Perception of emotional expressions is independent of face selectivity in monkey inferior temporal cortex.

ABSTRACT: The ability to perceive and differentiate facial expressions is vital for social communication. Numerous functional MRI (fMRI) studies in humans have shown enhanced responses to faces with different emotional valence, in both the amygdala and the visual cortex. However, relatively few studies have examined how valence influences neural responses in monkeys, thereby limiting the ability to draw comparisons across species and thus understand the underlying neural mechanisms. Here we tested the effects of macaque facial expressions on neural activation within these two regions using fMRI in three awake, behaving monkeys. Monkeys maintained central fixation while blocks of different monkey facial expressions were presented. Four different facial expressions were tested: (i) neutral, (ii) aggre

SUBMITTER: Hadj-Bouziane F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2291084 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature