Modification of N170 by different emotional expression of schematic faces

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychophysiology
• Visual Perception

Background:

• The N170 is a recognized electrophysiological marker for face perception, typically maximal at occipito-temporal sites with right-hemisphere bias.
• The influence of facial emotional expressions on the N170 component remains a subject of debate.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether the N170 is modulated by different emotional expressions (happy vs. angry) of schematic faces.
• To examine the semantic processing of facial emotional expressions using a prime-probe paradigm.

Main Methods:

• A prime-probe procedure was employed, presenting German words (happiness/anger) followed by schematic faces (happy/angry).
• Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 124 sites, analyzing the N170 and N400 components.
• Participants performed a semantic congruency judgment task, counting congruent word-face emotion pairs.

Main Results:

• A reduced N400 effect for congruent word-face pairs confirmed cognitive processing of facial emotion.
• The N170 component was most prominent at posterior and occipital scalp locations.
• N170 amplitudes were significantly larger for angry faces compared to happy faces.

Conclusions:

• Facial emotional expressions, even in schematic faces, can modulate the amplitude of the face-sensitive N170 component.
• This suggests that early stages of face processing are sensitive to emotional valence.