title: Frontal lobe networks for effective processing of ambiguously expressed emotions in humans.
abstract: This study examines the neural substrates involved in the recognition of ambiguous facial expressions using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Subjects performed two tasks, one in which they judged facial expressions and another in which they identified gender. Subtraction between ambiguous expression and clear expression conditions revealed the activation of anterior cingulate (ACC), medial frontal (MeFG) and bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Structural equation modeling showed that the functional connectivity between these areas was greater with the ambiguous expressions than with the clear ones. The activation of the ACC, MeFG, and right IFG was greater with ambiguous expressions than with ambiguous gender. These results suggest that the neural network involving these frontal regions plays a crucial role in the processing of the ambiguously expressed facial emotions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Information Processing, Graduate School of Human Informatics, University of Nagoya, Nagoya, Japan. mfg5@aol.com
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iidaka
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kakehi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsukiura
authors.forename: Takehiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsue
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*