title: Investigating the brain basis of facial expression perception using multi-voxel pattern analysis.
abstract: Humans can readily decode emotion expressions from faces and perceive them in a categorical manner. The model by Haxby and colleagues proposes a number of different brain regions with each taking over specific roles in face processing. One key question is how these regions directly compare to one another in successfully discriminating between various emotional facial expressions. To address this issue, we compared the predictive accuracy of all key regions from the Haxby model using multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Regions of interest were extracted using independent meta-analytical data. Participants viewed four classes of facial expressions (happy, angry, fearful and neutral) in an event-related fMRI design, while performing an orthogonal gender recognition task. Activity in all regions allowed for robust above-chance predictions. When directly comparing the regions to one another, fusiform gyrus and superior temporal sulcus (STS) showed highest accuracies. These results underscore the role of the fusiform gyrus as a key region in perception of facial expressions, alongside STS. The study suggests the need for further specification of the relative role of the various brain areas involved in the perception of facial expression. Face processing appears to rely on more interactive and functionally overlapping neural mechanisms than previously conceptualised.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany; Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany. Electronic address: martin.wegrzyn@uni-bielefeld.de.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wegrzyn
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Riehle
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Centre Bethel, Krankenhaus Mara, Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Labudda
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Centre Bethel, Krankenhaus Mara, Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Friedrich
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Woermann
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baumgartner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pollmann
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Centre Bethel, Krankenhaus Mara, Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Bien
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany; Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kissler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Emotion; Face perception; Facial expressions; MVPA; fMRI