“When You’re Smiling”: How Posed Facial Expressions Affect Visual Recognition of Emotions
Facial imitation occurs automatically during the perception of an emotional facial expression, and preventing it may interfere with the accuracy of emotion recognition. In the present fMRI study, we evaluated the effect of posing a facial expression on the recognition of ambiguous facial expressions...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Brain Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/4/668 |
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| author | Francesca Benuzzi Daniela Ballotta Claudia Casadio Vanessa Zanelli Carlo Adolfo Porro Paolo Frigio Nichelli Fausta Lui |
| author_facet | Francesca Benuzzi Daniela Ballotta Claudia Casadio Vanessa Zanelli Carlo Adolfo Porro Paolo Frigio Nichelli Fausta Lui |
| author_sort | Francesca Benuzzi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Facial imitation occurs automatically during the perception of an emotional facial expression, and preventing it may interfere with the accuracy of emotion recognition. In the present fMRI study, we evaluated the effect of posing a facial expression on the recognition of ambiguous facial expressions. Since facial activity is affected by various factors, such as empathic aptitudes, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) questionnaire was administered and scores were correlated with brain activity. Twenty-six healthy female subjects took part in the experiment. The volunteers were asked to pose a facial expression (happy, disgusted, neutral), then to watch an ambiguous emotional face, finally to indicate whether the emotion perceived was happiness or disgust. As stimuli, blends of happy and disgusted faces were used. Behavioral results showed that posing an emotional face increased the percentage of congruence with the perceived emotion. When participants posed a facial expression and perceived a non-congruent emotion, a neural network comprising bilateral anterior insula was activated. Brain activity was also correlated with empathic traits, particularly with empathic concern, fantasy and personal distress. Our findings support the idea that facial mimicry plays a crucial role in identifying emotions, and that empathic emotional abilities can modulate the brain circuits involved in this process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:11:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-df39379ffd97485e9e412eb9e3396c1e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:11:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-df39379ffd97485e9e412eb9e3396c1e2023-11-17T18:33:24ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252023-04-0113466810.3390/brainsci13040668“When You’re Smiling”: How Posed Facial Expressions Affect Visual Recognition of EmotionsFrancesca Benuzzi0Daniela Ballotta1Claudia Casadio2Vanessa Zanelli3Carlo Adolfo Porro4Paolo Frigio Nichelli5Fausta Lui6Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, ItalyFacial imitation occurs automatically during the perception of an emotional facial expression, and preventing it may interfere with the accuracy of emotion recognition. In the present fMRI study, we evaluated the effect of posing a facial expression on the recognition of ambiguous facial expressions. Since facial activity is affected by various factors, such as empathic aptitudes, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) questionnaire was administered and scores were correlated with brain activity. Twenty-six healthy female subjects took part in the experiment. The volunteers were asked to pose a facial expression (happy, disgusted, neutral), then to watch an ambiguous emotional face, finally to indicate whether the emotion perceived was happiness or disgust. As stimuli, blends of happy and disgusted faces were used. Behavioral results showed that posing an emotional face increased the percentage of congruence with the perceived emotion. When participants posed a facial expression and perceived a non-congruent emotion, a neural network comprising bilateral anterior insula was activated. Brain activity was also correlated with empathic traits, particularly with empathic concern, fantasy and personal distress. Our findings support the idea that facial mimicry plays a crucial role in identifying emotions, and that empathic emotional abilities can modulate the brain circuits involved in this process.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/4/668emotion recognitionfacial expressionsemotionsempathyfMRI |
| spellingShingle | Francesca Benuzzi Daniela Ballotta Claudia Casadio Vanessa Zanelli Carlo Adolfo Porro Paolo Frigio Nichelli Fausta Lui “When You’re Smiling”: How Posed Facial Expressions Affect Visual Recognition of Emotions Brain Sciences emotion recognition facial expressions emotions empathy fMRI |
| title | “When You’re Smiling”: How Posed Facial Expressions Affect Visual Recognition of Emotions |
| title_full | “When You’re Smiling”: How Posed Facial Expressions Affect Visual Recognition of Emotions |
| title_fullStr | “When You’re Smiling”: How Posed Facial Expressions Affect Visual Recognition of Emotions |
| title_full_unstemmed | “When You’re Smiling”: How Posed Facial Expressions Affect Visual Recognition of Emotions |
| title_short | “When You’re Smiling”: How Posed Facial Expressions Affect Visual Recognition of Emotions |
| title_sort | when you re smiling how posed facial expressions affect visual recognition of emotions |
| topic | emotion recognition facial expressions emotions empathy fMRI |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/4/668 |
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