title: The development of the perception of facial emotional change examined using ERPs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The development of the perception of changes in facial emotion was investigated using event-related potentials (ERPs) in children and adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four different conditions were presented: (1) N-H: a neutral face that suddenly changed to a happy face. (2) H-N: reverse of N-H. (3) N-A: a neutral face that suddenly changed to an angry face. (4) A-N: reverse of N-A.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the bilateral posterior temporal areas, a negative component was evoked by all conditions in younger children (7-10 years old), older children (11-14 years old), and adults (23-33 years old) within 150-300 ms. Peak latency was significantly shorter and amplitude was significantly smaller in adults than younger and older children. Moreover, maximum amplitude was significantly larger for N-H and N-A than H-N and A-N in younger children and for N-H than the other three conditions in adults.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The areas of the brain involved in perceiving changes in facial emotion have not matured by 14 years of age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study is the first to clarify a difference between children and adults in the perception of facial emotional change.
authors: Department of Integrative Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan. Electronic address: kensaku@nips.ac.jp.
authors: Kensaku
authors: K
authors: Miki
authors: Department of Integrative Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Shoko
authors: S
authors: Watanabe
authors: Department of Integrative Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Mika
authors: M
authors: Teruya
authors: Department of Integrative Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Yasuyuki
authors: Y
authors: Takeshima
authors: Department of Integrative Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Tomokazu
authors: T
authors: Urakawa
authors: Department of Integrative Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors: Masahiro
authors: M
authors: Hirai
authors: Department of Integrative Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Yukiko
authors: Y
authors: Honda
authors: Department of Integrative Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan; Department of Physiological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors: Ryusuke
authors: R
authors: Kakigi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012938:Social Perception; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult