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Sample records for negative faces revealed

  1. How do parents' depression and anxiety, and infants' negative temperament relate to parent-infant face-to-face interactions?

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    Aktar, Evin; Colonnesi, Cristina; de Vente, Wieke; Majdandžić, Mirjana; Bögels, Susan M

    2017-08-01

    The present study investigated the associations of mothers' and fathers' lifetime depression and anxiety symptoms, and of infants' negative temperament with parents' and infants' gaze, facial expressions of emotion, and synchrony. We observed infants' (age between 3.5 and 5.5 months, N = 101) and parents' gaze and facial expressions during 4-min naturalistic face-to-face interactions. Parents' lifetime symptoms of depression and anxiety were assessed with clinical interviews, and infants' negative temperament was measured with standardized observations. Parents with more depressive symptoms and their infants expressed less positive and more neutral affect. Parents' lifetime anxiety symptoms were not significantly related to parents' expressions of affect, while they were linked to longer durations of gaze to parent, and to more positive and negative affect in infants. Parents' lifetime depression or anxiety was not related to synchrony. Infants' temperament did not predict infants' or parents' interactive behavior. The study reveals that more depression symptoms in parents are linked to more neutral affect from parents and from infants during face-to-face interactions, while parents' anxiety symptoms are related to more attention to parent and less neutral affect from infants (but not from parents).

  2. Unattractive infant faces elicit negative affect from adults.

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    Schein, Stevie S; Langlois, Judith H

    2015-02-01

    We examined the relationship between infant attractiveness and adult affect by investigating whether differing levels of infant facial attractiveness elicit facial muscle movement correlated with positive and negative affect from adults (N=87) using electromyography. Unattractive infant faces evoked significantly more corrugator supercilii and levator labii superioris movement (physiological correlates of negative affect) than attractive infant faces. These results suggest that unattractive infants may be at risk for negative affective responses from adults, though the relationship between those responses and caregiving behavior remains elusive. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Partial and specific source memory for faces associated to other- and self-relevant negative contexts.

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    Bell, Raoul; Giang, Trang; Buchner, Axel

    2012-01-01

    Previous research has shown a source memory advantage for faces presented in negative contexts. As yet it remains unclear whether participants remember the specific type of context in which the faces were presented or whether they can only remember that the face was associated with negative valence. In the present study, participants saw faces together with descriptions of two different types of negative behaviour and neutral behaviour. In Experiment 1, we examined whether the participants were able to discriminate between two types of other-relevant negative context information (cheating and disgusting behaviour) in a source memory test. In Experiment 2, we assessed source memory for other-relevant negative (threatening) context information (other-aggressive behaviour) and self-relevant negative context information (self-aggressive behaviour). A multinomial source memory model was used to separately assess partial source memory for the negative valence of the behaviour and specific source memory for the particular type of negative context the face was associated with. In Experiment 1, source memory was specific for the particular type of negative context presented (i.e., cheating or disgusting behaviour). Experiment 2 showed that source memory for other-relevant negative information was more specific than source memory for self-relevant information. Thus, emotional source memory may vary in specificity depending on the degree to which the negative emotional context is perceived as threatening.

  4. The Sluggishness of Early-Stage Face Processing (N170 is Correlated with Negative and General Psychiatric Symptoms in Schizophrenia

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    Yingjun Zheng

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Patients with schizophrenia exhibit consistent abnormalities in face-evoked N170. However, the relation between face-specific N170 abnormalities in schizophrenic patients and schizophrenia clinical characters, which probably based on common neural mechanisms, is still rarely discovered. Using event-related potentials (ERPs recording in both schizophrenic patients and healthy controls, the amplitude and latency of N170 were recorded when participants were passively watching face and non-face (table pictures. The results showed a face-specific N170 latency sluggishness in schizophrenic patients, i.e., the N170 latencies of schizophrenic patients were significantly longer than those of healthy controls under both upright face and inverted face conditions. Importantly, the face-related N170 latencies of the left temporo-occipital electrodes (P7 and PO7 were positively correlated with negative symptoms and general psychiatric symptoms. Besides the analysis of latencies, the N170 amplitudes became weaker in schizophrenic patients under both inverted face and inverted table conditions, with a left hemisphere dominant. More interestingly, the FIEs (the difference of N170 amplitudes between upright and inverted faces were absent in schizophrenic patients, which suggested the abnormality of holistic face processing. These results above revealed a marked symptom-relevant neural sluggishness of face-specific processing in schizophrenic patients, supporting the demyelinating hypothesis of schizophrenia.

  5. Oxytocin and social pretreatment have similar effects on processing of negative emotional faces in healthy adult males

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    Anna eKis

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Oxytocin has been shown to affect several aspects of human social cognition, including facial emotion processing. There is also evidence that social stimuli (such as eye-contact can effectively modulate endogenous oxytocin levels.In the present study we directly tested whether intranasal oxytocin administration and pre-treatment with social stimuli had similar effects on face processing at the behavioural level. Subjects (N=52 healthy adult males were presented with a set of faces with expressions of different valence (negative, neutral, positive following different types of pretreatment (oxytocin – OT or placebo – PL and social interaction – Soc or no social interaction – NSoc, N=13 in each and were asked to rate all faces for perceived emotion and trustworthiness. On the next day subjects’ recognition memory was tested on a set of neutral faces and additionally they had to again rate each face for trustworthiness and emotion.Subjects in both the OT and the Soc pretreatment group (as compared to the PL and to the NSoc groups gave higher emotion and trustworthiness scores for faces with negative emotional expression. Moreover, 24 h later, subjects in the OT and Soc groups (unlike in control groups gave lower trustworthiness scores for previously negative faces, than for faces previously seen as emotionally neutral or positive.In sum these results provide the first direct evidence of the similar effects of intranasal oxytocin administration and social stimulation on the perception of negative facial emotions as well as on the delayed recall of negative emotional information.

  6. Negativity bias for sad faces in depression: An event-related potential study.

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    Dai, Qin; Wei, Juanjuan; Shu, Xiaorui; Feng, Zhengzhi

    2016-12-01

    Negativity bias in depression has been previously confirmed. However, mainly during a valence category task, it remains unclear how happy or unhappy individuals perceive emotional materials. Moreover, cerebral alteration measurements during a valence judgment task is lacking. The present study aimed to explore a valence judgment of a valence rating task, combined with event-related potential (ERP) recording. Healthy controls, individuals with sub-clinical depression, and patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) were recruited. Twenty-four subjects in each group completed a valence rating task, during which the ERP amplitudes were recorded. The MDD group had lower valence scores, faster responses, and greater N1 amplitudes for sad faces, whereas individuals with sub-clinical depression had faster responses and greater P1 amplitudes for all faces but lower valence scores and greater P2 amplitudes for happy faces. The findings suggest the tendency toward a negativity bias in valence ratings in patients with depression supported by behavioral and cerebral evidence, which is a latent trait of depression, possibly associated with the vulnerability of depression. The current study offers the first experimental evidence of cognitive and cerebral biomarkers of negativity bias in valence ratings in depression, which confirms Beck's cognitive theory and gives important direction for clinical therapy. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Negative “gossip” stimuli modulate left-lateralized P1 component while viewing neutral faces

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    Weed, Ethan; Allen, Micah Galen; Gramm, Daniel

    , Anderson et al. (2011) showed that short “gossip” phrases modulated the length of time faces remained perceptually dominant. However, binocular rivalry is measured by self-report. We used EEG to investigate the timing of gossip’s early effect on face perception. Gossip stimuli were those used by Anderson...... et al. (2011), translated to Danish. Neutral faces were taken from the PUT database (Kasiński et al., 2008). Participants (n=30) viewed each face together with the gossip stimuli a total of six times. Following this encoding period, 32 channels of EEG were recorded while participants viewed the faces...... mixed with unfamiliar faces, and performed a distracter task. A post-test checked participants’ memory of the individual faces. We hypothesized that negative gossip would modulate the face-sensitive N170 component at electrodes P7 and P8. No differences were observed in the N170, and no memory effect...

  8. Do you remember your sad face? The roles of negative cognitive style and sad mood.

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    Caudek, Corrado; Monni, Alessandra

    2013-01-01

    We studied the effects of negative cognitive style, sad mood, and facial affect on the self-face advantage in a sample of 66 healthy individuals (mean age 26.5 years, range 19-47 years). The sample was subdivided into four groups according to inferential style and responsivity to sad mood induction. Following a sad mood induction, we examined the effect on working memory of an incidental association between facial affect, facial identity, and head-pose orientation. Overall, head-pose recognition was more accurate for the self-face than for nonself face (self-face advantage, SFA). However, participants high in negative cognitive style who experienced higher levels of sadness displayed a stronger SFA for sad expressions than happy expressions. The remaining participants displayed an opposite bias (a stronger SFA for happy expressions than sad expressions), or no bias. These findings highlight the importance of trait-vulnerability status in the working memory biases related to emotional facial expressions.

  9. Brain Signals of Face Processing as Revealed by Event-Related Potentials

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    Ela I. Olivares

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We analyze the functional significance of different event-related potentials (ERPs as electrophysiological indices of face perception and face recognition, according to cognitive and neurofunctional models of face processing. Initially, the processing of faces seems to be supported by early extrastriate occipital cortices and revealed by modulations of the occipital P1. This early response is thought to reflect the detection of certain primary structural aspects indicating the presence grosso modo of a face within the visual field. The posterior-temporal N170 is more sensitive to the detection of faces as complex-structured stimuli and, therefore, to the presence of its distinctive organizational characteristics prior to within-category identification. In turn, the relatively late and probably more rostrally generated N250r and N400-like responses might respectively indicate processes of access and retrieval of face-related information, which is stored in long-term memory (LTM. New methods of analysis of electrophysiological and neuroanatomical data, namely, dynamic causal modeling, single-trial and time-frequency analyses, are highly recommended to advance in the knowledge of those brain mechanisms concerning face processing.

  10. Dispositional fear, negative affectivity, and neuroimaging response to visually suppressed emotional faces.

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    Vizueta, Nathalie; Patrick, Christopher J; Jiang, Yi; Thomas, Kathleen M; He, Sheng

    2012-01-02

    "Invisible" stimulus paradigms provide a method for investigating basic affective processing in clinical and non-clinical populations. Neuroimaging studies utilizing continuous flash suppression (CFS) have shown increased amygdala response to invisible fearful versus neutral faces. The current study used CFS in conjunction with functional MRI to test for differences in brain reactivity to visible and invisible emotional faces in relation to two distinct trait dimensions relevant to psychopathology: negative affectivity (NA) and fearfulness. Subjects consisted of college students (N=31) assessed for fear/fearlessness along with dispositional NA. The main brain regions of interest included the fusiform face area (FFA), superior temporal sulcus (STS), and amygdala. Higher NA, but not trait fear, was associated with enhanced response to fearful versus neutral faces in STS and right amygdala (but not FFA), within the invisible condition specifically. The finding that NA rather than fearfulness predicted degree of amygdala reactivity to suppressed faces implicates the input subdivision of the amygdala in the observed effects. Given the central role of NA in anxiety and mood disorders, the current data also support use of the CFS methodology for investigating the neurobiology of these disorders. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Try to look on the bright side: Children and adults can (sometimes) override their tendency to prioritize negative faces.

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    Lagattuta, Kristin Hansen; Kramer, Hannah J

    2017-01-01

    We used eye tracking to examine 4- to 10-year-olds' and adults' (N = 173) visual attention to negative (anger, fear, sadness, disgust) and neutral faces when paired with happy faces in 2 experimental conditions: free-viewing ("look at the faces") and directed ("look only at the happy faces"). Regardless of instruction, all age groups more often looked first to negative versus positive faces (no age differences), suggesting that initial orienting is driven by bottom-up processes. In contrast, biases in more sustained attention-last looks and looking duration-varied by age and could be modified by top-down instruction. On the free-viewing task, all age groups exhibited a negativity bias which attenuated with age and remained stable across trials. When told to look only at happy faces (directed task), all age groups shifted to a positivity bias, with linear age-related improvements. This ability to implement the "look only at the happy faces" instruction, however, fatigued over time, with the decrement stronger for children. Controlling for age, individual differences in executive function (working memory and inhibitory control) had no relation to the free-viewing task; however, these variables explained substantial variance on the directed task, with children and adults higher in executive function showing better skill at looking last and looking longer at happy faces. Greater anxiety predicted more first looks to angry faces on the directed task. These findings advance theory and research on normative development and individual differences in the bias to prioritize negative information, including contributions of bottom-up salience and top-down control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  12. Positive, but Not Negative, Facial Expressions Facilitate 3-Month-Olds' Recognition of an Individual Face

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    Brenna, Viola; Proietti, Valentina; Montirosso, Rosario; Turati, Chiara

    2013-01-01

    The current study examined whether and how the presence of a positive or a negative emotional expression may affect the face recognition process at 3 months of age. Using a familiarization procedure, Experiment 1 demonstrated that positive (i.e., happiness), but not negative (i.e., fear and anger) facial expressions facilitate infants' ability to…

  13. P2-31: In-Group Advantage in Negative Facial Expressions

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    Li-Chuan Hsu

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available To perceive facial expressions is suggested to be universal. However, studies have shown the in-group advantage (IGA in recognition of facial expressions (e.g., Matsumoto, 1989, 1992 which is that people understand emotions more accurately when these emotions are expressed by members of their own culture group. A balanced design was used to investigate whether this IGA was showed in Western people and as well as in Asian people (Taiwanese. An emotional identification task was adopted to ask participants to identify positive (happy and negative (sadness, fear, and anger faces among Eastern and Western faces. We used Eastern faces from the Taiwanese Facial Expression Image Database (Chen, 2007 and Western faces from Ekman & Frisen (1979. Both reaction times and accuracies of performance were measured. Results showed that even all participants can identify positive and negative faces accurately; Asia participants responded significantly faster to negative Eastern faces than to negative Western faces. The similar IGA effect was also shown in Western participants. However, no such culture difference was found to positive faces. The results revealed the in-group advantage of the perception of facial expressions was specific to negative emotions and question the universality of perceiving facial expressions.

  14. Intraretinal Correlates of Reticular Pseudodrusen Revealed by Autofluorescence and En Face OCT.

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    Paavo, Maarjaliis; Lee, Winston; Merriam, John; Bearelly, Srilaxmi; Tsang, Stephen; Chang, Stanley; Sparrow, Janet R

    2017-09-01

    We sought to determine whether information revealed from the reflectance, autofluorescence, and absorption properties of RPE cells situated posterior to reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) could provide insight into the origins and structure of RPD. RPD were studied qualitatively by near-infrared fundus autofluorescence (NIR-AF), short-wavelength fundus autofluorescence (SW-AF), and infrared reflectance (IR-R) images, and the presentation was compared to horizontal and en face spectral domain optical coherence tomographic (SD-OCT) images. Images were acquired from 23 patients (39 eyes) diagnosed with RPD (mean age 80.7 ± 7.1 [SD]; 16 female; 4 Hispanics, 19 non-Hispanic whites). In SW-AF, NIR-AF, and IR-R images, fundus RPD were recognized as interlacing networks of small scale variations in IR-R and fluorescence (SW-AF, NIR-AF) intensities. Darkened foci of RPD colocalized in SW-AF and NIR-AF images, and in SD-OCT images corresponded to disturbances of the interdigitation (IZ) and ellipsoid (EZ) zones and to more pronounced hyperreflective lesions traversing photoreceptor-attributable bands in SD-OCT images. Qualitative assessment of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) revealed thinning as RPD extended radially from the outer to inner retina. In en face OCT, hyperreflective areas in the EZ band correlated topographically with hyporeflective foci at the level of the RPE. The hyperreflective lesions corresponding to RPD in SD-OCT scans are likely indicative of degenerating photoreceptor cells. The darkened foci at positions of RPD in NIR-AF and en face OCT images indicate changes in the RPE monolayer with the reduced NIR-AF and en face OCT signal suggesting a reduction in melanin that could be accounted for by RPE thinning.

  15. Preferential amygdala reactivity to the negative assessment of neutral faces.

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    Blasi, Giuseppe; Hariri, Ahmad R; Alce, Guilna; Taurisano, Paolo; Sambataro, Fabio; Das, Saumitra; Bertolino, Alessandro; Weinberger, Daniel R; Mattay, Venkata S

    2009-11-01

    Prior studies suggest that the amygdala shapes complex behavioral responses to socially ambiguous cues. We explored human amygdala function during explicit behavioral decision making about discrete emotional facial expressions that can represent socially unambiguous and ambiguous cues. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, 43 healthy adults were required to make complex social decisions (i.e., approach or avoid) about either relatively unambiguous (i.e., angry, fearful, happy) or ambiguous (i.e., neutral) facial expressions. Amygdala activation during this task was compared with that elicited by simple, perceptual decisions (sex discrimination) about the identical facial stimuli. Angry and fearful expressions were more frequently judged as avoidable and happy expressions most often as approachable. Neutral expressions were equally judged as avoidable and approachable. Reaction times to neutral expressions were longer than those to angry, fearful, and happy expressions during social judgment only. Imaging data on stimuli judged to be avoided revealed a significant task by emotion interaction in the amygdala. Here, only neutral facial expressions elicited greater activity during social judgment than during sex discrimination. Furthermore, during social judgment only, neutral faces judged to be avoided were associated with greater amygdala activity relative to neutral faces that were judged as approachable. Moreover, functional coupling between the amygdala and both dorsolateral prefrontal (social judgment > sex discrimination) and cingulate (sex discrimination > social judgment) cortices was differentially modulated by task during processing of neutral faces. Our results suggest that increased amygdala reactivity and differential functional coupling with prefrontal circuitries may shape complex decisions and behavioral responses to socially ambiguous cues.

  16. Reducing negative affect and increasing rapport improve interracial mentorship outcomes.

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    Leitner, Jordan B; Ayduk, Özlem; Boykin, C Malik; Mendoza-Denton, Rodolfo

    2018-01-01

    Research suggests that interracial mentoring relationships are strained by negative affect and low rapport. As such, it stands to reason that strategies that decrease negative affect and increase rapport should improve these relationships. However, previous research has not tested this possibility. In video-chats (Studies 1 and 2) and face-to-face meetings (Study 3), we manipulated the degree of mutual self-disclosure between mentees and mentors, a strategy that has been shown to reduce negative affect and increase rapport. We then measured negative affect and rapport as mediators, and mentee performance (quality of speech delivered; Studies 1 and 3) and mentor performance (warmth and helpfulness; Studies 2 and 3) as key outcomes. Results revealed that increased self-disclosure decreased negative affect and increased rapport for both mentees and mentors. Among mentees, decreased negative affect predicted better performance (Studies 1 and 3). Among mentors, increased rapport predicted warmer feedback (Studies 2 and 3). These effects remained significant when we meta-analyzed data across studies (Study 4), and also revealed the relationship of rapport to more helpful feedback. Findings suggest that affect and rapport are key features in facilitating positive outcomes in interracial mentoring relationships.

  17. Chess masters show a hallmark of face processing with chess.

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    Boggan, Amy L; Bartlett, James C; Krawczyk, Daniel C

    2012-02-01

    Face processing has several distinctive hallmarks that researchers have attributed either to face-specific mechanisms or to extensive experience distinguishing faces. Here, we examined the face-processing hallmark of selective attention failure--as indexed by the congruency effect in the composite paradigm--in a domain of extreme expertise: chess. Among 27 experts, we found that the congruency effect was equally strong with chessboards and faces. Further, comparing these experts with recreational players and novices, we observed a trade-off: Chess expertise was positively related to the congruency effect with chess yet negatively related to the congruency effect with faces. These and other findings reveal a case of expertise-dependent, facelike processing of objects of expertise and suggest that face and expert-chess recognition share common processes.

  18. The effect of affective context on visuocortical processing of neutral faces in social anxiety - An ERP study

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    Matthias J Wieser

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available It has been demonstrated that verbal context information alters the neural processing of ambiguous faces such as faces with no apparent facial expression. In social anxiety, neutral faces may be implicitly threatening for socially anxious individuals due to their ambiguous nature, but even more so if these neutral faces are put in self-referential negative contexts. Therefore, we measured event-related brain potentials (ERPs in response to neutral faces which were preceded by affective verbal information (negative, neutral, positive. Participants with low social anxiety (LSA; n = 23 and high social anxiety (HSA; n = 21 were asked to watch and rate valence and arousal of the respective faces while continuous EEG was recorded. ERP analysis revealed that HSA showed elevated P100 amplitudes in response to faces, but reduced structural encoding of faces as indexed by reduced N170 amplitudes. In general, affective context led to an enhanced early posterior negativity (EPN for negative compared to neutral facial expressions. Moreover, HSA compared to LSA showed enhanced late positive potentials (LPP to negatively contextualized faces, whereas in LSA this effect was found for faces in positive contexts. Also, HSA rated faces in negative contexts as more negative compared to LSA. These results point at enhanced vigilance for neutral faces regardless of context in HSA, while structural encoding seems to be diminished (avoidance. Interestingly, later components of sustained processing (LPP indicate that LSA show enhanced visuocortical processing for faces in positive contexts (happy bias, whereas this seems to be the case for negatively contextualized faces in HSA (threat bias. Finally, our results add further new evidence that top-down information in interaction with individual anxiety levels can influence early-stage aspects of visual perception.

  19. Face perception in the mind's eye.

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    Righart, Ruthger; Burra, Nicolas; Vuilleumier, Patrik

    2011-03-01

    Perceptual filling-in occurs when visual stimuli are recognized in impoverished viewing conditions. Whether missing information is filled-in during face perception and which stages might be involved in this process are still unresolved questions. Because an identity can be brought to mind by seeing eyes only, we hypothesized that missing information might be filled-in from a memory trace for the whole face identity. We presented participants with faces in phase 1 and later we presented eyes-only in phase 2. For some of these eyes in phase 2, the whole face had been presented in the previous phase, for others identical eyes had been presented. Event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed an N170 component that was more negative when eyes were preceded by a whole face in the previous phase compared to eyes preceded by identical eyes-only. A more positive-going late positive complex (LPC) was also found, suggesting enhanced retrieval of face memory representations when eyes were preceded by whole faces. Our results show that pre-existing representations of face identity can influence early stages of visual encoding, 170 ms after stimulus onset. These effects may reflect top-down modulation by memory on visual recognition processes by filling-in the missing facial information.

  20. Implicit negative affect predicts attention to sad faces beyond self-reported depressive symptoms in healthy individuals: An eye-tracking study.

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    Bodenschatz, Charlott Maria; Skopinceva, Marija; Kersting, Anette; Quirin, Markus; Suslow, Thomas

    2018-04-04

    Cognitive theories of depression assume biased attention towards mood-congruent information as a central vulnerability and maintaining factor. Among other symptoms, depression is characterized by excessive negative affect (NA). Yet, little is known about the impact of naturally occurring NA on the allocation of attention to emotional information. The study investigates how implicit and explicit NA as well as self-reported depressive symptoms predict attentional biases in a sample of healthy individuals (N = 104). Attentional biases were assessed using eye-tracking during a free viewing task in which images of sad, angry, happy and neutral faces were shown simultaneously. Participants' implicit affectivity was measured indirectly using the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test. Questionnaires were administered to assess actual and habitual explicit NA and presence of depressive symptoms. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with sustained attention to sad faces and reduced attention to happy faces. Implicit but not explicit NA significantly predicted gaze behavior towards sad faces independently from depressive symptoms. The present study supports the idea that naturally occurring implicit NA is associated with attention allocation to dysphoric facial expression. The findings demonstrate the utility of implicit affectivity measures in studying individual differences in depression-relevant attentional biases and cognitive vulnerability. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Unbiased simulations reveal the inward-facing conformation of the human serotonin transporter and Na+ ion release

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    Koldsø, Heidi; Noer, Pernille Rimmer; Grouleff, Julie

    2011-01-01

    transporter has resulted in homology models of the monoamine transporters. Here we present extended molecular dynamics simulations of an experimentally supported homology model of hSERT with and without the natural substrate yielding a total of more than 1.5 µs of simulation of the protein dimer....... The simulations reveal a transition of hSERT from an outward-facing occluded conformation to an inward-facing conformation in a one-substrate-bound state. Simulations with a second substrate in the proposed symport effector site did not lead to conformational changes associated with translocation. The central...... substrate binding site becomes fully exposed to the cytoplasm leaving both the Na+-ion in the Na2-site and the substrate in direct contact with the cytoplasm through water interactions. The simulations reveal how sodium is released and show indications of early events of substrate transport. The notion...

  2. Negative effects of internet interventions: a qualitative content analysis of patients' experiences with treatments delivered online.

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    Rozental, Alexander; Boettcher, Johanna; Andersson, Gerhard; Schmidt, Brad; Carlbring, Per

    2015-01-01

    Internet interventions are defined as the delivery of health care-related treatments via an online or a smartphone interface, and have been shown to be a viable alternative to face-to-face treatments. However, not all patients benefit from such treatments, and it is possible that some may experience negative effects. Investigations of face-to-face treatments indicate that deterioration occurs in 5-10% of all patients. The nature and scope of other negative effects of Internet interventions is, however, largely unknown. Hence, the current study explored patients' reported negative experiences while undergoing treatments delivered via the Internet. Data from four large clinical trials (total N = 558) revealed that 9.3% of patients reported some type of negative effects. Qualitative content analysis was used to explore the patients' responses to open-ended questions regarding their negative experiences. Results yielded two broad categories and four subcategories of negative effects: patient-related negative effects (insight and symptom) and treatment-related negative effects (implementation and format). Results emphasize the importance of always considering negative effects in Internet-based interventions, and point to several ways of preventing such experiences, including regular assessment of negative events, increasing the flexibility of treatment schedules and therapist contact, as well as prolonging the treatment duration.

  3. Citrobacter koseri folliculitis of the face.

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    Raia, D D; Barbareschi, M; Veraldi, S

    2015-10-01

    We report a case of severe Citrobacter koseri folliculitis of the face in a boy with acne. A 15-year-old boy affected by acne was admitted because of a rash located on the face. Dermatological examination revealed two large plaques, with numerous pustules, eschars and crusts, located bilaterally and symmetrically on the cheeks. Three bacteriological examinations were positive for C. koseri. The patient was successfully treated with i.m. ceftriaxone. C. koseri is a Gram-negative, aerobic, mobile, nonsporulating bacillus belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family. It can cause meningitis, central nervous system abscess and sepsis, almost exclusively in infants and immunocompromised hosts. Respiratory tract and urinary infections have been reported in elderly people. Furthermore, rare cases of skin infections have been described.

  4. Visual attention to emotional face in schizophrenia: an eye tracking study.

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    Mania Asgharpour

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Deficits in the processing of facial emotions have been reported extensively in patients with schizophrenia. To explore whether restricted attention is the cause of impaired emotion processing in these patients, we examined visual attention through tracking eye movements in response to emotional and neutral face stimuli in a group of patients with schizophrenia and healthy individuals. We also examined the correlation between visual attention allocation and symptoms severity in our patient group.Thirty adult patients with schizophrenia and 30 matched healthy controls participated in this study. Visual attention data were recorded while participants passively viewed emotional-neutral face pairs for 500 ms. The relationship between the visual attention and symptoms severity were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS in the schizophrenia group. Repeated Measures ANOVAs were used to compare the groups.Comparing the number of fixations made during face-pairs presentation, we found that patients with schizophrenia made fewer fixations on faces, regardless of the expression of the face. Analysis of the number of fixations on negative-neutral pairs also revealed that the patients made fewer fixations on both neutral and negative faces. Analysis of number of fixations on positive-neutral pairs only showed more fixations on positive relative to neutral expressions in both groups. We found no correlations between visual attention pattern to faces and symptom severity in schizophrenic patients.The results of this study suggest that the facial recognition deficit in schizophrenia is related to decreased attention to face stimuli. Finding of no difference in visual attention for positive-neutral face pairs between the groups is in line with studies that have shown increased ability to positive emotional perception in these patients.

  5. Empathy costs: Negative emotional bias in high empathisers.

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    Chikovani, George; Babuadze, Lasha; Iashvili, Nino; Gvalia, Tamar; Surguladze, Simon

    2015-09-30

    Excessive empathy has been associated with compassion fatigue in health professionals and caregivers. We investigated an effect of empathy on emotion processing in 137 healthy individuals of both sexes. We tested a hypothesis that high empathy may underlie increased sensitivity to negative emotion recognition which may interact with gender. Facial emotion stimuli comprised happy, angry, fearful, and sad faces presented at different intensities (mild and prototypical) and different durations (500ms and 2000ms). The parameters of emotion processing were represented by discrimination accuracy, response bias and reaction time. We found that higher empathy was associated with better recognition of all emotions. We also demonstrated that higher empathy was associated with response bias towards sad and fearful faces. The reaction time analysis revealed that higher empathy in females was associated with faster (compared with males) recognition of mildly sad faces of brief duration. We conclude that although empathic abilities were providing for advantages in recognition of all facial emotional expressions, the bias towards emotional negativity may potentially carry a risk for empathic distress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Ancient mitochondrial DNA reveals convergent evolution of giant short-faced bears (Tremarctinae) in North and South America.

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    Mitchell, Kieren J; Bray, Sarah C; Bover, Pere; Soibelzon, Leopoldo; Schubert, Blaine W; Prevosti, Francisco; Prieto, Alfredo; Martin, Fabiana; Austin, Jeremy J; Cooper, Alan

    2016-04-01

    The Tremarctinae are a subfamily of bears endemic to the New World, including two of the largest terrestrial mammalian carnivores that have ever lived: the giant, short-faced bears Arctodus simus from North America and Arctotherium angustidens from South America (greater than or equal to 1000 kg). Arctotherium angustidens became extinct during the Early Pleistocene, whereas Arctodus simus went extinct at the very end of the Pleistocene. The only living tremarctine is the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), a largely herbivorous bear that is today only found in South America. The relationships among the spectacled bears (Tremarctos), South American short-faced bears (Arctotherium) and North American short-faced bears (Arctodus) remain uncertain. In this study, we sequenced a mitochondrial genome from an Arctotherium femur preserved in a Chilean cave. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that the South American short-faced bears were more closely related to the extant South American spectacled bear than to the North American short-faced bears. This result suggests striking convergent evolution of giant forms in the two groups of short-faced bears (Arctodus and Arctotherium), potentially as an adaptation to dominate competition for megafaunal carcasses. © 2016 The Author(s).

  7. Double attention bias for positive and negative emotional faces in clinical depression: evidence from an eye-tracking study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duque, Almudena; Vázquez, Carmelo

    2015-03-01

    According to cognitive models, attentional biases in depression play key roles in the onset and subsequent maintenance of the disorder. The present study examines the processing of emotional facial expressions (happy, angry, and sad) in depressed and non-depressed adults. Sixteen unmedicated patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and 34 never-depressed controls (ND) completed an eye-tracking task to assess different components of visual attention (orienting attention and maintenance of attention) in the processing of emotional faces. Compared to ND, participants with MDD showed a negative attentional bias in attentional maintenance indices (i.e. first fixation duration and total fixation time) for sad faces. This attentional bias was positively associated with the severity of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the MDD group spent a marginally less amount of time viewing happy faces compared with the ND group. No differences were found between the groups with respect to angry faces and orienting attention indices. The current study is limited by its cross-sectional design. These results support the notion that attentional biases in depression are specific to depression-related information and that they operate in later stages in the deployment of attention. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Novel stimuli are negative stimuli: evidence that negative affect is reduced in the mere exposure effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Brent M; Elias, Lorin J

    2005-04-01

    Repeated exposure of a nonreinforced stimulus results in an increased preference for that stimulus, the mere exposure effect. The present study repeatedly presented positive, negative, and neutrally affective faces to 48 participants while they made judgments about the emotional expression. Participants then rated the likeability of novel neutrally expressive faces and some of these previously presented faces, this time in their neutral expression. Faces originally presented as happy were rated as the most likeable, followed by faces originally presented as neutral. Negative and novel faces were not rated significantly differently from each other. These findings support the notion that the increase in preference towards repeatedly presented stimuli is the result of the reduction in negative affect, consistent with the modified two-factor uncertainty-reduction model and classical conditioning model of the mere exposure effect.

  9. Our Faces in the Dog's Brain: Functional Imaging Reveals Temporal Cortex Activation during Perception of Human Faces.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura V Cuaya

    Full Text Available Dogs have a rich social relationship with humans. One fundamental aspect of it is how dogs pay close attention to human faces in order to guide their behavior, for example, by recognizing their owner and his/her emotional state using visual cues. It is well known that humans have specific brain regions for the processing of other human faces, yet it is unclear how dogs' brains process human faces. For this reason, our study focuses on describing the brain correlates of perception of human faces in dogs using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. We trained seven domestic dogs to remain awake, still and unrestrained inside an MRI scanner. We used a visual stimulation paradigm with block design to compare activity elicited by human faces against everyday objects. Brain activity related to the perception of faces changed significantly in several brain regions, but mainly in the bilateral temporal cortex. The opposite contrast (i.e., everyday objects against human faces showed no significant brain activity change. The temporal cortex is part of the ventral visual pathway, and our results are consistent with reports in other species like primates and sheep, that suggest a high degree of evolutionary conservation of this pathway for face processing. This study introduces the temporal cortex as candidate to process human faces, a pillar of social cognition in dogs.

  10. Castellated tiles as the beam-facing components for the diagnostic calorimeter of the negative ion source SPIDER

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peruzzo, S., E-mail: simone.peruzzo@igi.cnr.it; Cervaro, V.; Dalla Palma, M.; Delogu, R.; Fasolo, D.; Franchin, L.; Pasqualotto, R.; Rizzolo, A.; Tollin, M.; Serianni, G. [Consorzio RFX, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127 Padova (Italy); De Muri, M. [Consorzio RFX, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127 Padova (Italy); INFN-LNL, v.le dell’Università 2, I-35020 Legnaro, PD (Italy); Pimazzoni, A. [Consorzio RFX, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127 Padova (Italy); Università degli Studi di Padova, Via 8 Febbraio 2, I-35122 Padova (Italy); Zampieri, L. [Università degli Studi di Padova, Via 8 Febbraio 2, I-35122 Padova (Italy)

    2016-02-15

    This paper presents the results of numerical simulations and experimental tests carried out to assess the feasibility and suitability of graphite castellated tiles as beam-facing component in the diagnostic calorimeter of the negative ion source SPIDER (Source for Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from Radio frequency plasma). The results indicate that this concept could be a reliable, although less performing, alternative for the present design based on carbon fiber composite tiles, as it provides thermal measurements on the required spatial scale.

  11. Initial Orientation of Attention towards Emotional Faces in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehrnoosh Ahmadi

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Early recognition of negative emotions is considered to be of vital importance. It seems that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have some difficulties recognizing facial emotional expressions, especially negative ones. This study investigated the preference of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder for negative (angry, sad facial expressions compared to normal children.Method: Participants were 35 drug naive boys with ADHD, aged between 6-11 years ,and 31 matched healthy children. Visual orientation data were recorded while participants viewed face pairs (negative-neutral pairs shown for 3000ms. The number of first fixations made to each expression was considered as an index of initial orientation. Results: Group comparisons revealed no difference between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder group and their matched healthy counterparts in initial orientation of attention. A tendency towards negative emotions was found within the normal group, while no difference was observed between initial allocation of attention toward negative and neutral expressions in children with ADHD .Conclusion: Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder do not have significant preference for negative facial expressions. In contrast, normal children have a significant preference for negative facial emotions rather than neutral faces.

  12. Optogenetic and pharmacological suppression of spatial clusters of face neurons reveal their causal role in face gender discrimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afraz, Arash; Boyden, Edward S; DiCarlo, James J

    2015-05-26

    Neurons that respond more to images of faces over nonface objects were identified in the inferior temporal (IT) cortex of primates three decades ago. Although it is hypothesized that perceptual discrimination between faces depends on the neural activity of IT subregions enriched with "face neurons," such a causal link has not been directly established. Here, using optogenetic and pharmacological methods, we reversibly suppressed the neural activity in small subregions of IT cortex of macaque monkeys performing a facial gender-discrimination task. Each type of intervention independently demonstrated that suppression of IT subregions enriched in face neurons induced a contralateral deficit in face gender-discrimination behavior. The same neural suppression of other IT subregions produced no detectable change in behavior. These results establish a causal link between the neural activity in IT face neuron subregions and face gender-discrimination behavior. Also, the demonstration that brief neural suppression of specific spatial subregions of IT induces behavioral effects opens the door for applying the technical advantages of optogenetics to a systematic attack on the causal relationship between IT cortex and high-level visual perception.

  13. Optimizing the face Paradigm of BCI system by modified Mismatch Negative paradigm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siejie Zhou

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Many recent studies have focused on improving the performance of event-related potential (ERP based brain computer interfaces (BCIs. The use of a face pattern has been shown to obtain high classification accuracies and information transfer rates (ITRs by evoking discriminative ERPs (N200 and N400 in addition to P300 potentials. Recently, it has been proved that the performance of traditional P300-based BCIs could be improved through a modification of the mismatch pattern. In this paper, a mismatch inverted face pattern (MIF-pattern was presented to improve the performance of the inverted face pattern (IF-pattern, one of the state of the art patterns used in visual-based BCI systems. Ten subjects attended in this experiment. The result showed that the mismatch inverted face pattern could evoke significantly larger vertex positive potentials (p<0.05 and N400s (p<0.05 compared to the inverted face pattern. The classification accuracy (mean accuracy is 99.58% and ITRs (mean bit rate is 27.88 bit/min of the mismatch inverted face pattern was significantly higher than that of the inverted face pattern (p<0.05.

  14. Negative differential mobility for negative carriers as revealed by space charge measurements on crosslinked polyethylene insulated model cables

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teyssedre, G.; Laurent, C.; Vu, T. T. N.

    2015-01-01

    Among features observed in polyethylene materials under relatively high field, space charge packets, consisting in a pulse of net charge that remains in the form of a pulse as it crosses the insulation, are repeatedly observed but without complete theory explaining their formation and propagation. Positive charge packets are more often reported, and the models based on negative differential mobility(NDM) for the transport of holes could account for some charge packets phenomenology. Conversely, NDM for electrons transport has never been reported so far. The present contribution reports space charge measurements by pulsed electroacoustic method on miniature cables that are model of HVDC cables. The measurements were realized at room temperature or with a temperature gradient of 10 °C through the insulation under DC fields on the order 30–60 kV/mm. Space charge results reveal systematic occurrence of a negative front of charges generated at the inner electrode that moves toward the outer electrode at the beginning of the polarization step. It is observed that the transit time of the front of negative charge increases, and therefore the mobility decreases, with the applied voltage. Further, the estimated mobility, in the range 10 −14 –10 −13  m 2  V −1  s −1 for the present results, increases when the temperature increases for the same condition of applied voltage. The features substantiate the hypothesis of negative differential mobility used for modelling space charge packets

  15. Negative differential mobility for negative carriers as revealed by space charge measurements on crosslinked polyethylene insulated model cables

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teyssedre, G.; Vu, T. T. N.; Laurent, C.

    2015-12-01

    Among features observed in polyethylene materials under relatively high field, space charge packets, consisting in a pulse of net charge that remains in the form of a pulse as it crosses the insulation, are repeatedly observed but without complete theory explaining their formation and propagation. Positive charge packets are more often reported, and the models based on negative differential mobility(NDM) for the transport of holes could account for some charge packets phenomenology. Conversely, NDM for electrons transport has never been reported so far. The present contribution reports space charge measurements by pulsed electroacoustic method on miniature cables that are model of HVDC cables. The measurements were realized at room temperature or with a temperature gradient of 10 °C through the insulation under DC fields on the order 30-60 kV/mm. Space charge results reveal systematic occurrence of a negative front of charges generated at the inner electrode that moves toward the outer electrode at the beginning of the polarization step. It is observed that the transit time of the front of negative charge increases, and therefore the mobility decreases, with the applied voltage. Further, the estimated mobility, in the range 10-14-10-13 m2 V-1 s-1 for the present results, increases when the temperature increases for the same condition of applied voltage. The features substantiate the hypothesis of negative differential mobility used for modelling space charge packets.

  16. Facial Expression Aftereffect Revealed by Adaption to Emotion-Invisible Dynamic Bubbled Faces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Chengwen; Wang, Qingyun; Schyns, Philippe G.; Kingdom, Frederick A. A.; Xu, Hong

    2015-01-01

    Visual adaptation is a powerful tool to probe the short-term plasticity of the visual system. Adapting to local features such as the oriented lines can distort our judgment of subsequently presented lines, the tilt aftereffect. The tilt aftereffect is believed to be processed at the low-level of the visual cortex, such as V1. Adaptation to faces, on the other hand, can produce significant aftereffects in high-level traits such as identity, expression, and ethnicity. However, whether face adaptation necessitate awareness of face features is debatable. In the current study, we investigated whether facial expression aftereffects (FEAE) can be generated by partially visible faces. We first generated partially visible faces using the bubbles technique, in which the face was seen through randomly positioned circular apertures, and selected the bubbled faces for which the subjects were unable to identify happy or sad expressions. When the subjects adapted to static displays of these partial faces, no significant FEAE was found. However, when the subjects adapted to a dynamic video display of a series of different partial faces, a significant FEAE was observed. In both conditions, subjects could not identify facial expression in the individual adapting faces. These results suggest that our visual system is able to integrate unrecognizable partial faces over a short period of time and that the integrated percept affects our judgment on subsequently presented faces. We conclude that FEAE can be generated by partial face with little facial expression cues, implying that our cognitive system fills-in the missing parts during adaptation, or the subcortical structures are activated by the bubbled faces without conscious recognition of emotion during adaptation. PMID:26717572

  17. Recognition of Face and Emotional Facial Expressions in Autism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammed Tayyib Kadak

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Autism is a genetically transferred neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by severe and permanent deficits in many interpersonal relation areas like communication, social interaction and emotional responsiveness. Patients with autism have deficits in face recognition, eye contact and recognition of emotional expression. Both recognition of face and expression of facial emotion carried on face processing. Structural and functional impairment in fusiform gyrus, amygdala, superior temporal sulcus and other brain regions lead to deficits in recognition of face and facial emotion. Therefore studies suggest that face processing deficits resulted in problems in areas of social interaction and emotion in autism. Studies revealed that children with autism had problems in recognition of facial expression and used mouth region more than eye region. It was also shown that autistic patients interpreted ambiguous expressions as negative emotion. In autism, deficits related in various stages of face processing like detection of gaze, face identity, recognition of emotional expression were determined, so far. Social interaction impairments in autistic spectrum disorders originated from face processing deficits during the periods of infancy, childhood and adolescence. Recognition of face and expression of facial emotion could be affected either automatically by orienting towards faces after birth, or by “learning” processes in developmental periods such as identity and emotion processing. This article aimed to review neurobiological basis of face processing and recognition of emotional facial expressions during normal development and in autism.

  18. Diffusion Modelling Reveals the Decision Making Processes Underlying Negative Judgement Bias in Rats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire A Hales

    Full Text Available Human decision making is modified by emotional state. Rodents exhibit similar biases during interpretation of ambiguous cues that can be altered by affective state manipulations. In this study, the impact of negative affective state on judgement bias in rats was measured using an ambiguous-cue interpretation task. Acute treatment with an anxiogenic drug (FG7142, and chronic restraint stress and social isolation both induced a bias towards more negative interpretation of the ambiguous cue. The diffusion model was fit to behavioural data to allow further analysis of the underlying decision making processes. To uncover the way in which parameters vary together in relation to affective state manipulations, independent component analysis was conducted on rate of information accumulation and distances to decision threshold parameters for control data. Results from this analysis were applied to parameters from negative affective state manipulations. These projected components were compared to control components to reveal the changes in decision making processes that are due to affective state manipulations. Negative affective bias in rodents induced by either FG7142 or chronic stress is due to a combination of more negative interpretation of the ambiguous cue, reduced anticipation of the high reward and increased anticipation of the low reward.

  19. Diffusion Modelling Reveals the Decision Making Processes Underlying Negative Judgement Bias in Rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hales, Claire A; Robinson, Emma S J; Houghton, Conor J

    2016-01-01

    Human decision making is modified by emotional state. Rodents exhibit similar biases during interpretation of ambiguous cues that can be altered by affective state manipulations. In this study, the impact of negative affective state on judgement bias in rats was measured using an ambiguous-cue interpretation task. Acute treatment with an anxiogenic drug (FG7142), and chronic restraint stress and social isolation both induced a bias towards more negative interpretation of the ambiguous cue. The diffusion model was fit to behavioural data to allow further analysis of the underlying decision making processes. To uncover the way in which parameters vary together in relation to affective state manipulations, independent component analysis was conducted on rate of information accumulation and distances to decision threshold parameters for control data. Results from this analysis were applied to parameters from negative affective state manipulations. These projected components were compared to control components to reveal the changes in decision making processes that are due to affective state manipulations. Negative affective bias in rodents induced by either FG7142 or chronic stress is due to a combination of more negative interpretation of the ambiguous cue, reduced anticipation of the high reward and increased anticipation of the low reward.

  20. Negative differential mobility for negative carriers as revealed by space charge measurements on crosslinked polyethylene insulated model cables

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Teyssedre, G., E-mail: gilbert.teyssedre@laplace.univ-tlse.fr; Laurent, C. [Université de Toulouse, UPS, INPT, LAPLACE (Laboratoire Plasma et Conversion d' Energie), 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse cedex 9 (France); CNRS, LAPLACE, F-31062 Toulouse (France); Vu, T. T. N. [Université de Toulouse, UPS, INPT, LAPLACE (Laboratoire Plasma et Conversion d' Energie), 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse cedex 9 (France); Electric Power University, 235 Hoang Quoc Viet, 10000 Hanoi (Viet Nam)

    2015-12-21

    Among features observed in polyethylene materials under relatively high field, space charge packets, consisting in a pulse of net charge that remains in the form of a pulse as it crosses the insulation, are repeatedly observed but without complete theory explaining their formation and propagation. Positive charge packets are more often reported, and the models based on negative differential mobility(NDM) for the transport of holes could account for some charge packets phenomenology. Conversely, NDM for electrons transport has never been reported so far. The present contribution reports space charge measurements by pulsed electroacoustic method on miniature cables that are model of HVDC cables. The measurements were realized at room temperature or with a temperature gradient of 10 °C through the insulation under DC fields on the order 30–60 kV/mm. Space charge results reveal systematic occurrence of a negative front of charges generated at the inner electrode that moves toward the outer electrode at the beginning of the polarization step. It is observed that the transit time of the front of negative charge increases, and therefore the mobility decreases, with the applied voltage. Further, the estimated mobility, in the range 10{sup −14}–10{sup −13} m{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1} for the present results, increases when the temperature increases for the same condition of applied voltage. The features substantiate the hypothesis of negative differential mobility used for modelling space charge packets.

  1. Self-construal differences in neural responses to negative social cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liddell, Belinda J; Felmingham, Kim L; Das, Pritha; Whitford, Thomas J; Malhi, Gin S; Battaglini, Eva; Bryant, Richard A

    2017-10-01

    Cultures differ substantially in representations of the self. Whereas individualistic cultural groups emphasize an independent self, reflected in processing biases towards centralized salient objects, collectivistic cultures are oriented towards an interdependent self, attending to contextual associations between visual cues. It is unknown how these perceptual biases may affect brain activity in response to negative social cues. Moreover, while some studies have shown that individual differences in self-construal moderate cultural group comparisons, few have examined self-construal differences separate to culture. To investigate these issues, a final sample of a group of healthy participants high in trait levels of collectivistic self-construal (n=16) and individualistic self-construal (n=19), regardless of cultural background, completed a negative social cue evaluation task designed to engage face/object vs context-specific neural processes whilst undergoing fMRI scanning. Between-group analyses revealed that the collectivistic group exclusively engaged the parahippocampal gyrus (parahippocampal place area) - a region critical to contextual integration - during negative face processing - suggesting compensatory activations when contextual information was missing. The collectivist group also displayed enhanced negative context dependent brain activity involving the left superior occipital gyrus/cuneus and right anterior insula. By contrast, the individualistic group did not engage object or localized face processing regions as predicted, but rather demonstrated heightened appraisal and self-referential activations in medial prefrontal and temporoparietal regions to negative contexts - again suggesting compensatory processes when focal cues were absent. While individualists also appeared more sensitive to negative faces in the scenes, activating the right middle cingulate gyrus, dorsal prefrontal and parietal activations, this activity was observed relative to the

  2. Attentional capture by emotional faces is contingent on attentional control settings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barratt, D.; Bundesen, Claus

    2012-01-01

    faster and attract more processing resources), responses to positive faces were slower when these were flanked by (response incompatible) negative faces as compared with positive or neutral faces, whereas responses to negative faces were unaffected by the identity of the flankers. Experiment 2...

  3. Facing aggression: cues differ for female versus male faces.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shawn N Geniole

    Full Text Available The facial width-to-height ratio (face ratio, is a sexually dimorphic metric associated with actual aggression in men and with observers' judgements of aggression in male faces. Here, we sought to determine if observers' judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio in female faces. In three studies, participants rated photographs of female and male faces on aggression, femininity, masculinity, attractiveness, and nurturing. In Studies 1 and 2, for female and male faces, judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio even when other cues in the face related to masculinity were controlled statistically. Nevertheless, correlations between the face ratio and judgements of aggression were smaller for female than for male faces (F(1,36 = 7.43, p = 0.01. In Study 1, there was no significant relationship between judgements of femininity and of aggression in female faces. In Study 2, the association between judgements of masculinity and aggression was weaker in female faces than for male faces in Study 1. The weaker association in female faces may be because aggression and masculinity are stereotypically male traits. Thus, in Study 3, observers rated faces on nurturing (a stereotypically female trait and on femininity. Judgements of nurturing were associated with femininity (positively and masculinity (negatively ratings in both female and male faces. In summary, the perception of aggression differs in female versus male faces. The sex difference was not simply because aggression is a gendered construct; the relationships between masculinity/femininity and nurturing were similar for male and female faces even though nurturing is also a gendered construct. Masculinity and femininity ratings are not associated with aggression ratings nor with the face ratio for female faces. In contrast, all four variables are highly inter-correlated in male faces, likely because these cues in male faces serve as "honest signals".

  4. Facing aggression: cues differ for female versus male faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geniole, Shawn N; Keyes, Amanda E; Mondloch, Catherine J; Carré, Justin M; McCormick, Cheryl M

    2012-01-01

    The facial width-to-height ratio (face ratio), is a sexually dimorphic metric associated with actual aggression in men and with observers' judgements of aggression in male faces. Here, we sought to determine if observers' judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio in female faces. In three studies, participants rated photographs of female and male faces on aggression, femininity, masculinity, attractiveness, and nurturing. In Studies 1 and 2, for female and male faces, judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio even when other cues in the face related to masculinity were controlled statistically. Nevertheless, correlations between the face ratio and judgements of aggression were smaller for female than for male faces (F(1,36) = 7.43, p = 0.01). In Study 1, there was no significant relationship between judgements of femininity and of aggression in female faces. In Study 2, the association between judgements of masculinity and aggression was weaker in female faces than for male faces in Study 1. The weaker association in female faces may be because aggression and masculinity are stereotypically male traits. Thus, in Study 3, observers rated faces on nurturing (a stereotypically female trait) and on femininity. Judgements of nurturing were associated with femininity (positively) and masculinity (negatively) ratings in both female and male faces. In summary, the perception of aggression differs in female versus male faces. The sex difference was not simply because aggression is a gendered construct; the relationships between masculinity/femininity and nurturing were similar for male and female faces even though nurturing is also a gendered construct. Masculinity and femininity ratings are not associated with aggression ratings nor with the face ratio for female faces. In contrast, all four variables are highly inter-correlated in male faces, likely because these cues in male faces serve as "honest signals".

  5. Facing Aggression: Cues Differ for Female versus Male Faces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geniole, Shawn N.; Keyes, Amanda E.; Mondloch, Catherine J.; Carré, Justin M.; McCormick, Cheryl M.

    2012-01-01

    The facial width-to-height ratio (face ratio), is a sexually dimorphic metric associated with actual aggression in men and with observers' judgements of aggression in male faces. Here, we sought to determine if observers' judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio in female faces. In three studies, participants rated photographs of female and male faces on aggression, femininity, masculinity, attractiveness, and nurturing. In Studies 1 and 2, for female and male faces, judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio even when other cues in the face related to masculinity were controlled statistically. Nevertheless, correlations between the face ratio and judgements of aggression were smaller for female than for male faces (F1,36 = 7.43, p = 0.01). In Study 1, there was no significant relationship between judgements of femininity and of aggression in female faces. In Study 2, the association between judgements of masculinity and aggression was weaker in female faces than for male faces in Study 1. The weaker association in female faces may be because aggression and masculinity are stereotypically male traits. Thus, in Study 3, observers rated faces on nurturing (a stereotypically female trait) and on femininity. Judgements of nurturing were associated with femininity (positively) and masculinity (negatively) ratings in both female and male faces. In summary, the perception of aggression differs in female versus male faces. The sex difference was not simply because aggression is a gendered construct; the relationships between masculinity/femininity and nurturing were similar for male and female faces even though nurturing is also a gendered construct. Masculinity and femininity ratings are not associated with aggression ratings nor with the face ratio for female faces. In contrast, all four variables are highly inter-correlated in male faces, likely because these cues in male faces serve as “honest signals”. PMID:22276184

  6. Face recognition performance of individuals with Asperger syndrome on the Cambridge Face Memory Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedley, Darren; Brewer, Neil; Young, Robyn

    2011-12-01

    Although face recognition deficits in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), including Asperger syndrome (AS), are widely acknowledged, the empirical evidence is mixed. This in part reflects the failure to use standardized and psychometrically sound tests. We contrasted standardized face recognition scores on the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) for 34 individuals with AS with those for 42, IQ-matched non-ASD individuals, and age-standardized scores from a large Australian cohort. We also examined the influence of IQ, autistic traits, and negative affect on face recognition performance. Overall, participants with AS performed significantly worse on the CFMT than the non-ASD participants and when evaluated against standardized test norms. However, while 24% of participants with AS presented with severe face recognition impairment (>2 SDs below the mean), many individuals performed at or above the typical level for their age: 53% scored within +/- 1 SD of the mean and 9% demonstrated superior performance (>1 SD above the mean). Regression analysis provided no evidence that IQ, autistic traits, or negative affect significantly influenced face recognition: diagnostic group membership was the only significant predictor of face recognition performance. In sum, face recognition performance in ASD is on a continuum, but with average levels significantly below non-ASD levels of performance. Copyright © 2011, International Society for Autism Research, Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  7. Are Max-Specified Infant Facial Expressions during Face-to-Face Interaction Consistent with Differential Emotions Theory?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matias, Reinaldo; Cohn, Jeffrey F.

    1993-01-01

    Examined infant facial expressions at two, four, and six months of age during face-to-face play and a still-face interaction with their mothers. Contrary to differential emotions theory, at no age did proportions or durations of discrete and blended negative expressions differ; they also showed different patterns of developmental change. (MM)

  8. Eye contrast polarity is critical for face recognition by infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otsuka, Yumiko; Motoyoshi, Isamu; Hill, Harold C; Kobayashi, Megumi; Kanazawa, So; Yamaguchi, Masami K

    2013-07-01

    Just as faces share the same basic arrangement of features, with two eyes above a nose above a mouth, human eyes all share the same basic contrast polarity relations, with a sclera lighter than an iris and a pupil, and this is unique among primates. The current study examined whether this bright-dark relationship of sclera to iris plays a critical role in face recognition from early in development. Specifically, we tested face discrimination in 7- and 8-month-old infants while independently manipulating the contrast polarity of the eye region and of the rest of the face. This gave four face contrast polarity conditions: fully positive condition, fully negative condition, positive face with negated eyes ("negative eyes") condition, and negated face with positive eyes ("positive eyes") condition. In a familiarization and novelty preference procedure, we found that 7- and 8-month-olds could discriminate between faces only when the contrast polarity of the eyes was preserved (positive) and that this did not depend on the contrast polarity of the rest of the face. This demonstrates the critical role of eye contrast polarity for face recognition in 7- and 8-month-olds and is consistent with previous findings for adults. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Improved emotional conflict control triggered by the processing priority of negative emotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Qian; Wang, Xiangpeng; Yin, Shouhang; Zhao, Xiaoyue; Tan, Jinfeng; Chen, Antao

    2016-04-18

    The prefrontal cortex is responsible for emotional conflict resolution, and this control mechanism is affected by the emotional valence of distracting stimuli. In the present study, we investigated effects of negative and positive stimuli on emotional conflict control using a face-word Stroop task in combination with functional brain imaging. Emotional conflict was absent in the negative face context, in accordance with the null activation observed in areas regarding emotional face processing (fusiform face area, middle temporal/occipital gyrus). Importantly, these visual areas negatively coupled with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). However, the significant emotional conflict was observed in the positive face context, this effect was accompanied by activation in areas associated with emotional face processing, and the default mode network (DMN), here, DLPFC mainly negatively coupled with DMN, rather than visual areas. These results suggested that the conflict control mechanism exerted differently between negative faces and positive faces, it implemented more efficiently in the negative face condition, whereas it is more devoted to inhibiting internal interference in the positive face condition. This study thus provides a plausible mechanism of emotional conflict resolution that the rapid pathway for negative emotion processing efficiently triggers control mechanisms to preventively resolve emotional conflict.

  10. The Interplay Among Children's Negative Family Representations, Visual Processing of Negative Emotions, and Externalizing Symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Patrick T; Coe, Jesse L; Hentges, Rochelle F; Sturge-Apple, Melissa L; van der Kloet, Erika

    2018-03-01

    This study examined the transactional interplay among children's negative family representations, visual processing of negative emotions, and externalizing symptoms in a sample of 243 preschool children (M age  = 4.60 years). Children participated in three annual measurement occasions. Cross-lagged autoregressive models were conducted with multimethod, multi-informant data to identify mediational pathways. Consistent with schema-based top-down models, negative family representations were associated with attention to negative faces in an eye-tracking task and their externalizing symptoms. Children's negative representations of family relationships specifically predicted decreases in their attention to negative emotions, which, in turn, was associated with subsequent increases in their externalizing symptoms. Follow-up analyses indicated that the mediational role of diminished attention to negative emotions was particularly pronounced for angry faces. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  11. High-resolution imaging of expertise reveals reliable object selectivity in the fusiform face area related to perceptual performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGugin, Rankin Williams; Gatenby, J Christopher; Gore, John C; Gauthier, Isabel

    2012-10-16

    The fusiform face area (FFA) is a region of human cortex that responds selectively to faces, but whether it supports a more general function relevant for perceptual expertise is debated. Although both faces and objects of expertise engage many brain areas, the FFA remains the focus of the strongest modular claims and the clearest predictions about expertise. Functional MRI studies at standard-resolution (SR-fMRI) have found responses in the FFA for nonface objects of expertise, but high-resolution fMRI (HR-fMRI) in the FFA [Grill-Spector K, et al. (2006) Nat Neurosci 9:1177-1185] and neurophysiology in face patches in the monkey brain [Tsao DY, et al. (2006) Science 311:670-674] reveal no reliable selectivity for objects. It is thus possible that FFA responses to objects with SR-fMRI are a result of spatial blurring of responses from nonface-selective areas, potentially driven by attention to objects of expertise. Using HR-fMRI in two experiments, we provide evidence of reliable responses to cars in the FFA that correlate with behavioral car expertise. Effects of expertise in the FFA for nonface objects cannot be attributed to spatial blurring beyond the scale at which modular claims have been made, and within the lateral fusiform gyrus, they are restricted to a small area (200 mm(2) on the right and 50 mm(2) on the left) centered on the peak of face selectivity. Experience with a category may be sufficient to explain the spatially clustered face selectivity observed in this region.

  12. A Deficit in Face-Voice Integration in Developing Vervet Monkeys Exposed to Ethanol during Gestation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zangenehpour, Shahin; Javadi, Pasha; Ervin, Frank R

    2014-01-01

    . However, a group of normally developing monkeys exhibited a significant preference for the non-matching video. This inability to integrate and thereby discriminate audiovisual stimuli was confined to the integration of faces and voices as revealed by the monkeys' ability to match a dynamic face...... to a complex tone or a black-and-white checkerboard to a pure tone, presumably based on duration and/or onset-offset synchrony. Together, these results suggest that prenatal ethanol exposure negatively affects a specific domain of audiovisual integration. This deficit is confined to the integration...... of information that is presented by the face and the voice and does not affect more elementary aspects of sensory integration....

  13. Enabling dynamics in face analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dibeklioğlu, H.

    2014-01-01

    Most of the approaches in automatic face analysis rely solely on static appearance. However, temporal analysis of expressions reveals interesting patterns. For a better understanding of the human face, this thesis focuses on temporal changes in the face, and dynamic patterns of expressions. In

  14. Face shape and face identity processing in behavioral variant fronto-temporal dementia: A specific deficit for familiarity and name recognition of famous faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Winter, François-Laurent; Timmers, Dorien; de Gelder, Beatrice; Van Orshoven, Marc; Vieren, Marleen; Bouckaert, Miriam; Cypers, Gert; Caekebeke, Jo; Van de Vliet, Laura; Goffin, Karolien; Van Laere, Koen; Sunaert, Stefan; Vandenberghe, Rik; Vandenbulcke, Mathieu; Van den Stock, Jan

    2016-01-01

    Deficits in face processing have been described in the behavioral variant of fronto-temporal dementia (bvFTD), primarily regarding the recognition of facial expressions. Less is known about face shape and face identity processing. Here we used a hierarchical strategy targeting face shape and face identity recognition in bvFTD and matched healthy controls. Participants performed 3 psychophysical experiments targeting face shape detection (Experiment 1), unfamiliar face identity matching (Experiment 2), familiarity categorization and famous face-name matching (Experiment 3). The results revealed group differences only in Experiment 3, with a deficit in the bvFTD group for both familiarity categorization and famous face-name matching. Voxel-based morphometry regression analyses in the bvFTD group revealed an association between grey matter volume of the left ventral anterior temporal lobe and familiarity recognition, while face-name matching correlated with grey matter volume of the bilateral ventral anterior temporal lobes. Subsequently, we quantified familiarity-specific and name-specific recognition deficits as the sum of the celebrities of which respectively only the name or only the familiarity was accurately recognized. Both indices were associated with grey matter volume of the bilateral anterior temporal cortices. These findings extent previous results by documenting the involvement of the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL) in familiarity detection and the right ATL in name recognition deficits in fronto-temporal lobar degeneration.

  15. The importance of surface-based cues for face discrimination in non-human primates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parr, Lisa A; Taubert, Jessica

    2011-07-07

    Understanding how individual identity is processed from faces remains a complex problem. Contrast reversal, showing faces in photographic negative, impairs face recognition in humans and demonstrates the importance of surface-based information (shading and pigmentation) in face recognition. We tested the importance of contrast information for face encoding in chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys using a computerized face-matching task. Results showed that contrast reversal (positive to negative) selectively impaired face processing in these two species, although the impairment was greater for chimpanzees. Unlike chimpanzees, however, monkeys performed just as well matching negative to positive faces, suggesting that they retained some ability to extract identity information from negative faces. A control task showed that chimpanzees, but not rhesus monkeys, performed significantly better matching face parts compared with whole faces after a contrast reversal, suggesting that contrast reversal acts selectively on face processing, rather than general visual-processing mechanisms. These results confirm the importance of surface-based cues for face processing in chimpanzees and humans, while the results were less salient for rhesus monkeys. These findings make a significant contribution to understanding the evolution of cognitive specializations for face processing among primates, and suggest potential differences between monkeys and apes.

  16. Differential emotion attribution to neutral faces of own and other races.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Chao S; Wang, Qiandong; Han, Tong; Weare, Ethan; Fu, Genyue

    2017-02-01

    Past research has demonstrated differential recognition of emotion on faces of different races. This paper reports the first study to explore differential emotion attribution to neutral faces of different races. Chinese and Caucasian adults viewed a series of Chinese and Caucasian neutral faces and judged their outward facial expression: neutral, positive, or negative. The results showed that both Chinese and Caucasian viewers perceived more Chinese faces than Caucasian faces as neutral. Nevertheless, Chinese viewers attributed positive emotion to Caucasian faces more than to Chinese faces, whereas Caucasian viewers attributed negative emotion to Caucasian faces more than to Chinese faces. Moreover, Chinese viewers attributed negative and neutral emotion to the faces of both races without significant difference in frequency, whereas Caucasian viewers mostly attributed neutral emotion to the faces. These differences between Chinese and Caucasian viewers may be due to differential visual experience, culture, racial stereotype, or expectation of the experiment. We also used eye tracking among the Chinese participants to explore the relationship between face-processing strategy and emotion attribution to neutral faces. The results showed that the interaction between emotion attribution and face race was significant on face-processing strategy, such as fixation proportion on eyes and saccade amplitude. Additionally, pupil size during processing Caucasian faces was larger than during processing Chinese faces.

  17. Perceptual load manipulation reveals sensitivity of the face-selective N170 to attention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohamed, Tarik N; Neumann, Markus F; Schweinberger, Stefan R

    2009-05-27

    It has been controversial whether the face-sensitive N170 is affected by selective attention. We manipulated attention sensu Lavie's perceptual load theory to short (200 ms) presentations of task-irrelevant unfamiliar faces or houses, while participants identified superimposed target letters 'X' versus 'N'. These targets were strings of either six identical (low load) or six different letters (high load). Under low load, we found a prominent face-selective N170 response. Under high load, however, we not only observed a dramatic reduction of the face N170 but also an unexpected enhancement of the house N170, such that face selectivity was almost completely lost. We conclude that the early stages of face processing indexed by the N170 strongly depend on selective attention.

  18. Human amygdala response to dynamic facial expressions of positive and negative surprise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vrticka, Pascal; Lordier, Lara; Bediou, Benoît; Sander, David

    2014-02-01

    Although brain imaging evidence accumulates to suggest that the amygdala plays a key role in the processing of novel stimuli, only little is known about its role in processing expressed novelty conveyed by surprised faces, and even less about possible interactive encoding of novelty and valence. Those investigations that have already probed human amygdala involvement in the processing of surprised facial expressions either used static pictures displaying negative surprise (as contained in fear) or "neutral" surprise, and manipulated valence by contextually priming or subjectively associating static surprise with either negative or positive information. Therefore, it still remains unresolved how the human amygdala differentially processes dynamic surprised facial expressions displaying either positive or negative surprise. Here, we created new artificial dynamic 3-dimensional facial expressions conveying surprise with an intrinsic positive (wonderment) or negative (fear) connotation, but also intrinsic positive (joy) or negative (anxiety) emotions not containing any surprise, in addition to neutral facial displays either containing ("typical surprise" expression) or not containing ("neutral") surprise. Results showed heightened amygdala activity to faces containing positive (vs. negative) surprise, which may either correspond to a specific wonderment effect as such, or to the computation of a negative expected value prediction error. Findings are discussed in the light of data obtained from a closely matched nonsocial lottery task, which revealed overlapping activity within the left amygdala to unexpected positive outcomes. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  19. Media use, face-to-face communication, media multitasking, and social well-being among 8- to 12-year-old girls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pea, Roy; Nass, Clifford; Meheula, Lyn; Rance, Marcus; Kumar, Aman; Bamford, Holden; Nass, Matthew; Simha, Aneesh; Stillerman, Benjamin; Yang, Steven; Zhou, Michael

    2012-03-01

    An online survey of 3,461 North American girls ages 8-12 conducted in the summer of 2010 through Discovery Girls magazine examined the relationships between social well-being and young girls' media use--including video, video games, music listening, reading/homework, e-mailing/posting on social media sites, texting/instant messaging, and talking on phones/video chatting--and face-to-face communication. This study introduced both a more granular measure of media multitasking and a new comparative measure of media use versus time spent in face-to-face communication. Regression analyses indicated that negative social well-being was positively associated with levels of uses of media that are centrally about interpersonal interaction (e.g., phone, online communication) as well as uses of media that are not (e.g., video, music, and reading). Video use was particularly strongly associated with negative social well-being indicators. Media multitasking was also associated with negative social indicators. Conversely, face-to-face communication was strongly associated with positive social well-being. Cell phone ownership and having a television or computer in one's room had little direct association with children's socioemotional well-being. We hypothesize possible causes for these relationships, call for research designs to address causality, and outline possible implications of such findings for the social well-being of younger adolescents. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

  20. A specialized face-processing model inspired by the organization of monkey face patches explains several face-specific phenomena observed in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farzmahdi, Amirhossein; Rajaei, Karim; Ghodrati, Masoud; Ebrahimpour, Reza; Khaligh-Razavi, Seyed-Mahdi

    2016-04-26

    Converging reports indicate that face images are processed through specialized neural networks in the brain -i.e. face patches in monkeys and the fusiform face area (FFA) in humans. These studies were designed to find out how faces are processed in visual system compared to other objects. Yet, the underlying mechanism of face processing is not completely revealed. Here, we show that a hierarchical computational model, inspired by electrophysiological evidence on face processing in primates, is able to generate representational properties similar to those observed in monkey face patches (posterior, middle and anterior patches). Since the most important goal of sensory neuroscience is linking the neural responses with behavioral outputs, we test whether the proposed model, which is designed to account for neural responses in monkey face patches, is also able to predict well-documented behavioral face phenomena observed in humans. We show that the proposed model satisfies several cognitive face effects such as: composite face effect and the idea of canonical face views. Our model provides insights about the underlying computations that transfer visual information from posterior to anterior face patches.

  1. Attention and memory bias to facial emotions underlying negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Seon-Kyeong; Park, Seon-Cheol; Lee, Seung-Hwan; Cho, Yang Seok; Choi, Kee-Hong

    2016-01-01

    This study assessed bias in selective attention to facial emotions in negative symptoms of schizophrenia and its influence on subsequent memory for facial emotions. Thirty people with schizophrenia who had high and low levels of negative symptoms (n = 15, respectively) and 21 healthy controls completed a visual probe detection task investigating selective attention bias (happy, sad, and angry faces randomly presented for 50, 500, or 1000 ms). A yes/no incidental facial memory task was then completed. Attention bias scores and recognition errors were calculated. Those with high negative symptoms exhibited reduced attention to emotional faces relative to neutral faces; those with low negative symptoms showed the opposite pattern when faces were presented for 500 ms regardless of the valence. Compared to healthy controls, those with high negative symptoms made more errors for happy faces in the memory task. Reduced attention to emotional faces in the probe detection task was significantly associated with less pleasure and motivation and more recognition errors for happy faces in schizophrenia group only. Attention bias away from emotional information relatively early in the attentional process and associated diminished positive memory may relate to pathological mechanisms for negative symptoms.

  2. An exploration into pedagogic frailty: Transitioning from face-to-face to online

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irina Niculescu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Pedagogic frailty and concept mapping can simultaneously encourage personal and organisational change by supporting critical reflection and resilience. These ideas are nascent within higher education institutions and currently, at the University of Surrey, are only developed through face-to-face sessions. This revealed the need for a scalable intervention which engages academics with the discourse on introspective and professional development practices. In response, we have created the design for a blended programme of online foundation for concept mapping leading to face-to-face workshops to explore the pedagogic frailty model. This paper will discuss some significant challenges arising from transitioning self-reflective practices from face-to-face to online spaces. In the process, we will consider ways in which learning design can take the learner context into account.

  3. Brain and behavioral inhibitory control of kindergartners facing negative emotions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farbiash, Tali; Berger, Andrea

    2016-09-01

    Inhibitory control (IC) - one of the most critical functions underlying a child's ability to self-regulate - develops significantly throughout the kindergarten years. Experiencing negative emotions imposes challenges on executive functioning and may specifically affect IC. In this study, we examined kindergartners' IC and its related brain activity during a negative emotional situation: 58 children (aged 5.5-6.5 years) performed an emotion-induction Go/NoGo task. During this task, we recorded children's performance and brain activity, focusing on the fronto-central N2 component in the event-related potential (ERP) and the power of its underlying theta frequency. Compared to Go trials, inhibition of NoGo trials was associated with larger N2 amplitudes and theta power. The negative emotional experience resulted in better IC performance and, at the brain level, in larger theta power. Source localization of this effect showed that the brain activity related to IC during the negative emotional experience was principally generated in the posterior frontal regions. Furthermore, the band power measure was found to be a more sensitive index for children's inhibitory processes than N2 amplitudes. This is the first study to focus on kindergartners' IC while manipulating their emotional experience to induce negative emotions. Our findings suggest that a kindergartner's experience of negative emotion can result in improved IC and increases in associated aspects of brain activity. Our results also suggest the utility of time-frequency analyses in the study of brain processes associated with response inhibition in young children. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Short-term memory for emotional faces in dysphoria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noreen, Saima; Ridout, Nathan

    2010-07-01

    The study aimed to determine if the memory bias for negative faces previously demonstrated in depression and dysphoria generalises from long- to short-term memory. A total of 29 dysphoric (DP) and 22 non-dysphoric (ND) participants were presented with a series of faces and asked to identify the emotion portrayed (happiness, sadness, anger, or neutral affect). Following a delay, four faces were presented (the original plus three distractors) and participants were asked to identify the target face. Half of the trials assessed memory for facial emotion, and the remaining trials examined memory for facial identity. At encoding, no group differences were apparent. At memory testing, relative to ND participants, DP participants exhibited impaired memory for all types of facial emotion and for facial identity when the faces featured happiness, anger, or neutral affect, but not sadness. DP participants exhibited impaired identity memory for happy faces relative to angry, sad, and neutral, whereas ND participants exhibited enhanced facial identity memory when faces were angry. In general, memory for faces was not related to performance at encoding. However, in DP participants only, memory for sad faces was related to sadness recognition at encoding. The results suggest that the negative memory bias for faces in dysphoria does not generalise from long- to short-term memory.

  5. Exploring individual differences in online and face-to-face help-seeking intentions in case of impending mental health problems: The role of adult attachment, perceived social support, psychological distress and self-stigma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer Apolinário-Hagen

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Even though common mental health problems such as depression are a global burden calling for efficient prevention strategies, still many distressed individuals face hurdles to access public mental healthcare. Thus, computerized Internet-based psychological services have been suggested as viable approach to overcome barriers, such as self-stigma, and to inform the access to professional support on a large scale. However, little research has targeted predictors of online and face-to-face help-seeking intentions. Objective: This study aimed at determining whether associations between attachment insecurity and the willingness to seek online versus face-to-face counselling in case of impending emotional problems are mediated by both perceived social support and psychological distress and moderated by self-stigma. Methods: Data was collected from 301 adults from the German-speaking general population (age: M = 34.42, SD = 11.23; range: 18 - 65 years; 72.1% female through an anonymous online survey. Determinants of seeking help were assessed with the self-report measures Experiences in Close Relationship-Scale, Perceived Stress Questionnaire, ENRICHD-Social Support Inventory and an adapted version of the General Help Seeking Questionnaire (i.e. case vignette. Mediation analyses were performed with the SPSS-macro PROCESS by Hayes. Results: About half of the sample indicated being not aware of online counselling. As expected, insecure attachment was associated with less perceived social support and increased psychological distress. Mediational analyses revealed negative relationships between both attachment avoidance and self-stigma with face-to-face help-seeking intentions. Moreover, the relationship between attachment anxiety and the willingness to seek face-to-face counselling was mediated by social support. In contrast, none of the predictors of online counselling was statistically significant. Conclusions: Overall, this study identified

  6. Face configuration affects speech perception: Evidence from a McGurk mismatch negativity study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eskelund, Kasper; MacDonald, Ewen; Andersen, Tobias

    2015-01-01

    We perceive identity, expression and speech from faces. While perception of identity and expression depends crucially on the configuration of facial features it is less clear whether this holds for visual speech perception. Facial configuration is poorly perceived for upside-down faces as demonst...

  7. Different underlying mechanisms for face emotion and gender processing during feature-selective attention: Evidence from event-related potential studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hailing; Ip, Chengteng; Fu, Shimin; Sun, Pei

    2017-05-01

    Face recognition theories suggest that our brains process invariant (e.g., gender) and changeable (e.g., emotion) facial dimensions separately. To investigate whether these two dimensions are processed in different time courses, we analyzed the selection negativity (SN, an event-related potential component reflecting attentional modulation) elicited by face gender and emotion during a feature selective attention task. Participants were instructed to attend to a combination of face emotion and gender attributes in Experiment 1 (bi-dimensional task) and to either face emotion or gender in Experiment 2 (uni-dimensional task). The results revealed that face emotion did not elicit a substantial SN, whereas face gender consistently generated a substantial SN in both experiments. These results suggest that face gender is more sensitive to feature-selective attention and that face emotion is encoded relatively automatically on SN, implying the existence of different underlying processing mechanisms for invariant and changeable facial dimensions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Developmental Reorganization of the Core and Extended Face Networks Revealed by Global Functional Connectivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xu; Zhu, Qi; Song, Yiying; Liu, Jia

    2017-08-28

    Prior studies on development of functional specialization in human brain mainly focus on age-related increases in regional activation and connectivity among regions. However, a few recent studies on the face network demonstrate age-related decrease in face-specialized activation in the extended face network (EFN), in addition to increase in activation in the core face network (CFN). Here we used a voxel-based global brain connectivity approach to investigate whether development of the face network exhibited both increase and decrease in network connectivity. We found the voxel-wise resting-state functional connectivity (FC) within the CFN increased with age in bilateral posterior superior temporal sulcus, suggesting the integration of the CFN during development. Interestingly, the FC of the voxels in the EFN to the right fusiform face area and occipital face area decreased with age, suggesting that the CFN segregated from the EFN during development. Moreover, the age-related connectivity in the CFN was related to behavioral performance in face processing. Overall, our study demonstrated developmental reorganization of the face network achieved by both integration within the CFN and segregation of the CFN from the EFN, which may account for the simultaneous increases and decreases in neural activation during the development of the face network. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Faces in the Mist: Illusory Face and Letter Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cory A. Rieth

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available We report three behavioral experiments on the spatial characteristics evoking illusory face and letter detection. False detections made to pure noise images were analyzed using a modified reverse correlation method in which hundreds of observers rated a modest number of noise images (480 during a single session. This method was originally developed for brain imaging research, and has been used in a number of fMRI publications, but this is the first report of the behavioral classification images. In Experiment 1 illusory face detection occurred in response to scattered dark patches throughout the images, with a bias to the left visual field. This occurred despite the use of a fixation cross and expectations that faces would be centered. In contrast, illusory letter detection (Experiment 2 occurred in response to centrally positioned dark patches. Experiment 3 included an oval in all displays to spatially constrain illusory face detection. With the addition of this oval the classification image revealed an eyes/nose/mouth pattern. These results suggest that face detection is triggered by a minimal face-like pattern even when these features are not centered in visual focus.

  10. Using Regression to Measure Holistic Face Processing Reveals a Strong Link with Face Recognition Ability

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeGutis, Joseph; Wilmer, Jeremy; Mercado, Rogelio J.; Cohan, Sarah

    2013-01-01

    Although holistic processing is thought to underlie normal face recognition ability, widely discrepant reports have recently emerged about this link in an individual differences context. Progress in this domain may have been impeded by the widespread use of subtraction scores, which lack validity due to their contamination with control condition…

  11. Nonverbal behavior during face-to-face social interaction in schizophrenia: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavelle, Mary; Healey, Patrick G T; McCabe, Rosemarie

    2014-01-01

    Patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia display social cognitive deficits. However, little is known about patients' nonverbal communication during their social encounters with others. This review identified 17 studies investigating nonverbal communication in patients' unscripted face-to-face interactions, addressing a) nonverbal differences between patients and others, b) nonverbal behavior of the patients' partners, c) the association between nonverbal behavior and symptoms, and d) the association between nonverbal behavior and social outcomes. Patients displayed fewer nonverbal behaviors inviting interaction, with negative symptoms exacerbating this pattern. Positive symptoms were associated with heightened nonverbal behavior. Patients' partners changed their own nonverbal behavior in response to the patient. Reduced prosocial behaviors, inviting interaction, were associated with poorer social outcomes. The evidence suggests that patients' nonverbal behavior, during face-to-face interaction, is influenced by patients symptoms and impacts the success of their social interactions.

  12. Don't look at me in anger! Enhanced processing of angry faces in anticipation of public speaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wieser, Matthias J; Pauli, Paul; Reicherts, Philipp; Mühlberger, Andreas

    2010-03-01

    Anxiety is supposed to enhance the processing of threatening information. Here, we investigated the cortical processing of angry faces during anticipated public speaking. To elicit anxiety, a group of participants was told that they would have to perform a public speech. As a control condition, another group was told that they would have to write a short essay. During anticipation of these tasks, participants saw facial expressions (angry, happy, and neutral) while electroencephalogram was recorded. Event-related potential analysis revealed larger N170 amplitudes for angry compared to happy and neutral faces in the anxiety group. The early posterior negativity as an index of motivated attention was also enhanced for angry compared to happy and neutral faces in participants anticipating public speaking. These results indicate that fear of public speaking influences early perceptual processing of faces such that especially the processing of angry faces is facilitated.

  13. Biased Allocation of Faces to Social Categories

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dotsch, R.; Wigboldus, D.H.J.; Knippenberg, A.F.M. van

    2011-01-01

    Three studies show that social categorization is biased at the level of category allocation. In all studies, participants categorized faces. In Studies 1 and 2, participants overallocated faces with criminal features-a stereotypical negative trait-to the stigmatized Moroccan category, especially if

  14. Eye tracking reveals a crucial role for facial motion in recognition of faces by infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Naiqi G; Quinn, Paul C; Liu, Shaoying; Ge, Liezhong; Pascalis, Olivier; Lee, Kang

    2015-06-01

    Current knowledge about face processing in infancy comes largely from studies using static face stimuli, but faces that infants see in the real world are mostly moving ones. To bridge this gap, 3-, 6-, and 9-month-old Asian infants (N = 118) were familiarized with either moving or static Asian female faces, and then their face recognition was tested with static face images. Eye-tracking methodology was used to record eye movements during the familiarization and test phases. The results showed a developmental change in eye movement patterns, but only for the moving faces. In addition, the more infants shifted their fixations across facial regions, the better their face recognition was, but only for the moving faces. The results suggest that facial movement influences the way faces are encoded from early in development. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Emotion elicitor or emotion messenger? Subliminal priming reveals two faces of facial expressions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruys, Kirsten I; Stapel, Diederik A

    2008-06-01

    Facial emotional expressions can serve both as emotional stimuli and as communicative signals. The research reported here was conducted to illustrate how responses to both roles of facial emotional expressions unfold over time. As an emotion elicitor, a facial emotional expression (e.g., a disgusted face) activates a response that is similar to responses to other emotional stimuli of the same valence (e.g., a dirty, nonflushed toilet). As an emotion messenger, the same facial expression (e.g., a disgusted face) serves as a communicative signal by also activating the knowledge that the sender is experiencing a specific emotion (e.g., the sender feels disgusted). By varying the duration of exposure to disgusted, fearful, angry, and neutral faces in two subliminal-priming studies, we demonstrated that responses to faces as emotion elicitors occur prior to responses to faces as emotion messengers, and that both types of responses may unfold unconsciously.

  16. The special status of sad infant faces: age and valence differences in adults' cortical face processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colasante, Tyler; Mossad, Sarah I; Dudek, Joanna; Haley, David W

    2017-04-01

    Understanding the relative and joint prioritization of age- and valence-related face characteristics in adults' cortical face processing remains elusive because these two characteristics have not been manipulated in a single study of neural face processing. We used electroencephalography to investigate adults' P1, N170, P2 and LPP responses to infant and adult faces with happy and sad facial expressions. Viewing infant vs adult faces was associated with significantly larger P1, N170, P2 and LPP responses, with hemisphere and/or participant gender moderating this effect in select cases. Sad faces were associated with significantly larger N170 responses than happy faces. Sad infant faces were associated with significantly larger N170 responses in the right hemisphere than all other combinations of face age and face valence characteristics. We discuss the relative and joint neural prioritization of infant face characteristics and negative facial affect, and their biological value as distinct caregiving and social cues. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  17. The Relation between Academic Procrastination of University Students and Their Assignment and Exam Performances: The Situation in Distance and Face-to-Face Learning Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yilmaz, M. Betul

    2017-01-01

    The relation between assignment and exam performances of the university students and their academic procrastination behaviors in distance and face-to-face learning environments was investigated in this study. Empirical research carried out both in face-to-face and online environments have generally shown a negative correlation between academic…

  18. Infant negative affect and maternal interactive behavior during the still-face procedure: the moderating role of adult attachment states of mind.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haltigan, John D; Leerkes, Esther M; Supple, Andrew J; Calkins, Susan D

    2014-01-01

    The current study examined associations between attachment state of mind measured prenatally (N = 259) and maternal behavior in the reunion episode of the still-face procedure when infants were six months of age both as a main effect and in conjunction with infant negative affect. Using a dimensional approach to adult attachment measurement, dismissing and preoccupied states of mind were negatively associated with maternal sensitivity, and each correlated with distinct parenting behaviors. Positive associations were found between dismissing states of mind and maternal monitoring and preoccupied states of mind and maternal withdraw. Maternal preoccupation moderated associations between infant negative affect and maternal intrusive, withdrawn, and monitoring behaviors, supporting the notion that maternal attachment influences parenting behavior via a modulatory process in which infant distress cues are selectively filtered and responded to. Analyses using a traditional AAI scale and classification approach also provided evidence for distinct parenting behavior correlates of insecure adult attachment representations. The importance of measuring global and stylistic differences in maternal behavior in contexts which allow for the activation of the entire range of infant affective states is discussed.

  19. Unbiased simulations reveal the inward-facing conformation of the human serotonin transporter and Na(+ ion release.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heidi Koldsø

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Monoamine transporters are responsible for termination of synaptic signaling and are involved in depression, control of appetite, and anxiety amongst other neurological processes. Despite extensive efforts, the structures of the monoamine transporters and the transport mechanism of ions and substrates are still largely unknown. Structural knowledge of the human serotonin transporter (hSERT is much awaited for understanding the mechanistic details of substrate translocation and binding of antidepressants and drugs of abuse. The publication of the crystal structure of the homologous leucine transporter has resulted in homology models of the monoamine transporters. Here we present extended molecular dynamics simulations of an experimentally supported homology model of hSERT with and without the natural substrate yielding a total of more than 1.5 µs of simulation of the protein dimer. The simulations reveal a transition of hSERT from an outward-facing occluded conformation to an inward-facing conformation in a one-substrate-bound state. Simulations with a second substrate in the proposed symport effector site did not lead to conformational changes associated with translocation. The central substrate binding site becomes fully exposed to the cytoplasm leaving both the Na(+-ion in the Na2-site and the substrate in direct contact with the cytoplasm through water interactions. The simulations reveal how sodium is released and show indications of early events of substrate transport. The notion that ion dissociation from the Na2-site drives translocation is supported by experimental studies of a Na2-site mutant. Transmembrane helices (TMs 1 and 6 are identified as the helices involved in the largest movements during transport.

  20. The Effect of Self-Referential Expectation on Emotional Face Processing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mel McKendrick

    Full Text Available The role of self-relevance has been somewhat neglected in static face processing paradigms but may be important in understanding how emotional faces impact on attention, cognition and affect. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of self-relevant primes on processing emotional composite faces. Sentence primes created an expectation of the emotion of the face before sad, happy, neutral or composite face photos were viewed. Eye movements were recorded and subsequent responses measured the cognitive and affective impact of the emotion expressed. Results indicated that primes did not guide attention, but impacted on judgments of valence intensity and self-esteem ratings. Negative self-relevant primes led to the most negative self-esteem ratings, although the effect of the prime was qualified by salient facial features. Self-relevant expectations about the emotion of a face and subsequent attention to a face that is congruent with these expectations strengthened the affective impact of viewing the face.

  1. Eye Tracking Reveals a Crucial Role for Facial Motion in Recognition of Faces by Infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Naiqi G.; Quinn, Paul C.; Liu, Shaoying; Ge, Liezhong; Pascalis, Olivier; Lee, Kang

    2015-01-01

    Current knowledge about face processing in infancy comes largely from studies using static face stimuli, but faces that infants see in the real world are mostly moving ones. To bridge this gap, 3-, 6-, and 9-month-old Asian infants (N = 118) were familiarized with either moving or static Asian female faces, and then their face recognition was…

  2. Exclusion of identification by negative superposition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takač Šandor

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper represents the first report of negative superposition in our country. Photo of randomly selected young, living woman was superimposed on the previously discovered female skull. Computer program Adobe Photoshop 7.0 was used in work. Digitilized photographs of the skull and face, after uploaded to computer, were superimposed on each other and displayed on the monitor in order to assess their possible similarities or differences. Special attention was payed to matching the same anthropometrical points of the skull and face, as well as following their contours. The process of fitting the skull and the photograph is usually started by setting eyes in correct position relative to the orbits. In this case, lower jaw gonions go beyond the face contour and gnathion is highly placed. By positioning the chin, mouth and nose their correct anatomical position cannot be achieved. All the difficulties associated with the superposition were recorded, with special emphasis on critical evaluation of work results in a negative superposition. Negative superposition has greater probative value (exclusion of identification than positive (possible identification. 100% negative superposition is easily achieved, but 100% positive - almost never. 'Each skull is unique and viewed from different perspectives is always a new challenge'. From this point of view, identification can be negative or of high probability.

  3. Category-specific responses to faces and objects in primate auditory cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kari L Hoffman

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Auditory and visual signals often occur together, and the two sensory channels are known to infl uence each other to facilitate perception. The neural basis of this integration is not well understood, although other forms of multisensory infl uences have been shown to occur at surprisingly early stages of processing in cortex. Primary visual cortex neurons can show frequency-tuning to auditory stimuli, and auditory cortex responds selectively to certain somatosensory stimuli, supporting the possibility that complex visual signals may modulate early stages of auditory processing. To elucidate which auditory regions, if any, are responsive to complex visual stimuli, we recorded from auditory cortex and the superior temporal sulcus while presenting visual stimuli consisting of various objects, neutral faces, and facial expressions generated during vocalization. Both objects and conspecifi c faces elicited robust fi eld potential responses in auditory cortex sites, but the responses varied by category: both neutral and vocalizing faces had a highly consistent negative component (N100 followed by a broader positive component (P180 whereas object responses were more variable in time and shape, but could be discriminated consistently from the responses to faces. The face response did not vary within the face category, i.e., for expressive vs. neutral face stimuli. The presence of responses for both objects and neutral faces suggests that auditory cortex receives highly informative visual input that is not restricted to those stimuli associated with auditory components. These results reveal selectivity for complex visual stimuli in a brain region conventionally described as non-visual unisensory cortex.

  4. Treatment with escitalopram improves the attentional bias toward negative facial expressions in patients with major depressive disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zhenhe; Cao, Suxia; Li, Hengfen; Li, Youhui

    2015-10-01

    We hypothesized that treatment with escitalopram would improve cognitive bias and contribute to the recovery process for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Many previous studies have established that patients with MDD tend to pay selective attention to negative stimuli. The assessment of the level of cognitive bias is regarded as a crucial dimension of treatment outcomes for MDD. To our knowledge, no prior studies have been reported on the effects of treatment with escitalopram on attentional bias in MDD, employing a dot probe task of facial expression. We studied 25 patients with MDD and 25 controls, and used a dot probe task of facial expression to measure cognitive bias. The patients' psychopathologies were rated using the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) at baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment with escitalopram. All participants performed the facial expression dot probe task. The results revealed that the 8 week escitalopram treatment decreased the HAMD scores. The patients with MDD at baseline exhibited an attentional bias towards negative faces, however, no significant bias toward either negative or happy faces were observed in the controls. After the 8 week escitalopram treatment, no significant bias toward negative faces was observed in the patient group. In conclusion, patients with MDD pay more attention to negative facial expressions, and treatment with escitalopram improves this attentional bias toward negative facial expressions. This is the first study, to our knowledge, on the effects of treatment with escitalopram on attentional bias in patients with MDD that has employed a dot probe task of facial expression. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Evidence for view-invariant face recognition units in unfamiliar face learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Etchells, David B; Brooks, Joseph L; Johnston, Robert A

    2017-05-01

    Many models of face recognition incorporate the idea of a face recognition unit (FRU), an abstracted representation formed from each experience of a face which aids recognition under novel viewing conditions. Some previous studies have failed to find evidence of this FRU representation. Here, we report three experiments which investigated this theoretical construct by modifying the face learning procedure from that in previous work. During learning, one or two views of previously unfamiliar faces were shown to participants in a serial matching task. Later, participants attempted to recognize both seen and novel views of the learned faces (recognition phase). Experiment 1 tested participants' recognition of a novel view, a day after learning. Experiment 2 was identical, but tested participants on the same day as learning. Experiment 3 repeated Experiment 1, but tested participants on a novel view that was outside the rotation of those views learned. Results revealed a significant advantage, across all experiments, for recognizing a novel view when two views had been learned compared to single view learning. The observed view invariance supports the notion that an FRU representation is established during multi-view face learning under particular learning conditions.

  6. Consensus statement on defining and measuring negative effects of Internet interventions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Rozental

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Internet interventions have great potential for alleviating emotional distress, promoting mental health, and enhancing well-being. Numerous clinical trials have demonstrated their efficacy for a number of psychiatric conditions, and interventions delivered via the Internet will likely become a common alternative to face-to-face treatment. Meanwhile, research has paid little attention to the negative effects associated with treatment, warranting further investigation of the possibility that some patients might deteriorate or encounter adverse events despite receiving best available care. Evidence from research of face-to-face treatment suggests that negative effects afflict 5–10% of all patients undergoing treatment in terms of deterioration. However, there is currently a lack of consensus on how to define and measure negative effects in psychotherapy research in general, leaving researchers without practical guidelines for monitoring and reporting negative effects in clinical trials. The current paper therefore seeks to provide recommendations that could promote the study of negative effects in Internet interventions with the aim of increasing the knowledge of its occurrence and characteristics. Ten leading experts in the field of Internet interventions were invited to participate and share their perspective on how to explore negative effects, using the Delphi technique to facilitate a dialog and reach an agreement. The authors discuss the importance of conducting research on negative effects in order to further the understanding of its incidence and different features. Suggestions on how to classify and measure negative effects in Internet interventions are proposed, involving methods from both quantitative and qualitative research. Potential mechanisms underlying negative effects are also discussed, differentiating common factors shared with face-to-face treatments from those unique to treatments delivered via the Internet. The authors

  7. Human sex differences in emotional processing of own-race and other-race faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ran, Guangming; Chen, Xu; Pan, Yangu

    2014-06-18

    There is evidence that women and men show differences in the perception of affective facial expressions. However, none of the previous studies directly investigated sex differences in emotional processing of own-race and other-race faces. The current study addressed this issue using high time resolution event-related potential techniques. In total, data from 25 participants (13 women and 12 men) were analyzed. It was found that women showed increased N170 amplitudes to negative White faces compared with negative Chinese faces over the right hemisphere electrodes. This result suggests that women show enhanced sensitivity to other-race faces showing negative emotions (fear or disgust), which may contribute toward evolution. However, the current data showed that men had increased N170 amplitudes to happy Chinese versus happy White faces over the left hemisphere electrodes, indicating that men show enhanced sensitivity to own-race faces showing positive emotions (happiness). In this respect, men might use past pleasant emotional experiences to boost recognition of own-race faces.

  8. From face processing to face recognition: Comparing three different processing levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Besson, G; Barragan-Jason, G; Thorpe, S J; Fabre-Thorpe, M; Puma, S; Ceccaldi, M; Barbeau, E J

    2017-01-01

    Verifying that a face is from a target person (e.g. finding someone in the crowd) is a critical ability of the human face processing system. Yet how fast this can be performed is unknown. The 'entry-level shift due to expertise' hypothesis suggests that - since humans are face experts - processing faces should be as fast - or even faster - at the individual than at superordinate levels. In contrast, the 'superordinate advantage' hypothesis suggests that faces are processed from coarse to fine, so that the opposite pattern should be observed. To clarify this debate, three different face processing levels were compared: (1) a superordinate face categorization level (i.e. detecting human faces among animal faces), (2) a face familiarity level (i.e. recognizing famous faces among unfamiliar ones) and (3) verifying that a face is from a target person, our condition of interest. The minimal speed at which faces can be categorized (∼260ms) or recognized as familiar (∼360ms) has largely been documented in previous studies, and thus provides boundaries to compare our condition of interest to. Twenty-seven participants were included. The recent Speed and Accuracy Boosting procedure paradigm (SAB) was used since it constrains participants to use their fastest strategy. Stimuli were presented either upright or inverted. Results revealed that verifying that a face is from a target person (minimal RT at ∼260ms) was remarkably fast but longer than the face categorization level (∼240ms) and was more sensitive to face inversion. In contrast, it was much faster than recognizing a face as familiar (∼380ms), a level severely affected by face inversion. Face recognition corresponding to finding a specific person in a crowd thus appears achievable in only a quarter of a second. In favor of the 'superordinate advantage' hypothesis or coarse-to-fine account of the face visual hierarchy, these results suggest a graded engagement of the face processing system across processing

  9. The electrophysiological effects of the serotonin 1A receptor agonist buspirone in emotional face processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernasconi, Fosco; Kometer, Michael; Pokorny, Thomas; Seifritz, Erich; Vollenweider, Franz X

    2015-04-01

    Emotional face processing is critically modulated by the serotonergic system, and serotonin (5-HT) receptor agonists impair emotional face processing. However, the specific contribution of the 5-HT1A receptor remains poorly understood. Here we investigated the spatiotemporal brain mechanisms underpinning the modulation of emotional face processing induced by buspirone, a partial 5-HT1A receptor agonist. In a psychophysical discrimination of emotional faces task, we observed that the discrimination fearful versus neutral faces were reduced, but not happy versus neutral faces. Electrical neuroimaging analyses were applied to visual evoked potentials elicited by emotional face images, after placebo and buspirone administration. Buspirone modulated response strength (i.e., global field power) in the interval 230-248ms after stimulus onset. Distributed source estimation over this time interval revealed that buspirone decreased the neural activity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that was evoked by fearful faces. These results indicate temporal and valence-specific effects of buspirone on the neuronal correlates of emotional face processing. Furthermore, the reduced neural activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in response to fearful faces suggests a reduced attention to fearful faces. Collectively, these findings provide new insights into the role of 5-HT1A receptors in emotional face processing and have implications for affective disorders that are characterized by an increased attention to negative stimuli. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

  10. Face adaptation improves gender discrimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Hua; Shen, Jianhong; Chen, Juan; Fang, Fang

    2011-01-01

    Adaptation to a visual pattern can alter the sensitivities of neuronal populations encoding the pattern. However, the functional roles of adaptation, especially in high-level vision, are still equivocal. In the present study, we performed three experiments to investigate if face gender adaptation could affect gender discrimination. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that adapting to a male/female face could selectively enhance discrimination for male/female faces. Experiment 3 showed that the discrimination enhancement induced by face adaptation could transfer across a substantial change in three-dimensional face viewpoint. These results provide further evidence suggesting that, similar to low-level vision, adaptation in high-level vision could calibrate the visual system to current inputs of complex shapes (i.e. face) and improve discrimination at the adapted characteristic. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Correlations between psychometric schizotypy, scan path length, fixations on the eyes and face recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hills, Peter J; Eaton, Elizabeth; Pake, J Michael

    2016-01-01

    Psychometric schizotypy in the general population correlates negatively with face recognition accuracy, potentially due to deficits in inhibition, social withdrawal, or eye-movement abnormalities. We report an eye-tracking face recognition study in which participants were required to match one of two faces (target and distractor) to a cue face presented immediately before. All faces could be presented with or without paraphernalia (e.g., hats, glasses, facial hair). Results showed that paraphernalia distracted participants, and that the most distracting condition was when the cue and the distractor face had paraphernalia but the target face did not, while there was no correlation between distractibility and participants' scores on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Schizotypy was negatively correlated with proportion of time fixating on the eyes and positively correlated with not fixating on a feature. It was negatively correlated with scan path length and this variable correlated with face recognition accuracy. These results are interpreted as schizotypal traits being associated with a restricted scan path leading to face recognition deficits.

  12. Understanding how adolescents and young adults with cancer talk about needs in online and face-to-face support groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Charee M; Crook, Brittani; Love, Brad; Macpherson, Catherine Fiona; Johnson, Rebecca

    2015-04-27

    We compared adolescent and young adult cancer patient and survivor language between mediated and face-to-face support communities in order to understand how the use of certain words frame conversations about family, friends, health, work, achievement, and leisure. We analyzed transcripts from an online discussion board (N = 360) and face-to-face support group (N = 569) for adolescent and young adults using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, a word-based computerized text analysis software that counts the frequency of words and word stems. There were significant differences between the online and face-to-face support groups in terms of content (e.g. friends, health) and style words (e.g. verb tense, negative emotion, and cognitive process). © The Author(s) 2015.

  13. Visual imagery of famous faces: effects of memory and attention revealed by fMRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishai, Alumit; Haxby, James V; Ungerleider, Leslie G

    2002-12-01

    Complex pictorial information can be represented and retrieved from memory as mental visual images. Functional brain imaging studies have shown that visual perception and visual imagery share common neural substrates. The type of memory (short- or long-term) that mediates the generation of mental images, however, has not been addressed previously. The purpose of this study was to investigate the neural correlates underlying imagery generated from short- and long-term memory (STM and LTM). We used famous faces to localize the visual response during perception and to compare the responses during visual imagery generated from STM (subjects memorized specific pictures of celebrities before the imagery task) and imagery from LTM (subjects imagined famous faces without seeing specific pictures during the experimental session). We found that visual perception of famous faces activated the inferior occipital gyri, lateral fusiform gyri, the superior temporal sulcus, and the amygdala. Small subsets of these face-selective regions were activated during imagery. Additionally, visual imagery of famous faces activated a network of regions composed of bilateral calcarine, hippocampus, precuneus, intraparietal sulcus (IPS), and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). In all these regions, imagery generated from STM evoked more activation than imagery from LTM. Regardless of memory type, focusing attention on features of the imagined faces (e.g., eyes, lips, or nose) resulted in increased activation in the right IPS and right IFG. Our results suggest differential effects of memory and attention during the generation and maintenance of mental images of faces.

  14. Affective attitudes to face images associated with intracerebral EEG source location before face viewing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pizzagalli, D; Koenig, T; Regard, M; Lehmann, D

    1999-01-01

    We investigated whether different, personality-related affective attitudes are associated with different brain electric field (EEG) sources before any emotional challenge (stimulus exposure). A 27-channel EEG was recorded in 15 subjects during eyes-closed resting. After recording, subjects rated 32 images of human faces for affective appeal. The subjects in the first (i.e., most negative) and fourth (i.e., most positive) quartile of general affective attitude were further analyzed. The EEG data (mean=25+/-4. 8 s/subject) were subjected to frequency-domain model dipole source analysis (FFT-Dipole-Approximation), resulting in 3-dimensional intracerebral source locations and strengths for the delta-theta, alpha, and beta EEG frequency band, and for the full range (1.5-30 Hz) band. Subjects with negative attitude (compared to those with positive attitude) showed the following source locations: more inferior for all frequency bands, more anterior for the delta-theta band, more posterior and more right for the alpha, beta and 1.5-30 Hz bands. One year later, the subjects were asked to rate the face images again. The rating scores for the same face images were highly correlated for all subjects, and original and retest affective mean attitude was highly correlated across subjects. The present results show that subjects with different affective attitudes to face images had different active, cerebral, neural populations in a task-free condition prior to viewing the images. We conclude that the brain functional state which implements affective attitude towards face images as a personality feature exists without elicitors, as a continuously present, dynamic feature of brain functioning. Copyright 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.

  15. Does accessibility of positive and negative schema vary by child physical abuse risk?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crouch, Julie L; Risser, Heather J; Skowronski, John J; Milner, Joel S; Farc, Magdalena M; Irwin, Lauren M

    2010-11-01

    To examine differences in accessibility of positive and negative schema in parents with high and low risk for child physical abuse (CPA). This study combined picture priming and lexical decision making methods to assess the accessibility of positive and negative words following presentation of child and adult faces. The child and adult faces depicted positive, ambiguous, and negative affective valences. The sample included 67 (51 low and 16 high CPA risk) general population parents. CPA risk status was associated with accessibility of positive/negative words only following priming with faces of the opposite affective valence. More specifically, high CPA risk parents were slower to respond to positive (negative) words following priming with negative (positive) faces. Exploratory analyses indicated that this pattern of findings was more clearly apparent when picture primes involved adult faces. The present findings suggest that high and low CPA risk parents differ in how they process affectively incongruent information. Research is needed to further examine schema accessibility, as well as to examine whether processes involved in attention and affect integration play a role in CPA risk. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Normal composite face effects in developmental prosopagnosia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biotti, Federica; Wu, Esther; Yang, Hua; Jiahui, Guo; Duchaine, Bradley; Cook, Richard

    2017-10-01

    Upright face perception is thought to involve holistic processing, whereby local features are integrated into a unified whole. Consistent with this view, the top half of one face appears to fuse perceptually with the bottom half of another, when aligned spatially and presented upright. This 'composite face effect' reveals a tendency to integrate information from disparate regions when faces are presented canonically. In recent years, the relationship between susceptibility to the composite effect and face recognition ability has received extensive attention both in participants with normal face recognition and participants with developmental prosopagnosia. Previous results suggest that individuals with developmental prosopagnosia may show reduced susceptibility to the effect suggestive of diminished holistic face processing. Here we describe two studies that examine whether developmental prosopagnosia is associated with reduced composite face effects. Despite using independent samples of developmental prosopagnosics and different composite procedures, we find no evidence for reduced composite face effects. The experiments yielded similar results; highly significant composite effects in both prosopagnosic groups that were similar in magnitude to the effects found in participants with normal face processing. The composite face effects exhibited by both samples and the controls were greatly diminished when stimulus arrangements were inverted. Our finding that the whole-face binding process indexed by the composite effect is intact in developmental prosopagnosia indicates that other factors are responsible for developmental prosopagnosia. These results are also inconsistent with suggestions that susceptibility to the composite face effect and face recognition ability are tightly linked. While the holistic process revealed by the composite face effect may be necessary for typical face perception, it is not sufficient; individual differences in face recognition ability

  17. Abnormal patterns of cerebral lateralisation as revealed by the Universal Chimeric Faces Task in individuals with autistic disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Sandie; Workman, Lance; Yeomans, Heather

    2012-01-01

    A previous study by Workman, Chilvers, Yeomans, and Taylor (2006), using the "Universal" Chimeric Faces Task (UCFT) for six emotional expressions, demonstrated that an overall left hemispatial/right hemisphere (RH) advantage has begun to develop by the age of 7-8. Moreover, the development of this left hemispatial advantage was observed to correlate positively with the ability to read emotions in the faces of others. Adopting the UCFT, the current study compared autistic children (11-15) with unimpaired children of two age groups (5-6 and 7-8) from this previous study. The autistic children showed a left hemispatial/RH advantage only for the two emotional expressions of "happiness" and "anger". Results for the autistic children revealed a similar overall pattern of lateralisation to the 5-6-year-olds and one that is less lateralised than the pattern for the 7-8-year-olds. Autistic children appear to show a developmental deficit for left hemispatial/RH advantage for emotional expression with the exception of "happiness" and "anger." The findings are discussed in terms of role hemisphericity and an approach-avoidance model.

  18. Exploring manifold structure of face images via multiple graphs

    KAUST Repository

    Alghamdi, Masheal

    2013-01-01

    Geometric structure in the data provides important information for face image recognition and classification tasks. Graph regularized non-negative matrix factorization (GrNMF) performs well in this task. However, it is sensitive to the parameters selection. Wang et al. proposed multiple graph regularized non-negative matrix factorization (MultiGrNMF) to solve the parameter selection problem by testing it on medical images. In this paper, we introduce the MultiGrNMF algorithm in the context of still face Image classification, and conduct a comparative study of NMF, GrNMF, and MultiGrNMF using two well-known face databases. Experimental results show that MultiGrNMF outperforms NMF and GrNMF for most cases.

  19. Exploring manifold structure of face images via multiple graphs

    KAUST Repository

    Alghamdi, Masheal

    2013-12-24

    Geometric structure in the data provides important information for face image recognition and classification tasks. Graph regularized non-negative matrix factorization (GrNMF) performs well in this task. However, it is sensitive to the parameters selection. Wang et al. proposed multiple graph regularized non-negative matrix factorization (MultiGrNMF) to solve the parameter selection problem by testing it on medical images. In this paper, we introduce the MultiGrNMF algorithm in the context of still face Image classification, and conduct a comparative study of NMF, GrNMF, and MultiGrNMF using two well-known face databases. Experimental results show that MultiGrNMF outperforms NMF and GrNMF for most cases.

  20. Using Media While Interacting Face-to-Face Is Associated With Psychosocial Well-Being and Personality Traits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Mindy; Murphy, Karen; Andrews, Glenda

    2018-01-01

    Positive face-to-face human interactions are known to benefit well-being. Drawing upon previous work regarding the interference of media (via technological devices or print) in social interaction, the aim of this study was to identify whether using media during face-to-face interaction could potentially limit the positive effect of interaction on well-being. Participants were 437 university students who completed an online survey which assessed media multitasking behaviors, well-being (trait depression, trait anxiety, social anxiety, empathy, and psychological well-being), and personality traits (Big-5 and narcissism). Face-to-face interaction was positively associated with well-being. However, when media use during face-to-face interaction was considered, there was a negative relationship with well-being (more depression, more anxiety, and less psychological well-being). Those who used certain media types, such as phone or video chatting, listening to music, and gaming, while interacting with others, also had lower scores on measures of empathy. Regression analyses showed significant contributions by these media types to empathy levels, even after controlling for age, gender, and personality traits. Face-to-face media multitasking was related to higher levels of narcissism and neuroticism, and lower levels of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness. This study provides insight into the possible role of media multitasking during face-to-face interaction on psychosocial outcomes.

  1. Rating Nasolabial Aesthetics in Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Patients: Cropped Versus Full-Face Images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwirtz, Roderic M F; Mulder, Frans J; Mosmuller, David G M; Tan, Robin A; Maal, Thomas J; Prahl, Charlotte; de Vet, Henrica C W; Don Griot, J Peter W

    2018-05-01

    To determine if cropping facial images affects nasolabial aesthetics assessments in unilateral cleft lip patients and to evaluate the effect of facial attractiveness on nasolabial evaluation. Two cleft surgeons and one cleft orthodontist assessed standardized frontal photographs 4 times; nasolabial aesthetics were rated on cropped and full-face images using the Cleft Aesthetic Rating Scale, and total facial attractiveness was rated on full-face images with and without the nasolabial area blurred using a 5-point Likert scale. Cleft Palate Craniofacial Unit of a University Medical Center. Inclusion criteria: nonsyndromic unilateral cleft lip and an available frontal view photograph around 10 years of age. a history of facial trauma and an incomplete cleft. Eighty-one photographs were available for assessment. Differences in mean CARS scores between cropped versus full-face photographs and attractive versus unattractive rated patients were evaluated by paired t test. Nasolabial aesthetics are scored more negatively on full-face photographs compared to cropped photographs, regardless of facial attractiveness. (Mean CARS score, nose: cropped = 2.8, full-face = 3.0, P lip: cropped = 2.4, full-face = 2.7, P lip: cropped = 2.6, full-face = 2.8, P < .001). Aesthetic outcomes of the nasolabial area are assessed significantly more positively when using cropped images compared to full-face images. For this reason, cropping images, revealing the nasolabial area only, is recommended for aesthetical assessments.

  2. Behavioural and neurophysiological evidence for face identity and face emotion processing in animals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tate, Andrew J; Fischer, Hanno; Leigh, Andrea E; Kendrick, Keith M

    2006-01-01

    Visual cues from faces provide important social information relating to individual identity, sexual attraction and emotional state. Behavioural and neurophysiological studies on both monkeys and sheep have shown that specialized skills and neural systems for processing these complex cues to guide behaviour have evolved in a number of mammals and are not present exclusively in humans. Indeed, there are remarkable similarities in the ways that faces are processed by the brain in humans and other mammalian species. While human studies with brain imaging and gross neurophysiological recording approaches have revealed global aspects of the face-processing network, they cannot investigate how information is encoded by specific neural networks. Single neuron electrophysiological recording approaches in both monkeys and sheep have, however, provided some insights into the neural encoding principles involved and, particularly, the presence of a remarkable degree of high-level encoding even at the level of a specific face. Recent developments that allow simultaneous recordings to be made from many hundreds of individual neurons are also beginning to reveal evidence for global aspects of a population-based code. This review will summarize what we have learned so far from these animal-based studies about the way the mammalian brain processes the faces and the emotions they can communicate, as well as associated capacities such as how identity and emotion cues are dissociated and how face imagery might be generated. It will also try to highlight what questions and advances in knowledge still challenge us in order to provide a complete understanding of just how brain networks perform this complex and important social recognition task. PMID:17118930

  3. Decision Accuracy in Computer-Mediated versus Face-to-Face Decision-Making Teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedlund; Ilgen; Hollenbeck

    1998-10-01

    Changes in the way organizations are structured and advances in communication technologies are two factors that have altered the conditions under which group decisions are made. Decisions are increasingly made by teams that have a hierarchical structure and whose members have different areas of expertise. In addition, many decisions are no longer made via strictly face-to-face interaction. The present study examines the effects of two modes of communication (face-to-face or computer-mediated) on the accuracy of teams' decisions. The teams are characterized by a hierarchical structure and their members differ in expertise consistent with the framework outlined in the Multilevel Theory of team decision making presented by Hollenbeck, Ilgen, Sego, Hedlund, Major, and Phillips (1995). Sixty-four four-person teams worked for 3 h on a computer simulation interacting either face-to-face (FtF) or over a computer network. The communication mode had mixed effects on team processes in that members of FtF teams were better informed and made recommendations that were more predictive of the correct team decision, but leaders of CM teams were better able to differentiate staff members on the quality of their decisions. Controlling for the negative impact of FtF communication on staff member differentiation increased the beneficial effect of the FtF mode on overall decision making accuracy. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

  4. Situation-based social anxiety enhances the neural processing of faces: evidence from an intergroup context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ofan, Renana H.; Rubin, Nava

    2014-01-01

    Social anxiety is the intense fear of negative evaluation by others, and it emerges uniquely from a social situation. Given its social origin, we asked whether an anxiety-inducing social situation could enhance the processing of faces linked to the situational threat. While past research has focused on how individual differences in social anxiety relate to face processing, we tested the effect of manipulated social anxiety in the context of anxiety about appearing racially prejudiced in front of a peer. Visual processing of faces was indexed by the N170 component of the event-related potential. Participants viewed faces of Black and White males, along with nonfaces, either in private or while being monitored by the experimenter for signs of prejudice in a ‘public’ condition. Results revealed a difference in the N170 response to Black and Whites faces that emerged only in the public condition and only among participants high in dispositional social anxiety. These results provide new evidence that anxiety arising from the social situation modulates the earliest stages of face processing in a way that is specific to a social threat, and they shed new light on how anxiety effects on perception may contribute to the regulation of intergroup responses. PMID:23709354

  5. Managing Face Threats and Instructions in Online Tutoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brummernhenrich, Benjamin; Jucks, Regina

    2013-01-01

    Although tutoring is very effective, tutors often neglect certain strategies such as direct negative feedback. This might be because they want to avoid threatening their tutee's face. The concept of face derives from politeness theory and refers to the aspects of autonomy and social appreciation people claim for themselves and strive to negotiate…

  6. Differential effects of face-realism and emotion on event-related brain potentials and their implications for the uncanny valley theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schindler, Sebastian; Zell, Eduard; Botsch, Mario; Kissler, Johanna

    2017-03-01

    Cartoon characters are omnipresent in popular media. While few studies have scientifically investigated their processing, in computer graphics, efforts are made to increase realism. Yet, close approximations of reality have been suggested to evoke sometimes a feeling of eeriness, the “uncanny valley” effect. Here, we used high-density electroencephalography to investigate brain responses to professionally stylized happy, angry, and neutral character faces. We employed six face-stylization levels varying from abstract to realistic and investigated the N170, early posterior negativity (EPN), and late positive potential (LPP) event-related components. The face-specific N170 showed a u-shaped modulation, with stronger reactions towards both most abstract and most realistic compared to medium-stylized faces. For abstract faces, N170 was generated more occipitally than for real faces, implying stronger reliance on structural processing. Although emotional faces elicited highest amplitudes on both N170 and EPN, on the N170 realism and expression interacted. Finally, LPP increased linearly with face realism, reflecting activity increase in visual and parietal cortex for more realistic faces. Results reveal differential effects of face stylization on distinct face processing stages and suggest a perceptual basis to the uncanny valley hypothesis. They are discussed in relation to face perception, media design, and computer graphics.

  7. Differential effects of face-realism and emotion on event-related brain potentials and their implications for the uncanny valley theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schindler, Sebastian; Zell, Eduard; Botsch, Mario; Kissler, Johanna

    2017-03-23

    Cartoon characters are omnipresent in popular media. While few studies have scientifically investigated their processing, in computer graphics, efforts are made to increase realism. Yet, close approximations of reality have been suggested to evoke sometimes a feeling of eeriness, the "uncanny valley" effect. Here, we used high-density electroencephalography to investigate brain responses to professionally stylized happy, angry, and neutral character faces. We employed six face-stylization levels varying from abstract to realistic and investigated the N170, early posterior negativity (EPN), and late positive potential (LPP) event-related components. The face-specific N170 showed a u-shaped modulation, with stronger reactions towards both most abstract and most realistic compared to medium-stylized faces. For abstract faces, N170 was generated more occipitally than for real faces, implying stronger reliance on structural processing. Although emotional faces elicited highest amplitudes on both N170 and EPN, on the N170 realism and expression interacted. Finally, LPP increased linearly with face realism, reflecting activity increase in visual and parietal cortex for more realistic faces. Results reveal differential effects of face stylization on distinct face processing stages and suggest a perceptual basis to the uncanny valley hypothesis. They are discussed in relation to face perception, media design, and computer graphics.

  8. Justice on the line? A comparison of telephone and face-to-face \\ud advice in social welfare legal aid

    OpenAIRE

    Burton, Marie

    2018-01-01

    This paper investigates the impact on legal advice of the major shift to telephone-only services in social welfare legal aid, which took place in April 2013. An empirical study comparing telephone and face-to-face advice reveals that face-to-face contact has considerable advantages in the advice interview. Based on interviews and observations with housing law clients, their lawyers and advisers, the findings of this qualitative study demonstrate that clients and lawyers often find it easier t...

