title: Processing of facial expressions of emotions in healthy volunteers: an exploration with event-related potentials and personality traits.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Previous studies have shown that event-related potentials (ERPs) are modulated by anxiety or psychopathic personality traits. Therefore, we hypothesized that the automatic processing of facial expressions of emotions (FEE) is also correlated with related disordered personality traits.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-seven healthy volunteers underwent both an "oddball" ERP recording to facial expressions of Anger, Happiness, Sadness, and Neutral, and a test of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean reaction time was longer in response to anger than to other facial expressions. Facial expressions of Anger, Happiness and Sadness did not affect N1 (N170). By contrast, Happiness elicited a delayed P2, Anger elicited both a smaller N2 and a delayed P3b, and both Happiness and Anger elicited a P3b of higher amplitude. In addition, P3a latencies to Happiness were negatively correlated with DAPP Identity problems, and P3b latencies to Happiness were negatively correlated with DAPP Stimulus seeking, Callousness, Passive aggressivity, and Narcissism.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study demonstrates that Anger implicitly captures attentional resources, and Happiness triggers more facilitated processing in individuals with dissocial traits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yuhangtang Road 866, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.forename: W Z
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger / Q000502:physiology; D001007:Anxiety; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005145:Face / Q000502:physiology; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult