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| Research article summary (published 29 Apr 2003): |
Why are smiles contagious? An fMRI study of the interaction between perception of facial affect and facial movements.
Full Abstract
In human communication there is often a close relationship between the perception of an emotionally expressive face and the facial response of the viewer himself. Whereas perception and generation of facial expressions have been studied separately with functional imaging methods, no studies exist on their interaction. We combined the presentation of emotionally expressive faces with the instruction to react with facial movements predetermined and assigned. fMRI was used in an event related design to examine healthy subjects while they regarded happy, sad, or neutral faces and were instructed to simultaneously move the corners of their mouths either (a). upwards or (b). downwards, or (c). to refrain from movement. The subjects' facial movements were recorded with an MR-compatible video camera. Movement latencies were shortened in congruent situations (e.g. the presentation of a happy face and combined with upward movements) and delayed in non-congruent situations. Dissonant more than congruent stimuli activated the inferior prefrontal cortex and the somatomotor cortex bilaterally. The congruent condition, in particular when seeing a happy face, activated the medial basotemporal lobes (hippocampus, amygdala, parahippocampal region). We hypothesize that this region facilitates congruent facial movements when an emotionally expressive face is perceived and that it is part of a system for non-volitional emotional facial movements.
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Author information
Author/s: Wild, Barbara (B); Erb, Michael (M); Eyb, Michael (M); Bartels, Mathias (M); Grodd, Wolfgang (W);
Affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. bawild@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Journal: Psychiatry research (Psychiatry Res), published in Ireland. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2003-May; vol 123 (issue 1) : pp 17-36
Dates: Created 2003/05/09; Completed 2003/10/03; Revised 2008/04/17;
PMID: 12738341, 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.
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