W3L1 - Face processing and emotion

Question 1

Facial Emotional Recognition Evidence for Innateness

Answer 1

Universal facial expression hypothesis: Evolved to recognize emotions

• Expressions are similar in closely related species (> Innate decoding)
• Emotional expressions are evident in deaf and blind people (But blind are less proficient at posing)

Question 2

Facial Emotional Recognition: Theory for importance

Answer 2

Ability to decode intention conveys benefit for survival

Question 3

Facial Emotional Recognition Evidence for Cross-cultural similarity.

Answer 3

High cross-cultural (both literate and preliterate) agreement in judgments of emotions in faces

6/7(contempt) basic emotions

Question 4

What is the Anger Superiority Effect. Study

Answer 4

Finding the face in the crowd

• Some people find an advantage for happy faces
• Target Absent consistent take longer than Target Present
• In both Target Present/Absent, angry faces identified consistently faster

Question 5

What is the Anger Superiority Effect. Study’s Caveat.

Answer 5

1) May depend on stimulus set: Larger set size take longer

2) May depend on feature strength: E.g. whiteness of teeth

Question 6

What supports the feature strength hypothesis of identifying emotions

Answer 6

Facial Action Coding (FAC): Combination of components indicating specific emotions

Emotion perception of morphed faces reveals categorical perception:

Anger, fear and sadness = Top half of the face
Happiness and disgust = Bottom half of face
Surprise = Equally recognisable
> Suggest non-holistic processing, from subset of face

Question 7

Are features are used to encode facial expression?

Answer 7

Impaired decoding. Composite effects found suggest holistic processing

Identification of Upper Expression:
1.) Aligned vs. misaligned happy = SLOW
2.) Aligned vs. misaligned angry = FAST
> Effects disappear with inversion
> Indicative of holistic processing (susceptible to same effects)

Question 8

From the composite task, what can we say about recognition and expression perception

Answer 8

Recognition and Expression perception are independent.

Expression judgements for composites are unaffected by their component faces’ identities, vice versa (i.e. task on expression, identity does not affect)

Question 9

Can prosopagnosics decode expressions of emotion

Answer 9

Mixed on Developmental Prosopagnosics

Yes:
- Can label basic facial expression and even decode difficult to categorise emotions

No:
- Deficits in facial expression recognition
> Suggest using individual features to decode?

Question 10

Can prosopagnosics decode expressions of emotion. Evidence for non-holistic.

Answer 10

Impaired decoding. Composite Effect: Identity or emotion match (blocked top/bottom)

• Aligned v Misaligned face no difference for prosopagnosics unlike controls.
• Both identity and emotions alike.

Question 11

What do models of face recognition suggest for expression

Answer 11

Independence.

Bruce & Young:
Dedicated route for Expression

Haxby et al. (2000):
Superior Temporal Sulcus (STS) = Expression
Ventral Temporal Route (include FFA) = Identity

Question 12

Do we have different locations for different emotions

Answer 12

Yes. Probably.

Question 13

Behavioural Evidence to suggest different locations for different emotions

Answer 13

Dynamic changes in muscle activity over time for different facial expressions suggest decoding over time

Disgust, anger, fear move more quickly.

Question 14

Physiological Evidence to suggest different locations for different emotions. Activation Study

Answer 14

Activation: 
120ms - Fast (low-dirty road)
170ms - Detailed perception
300ms - Conceptual knowledge 
Unlike FFA, dynamic network

Question 15

Physiological Evidence to suggest different locations for different emotions. MEG study

Answer 15

MEG - Response to happy/fear/neutral in identity/emotion task
90ms - Orbito-frontal response to emotion without attention
170ms - Right-insula response to emotion with attention
220ms - Identity processing

> Emotions before Identity Amygdala

Question 16

What is the role of the amygdala in emotions processing. First evidences.

Answer 16

Evaluation of avoidance/withdrawal expressions impaired by lobectomy (esp fear: role of amygdala)

Question 17

To what degree does Face specific amygdala fear responses?

Answer 17

Faces Vs Non-face threatening stimuli in matching task

• Preferential right amygdala response to faces

Question 18

What else does the Amygdala mediate other than fear

Answer 18

Anger, Disgust, Sadness, Happiness

• May be responsive to all emotional-relevant information, not just fear
• Activated in tasks requiring emotional decision-making

Question 19

Are all facial features important for encoding fear? Amygdala

Answer 19

• Amygdala responsive to large eye whites in fear (and surprise) expressions Black eye no difference, implicate whiteness of eyes are important
• But does respond more to whole faces (We can get responses to purely eyes, even though holistic processing leads to larger responses).

Question 20

Who is SM. What can he do/ cannot

Answer 20

Bilateral amygdala lesion

Can:
- Perceive fearful tones in voice
- Perceive body positions (May have information)
- Normal startle
> Neural pathway independent of the amygdala

Cannot:

• Recognize facial emotion in others (whiteness eyes). Look at mouth.
• Lack of natural fear to snakes and spiders
• Lack ofloss aversion (gambling)

Question 21

Eye tracking in SM. What happens when he’s told to look

Answer 21

Absence of fixations on the eyes across emotions (Control look at eyes; SM no)

SM can scan eyes when instructed:

• Accuracy fear case: When asked to move eyes, SM decoding moves up to normal
• > Suggests that the amygdala is important for IMITATING eye movements for emotional decision-making (recognizing fear)

Question 22

What are some disorders associated with disrupted facial emotion processing

Answer 22

PTSD; Phobias; Depression; Schizophrenia; Autism