Electromyographic responses to emotional facial expressions in 6-7year olds: a feasibility study.
Preliminary studies have demonstrated that school-aged children (average age 9-10years) show mimicry responses to happy and angry facial expressions. The aim of the present study was to assess the feasibility of using facial electromyography (EMG) as a method to study facial mimicry responses in younger children aged 6-7years to emotional facial expressions of other children. Facial EMG activity to the presentation of dynamic emotional faces was recorded from the corrugator, zygomaticus, frontalis and depressor muscle in sixty-one healthy participants aged 6-7years. Results showed that the presentation of angry faces was associated with corrugator activation and zygomaticus relaxation, happy faces with an increase in zygomaticus and a decrease in corrugator activation, fearful faces with frontalis activation, and sad faces with a combination of corrugator and frontalis activation. This study demonstrates the feasibility of measuring facial EMG response to emotional facial expressions in 6-7year old children.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands. p.k.h.deschamps@umcutrecht.nl
P K H
PK
Deschamps
I
I
Schutte
J L
JL
Kenemans
W
W
Matthys
D J L G
DJ
Schutter
D000375:Aging; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D004576:Electromyography; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005152:Facial Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests