Why looks can be deceiving
New research points to brain regions that recognize facial
expressions---or do not
聽It鈥檚 Valentine鈥檚 Day, he forgot to bring flowers, and somehow
that painfully sad look on her face is simply not registering in
his mind.聽 Could be it鈥檚 a problem in his prefrontal
cortex?
Neuropsychology researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute
and Hospital 鈥� The Neuro, 海角社区, have found that two
areas of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are critical for either
detecting or distinguishing emotions from facial expressions.聽
People with damage to these areas cannot understand the wide
variety of facial expressions that convey social signals, which are
important for anyone trying to navigate their way in society.聽
And not only on Valentine鈥檚 Day.
Dr. Lesley Fellows, lead investigator, and her student Ami Tsuchida
studied a large sample of patients with damage to various regions
within the PFC, testing to see where damage had the biggest impact
on emotion recognition.聽 The result of their tests led to
conclusions about two sub-regions of the PFC that until now had
been little studied.
鈥淧atients with damage to the ventromedial PFC had a hard time
distinguishing a neutral facial expression from emotional ones,鈥�
said Dr. Fellows.聽 鈥淧atients with left ventrolateral PFC
damage recognized that an emotion was present in the expression,
but had difficulty telling one emotion from another.
鈥淭he ability to cross-over research and clinical work enables
crucial advances in science and medicine, a prime example of the
benefits of The Neuro鈥檚 integrated model as a combined hospital and
research institute,鈥� adds Dr. Fellows. The research, published in
the journal Cerebral Cortex, adds to our understanding of how our
brains detect emotional expressions and interpret the meaning of
those expressions.聽 The findings could help to understand some
of the difficulties in social behaviour seen in neuropsychiatric
illnesses including certain forms of dementia, autism, or after a
traumatic brain injury.
Dr. Lesley Fellows, neurologist and researcher at The Neuro,
specializes in disorders of cognition.
Ami Tsuchida is a doctoral candidate in 海角社区鈥檚
Integrated Program in Neuroscience.
The work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Fonds de Recherche en Sant茅 du Quebec, as well as a Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships Doctoral Award.
About the Montreal Neurological Institute and
Hospital
The Neuro is an academic medical centre dedicated to neuroscience.
As a research and teaching institute of 海角社区, The
Neuro is at the centre of the neuroscience mission of the 海角社区
University Health Centre. Founded in 1934 by eminent neurosurgeon
Wilder Penfield, The Neuro has achieved international renown for
its integration of research, outstanding patient care and advanced
training. Neuro researchers and clinicians have world-class
expertise in cellular and molecular neuroscience, brain imaging,
cognitive neuroscience, as well as in the study and treatment of
epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and neuromuscular
disorders.聽聽