Clear signals or mixed messages: inter-individual emotion congruency modulates brain activity underlying affective body perception.

ABSTRACT: The neural basis of emotion perception has mostly been investigated with single face or body stimuli. However, in daily life one may also encounter affective expressions by groups, e.g. an angry mob or an exhilarated concert crowd. In what way is brain activity modulated when several individuals express similar rather than different emotions? We investigated this question using an experimental design in which we presented two stimuli simultaneously, with same or different emotional expressions. We hypothesized that, in the case of two same-emotion stimuli, brain activity would be enhanced, while in the case of two different emotions, one emotion would interfere with the effect of the other. The results showed that the simultaneous perception of different affective body expressions leads to

SUBMITTER: de Borst AW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4967801 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature