zhang
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.,Center for Rural Children and Adolescents Mental Health Education, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
| | - Jia Chen
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.,Center for Rural Children and Adolescents Mental Health Education, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
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13
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Examination and Comparison of Theta Band Connectivity in Left- and Right-Hand Dominant Individuals throughout a Motor Skill Acquisition. Symmetry (Basel) 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/sym13040728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The majority of the population identifies as right-hand dominant, with a minority 10.6% identifying as left-hand dominant. Social factors may partially skew the distribution, but it remains that left-hand dominant individuals make up approximately 40 million people in the United States alone and yet, remain underrepresented in the motor control literature. Recent research has revealed behavioral and neurological differences between populations, therein overturning assumptions of a simple hemispheric flip in motor-related activations. The present work showed differentially adaptable motor programs between populations and found fundamental differences in methods of skill acquisition highlighting underlying neural strategies unique to each population. Difference maps and descriptive metrics of coherent activation patterns showed differences in how theta oscillations were utilized. The right-hand group relied on occipital parietal lobe connectivity for visual information integration necessary to inform the motor task, while the left-hand group relied on a more frontal lobe localized cognitive based approach. The findings provide insight into potential alternative methods of information integration and emphasize the importance for inclusion of the left-hand dominant population in the growing conceptualization of the brain promoting the generation of a more complete, stable, and accurate understanding of our complex biology.
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14
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Proverbio AM. Sexual Dimorphism in Hemispheric Processing of Faces in Humans: A Meta-Analysis of 817 Cases. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:1023-1035. [PMID: 33835164 PMCID: PMC8483282 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
A well-established neuroimaging literature predicts a right-sided asymmetry in the activation of face-devoted areas such as the fusiform gyrus (FG) and its resulting M/N170 response during face processing. However, the face-related response sometimes appears to be bihemispheric. A few studies have argued that bilaterality depended on the sex composition of the sample. To shed light on this matter, two meta-analyses were conducted starting from a large initial database of 250 ERP (Event-related potentials)/MEG (Magnetoencephalography) peer-reviewed scientific articles. Paper coverage was from 1985 to 2020. Thirty-four articles met the inclusion criteria of a sufficiently large and balanced sample size with strictly right-handed and healthy participants aged 18–35 years and N170 measurements in response to neutral front view faces at left and right occipito/temporal sites. The data of 817 male (n = 414) and female (n = 403) healthy adults were subjected to repeated-measures analyses of variance. The results of statistical analyses from the data of 17 independent studies (from Asia, Europe and America) seem to robustly indicate the presence of a sex difference in the way the two cerebral hemispheres process facial information in humans, with a marked right-sided asymmetry of the bioelectrical activity in males and a bilateral or left-sided activity in females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Mado Proverbio
- Neuro-Mi Center for Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20162 Milan, Italy
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15
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Floris DL, Filho JOA, Lai MC, Giavasis S, Oldehinkel M, Mennes M, Charman T, Tillmann J, Dumas G, Ecker C, Dell'Acqua F, Banaschewski T, Moessnang C, Baron-Cohen S, Durston S, Loth E, Murphy DGM, Buitelaar JK, Beckmann CF, Milham MP, Di Martino A. Towards robust and replicable sex differences in the intrinsic brain function of autism. Mol Autism 2021; 12:19. [PMID: 33648569 PMCID: PMC7923310 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-021-00415-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Marked sex differences in autism prevalence accentuate the need to understand the role of biological sex-related factors in autism. Efforts to unravel sex differences in the brain organization of autism have, however, been challenged by the limited availability of female data. METHODS We addressed this gap by using a large sample of males and females with autism and neurotypical (NT) control individuals (ABIDE; Autism: 362 males, 82 females; NT: 409 males, 166 females; 7-18 years). Discovery analyses examined main effects of diagnosis, sex and their interaction across five resting-state fMRI (R-fMRI) metrics (voxel-level Z > 3.1, cluster-level P < 0.01, gaussian random field corrected). Secondary analyses assessed the robustness of the results to different pre-processing approaches and their replicability in two independent samples: the EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP) and the Gender Explorations of Neurogenetics and Development to Advance Autism Research. RESULTS Discovery analyses in ABIDE revealed significant main effects of diagnosis and sex across the intrinsic functional connectivity of the posterior cingulate cortex, regional homogeneity and voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) in several cortical regions, largely converging in the default network midline. Sex-by-diagnosis interactions were confined to the dorsolateral occipital cortex, with reduced VMHC in females with autism. All findings were robust to different pre-processing steps. Replicability in independent samples varied by R-fMRI measures and effects with the targeted sex-by-diagnosis interaction being replicated in the larger of the two replication samples-EU-AIMS LEAP. LIMITATIONS Given the lack of a priori harmonization among the discovery and replication datasets available to date, sample-related variation remained and may have affected replicability. CONCLUSIONS Atypical cross-hemispheric interactions are neurobiologically relevant to autism. They likely result from the combination of sex-dependent and sex-independent factors with a differential effect across functional cortical networks. Systematic assessments of the factors contributing to replicability are needed and necessitate coordinated large-scale data collection across studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothea L Floris
- Donders Center for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - José O A Filho
- Autism Center, The Child Mind Institute, 101 E 56 Street, New York City, New York, 10026, USA
| | - Meng-Chuan Lai
- The Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth and Family Mental Health, Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre, and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry and Autism Research Unit, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Steve Giavasis
- Autism Center, The Child Mind Institute, 101 E 56 Street, New York City, New York, 10026, USA
| | - Marianne Oldehinkel
- Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Maarten Mennes
- Donders Center for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Tony Charman
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Julian Tillmann
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Applied Psychology: Health, Development, Enhancement, and Intervention, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Guillaume Dumas
- Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions, Institut Pasteur, UMR3571 CNRS, Université de Paris, Paris, France
- CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Christine Ecker
- Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt am Main, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Flavio Dell'Acqua
- Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Tobias Banaschewski
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Carolin Moessnang
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Simon Baron-Cohen
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sarah Durston
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Eva Loth
- Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Declan G M Murphy
- Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Jan K Buitelaar
- Donders Center for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Christian F Beckmann
- Donders Center for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Michael P Milham
- Autism Center, The Child Mind Institute, 101 E 56 Street, New York City, New York, 10026, USA
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Adriana Di Martino
- Autism Center, The Child Mind Institute, 101 E 56 Street, New York City, New York, 10026, USA.
