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Brancucci A, Ferracci S, D'Anselmo A, Manippa V. Hemispheric functional asymmetries and sex effects in visual bistable perception. Conscious Cogn 2023; 113:103551. [PMID: 37429212 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2023.103551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
This study investigates bistable perception as a function of the presentation side of the ambiguous figures and of participants' sex, to evaluate left-right hemispheric (LH-RH) asymmetries related to consciousness. In two experiments using the divided visual field paradigm, two Rubin's vase-faces figures were projected simultaneously and continuously 180 s long to the left (LVF) and right (RVF; Experiment 1) or to the upper (UVF) and lower (DVF; Experiment 2) visual hemifields of 48 healthy subjects monitored with eye-tracker. Experiment 1 enables stimulus segregation from the LVF to the RH and from the RVF to the LH, whereas Experiment 2 does not. Results from Experiment 1 show that males perceived the face profiles for more time in the LVF than in the RVF, with an opposite trend for the vase, whereas females show a similar pattern of perception in the two hemifields. A related result confirmed the previously reported possibility to have simultaneously two different percepts (qualia) in the two hemifields elicited by the two identic ambiguous stimuli, which was here observed to occur more frequently in males. Similar effects were not observed in Experiment 2. These findings suggest that the percepts display the processing abilities of the hemisphere currently processing the stimulus eliciting them (e.g., RH-faces), and that females and males reflect in bistable perception, a genuine manifestation of consciousness, the well-known hemispheric asymmetry differences they show in ordinary perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfredo Brancucci
- Department of Motor, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Italy.
| | - Sara Ferracci
- Department of Neurosciences, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University of Chieti - Pescara "G. d'Annunzio", Italy
| | - Anita D'Anselmo
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University of Chieti - Pescara "G. d'Annunzio", Italy
| | - Valerio Manippa
- Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Italy
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2
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Hauk O, Rice GE, Volfart A, Magnabosco F, Ralph MAL, Rossion B. Face-selective responses in combined EEG/MEG recordings with fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS). Neuroimage 2021; 242:118460. [PMID: 34363957 PMCID: PMC8463833 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) allows the recording of objective brain responses of human face categorization (i.e., generalizable face-selective responses) with high signal-to-noise ratio. This approach has been successfully employed in a number of scalp electroencephalography (EEG) studies but has not been used with magnetoencephalography (MEG) yet, let alone with combined MEG/EEG recordings and distributed source estimation. Here, we presented various natural images of faces periodically (1.2 Hz) among natural images of objects (base frequency 6 Hz) whilst recording simultaneous EEG and MEG in 15 participants. Both measurement modalities showed face-selective responses at 1.2 Hz and harmonics across participants, with high and comparable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in about 3 min of stimulation. The correlation of face categorization responses between EEG and two MEG sensor types was lower than between the two MEG sensor types, indicating that the two sensor modalities provide independent information about the sources of face-selective responses. Face-selective EEG responses were right-lateralized as reported previously, and were numerically but non-significantly right-lateralized in MEG data. Distributed source estimation based on combined EEG/MEG signals confirmed a more bilateral face-selective response in visual brain regions located anteriorly to the common response to all stimuli at 6 Hz and harmonics. Conventional sensor and source space analyses of evoked responses in the time domain further corroborated this result. Our results demonstrate that FPVS in combination with simultaneously recorded EEG and MEG may serve as an efficient localizer paradigm for human face categorization.
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Affiliation(s)
- O Hauk
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK.
| | - G E Rice
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
| | - A Volfart
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, CRAN UMR 7039, Nancy F-54000, France; Research Institute for Psychological Science, University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - F Magnabosco
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
| | - M A Lambon Ralph
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
| | - B Rossion
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, CRAN UMR 7039, Nancy F-54000, France; Université de Lorraine, CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, Nancy F-54000, France
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3
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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: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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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4
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Tanaka M, Yamada E, Maekawa T, Ogata K, Takamiya N, Nakazono H, Tobimatsu S. Gender differences in subliminal affective face priming: A high-density ERP study. Brain Behav 2021; 11:e02060. [PMID: 33528111 PMCID: PMC8035456 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2060] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Subliminal affective priming effects (SAPEs) refer to the phenomenon by which the presentation of an affective prime stimulus influences the subsequent affective evaluation of a target stimulus. Previous studies have reported that unconsciously processed stimuli affect behavioral performance more than consciously processed stimuli. However, the impact of SAPEs on the face-specific N170 component is unclear. We studied how SAPEs for fearful faces affected the N170 for subsequent supraliminal target faces using event-related potentials (ERPs). METHODS Japanese adults (n = 44, 20 females) participated in this study. Subliminal prime faces (neutral or fearful) were presented for 17 ms, followed by a backward mask for 283 ms and 800 ms target faces (neutral, emotionally ambiguous, or fearful). 128-channel ERPs were recorded while participants judged the expression of target faces as neutral or fearful. Response rates and response times were also measured for assessing behavioral alterations. RESULTS Although the behavioral results revealed no evidence of SAPEs, we found gender-related SAPEs in right N170 amplitude. Specifically, female participants exhibited enhanced right N170 amplitude for emotionally neutral faces primed by fearful faces, while male participants exhibited decreased N170 amplitude in fearful prime trials with fearful target faces. Male participants exhibited significant correlations between N170 amplitude and behavioral response time in the fearful prime-neutral target condition. CONCLUSIONS Our ERP results suggest the existence of a gender difference in target-face processing preceded by subliminally presented face stimuli in the right occipito-temporal region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mutsuhide Tanaka
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurological Institute, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.,Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Science, Kyushu University of Health and Welfare, Nobeoka, Japan
| | - Emi Yamada
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurological Institute, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Toshihiko Maekawa
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurological Institute, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Katsuya Ogata
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurological Institute, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Naomi Takamiya
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurological Institute, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Hisato Nakazono
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurological Institute, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Shozo Tobimatsu
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurological Institute, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
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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: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [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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Klümper L, Wühr P, Hassebrauck M, Schwarz S. Automaticity of facial attractiveness perception and sex-specific mating strategies. Cognition 2020; 204:104379. [PMID: 32585470 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The current literature shows mixed results regarding whether the perception of facial attractiveness is automatic, i.e. that it operates independently from attentional resources. We argue that an evolutionary perspective on mating strategies provides a comprehensive account of the findings. In two studies, we used the locus-of-slack logic in a psychological refractory period paradigm. Task 1 was a speeded judgment of tone pitch (low vs. high), and Task 2 was a speeded judgment of whether a face was attractive or unattractive on two difficulty levels. Male and female participants judged the attractiveness of opposite-sex faces (Study 1, n = 73) or same-sex faces (Study 2, n = 94) in this paradigm. Results indicate that men do not need attentional resources when processing female faces (Study 1), but require attentional resources when processing same-sex faces (Study 2). In contrast, women need attentional resources to process the attractiveness of opposite as well as same-sex faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Klümper
- University of Wuppertal, Human and Social Sciences, Social and Personality Psychology, Germany.
| | - Peter Wühr
- University of Dortmund, Educational Research, Psychology and Sociology, General Psychology and Research Methods, Germany
| | - Manfred Hassebrauck
- University of Wuppertal, Human and Social Sciences, Social and Personality Psychology, Germany
| | - Sascha Schwarz
- University of Wuppertal, Human and Social Sciences, Social and Personality Psychology, Germany
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7
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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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8
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Variations in relationship between fundamental frequency and intensity in speech of children during development. JOURNAL OF CULTURAL COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s41809-018-0018-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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9
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Stasch J, Mohr B, Neuhaus AH. Disentangling the interaction of sex differences and hemispheric specialization for face processing – Evidence from ERPs. Biol Psychol 2018; 136:144-150. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2017] [Revised: 11/24/2017] [Accepted: 06/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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10
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Carrito ML, Bem-Haja P, Silva CF, Perrett DI, Santos IM. Event-related potentials modulated by the perception of sexual dimorphism: The influence of attractiveness and sex of faces. Biol Psychol 2018; 137:1-11. [PMID: 29913202 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.06.002] [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: 11/17/2017] [Accepted: 06/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Sexual dimorphism has been proposed as one of the facial traits to have evolved through sexual selection and to affect attractiveness perception. Even with numerous studies documenting its effect on attractiveness and mate choice, the neurophysiological correlates of the perception of sexual dimorphism are not yet fully understood. In the present study, event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during visualisation of faces that had been previously transformed in shape to appear more masculine or more feminine. The participants' task consisted of judging the attractiveness of half of the total number of faces, and performing a sex discrimination task on the other half. Both early and late potentials were modulated by the sex of faces, whereas the effect of the sexually dimorphic transform was mainly visible in the P2 (positive deflection around 200 ms after stimulus onset), EPN (early posterior negativity) and LPP (late positive potential) components. There was an effect of sexual dimorphism on P2 and EPN amplitudes when female participants visualised male faces, which may indicate that masculinity is particularly attended to when viewing opposite sex members. Also, ERP results seem to support the idea of sex differences in social categorisation decisions regarding faces, although differences were not evident on behavioural results. In general, these findings contribute to a better understanding of how humans perceive sexually dimorphic characteristics in other individuals' faces and how they affect attractiveness judgements.
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Affiliation(s)
- M L Carrito
- Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; ISPA - Instituto Universitário, William James Center for Research, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal; Centre for Psychology at University of Porto, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
| | - P Bem-Haja
- Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - C F Silva
- Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - D I Perrett
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary's Quad, South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - I M Santos
- Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
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Abstract
Adult sex ratios in a local environment are linked to a wide variety of reproductive behaviors in humans and other animals. When sex ratios are biased, the more numerous sex faces increased competition for mates and is more likely to yield to the sociosexual preferences of the less numerous sex. Despite widespread evidence of the relationship between sex ratios and behavior, we know little about whether or how sex ratios are encoded and perceived. In two experiments men and women showed perceived sex ratios that correlated with actual sex ratios after 1500 ms exposures to groups of simultaneous voices. However, men perceived more female voices than women did, and women perceived more male voices than men did. Women showed better accuracy than men, but only when sex ratios departed markedly from 50%. Increasing the number of simultaneous voices reduced accuracy, but only at extreme sex ratios. Talker age also significantly affected perceived sex ratios, suggesting that perceived operational sex ratios are adaptively linked to the reproductive viability of the local population. The results suggest that listeners automatically encode vocal sex ratio information and that perceived sex ratios are influenced by characteristics of the local population and characteristics of the listener.
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Affiliation(s)
- John G Neuhoff
- The College of Wooster, 1189 Beall Ave, Wooster, OH 44691, USA.
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12
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Association between Neuroticism and Emotional Face Processing. Sci Rep 2017; 7:17669. [PMID: 29247161 PMCID: PMC5732281 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-17706-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroticism is one of the “Big Five” personality factors and is characterized by a tendency to experience negative affect. We aimed to investigate how neuroticism influences the neural correlates for processing of emotional facial expressions. 68 healthy participants were presented with emotional dynamic facial stimuli, i.e. happy, neutral or angry, during functional MRI. Brain activations for the contrasts emotional vs. neutral, happy vs. neutral and angry vs. neutral were correlated with individuals’ neuroticism scores as obtained by the NEO Five Factor Inventory questionnaire and additionally investigated for gender differences. The bilateral medial temporal gyrus (MTG) was identified as key region in the processing of emotional faces and activations within this region correlated with individual neuroticism scores. Although female participants showed significantly stronger activation differences between emotional and neutral facial expressions in the left MTG, the correlation between activation and neuroticism scores did not show any significant gender differences. Our results offer for the first time a biological correlate within the face processing network for enhanced reactivity of neurotic individuals to emotional facial expressions which occurs similarly for both male and female participants.
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13
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Vanston JE, Strother L. Sex differences in the human visual system. J Neurosci Res 2017; 95:617-625. [PMID: 27870438 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2016] [Revised: 07/20/2016] [Accepted: 08/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
This Mini-Review summarizes a wide range of sex differences in the human visual system, with a primary focus on sex differences in visual perception and its neural basis. We highlight sex differences in both basic and high-level visual processing, with evidence from behavioral, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging studies. We argue that sex differences in human visual processing, no matter how small or subtle, support the view that females and males truly see the world differently. We acknowledge some of the controversy regarding sex differences in human vision and propose that such controversy should be interpreted as a source of motivation for continued efforts to assess the validity and reliability of published sex differences and for continued research on sex differences in human vision and the nervous system in general. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- John E Vanston
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada
| | - Lars Strother
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada
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14
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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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15
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Tiedt HO, Lueschow A, Pauls A, Weber JE. The face-responsive M170 is modulated by sensor selection: An example of circularity in the analysis of MEG-data. J Neurosci Methods 2016; 266:137-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2016.03.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2015] [Revised: 03/05/2016] [Accepted: 03/31/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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16
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Electrophysiological evidence for separation between human face and non-face object processing only in the right hemisphere. Int J Psychophysiol 2015; 98:119-27. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2015] [Revised: 07/13/2015] [Accepted: 07/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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17
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Abstract
Faces represent valuable signals for social cognition and non-verbal communication. A wealth of research indicates that women tend to excel in recognition of facial expressions. However, it remains unclear whether females are better tuned to faces. We presented healthy adult females and males with a set of newly created food-plate images resembling faces (slightly bordering on the Giuseppe Arcimboldo style). In a spontaneous recognition task, participants were shown a set of images in a predetermined order from the least to most resembling a face. Females not only more readily recognized the images as a face (they reported resembling a face on images, on which males still did not), but gave on overall more face responses. The findings are discussed in the light of gender differences in deficient face perception. As most neuropsychiatric, neurodevelopmental and psychosomatic disorders characterized by social brain abnormalities are sex specific, the task may serve as a valuable tool for uncovering impairments in visual face processing.
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18
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Tiedt HO, Beier KM, Lueschow A, Pauls A, Weber JE. A different pattern of lateralised brain activity during processing of loved faces in men and women: A MEG study. Biol Psychol 2014; 103:255-61. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2013] [Revised: 07/01/2014] [Accepted: 09/29/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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19
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He W, Brock J, Johnson BW. Face processing in the brains of pre-school aged children measured with MEG. Neuroimage 2014; 106:317-27. [PMID: 25463467 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.11.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2014] [Revised: 10/29/2014] [Accepted: 11/13/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022] Open
Abstract
There are two competing theories concerning the development of face perception: a late maturation account and an early maturation account. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) neuroimaging holds promise for adjudicating between the two opposing accounts by providing objective neurophysiological measures of face processing, with sufficient temporal resolution to isolate face-specific brain responses from those associated with other sensory, cognitive and motor processes. The current study used a customized child MEG system to measure M100 and M170 brain responses in 15 children aged three to six years while they viewed faces, cars and their phase-scrambled counterparts. Compared to adults tested using the same stimuli in a conventional MEG system, children showed significantly larger and later M100 responses. Children's M170 responses, derived by subtracting the responses to phase-scrambled images from the corresponding images (faces or cars) were delayed in latency but otherwise resembled the adult M170. This component has not been obtained in previous studies of young children tested using conventional adult MEG systems. However children did show a markedly reduced M170 response to cars in comparison to adults. This may reflect children's lack of expertise with cars relative to faces. Taken together, these data are in accord with recent behavioural and neuroimaging data that support early maturation of the basic face processing functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei He
- Department of Cognitive Science, ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
| | - Jon Brock
- Department of Cognitive Science, ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Blake W Johnson
- Department of Cognitive Science, ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia
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Neural and behavioral responses to attractiveness in adult and infant faces. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2014; 46 Pt 4:591-603. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.08.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2014] [Revised: 07/24/2014] [Accepted: 08/26/2014] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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