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Published on: March 15, 2019
Brain systems for assessing the affective value of faces
Christopher P Said1, James V Haxby, Alexander Todorov
1Computational Neuroimaging Laboratory, Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA. chris.said@nyu.edu
Summary
Facial expression recognition and face evaluation involve shared cognitive neuroscience mechanisms. Brain responses to neutral faces may be coded by typicality, integrating perception and evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Social Neuroscience
Background:
- Facial expression recognition and face evaluation research has grown significantly.
- Despite advancements, fundamental questions about these processes remain unanswered.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current understanding of facial expression recognition and face evaluation.
- To identify knowns and unknowns in the field.
- To propose an integrated cognitive neuroscience framework.
Main Methods:
- Behavioral evidence linking neutral face trait perception to facial expression perception.
- Discussion of cortical systems involved in facial expression perception, including the superior temporal sulcus and fusiform gyrus.
- Analysis of brain responses to emotionally neutral faces using a large group analysis across three studies.
Main Results:
- Perception of traits in neutral faces may share mechanisms with facial expression perception.
- Evidence suggests partial functional segregation within cortical face perception networks.
- Faces appear to be coded in terms of typicality, explaining inconsistencies in prior research.
Conclusions:
- Integrating research on emotional expressions and face evaluation into a unified cognitive neuroscience framework is proposed.
- Understanding face perception requires considering both expression recognition and trait evaluation.
- Typicality coding offers a parsimonious explanation for brain responses to neutral faces.
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