文章基本信息

标题：Elevated responses to constant facial emotions in different faces in the human amygdala: an fMRI study of facial identity and expression
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作者：Jan Gläscher ; Oliver Tüscher ; Cornelius Weiller 等
期刊名称：BMC Neuroscience
印刷版ISSN：1471-2202
电子版ISSN：1471-2202
出版年度：2004
卷号：5
期号：1
页码：1
DOI：10.1186/1471-2202-5-45
语种：English
出版社：BioMed Central
摘要：Background Human faces provide important signals in social interactions by inferring two main types of information, individual identity and emotional expression. The ability to readily assess both, the variability and consistency among emotional expressions in different individuals, is central to one's own interpretation of the imminent environment. A factorial design was used to systematically test the interaction of either constant or variable emotional expressions with constant or variable facial identities in areas involved in face processing using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results Previous studies suggest a predominant role of the amygdala in the assessment of emotional variability. Here we extend this view by showing that this structure activated to faces with changing identities that display constant emotional expressions. Within this condition, amygdala activation was dependent on the type and intensity of displayed emotion, with significant responses to fearful expressions and, to a lesser extent so to neutral and happy expressions. In contrast, the lateral fusiform gyrus showed a binary pattern of increased activation to changing stimulus features while it was also differentially responsive to the intensity of displayed emotion when processing different facial identities. Conclusions These results suggest that the amygdala might serve to detect constant facial emotions in different individuals, complementing its established role for detecting emotional variability.