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16
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Proverbio AM. Sex differences in the social brain and in social cognition. J Neurosci Res 2021; 101:730-738. [PMID: 33608982 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Revised: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Many studies have reported sex differences in empathy and social skills. In this review, several lines of empirical evidences about sex differences in functions and anatomy of social brain are discussed. The most relevant differences involve face processing, facial expression recognition, response to baby schema, the ability to see faces in things, the processing of social interactions, the response to the others' pain, interest in social information, processing of gestures and actions, biological motion, erotic, and affective stimuli. Sex differences in oxytocin-based parental response are also reported. In conclusion, the female and male brains show several neuro-functional differences in various aspects of social cognition, and especially in emotional coding, face processing, and response to baby schema. An interpretation of this sexual dimorphism is provided in the view of evolutionary psychobiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Mado Proverbio
- Milan Center for Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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17
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Calbi M, Langiulli N, Ferroni F, Montalti M, Kolesnikov A, Gallese V, Umiltà MA. The consequences of COVID-19 on social interactions: an online study on face covering. Sci Rep 2021; 11:2601. [PMID: 33510195 PMCID: PMC7844002 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81780-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the nature of our social interactions. In order to understand how protective equipment and distancing measures influence the ability to comprehend others' emotions and, thus, to effectively interact with others, we carried out an online study across the Italian population during the first pandemic peak. Participants were shown static facial expressions (Angry, Happy and Neutral) covered by a sanitary mask or by a scarf. They were asked to evaluate the expressed emotions as well as to assess the degree to which one would adopt physical and social distancing measures for each stimulus. Results demonstrate that, despite the covering of the lower-face, participants correctly recognized the facial expressions of emotions with a polarizing effect on emotional valence ratings found in females. Noticeably, while females' ratings for physical and social distancing were driven by the emotional content of the stimuli, males were influenced by the "covered" condition. The results also show the impact of the pandemic on anxiety and fear experienced by participants. Taken together, our results offer novel insights on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social interactions, providing a deeper understanding of the way people react to different kinds of protective face covering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Calbi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
| | - Nunzio Langiulli
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Francesca Ferroni
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Martina Montalti
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Anna Kolesnikov
- Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Vittorio Gallese
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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18
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Neural correlates of emotion-attention interactions: From perception, learning, and memory to social cognition, individual differences, and training interventions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:559-601. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2019] [Revised: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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19
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Neurophysiological evidence for rapid processing of verbal and gestural information in understanding communicative actions. Sci Rep 2019; 9:16285. [PMID: 31705052 PMCID: PMC6841672 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-52158-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
During everyday social interaction, gestures are a fundamental part of human communication. The communicative pragmatic role of hand gestures and their interaction with spoken language has been documented at the earliest stage of language development, in which two types of indexical gestures are most prominent: the pointing gesture for directing attention to objects and the give-me gesture for making requests. Here we study, in adult human participants, the neurophysiological signatures of gestural-linguistic acts of communicating the pragmatic intentions of naming and requesting by simultaneously presenting written words and gestures. Already at ~150 ms, brain responses diverged between naming and request actions expressed by word-gesture combination, whereas the same gestures presented in isolation elicited their earliest neurophysiological dissociations significantly later (at ~210 ms). There was an early enhancement of request-evoked brain activity as compared with naming, which was due to sources in the frontocentral cortex, consistent with access to action knowledge in request understanding. In addition, an enhanced N400-like response indicated late semantic integration of gesture-language interaction. The present study demonstrates that word-gesture combinations used to express communicative pragmatic intentions speed up the brain correlates of comprehension processes – compared with gesture-only understanding – thereby calling into question current serial linguistic models viewing pragmatic function decoding at the end of a language comprehension cascade. Instead, information about the social-interactive role of communicative acts is processed instantaneously.
