Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Research FocusAsymmetries in face and brain related to emotion
Section snippets
Affective processes are asymmetrically represented in the brain
Using a variety of methods to make inferences about regionally specific patterns of activation, many investigators have now reported systematic asymmetries in patterns of activation in specific brain regions in response to certain types of positive and negative affective challenges (for reviews, see 4, 5). Despite the complexities associated with aggregating studies with vastly different experimental designs, a recent meta-analytic review has also supported the notion that certain forms of
The Nicholls et al. study
There are several notable features of the recent report by Nicholls et al. (compare with 11, 12) that represent a potentially significant advance over other efforts in the past (for reviews, see 13, 14).
First, they used a sensitive 3D imaging technique to capture facial behavior. This method measures movement that is perpendicular to the facial surface and could detect movement in this plane to an accuracy of 0.16mm, relative to a neutral face baseline. Second, they had observers rate facial
Why should affect be asymmetrically organized?
Much has been written on the possible adaptive significance of an asymmetrically organized brain (see 20, 21 for recent reviews). In a series of articles, Davidson 7, 22, 23 has suggested, based upon a diverse corpus of literature, that a fundamental dimension along which certain prefrontal regions are specialized is the approach–withdrawal dimension. Approach-related positive affect, particularly those forms of positive affect that involve the implementation of appetitive goals, are
References (25)
- et al.
The functional neuroanatomy of emotion and affective style
Trends Cogn. Sci.
(1999) Digitizing the moving face during dynamic displays of emotion
Neuropsychologia
(2000)Functional asymmetry of emotions in primates: new findings in chimpanzees
Brain Res. Bull.
(2002)Facial asymmetry during emotional expression: gender, valence, and measurement technique
Neuropsychologia
(1998)- Darwin, C. (1872/1998) The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (3rd edn) (Ekman, P. ed), Oxford University...
- Ekman, P. et al. (eds) (2003) Emotions inside out: 130 years after Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and...
Detecting hemifacial asymmetries in emotional expression with three-dimensional computerized image analysis
Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. Biol. Sci.
(2004)Functional neuroanatomy of emotions: a meta-analysis
Cogn. Affect. Behav. Neurosci.
(2003)Neuropsychological differentiation of depression and anxiety
J. Abnorm. Psychol.
(2000)Affective neuroscience and psychophysiology: toward a synthesis
Psychophysiology
(2003)