title: Neuroelectrical correlates of trustworthiness and dominance judgments related to the observation of political candidates.
abstract: The present research investigates the neurophysiological activity elicited by fast observations of faces of real candidates during simulated political elections. We used simultaneous recording of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals as well as galvanic skin response (GSR) and heart rate (HR) as measurements of central and autonomic nervous systems. Twenty healthy subjects were asked to give judgments on dominance, trustworthiness, and a preference of vote related to the politicians' faces. We used high-resolution EEG techniques to map statistical differences of power spectral density (PSD) cortical activity onto a realistic head model as well as partial directed coherence (PDC) and graph theory metrics to estimate the functional connectivity networks and investigate the role of cortical regions of interest (ROIs). Behavioral results revealed that judgment of dominance trait is the most predictive of the outcome of the simulated elections. Statistical comparisons related to PSD and PDC values highlighted an asymmetry in the activation of frontal cortical areas associated with the valence of the judged trait as well as to the probability to cast the vote. Overall, our results highlight the existence of cortical EEG features which are correlated with the prediction of vote and with the judgment of trustworthy and dominant faces.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, "Sapienza" University, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vecchiato
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer, Control, and Management Engineering, "Sapienza" University, Viale Ariosto 5, 00185 Rome, Italy ; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Jlenia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Toppi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics, "Sapienza" University, Via Borelli 50, 00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Anton Giulio
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Maglione
authors.affiliation: Nałęcz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, 4 Trojdena Street, 02-109 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Elzbieta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Olejarczyk
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer, Control, and Management Engineering, "Sapienza" University, Viale Ariosto 5, 00185 Rome, Italy ; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Astolfi
authors.affiliation: IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mattia
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics, "Sapienza" University, Via Borelli 50, 00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Colosimo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, "Sapienza" University, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy ; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Babiloni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005145:Face / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011057:Politics; D012867:Skin