 |
| Research article summary (published 29 Nov 2002): |
Seeing happy emotion in fearful and angry faces: qualitative analysis of facial expression recognition in a bilateral amygdala-damaged patient.
Full Abstract
Neuropsychological studies reported that bilateral amygdala-damaged patients had impaired recognition of facial expressions of fear. However, the specificity of this impairment remains unclear. To address this issue, we carried out two experiments concerning the recognition of facial expression in a patient with bilateral amygdala damage (HY). In Experiment 1, subjects matched the emotion of facial expressions with appropriate verbal labels, using standardized photographs of facial expressions illustrating six basic emotions. The performance of HY was compared with age-matched normal controls (n = 13) and brain-damaged controls (n = 9). HY was less able to recognize facial expressions showing fear than normal controls. In addition, the error pattern exhibited by HY for facial expressions of fear and anger were distinct from those exhibited by both control groups, and suggested that HY confused these emotions with happiness. In Experiment 2, subjects were presented with morphed facial expressions that blended happiness and fear, happiness and anger, or happiness and sadness. Subjects were requested to categorize these expressions by two-way forced-choice selection. The performance of HY was compared with age-matched normal controls (n = 8). HY categorized the morphed fearful and angry expressions blended with some happy content as happy facial expressions more frequently than normal controls. These findings support the idea that amygdala-damaged patients have impaired processing of facial expressions relating to certain negative emotions, particularly fear and anger. More specifically, amygdala-damaged patients seem to give positively biased evaluations for these negative facial expressions.
Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills
Author information
Author/s: Sato, Wataru (W); Kubota, Yasutaka (Y); Okada, Takashi (T); Murai, Toshiya (T); Yoshikawa, Sakiko (S); Sengoku, Akira (A);
Affiliation: Department of Cognitive Psychology in Education, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. L50158(-atsign-)sakura.kudpc.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Case Reports; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Journal: Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior (Cortex), published in Italy. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2002-Dec; vol 38 (issue 5) : pp 727-42
Dates: Created 2002/12/31; Completed 2003/04/18; Revised 2006/11/15;
PMID: 12507042, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):
Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.
This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.
MeSH headings (categories)
This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.
|
|
Related articles
This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.
See a large map of 100+ related articles.