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20
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Meyer K, Garzón B, Lövdén M, Hildebrandt A. Are global and specific interindividual differences in cortical thickness associated with facets of cognitive abilities, including face cognition? ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:180857. [PMID: 31417686 PMCID: PMC6689650 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.180857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Face cognition (FC) is a specific ability that cannot be fully explained by general cognitive functions. Cortical thickness (CT) is a neural correlate of performance and learning. In this registered report, we used data from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) to investigate the relationship between CT in the core brain network of FC and performance on a psychometric task battery, including tasks with facial content. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), we tested the existence of face-specific interindividual differences at behavioural and neural levels. The measurement models include general and face-specific factors of performance and CT. There was no face-specificity in CT in functionally localized areas. In post hoc analyses, we compared the preregistered, small regions of interest (ROIs) to larger, non-individualized ROIs and identified a face-specific CT factor when large ROIs were considered. We show that this was probably due to low reliability of CT in the functional localization (intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) between 0.72 and 0.85). Furthermore, general cognitive ability, but not face-specific performance, could be predicted by latent factors of CT with a small effect size. In conclusion, for the core brain network of FC, we provide exploratory evidence (in need of cross-validation) that areas of the cortex sharing a functional purpose did also share morphological properties as measured by CT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Meyer
- Department of Psychology, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Benjamín Garzón
- Aging Research Center, NVS Department, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 17165 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Martin Lövdén
- Aging Research Center, NVS Department, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 17165 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Andrea Hildebrandt
- Department of Psychology, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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21
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Proverbio AM, Ornaghi L, Gabaro V. How face blurring affects body language processing of static gestures in women and men. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2019; 13:590-603. [PMID: 29767792 PMCID: PMC6022678 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Accepted: 05/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of facial coding in body language comprehension was investigated by event-related potential recordings in 31 participants viewing 800 photographs of gestures (iconic, deictic and emblematic), which could be congruent or incongruent with their caption. Facial information was obscured by blurring in half of the stimuli. The task consisted of evaluating picture/caption congruence. Quicker response times were observed in women than in men to congruent stimuli, and a cost for incongruent vs congruent stimuli was found only in men. Face obscuration did not affect accuracy in women as reflected by omission percentages, nor reduced their cognitive potentials, thus suggesting a better comprehension of face deprived pantomimes. N170 response (modulated by congruity and face presence) peaked later in men than in women. Late positivity was much larger for congruent stimuli in the female brain, regardless of face blurring. Face presence specifically activated the right superior temporal and fusiform gyri, cingulate cortex and insula, according to source reconstruction. These regions have been reported to be insufficiently activated in face-avoiding individuals with social deficits. Overall, the results corroborate the hypothesis that females might be more resistant to the lack of facial information or better at understanding body language in face-deprived social information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Mado Proverbio
- Department of Psychology, Neuro-MI Center for Neuroscience, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Laura Ornaghi
- Department of Psychology, Neuro-MI Center for Neuroscience, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Veronica Gabaro
- Department of Psychology, Neuro-MI Center for Neuroscience, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
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Effects of Repeated Concussions and Sex on Early Processing of Emotional Facial Expressions as Revealed by Electrophysiology. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2018; 24:673-683. [PMID: 29729683 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617718000231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Concussions affect the processing of emotional stimuli. This study aimed to investigate how sex interacts with concussion effects on early event-related brain potentials (ERP) measures (P1, N1) of emotional facial expressions (EFE) processing in asymptomatic, multi-concussion athletes during an EFE identification task. METHODS Forty control athletes (20 females and 20 males) and 43 multi-concussed athletes (22 females and 21 males), recruited more than 3 months after their last concussion, were tested. Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory II, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale, and an Emotional Facial Expression Identification Task. Pictures of male and female faces expressing neutral, angry, and happy emotions were randomly presented and the emotion depicted had to be identified as fast as possible during EEG acquisition. RESULTS Relative to controls, concussed athletes of both sex exhibited a significant suppression of P1 amplitude recorded from the dominant right hemisphere while performing the emotional face expression identification task. The present study also highlighted a sex-specific suppression of the N1 component amplitude after concussion which affected male athletes. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that repeated concussions alter the typical pattern of right-hemisphere response dominance to EFE in early stages of EFE processing and that the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the processing of emotional stimuli are distinctively affected across sex. (JINS, 2018, 24, 673-683).
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Saylik R, Raman E, Szameitat AJ. Sex Differences in Emotion Recognition and Working Memory Tasks. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1072. [PMID: 30008688 PMCID: PMC6034094 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2018] [Accepted: 06/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
It is proposed that emotional and cognitive functions may be differentiated based on sex. However, it is still unknown whether this assumption could be generalized for all emotional faces and working memory (WM) functions. To examine this, 50 females, and 60 males performed an emotion recognition task, consisting of a series of emotional faces as well as three working memory tasks from Cambridge Neuropsychological test battery (CANTAB); namely, spatial working memory (SWM), stocking of Cambridge (SOC), and intra/extradimensional shifts tasks (IED). The results found that females had faster response times in recognition of both positive and negative faces as compared to males. Furthermore, it was observed that while females were better on SWM task processing, males performed better on IED and four move SOC tasks, illustrating that processing of WM components may differentiate by sex. It has been concluded that emotional and cognitive functions are indeed sensitive to sex differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahmi Saylik
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Art and Science, Mus Alparslan University, Mus, Turkey
| | - Evren Raman
- Department of Life Sciences, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Brunel University London, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom
| | - Andre J Szameitat
- Department of Life Sciences, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Brunel University London, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom
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24
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Visuospatial asymmetries do not modulate the cheerleader effect. Sci Rep 2018; 8:2548. [PMID: 29416057 PMCID: PMC5803192 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-20784-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2017] [Accepted: 01/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The cheerleader effect occurs when the same individual appears to be more attractive when seen in a group, compared to alone. As observers over-attend to visual information presented in the left visual field, we investigated whether the spatial arrangement of the faces in a group would influence the magnitude of the cheerleader effect. In Experiment 1, target faces were presented twice in the centre of the display: once alone, and once in a group. Group images featured two distractor faces, which were presented in either the left or the right visual field, or on either side of the target. The location of the distractor faces did not modulate the size of the cheerleader effect, which was observed in each group configuration. In Experiment 2, we manipulated the location of the target faces, which were presented at the far left, far right, or centre of the group. Faces were again significantly more attractive in each group configuration, and the spatial location of the target face did not influence the size of the cheerleader effect. Together, our results show that the cheerleader effect is a robust phenomenon, which is not influenced by the spatial arrangement of the faces in the group.
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25
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Küper K, Zimmer HD. The impact of perceptual changes to studied items on ERP correlates of familiarity and recollection is subject to hemispheric asymmetries. Brain Cogn 2018; 122:17-25. [PMID: 29396208 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2018.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2017] [Revised: 12/28/2017] [Accepted: 01/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
It is still unclear which role the right hemisphere (RH) preference for perceptually specific and the left hemisphere (LH) bias towards abstract memory representations play at the level of episodic memory retrieval. When stimulus characteristics hampered the retrieval of abstract memory representations, these hemispheric asymmetries have previously only modulated event-related potential (ERP) correlates of recollection (late positive complex, LPC), but not of familiarity (FN400). In the present experiment, we used stimuli which facilitated the retrieval of abstract memory representations. With the divided visual field technique, new items, identical repetitions and color-modified versions of incidentally studied object pictures were presented in either the right (RVF) or the left visual field (LVF). Participants performed a memory inclusion task, in which they had to categorize both identically repeated and color-modified study items as 'old'. Only ERP, but not behavioral data showed hemispheric asymmetries: Compared to identical repetitions, FN400 and LPC old/new effects for color-modified items were equivalent with RVF/LH presentation, but reduced with LVF/RH presentation. By promoting the use of abstract stimulus information for memory retrieval, we were thus able to show that hemispheric asymmetries in accessing abstract or specific memory representations can modulate ERP correlates of familiarity as well as recollection processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Küper
- Aging Group, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany; Brain & Cognition Group, Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
| | - Hubert D Zimmer
- Brain & Cognition Group, Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
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26
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Zhu C, Ma X, Ji L, Chen S, Cao X. Sex Differences in Categorical Adaptation for Faces and Chinese Characters during Early Perceptual Processing. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 11:656. [PMID: 29375350 PMCID: PMC5770371 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2017] [Accepted: 12/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous event-related potential studies support sex differences in the N170 response during face and word processing; however, it remains unclear whether N170 categorical adaptation for faces and words is different between women and men. Using an adaptation paradigm, in which an adaptor and subsequent test stimulus are presented during each trial, the present study investigated N170 categorical adaptation for faces and Chinese characters in both women and men. The results demonstrated that the N170 amplitude elicited by test stimuli in within-category condition was lower than in control category condition, and this was observed during both face and Chinese character processing in women and men. In addition, we found that men have greater N170 categorical adaptation for face and word processing than women. There was also a significant correlation between N170 categorical adaptation indices for face and Chinese character processing in men, which did not occur in women. These findings suggest that men and women process repeated faces or words differently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cuiyin Zhu
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Xiaoli Ma
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Lihong Ji
- Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shuang Chen
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Xiaohua Cao
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- *Correspondence: Xiaohua Cao
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27
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Zhang C, Dougherty CC, Baum SA, White T, Michael AM. Functional connectivity predicts gender: Evidence for gender differences in resting brain connectivity. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:1765-1776. [PMID: 29322586 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2017] [Revised: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Prevalence of certain forms of psychopathology, such as autism and depression, differs between genders and understanding gender differences of the neurotypical brain may provide insights into risk and protective factors. In recent research, resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rfMRI) is widely used to map the inherent functional networks of the brain. Although previous studies have reported gender differences in rfMRI, the robustness of gender differences is not well characterized. In this study, we use a large data set to test whether rfMRI functional connectivity (FC) can be used to predict gender and identify FC features that are most predictive of gender. We utilized rfMRI data from 820 healthy controls from the Human Connectome Project. By applying a predefined functional template and partial least squares regression modeling, we achieved a gender prediction accuracy of 87% when multi-run rfMRI was used. Permutation tests confirmed that gender prediction was reliable ( p<.001). Effects of motion, age, handedness, blood pressure, weight, and brain volume on gender prediction are discussed. Further, we found that FC features within the default mode (DMN), fronto-parietal and sensorimotor networks contributed most to gender prediction. In the DMN, right fusiform gyrus and right ventromedial prefrontal cortex were important contributors. The above regions have been previously implicated in aspects of social functioning and this suggests potential gender differences in social cognition mediated by the DMN. Our findings demonstrate that gender can be reliably predicted using rfMRI data and highlight the importance of controlling for gender in brain imaging studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Zhang
- Autism and Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.,Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York
| | - Chase C Dougherty
- Autism and Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.,Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania
| | - Stefi A Baum
- Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York.,Faculty of Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Tonya White
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Andrew M Michael
- Autism and Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.,Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York
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28
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Proverbio AM. Sex differences in social cognition: The case of face processing. J Neurosci Res 2017; 95:222-234. [PMID: 27870403 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2016] [Revised: 06/10/2016] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Several studies have demonstrated that women show a greater interest for social information and empathic attitude than men. This article reviews studies on sex differences in the brain, with particular reference to how males and females process faces and facial expressions, social interactions, pain of others, infant faces, faces in things (pareidolia phenomenon), opposite-sex faces, humans vs. landscapes, incongruent behavior, motor actions, biological motion, erotic pictures, and emotional information. Sex differences in oxytocin-based attachment response and emotional memory are also mentioned. In addition, we investigated how 400 different human faces were evaluated for arousal and valence dimensions by a group of healthy male and female University students. Stimuli were carefully balanced for sensory and perceptual characteristics, age, facial expression, and sex. As a whole, women judged all human faces as more positive and more arousing than men. Furthermore, they showed a preference for the faces of children and the elderly in the arousal evaluation. Regardless of face aesthetics, age, or facial expression, women rated human faces higher than men. The preference for opposite- vs. same-sex faces strongly interacted with facial age. Overall, both women and men exhibited differences in facial processing that could be interpreted in the light of evolutionary psychobiology. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Mado Proverbio
- Milan-Mi Center for Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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29
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Wang K, Wu W, Zhong H, Cheng J. Gender differences in performance for young adults in cognitive tasks under emotional conflict. Neurosci Lett 2017; 661:77-83. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.09.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2017] [Revised: 09/27/2017] [Accepted: 09/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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30
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Wittfoth D, Preibisch C, Lanfermann H. Processing of Unattended Emotional Facial Expressions: Correlates of Visual Field Bias in Women. Front Neurosci 2017; 11:443. [PMID: 28855858 PMCID: PMC5557747 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Accepted: 07/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Lateralization in emotional processing is a matter of ongoing debate. Various factors can influence lateralized emotional processing, including stimulus location, emotional valence, and gender. In the present study, we aim to elucidate how unattended emotional facial expressions shown at different locations in the visual field influence behavioral responses, eye movement, and neural responses in a sample of healthy women. Our female participants viewed fearful, happy and neutral faces presented at central and peripheral (left or right) locations while keeping their gaze locked on a central fixation crosshairs and indicating stimulus location via button presses. Throughout the experiment, we monitored fixation and gaze shifts by means of eye tracking. We analyzed eye movements, neural and behavioral responses from n = 18 participants with excellent tracking and task performance. Face stimuli presented in the left hemifield entailed the fastest reactions irrespective of face valence. Unwarranted gaze shifts away from central fixation were rare and mainly directed at peripherally presented stimuli. A distributed neural network comprising the right amygdala, left temporal pole, left middle temporal gyrus, right superior frontal gyrus, and right posterior putamen differentially responded to centrally presented fearful faces, and to peripherally presented neutral and happy faces, especially when they appeared in the left hemifield. Our findings point to a visual field bias on the behavioral and neural level in our female sample. Reaction times, eye movements and neural activations varied according to stimulus location. An interactive effect of face location with face valence was present at the neural level but did not translate to behavioral or eye movement responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dina Wittfoth
- Institut für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Neuroradiologie, Medizinische Hochschule HannoverHannover, Germany
| | - Christine Preibisch
- Abteilung für Neuroradiologie, Klinikum rechts der Isar der TU MünchenMünchen, Germany
| | - Heinrich Lanfermann
- Institut für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Neuroradiologie, Medizinische Hochschule HannoverHannover, Germany
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31
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Núñez C, Theofanopoulou C, Senior C, Cambra MR, Usall J, Stephan-Otto C, Brébion G. A large-scale study on the effects of sex on gray matter asymmetry. Brain Struct Funct 2017; 223:183-193. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-017-1481-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2017] [Accepted: 07/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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32
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Italian normative data and validation of two neuropsychological tests of face recognition: Benton Facial Recognition Test and Cambridge Face Memory Test. Neurol Sci 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10072-017-3030-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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33
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Lee SA, Kim CY, Shim M, Lee SH. Gender Differences in Neural Responses to Perceptually Invisible Fearful Face-An ERP Study. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:6. [PMID: 28184189 PMCID: PMC5266704 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2016] [Accepted: 01/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Women tend to respond to emotional stimuli differently from men. This study aimed at investigating whether neural responses to perceptually “invisible” emotional stimuli differ between men and women by exploiting event-related potential (ERP). Forty healthy participants (21 women) were recruited for the main experiment. A control experiment was conducted by excluding nine (7 women) participants from the main experiment and replacing them with additional ten (6 women) participants (total 41 participants) where Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) scores were controlled. Using the visual backward masking paradigm, either a fearful or a neutral face stimulus was presented in varied durations (subthreshold, near-threshold, or suprathreshold) followed by a mask. Participants performed a two-alternative forced choice (2-AFC) emotion discrimination task on each face. Behavioral analysis showed that participants were unaware of masked stimuli of which duration was the shortest and, therefore, processed at subthreshold. Nevertheless, women showed significantly larger response in P100 amplitude to subthreshold fearful faces than men. This result remained consistent in the control experiment. Our findings indicate gender-differences in neural response to subthreshold emotional face, which is reflected in the early processing stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seung A Lee
- Clinical Emotion and Cognition Research Laboratory, Inje UniversityGoyang, South Korea; Department of Psychology, Korea UniversitySeoul, South Korea
| | - Chai-Youn Kim
- Department of Psychology, Korea University Seoul, South Korea
| | - Miseon Shim
- Clinical Emotion and Cognition Research Laboratory, Inje UniversityGoyang, South Korea; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang UniversitySeoul, South Korea
| | - Seung-Hwan Lee
- Clinical Emotion and Cognition Research Laboratory, Inje UniversityGoyang, South Korea; Department of Psychiatry, Inje University Ilsan Paik HospitalGoyang, South Korea
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34
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Ji L, Cao X, Xu B. Sex differences of hemispheric lateralization for faces and Chinese characters in early perceptual processing. Neurosci Lett 2016; 635:77-82. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2016.10.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2016] [Revised: 09/02/2016] [Accepted: 10/20/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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35
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Montirosso R, Casini E, Borgatti R, Urgesi C. Relationship Between Maternal Sensitivity During Early Interaction and Maternal Ability in Perceiving Infants' Body and Face. INFANCY 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/infa.12129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rosario Montirosso
- 0-3 Centre for the at - Risk Infant Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea
| | - Erica Casini
- 0-3 Centre for the at - Risk Infant Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea
| | - Renato Borgatti
- Neuropsychiatry and Neurorehabilitation Unit - Scientific Institute; IRCCS Eugenio Medea
| | - Cosimo Urgesi
- Department of Human Sciences; University of Udine and Scientific Institute; IRCCS Eugenio Medea
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Malaspina M, Albonico A, Daini R. Right perceptual bias and self-face recognition in individuals with congenital prosopagnosia. Laterality 2015; 21:118-42. [DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2015.1084312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more common in males than females. An underrepresentation of females in the ASD literature has led to limited knowledge of differences in social function across the sexes. Investigations of face perception represent a promising target for understanding variability in social functioning between males and females. The current study analyzed electrophysiological brain recordings during face perception to investigate sex differences in the neural correlates of face perception and their relationship to social function. Event related potentials (ERP) were recorded from children with ASD while viewing faces, inverted faces, and houses. Relative to males, females showed attenuated response at an ERP marker of face perception, the N170. Among females, but not males, atypical face response was associated with symptom severity. Observed sex differences reflect influential differences in social information processing, and impairment in these features correlates with deficits in social information processing in females, but not males, with ASD. These findings hold significance for future treatment protocols, which should account for differences in males and females with ASD in clinical presentation and neural phenotypes.
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Hahn AC, Symons LA, Kredel T, Hanson K, Hodgson L, Schiavone L, Jantzen KJ. Early and late event-related potentials are modulated by infant and adult faces of high and low attractiveness. Soc Neurosci 2015; 11:207-20. [PMID: 26160142 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2015.1059361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The processing of infant faces may be somewhat distinct from that of adult faces. Indeed, recent neuroimaging studies have provided evidence of an early, "baby-specific" neural response whereby infant faces are perceived more rapidly than adult faces. Using event-related potentials, the present study aimed to determine whether the preferential response to infant faces is present at both early and late stages of face processing, and to investigate the effects of esthetic appearance on the processing of adult and infant faces by directly manipulating the perceived attractiveness or cuteness within a given face identity. Here, we find evidence for enhanced processing of infant faces, relative to adult faces, at both early (N170, P2) and late (LPC) stages of face processing. We also find that the esthetic appearance of both infant and adult faces modulates early neural responses, with enhanced responses to less attractive/cute faces as compared to more attractive/cute faces. Overall, our results provide additional evidence for a preferential response to infant faces at early stages of processing, and provide new evidence that this preferential response occurs at later stages of face processing as well, independent of the esthetic quality of the face or observer sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda C Hahn
- a Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology , University of Glasgow , Glasgow , UK
| | - Lawrence A Symons
- b Department of Psychology , Western Washington University , Bellingham , WA , USA
| | - Taylor Kredel
- b Department of Psychology , Western Washington University , Bellingham , WA , USA
| | - Kevin Hanson
- b Department of Psychology , Western Washington University , Bellingham , WA , USA
| | - Lianne Hodgson
- b Department of Psychology , Western Washington University , Bellingham , WA , USA
| | - Lori Schiavone
- b Department of Psychology , Western Washington University , Bellingham , WA , USA
| | - K J Jantzen
- b Department of Psychology , Western Washington University , Bellingham , WA , USA
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39
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Shin YI, Foerster Á, Nitsche MA. Reprint of: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) – Application in neuropsychology. Neuropsychologia 2015; 74:74-95. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.06.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2014] [Revised: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 02/02/2015] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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40
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Rahman Q, Yusuf S. Lateralization for Processing Facial Emotions in Gay Men, Heterosexual Men, and Heterosexual Women. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2015; 44:1405-1413. [PMID: 25564038 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-014-0466-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2013] [Revised: 05/19/2014] [Accepted: 12/13/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
This study tested whether male sexual orientation and gender nonconformity influenced functional cerebral lateralization for the processing of facial emotions. We also tested for the effects of sex of poser and emotion displayed on putative differences. Thirty heterosexual men, 30 heterosexual women, and 40 gay men completed measures of demographic variables, recalled childhood gender nonconformity (CGN), IQ, and the Chimeric Faces Test (CFT). The CFT depicts vertically split chimeric faces, formed with one half showing a neutral expression and the other half showing an emotional expression and performance is measured using a "laterality quotient" (LQ) score. We found that heterosexual men were significantly more right-lateralized when viewing female faces compared to heterosexual women and gay men, who did not differ significantly from each other. Heterosexual women and gay men were more left-lateralized for processing female faces. There were no significant group differences in lateralization for male faces. These results remained when controlling for age and IQ scores. There was no significant effect of CGN on LQ scores. These data suggest that gay men are feminized in some aspects of functional cerebral lateralization for facial emotion. The results were discussed in relation to the selectivity of functional lateralization and putative brain mechanisms underlying sexual attraction towards opposite-sex and same-sex targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qazi Rahman
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, 5th Floor, Bermondsey Wing, Guy's Hospital Campus, London, SE1 9RT, UK,
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Yang X, Yu Y, Chen L, Sun H, Qiao Z, Qiu X, Zhang C, Wang L, Zhu X, He J, Zhao L, Yang Y. Gender differences in pre-attentive change detection for visual but not auditory stimuli. Clin Neurophysiol 2015; 127:431-441. [PMID: 26077633 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2015.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2013] [Revised: 03/20/2015] [Accepted: 05/12/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Despite ongoing debate about gender differences in pre-attention processes, little is known about gender effects on change detection for auditory and visual stimuli. We explored gender differences in change detection while processing duration information in auditory and visual modalities. METHOD We investigated pre-attentive processing of duration information using a deviant-standard reverse oddball paradigm (50 ms/150 ms) for auditory and visual mismatch negativity (aMMN and vMMN) in males and females (n=21/group). RESULT In the auditory modality, decrement and increment aMMN were observed at 150-250 ms after the stimulus onset, and there was no significant gender effect on MMN amplitudes in temporal or fronto-central areas. In contrast, in the visual modality, only increment vMMN was observed at 180-260 ms after the onset of stimulus, and it was higher in males than in females. CONCLUSION No gender effect was found in change detection for auditory stimuli, but change detection was facilitated for visual stimuli in males. SIGNIFICANCE Gender effects should be considered in clinical studies of pre-attention for visual stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiuxian Yang
- Department of Medical Psychology, Public Health Institute of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Yunmiao Yu
- Department of Medical Psychology, Public Health Institute of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Lu Chen
- Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Bingjing, China
| | - Hailian Sun
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Zhengxue Qiao
- Department of Medical Psychology, Public Health Institute of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Xiaohui Qiu
- Department of Medical Psychology, Public Health Institute of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | | | - Lin Wang
- Department of Medical Psychology, Public Health Institute of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Xiongzhao Zhu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Jincai He
- Medical Psychological Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Lun Zhao
- Center for Visual Art & Brain Cognition, Beijing Shengkun YanLun Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing, China.
| | - Yanjie Yang
- Department of Medical Psychology, Public Health Institute of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
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Choi D, Egashira Y, Takakura J, Motoi M, Nishimura T, Watanuki S. Gender difference in N170 elicited under oddball task. J Physiol Anthropol 2015; 34:7. [PMID: 25857755 PMCID: PMC4358327 DOI: 10.1186/s40101-015-0045-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2014] [Accepted: 01/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Some studies have reported gender differences in N170, a face-selective event-related potential (ERP) component. This study investigated gender differences in N170 elicited under oddball paradigm in order to clarify the effect of task demand on gender differences in early facial processing. FINDINGS Twelve males and 10 females discriminated targets (emotional faces) from non-targets (emotionally neutral faces) under an oddball paradigm, pressing a button as quickly as possible in response to the target. Clear N170 was elicited in response to target and non-target stimuli in both males and females. However, females showed more negative amplitude of N170 in response to target compared with non-target, while males did not show different N170 responses between target and non-target. CONCLUSIONS The present results suggest that females have a characteristic of allocating attention at an early stage when responding to faces actively (target) compared to viewing faces passively (non-target). This supports previous findings suggesting that task demand is an important factor in gender differences in N170.
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Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) – Application in neuropsychology. Neuropsychologia 2015; 69:154-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2014] [Revised: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 02/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Abstract
There is evidence that women and men show differences in the perception of affective facial expressions. However, none of the previous studies directly investigated sex differences in emotional processing of own-race and other-race faces. The current study addressed this issue using high time resolution event-related potential techniques. In total, data from 25 participants (13 women and 12 men) were analyzed. It was found that women showed increased N170 amplitudes to negative White faces compared with negative Chinese faces over the right hemisphere electrodes. This result suggests that women show enhanced sensitivity to other-race faces showing negative emotions (fear or disgust), which may contribute toward evolution. However, the current data showed that men had increased N170 amplitudes to happy Chinese versus happy White faces over the left hemisphere electrodes, indicating that men show enhanced sensitivity to own-race faces showing positive emotions (happiness). In this respect, men might use past pleasant emotional experiences to boost recognition of own-race faces.
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Bourne VJ, Jonauskaite D. Relationship status and sex differences in emotion lateralisation: An examination contrasting the processing of emotional infant and adult faces. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.10.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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46
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Inuggi A, Sassi F, Castillo A, Campoy G, Leocani L, García Santos JM, Fuentes LJ. Cortical response of the ventral attention network to unattended angry facial expressions: an EEG source analysis study. Front Psychol 2015; 5:1498. [PMID: 25566162 PMCID: PMC4271514 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2014] [Accepted: 12/04/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction: We used an affective prime task composed of emotional (happy, angry, and neutral) prime faces and target words with either positive or negative valence. By asking subjects to attend to either the faces’ emotional expression or to the glasses’ shape, we assessed whether angry facial expressions were processed when they were unattended and task-irrelevant. Methods: We conducted a distributed source analysis on the corresponding event-related potentials focused on the early activity of face processing and attention networks’ related areas. We also evaluated the magnitude of the affective priming effect. Results: We observed a reduction of occipitotemporal areas’ (BA37) activation to unattended compared to attended faces and a modulation of primary visual areas’ activity lateralization. The latter was more right lateralized for attended than for unattended faces, and emotional faces were more right lateralized than neutral ones only in the former condition. Affective priming disappeared when emotional expressions of prime faces were ignored. Moreover, an increased activation in the right temporo–parietal junction (TPJ), but not in the intraparietal sulcus, was observed only for unattended angry facial expressions at ∼170 ms after face presentation. Conclusion: We suggest that attentional resources affect the early processing in visual and occipito-temporal areas, irrespective of the faces’ threatening content. The disappearance of the affective priming effect suggests that when subjects were asked to focus on glasses’ shape, attentional resources were not available to process the facial emotional expression, even though emotion-relevant and emotion-irrelevant features of the face were presented in the same position. On the other hand, unattended angry faces evoked a pre-attentive TPJ activity, which most likely represents a bottom–up trigger that signals their high behavioral relevance, although it is unrelated to task demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Inuggi
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Federica Sassi
- Departamento de Psicología Básica y Metodología, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
| | - Alejandro Castillo
- Departamento de Psicología Básica y Metodología, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
| | - Guillermo Campoy
- Departamento de Psicología Básica y Metodología, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
| | - Letizia Leocani
- Institute of Experimental Neurology, L'Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico San Raffaele Milan, Italy
| | | | - Luis J Fuentes
- Departamento de Psicología Básica y Metodología, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
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Jończyk R. Hemispheric asymmetry of emotion words in a non-native mind: a divided visual field study. Laterality 2014; 20:326-47. [PMID: 25300323 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2014.966108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
This study investigates hemispheric specialization for emotional words among proficient non-native speakers of English by means of the divided visual field paradigm. The motivation behind the study is to extend the monolingual hemifield research to the non-native context and see how emotion words are processed in a non-native mind. Sixty eight females participated in the study, all highly proficient in English. The stimuli comprised 12 positive nouns, 12 negative nouns, 12 non-emotional nouns and 36 pseudo-words. To examine the lateralization of emotion, stimuli were presented unilaterally in a random fashion for 180 ms in a go/no-go lexical decision task. The perceptual data showed a right hemispheric advantage for processing speed of negative words and a complementary role of the two hemispheres in the recognition accuracy of experimental stimuli. The data indicate that processing of emotion words in non-native language may require greater interhemispheric communication, but at the same time demonstrates a specific role of the right hemisphere in the processing of negative relative to positive valence. The results of the study are discussed in light of the methodological inconsistencies in the hemifield research as well as the non-native context in which the study was conducted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafał Jończyk
- a Faculty of English , Adam Mickiewicz University , Poznań , Poland
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Kokkinaki T, Vasdekis VGS. Comparing emotional coordination in early spontaneous mother–infant and father–infant interactions. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2014.950220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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49
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Manfredi M, Adorni R, Proverbio AM, Proverbio A. Why do we laugh at misfortunes? An electrophysiological exploration of comic situation processing. Neuropsychologia 2014; 61:324-34. [PMID: 25014163 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.06.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2014] [Revised: 06/19/2014] [Accepted: 06/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The goal of the present study was to shed some light on a particular kind of humour, called slapstick, by measuring brain bioelectrical activity during the perception of funny vs. non-funny pictures involving misfortunate circumstances. According to our hypothesis, the element mostly providing a comic feature in a misfortunate situation is the facial expression of the victims: the observer׳s reaction will usually be laughing only if the victims will show a funny bewilderment face and not a painful or anger expression. Several coloured photographs depicting people involved in misfortunate situations were presented to 30 Italian healthy volunteers, while their EEG was recorded. Three different situations were considered: people showing a painful or an angry expression (Affective); people showing a bewilderment expression and, so, a comic look (Comic); people engaged in similar misfortunate situations but with no face visible (No Face). Results showed that the mean amplitude of both the posterior N170 and anterior N220 components was much larger in amplitude to comic pictures, than the other stimuli. This early response could be considered the first identification of a comic element and evidence of the compelling and automatic response that usually characterizes people amused reaction during a misfortune. In addition, we observed a larger P300 amplitude in response to comic than affective pictures, probably reflecting a more conscious processing of the comic element. Finally, no face pictures elicited an anteriorly distributed N400, which might reflect the effort to comprehend the nature of the situation displayed without any affective facial information, and a late positivity, possibly indexing a re-analysis processing of the unintelligible misfortunate situation (comic or unhappy) depicted in the No Face stimuli. These data support the hypothesis that the facial expression of the victims acts as a specific trigger for the amused feeling that observers usually experience when someone falls down. Overall, the data indicate the existence of a neural circuit that is capable of recognize and appreciate the comic element of a misfortunate situation in a group of young adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirella Manfredi
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, Ed. U6, 20126 Milan, Italy; Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
| | - Roberta Adorni
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, Ed. U6, 20126 Milan, Italy
| | | | - Alice Proverbio
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, Ed. U6, 20126 Milan, Italy
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Buodo G, Mento G, Sarlo M, Palomba D. Neural correlates of attention to emotional facial expressions in dysphoria. Cogn Emot 2014; 29:604-20. [PMID: 24919984 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2014.926862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The present study investigated whether dysphoric individuals have a difficulty in disengaging attention from negative stimuli and/or reduced attention to positive information. Sad, neutral and happy facial stimuli were presented in an attention-shifting task to 18 dysphoric and 18 control participants. Reaction times to neutral shapes (squares and diamonds) and the event-related potentials to emotional faces were recorded. Dysphoric individuals did not show impaired attentional disengagement from sad faces or facilitated disengagement from happy faces. Right occipital lateralisation of P100 was absent in dysphoric individuals, possibly indicating reduced attention-related sensory facilitation for faces. Frontal P200 was largest for sad faces among dysphoric individuals, whereas controls showed larger amplitude to both sad and happy as compared with neutral expressions, suggesting that dysphoric individuals deployed early attention to sad, but not happy, expressions. Importantly, the results were obtained controlling for the participants' trait anxiety. We conclude that at least under some circumstances the presence of depressive symptoms can modulate early, automatic stages of emotional processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Buodo
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Giovanni Mento
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Michela Sarlo
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Daniela Palomba
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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