Effect Investigation of Mask on Facial Expression Recognition Using Cerebral Evoked Potentials

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychophysiology
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Facial expression recognition is crucial for social interaction, involving complex visual, emotional, and cognitive processes.
• Limited physiological evidence exists on the underlying cerebral mechanisms and the impact of face masks on this ability.
• Understanding these effects is vital in contexts where masks are prevalent, such as healthcare and public safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the cerebral mechanisms of facial expression recognition using evoked potentials.
• To determine how the presence of face masks affects behavioral and electrophysiological responses during emotion recognition.

Main Methods:

• Recorded behavioral (accuracy, response time) and electrophysiological (evoked potentials at 19 sites) data from 12 subjects.
• Stimuli included various facial expressions presented with and without face masks.
• Analyzed latencies and amplitudes of five evoked potential components (P1, N1, P2, N2, P3) using ANOVA and t-tests.

Main Results:

• Accuracy in facial expression recognition was significantly reduced by masks, with interaction effects observed.
• Response time was affected by expression type but not significantly by mask presence.
• Evoked potentials showed significant differences in latency and amplitude with masks, indicating altered cognitive processing, particularly N1 latency.

Conclusions:

• Face masks demonstrably impair facial expression recognition accuracy and alter cognitive processing.
• Masks affect central resources involved in emotion perception, impacting both behavioral and electrophysiological responses.
• These findings highlight the significant influence of masks on social-cognitive functions.