  9. Emotion recognition in borderline personality disorder: effects of emotional information on negative bias.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenske, Sabrina; Lis, Stefanie; Liebke, Lisa; Niedtfeld, Inga; Kirsch, Peter; Mier, Daniela

    2015-01-01

    Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterized by severe deficits in social interactions, which might be linked to deficits in emotion recognition. Research on emotion recognition abilities in BPD revealed heterogeneous results, ranging from deficits to heightened sensitivity. The most stable findings point to an impairment in the evaluation of neutral facial expressions as neutral, as well as to a negative bias in emotion recognition; that is the tendency to attribute negative emotions to neutral expressions, or in a broader sense to report a more negative emotion category than depicted. However, it remains unclear which contextual factors influence the occurrence of this negative bias. Previous studies suggest that priming by preceding emotional information and also constrained processing time might augment the emotion recognition deficit in BPD. To test these assumptions, 32 female BPD patients and 31 healthy females, matched for age and education, participated in an emotion recognition study, in which every facial expression was preceded by either a positive, neutral or negative scene. Furthermore, time constraints for processing were varied by presenting the facial expressions with short (100 ms) or long duration (up to 3000 ms) in two separate blocks. BPD patients showed a significant deficit in emotion recognition for neutral and positive facial expression, associated with a significant negative bias. In BPD patients, this emotion recognition deficit was differentially affected by preceding emotional information and time constraints, with a greater influence of emotional information during long face presentations and a greater influence of neutral information during short face presentations. Our results are in line with previous findings supporting the existence of a negative bias in emotion recognition in BPD patients, and provide further insights into biased social perceptions in BPD patients.

  10. Effect of positive emotion on consolidation of memory for faces: the modulation of facial valence and facial gender.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Bo

    2013-01-01

    Studies have shown that emotion elicited after learning enhances memory consolidation. However, no prior studies have used facial photos as stimuli. This study examined the effect of post-learning positive emotion on consolidation of memory for faces. During the learning participants viewed neutral, positive, or negative faces. Then they were assigned to a condition in which they either watched a 9-minute positive video clip, or a 9-minute neutral video. Then 30 minutes after the learning participants took a surprise memory test, in which they made "remember", "know", and "new" judgements. The findings are: (1) Positive emotion enhanced consolidation of recognition for negative male faces, but impaired consolidation of recognition for negative female faces; (2) For males, recognition for negative faces was equivalent to that for positive faces; for females, recognition for negative faces was better than that for positive faces. Our study provides the important evidence that effect of post-learning emotion on memory consolidation can extend to facial stimuli and such an effect can be modulated by facial valence and facial gender. The findings may shed light on establishing models concerning the influence of emotion on memory consolidation.

  11. High confidence in falsely recognizing prototypical faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampaio, Cristina; Reinke, Victoria; Mathews, Jeffrey; Swart, Alexandra; Wallinger, Stephen

    2018-06-01

    We applied a metacognitive approach to investigate confidence in recognition of prototypical faces. Participants were presented with sets of faces constructed digitally as deviations from prototype/base faces. Participants were then tested with a simple recognition task (Experiment 1) or a multiple-choice task (Experiment 2) for old and new items plus new prototypes, and they showed a high rate of confident false alarms to the prototypes. Confidence and accuracy relationship in this face recognition paradigm was found to be positive for standard items but negative for the prototypes; thus, it was contingent on the nature of the items used. The data have implications for lineups that employ match-to-suspect strategies.

  12. Compositional effects on the ignition of FACE gasolines

    KAUST Repository

    Sarathy, Mani; Kukkadapu, Goutham; Mehl, Marco; Javed, Tamour; Ahmed, Ahfaz; Naser, Nimal; Tekawade, Aniket; Kosiba, Graham; Alabbad, Mohammed; Singh, Eshan; Park, Sungwoo; Rashidi, Mariam Al; Chung, Suk-Ho; Roberts, William L.; Oehlschlaeger, Matthew A.; Sung, Chih-Jen; Farooq, Aamir

    2016-01-01

    As regulatory measures for improved fuel economy and decreased emissions are pushing gasoline engine combustion technologies towards extreme conditions (i.e., boosted and intercooled intake with exhaust gas recirculation), fuel ignition characteristics become increasingly important for enabling stable operation. This study explores the effects of chemical composition on the fundamental ignition behavior of gasoline fuels. Two well-characterized, high-octane, non-oxygenated FACE (Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) gasolines, FACE F and FACE G, having similar antiknock indices but different octane sensitivities and chemical compositions are studied. Ignition experiments were conducted in shock tubes and a rapid compression machine (RCM) at nominal pressures of 20 and 40. atm, equivalence ratios of 0.5 and 1.0, and temperatures ranging from 650 to 1270. K. Results at temperatures above 900. K indicate that ignition delay time is similar for these fuels. However, RCM measurements below 900. K demonstrate a stronger negative temperature coefficient behavior for FACE F gasoline having lower octane sensitivity. In addition, RCM pressure profiles under two-stage ignition conditions illustrate that the magnitude of low-temperature heat release (LTHR) increases with decreasing fuel octane sensitivity. However, intermediate-temperature heat release is shown to increase as fuel octane sensitivity increases. Various surrogate fuel mixtures were formulated to conduct chemical kinetic modeling, and complex multicomponent surrogate mixtures were shown to reproduce experimentally observed trends better than simpler two- and three-component mixtures composed of n-heptane, iso-octane, and toluene. Measurements in a Cooperative Fuels Research (CFR) engine demonstrated that the multicomponent surrogates accurately captured the antiknock quality of the FACE gasolines. Simulations were performed using multicomponent surrogates for FACE F and G to reveal the underlying chemical

  13. Compositional effects on the ignition of FACE gasolines

    KAUST Repository

    Sarathy, Mani

    2016-05-08

    As regulatory measures for improved fuel economy and decreased emissions are pushing gasoline engine combustion technologies towards extreme conditions (i.e., boosted and intercooled intake with exhaust gas recirculation), fuel ignition characteristics become increasingly important for enabling stable operation. This study explores the effects of chemical composition on the fundamental ignition behavior of gasoline fuels. Two well-characterized, high-octane, non-oxygenated FACE (Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) gasolines, FACE F and FACE G, having similar antiknock indices but different octane sensitivities and chemical compositions are studied. Ignition experiments were conducted in shock tubes and a rapid compression machine (RCM) at nominal pressures of 20 and 40. atm, equivalence ratios of 0.5 and 1.0, and temperatures ranging from 650 to 1270. K. Results at temperatures above 900. K indicate that ignition delay time is similar for these fuels. However, RCM measurements below 900. K demonstrate a stronger negative temperature coefficient behavior for FACE F gasoline having lower octane sensitivity. In addition, RCM pressure profiles under two-stage ignition conditions illustrate that the magnitude of low-temperature heat release (LTHR) increases with decreasing fuel octane sensitivity. However, intermediate-temperature heat release is shown to increase as fuel octane sensitivity increases. Various surrogate fuel mixtures were formulated to conduct chemical kinetic modeling, and complex multicomponent surrogate mixtures were shown to reproduce experimentally observed trends better than simpler two- and three-component mixtures composed of n-heptane, iso-octane, and toluene. Measurements in a Cooperative Fuels Research (CFR) engine demonstrated that the multicomponent surrogates accurately captured the antiknock quality of the FACE gasolines. Simulations were performed using multicomponent surrogates for FACE F and G to reveal the underlying chemical

  14. Visual search of Mooney faces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica Emeline Goold

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Faces spontaneously capture attention. However, which special attributes of a face underlie this effect are unclear. To address this question, we investigate how gist information, specific visual properties and differing amounts of experience with faces affect the time required to detect a face. Three visual search experiments were conducted investigating the rapidness of human observers to detect Mooney face images. Mooney images are two-toned, ambiguous images. They were used in order to have stimuli that maintain gist information but limit low-level image properties. Results from the experiments show: 1 although upright Mooney faces were searched inefficiently, they were detected more rapidly than inverted Mooney face targets, demonstrating the important role of gist information in guiding attention towards a face. 2 Several specific Mooney face identities were searched efficiently while others were not, suggesting the involvement of specific visual properties in face detection. 3 By providing participants with unambiguous gray-scale versions of the Mooney face targets prior to the visual search task, the targets were detected significantly more efficiently, suggesting that prior experience with Mooney faces improves the ability to extract gist information for rapid face detection. However, a week of training with Mooney face categorization did not lead to even more efficient visual search of Mooney face targets. In summary, these results reveal that specific local image properties cannot account for how faces capture attention. On the other hand, gist information alone cannot account for how faces capture attention either. Prior experience facilitates the effect of gist on visual search of faces, making faces a special object category for guiding attention.

  15. The neural representation of personally familiar and unfamiliar faces in the distributed system for face perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Visconti di Oleggio Castello, Matteo; Halchenko, Yaroslav O; Guntupalli, J Swaroop; Gors, Jason D; Gobbini, M Ida

    2017-09-25

    Personally familiar faces are processed more robustly and efficiently than unfamiliar faces. The human face processing system comprises a core system that analyzes the visual appearance of faces and an extended system for the retrieval of person-knowledge and other nonvisual information. We applied multivariate pattern analysis to fMRI data to investigate aspects of familiarity that are shared by all familiar identities and information that distinguishes specific face identities from each other. Both identity-independent familiarity information and face identity could be decoded in an overlapping set of areas in the core and extended systems. Representational similarity analysis revealed a clear distinction between the two systems and a subdivision of the core system into ventral, dorsal and anterior components. This study provides evidence that activity in the extended system carries information about both individual identities and personal familiarity, while clarifying and extending the organization of the core system for face perception.

  16. Cultural shaping of neural responses: Feedback-related potentials vary with self-construal and face priming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hitokoto, Hidefumi; Glazer, James; Kitayama, Shinobu

    2016-01-01

    Previous work shows that when an image of a face is presented immediately prior to each trial of a speeded cognitive task (face-priming), the error-related negativity (ERN) is upregulated for Asians, but it is downregulated for Caucasians. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that images of "generalized other" vary cross-culturally such that they evoke anxiety for Asians, whereas they serve as safety cues for Caucasians. Here, we tested whether the cross-cultural variation in the face-priming effect would be observed in a gambling paradigm. Caucasian Americans, Asian Americans, and Asian sojourners were exposed to a brief flash of a schematic face during a gamble. For Asian Americans, face-priming resulted in significant increases of both negative-going deflection of ERP upon negative feedback (feedback-related negativity [FRN]) and positive-going deflection of ERP upon positive feedback (feedback-related positivity [FRP]). For Caucasian Americans, face-priming showed a significant reversal, decreasing both FRN and FRP. The cultural difference in the face-priming effect in FRN and FRP was partially mediated by interdependent self-construal. Curiously, Asian sojourners showed a pattern similar to the one for Caucasian Americans. Our findings suggest that culture shapes neural pathways in both systematic and highly dynamic fashion. © 2015 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  17. Complement factor 5a receptor chimeras reveal the importance of lipid-facing residues in transport competence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klco, Jeffery M; Sen, Saurabh; Hansen, Jakob L

    2009-01-01

    . Despite relatively conservative substitutions, the lipid-facing chimeras (TM1, TM2, TM4, TM5, TM6 or TM7) were retained in the endoplasmic reticulum/cis-Golgi network. With the exception of the TM7 chimera that did not bind ligand, the lipid-facing chimeras bound ligand with low affinity, but similar...... oligomerization studies demonstrated energy transfer between the wild-type complement factor 5a receptor and the lipid-facing chimeras, suggesting that the lipid-facing residues within a single TM segment are not essential for oligomerization. These studies highlight the importance of the lipid-facing residues...

  18. Discrimination between smiling faces: Human observers vs. automated face analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Líbano, Mario; Calvo, Manuel G; Fernández-Martín, Andrés; Recio, Guillermo

    2018-05-11

    This study investigated (a) how prototypical happy faces (with happy eyes and a smile) can be discriminated from blended expressions with a smile but non-happy eyes, depending on type and intensity of the eye expression; and (b) how smile discrimination differs for human perceivers versus automated face analysis, depending on affective valence and morphological facial features. Human observers categorized faces as happy or non-happy, or rated their valence. Automated analysis (FACET software) computed seven expressions (including joy/happiness) and 20 facial action units (AUs). Physical properties (low-level image statistics and visual saliency) of the face stimuli were controlled. Results revealed, first, that some blended expressions (especially, with angry eyes) had lower discrimination thresholds (i.e., they were identified as "non-happy" at lower non-happy eye intensities) than others (especially, with neutral eyes). Second, discrimination sensitivity was better for human perceivers than for automated FACET analysis. As an additional finding, affective valence predicted human discrimination performance, whereas morphological AUs predicted FACET discrimination. FACET can be a valid tool for categorizing prototypical expressions, but is currently more limited than human observers for discrimination of blended expressions. Configural processing facilitates detection of in/congruence(s) across regions, and thus detection of non-genuine smiling faces (due to non-happy eyes). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Network modeling reveals prevalent negative regulatory relationships between signaling sectors in Arabidopsis immune signaling.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masanao Sato

    Full Text Available Biological signaling processes may be mediated by complex networks in which network components and network sectors interact with each other in complex ways. Studies of complex networks benefit from approaches in which the roles of individual components are considered in the context of the network. The plant immune signaling network, which controls inducible responses to pathogen attack, is such a complex network. We studied the Arabidopsis immune signaling network upon challenge with a strain of the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae expressing the effector protein AvrRpt2 (Pto DC3000 AvrRpt2. This bacterial strain feeds multiple inputs into the signaling network, allowing many parts of the network to be activated at once. mRNA profiles for 571 immune response genes of 22 Arabidopsis immunity mutants and wild type were collected 6 hours after inoculation with Pto DC3000 AvrRpt2. The mRNA profiles were analyzed as detailed descriptions of changes in the network state resulting from the genetic perturbations. Regulatory relationships among the genes corresponding to the mutations were inferred by recursively applying a non-linear dimensionality reduction procedure to the mRNA profile data. The resulting static network model accurately predicted 23 of 25 regulatory relationships reported in the literature, suggesting that predictions of novel regulatory relationships are also accurate. The network model revealed two striking features: (i the components of the network are highly interconnected; and (ii negative regulatory relationships are common between signaling sectors. Complex regulatory relationships, including a novel negative regulatory relationship between the early microbe-associated molecular pattern-triggered signaling sectors and the salicylic acid sector, were further validated. We propose that prevalent negative regulatory relationships among the signaling sectors make the plant immune signaling network a "sector

  20. Exploring the spatio-temporal neural basis of face learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Ying; Xu, Yang; Jew, Carol A.; Pyles, John A.; Kass, Robert E.; Tarr, Michael J.

    2017-01-01

    Humans are experts at face individuation. Although previous work has identified a network of face-sensitive regions and some of the temporal signatures of face processing, as yet, we do not have a clear understanding of how such face-sensitive regions support learning at different time points. To study the joint spatio-temporal neural basis of face learning, we trained subjects to categorize two groups of novel faces and recorded their neural responses using magnetoencephalography (MEG) throughout learning. A regression analysis of neural responses in face-sensitive regions against behavioral learning curves revealed significant correlations with learning in the majority of the face-sensitive regions in the face network, mostly between 150–250 ms, but also after 300 ms. However, the effect was smaller in nonventral regions (within the superior temporal areas and prefrontal cortex) than that in the ventral regions (within the inferior occipital gyri (IOG), midfusiform gyri (mFUS) and anterior temporal lobes). A multivariate discriminant analysis also revealed that IOG and mFUS, which showed strong correlation effects with learning, exhibited significant discriminability between the two face categories at different time points both between 150–250 ms and after 300 ms. In contrast, the nonventral face-sensitive regions, where correlation effects with learning were smaller, did exhibit some significant discriminability, but mainly after 300 ms. In sum, our findings indicate that early and recurring temporal components arising from ventral face-sensitive regions are critically involved in learning new faces. PMID:28570739

  1. Trustworthy-looking face meets brown eyes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karel Kleisner

    Full Text Available We tested whether eye color influences perception of trustworthiness. Facial photographs of 40 female and 40 male students were rated for perceived trustworthiness. Eye color had a significant effect, the brown-eyed faces being perceived as more trustworthy than the blue-eyed ones. Geometric morphometrics, however, revealed significant correlations between eye color and face shape. Thus, face shape likewise had a significant effect on perceived trustworthiness but only for male faces, the effect for female faces not being significant. To determine whether perception of trustworthiness was being influenced primarily by eye color or by face shape, we recolored the eyes on the same male facial photos and repeated the test procedure. Eye color now had no effect on perceived trustworthiness. We concluded that although the brown-eyed faces were perceived as more trustworthy than the blue-eyed ones, it was not brown eye color per se that caused the stronger perception of trustworthiness but rather the facial features associated with brown eyes.

  2. The Impact of Electronic Health Records on Healthcare Professional's Beliefs and Attitudes toward Face to Face Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nickles, Kenneth Patrick

    2012-01-01

    The impact of electronic health records on healthcare professional's beliefs and attitudes toward face to face communication during patient and provider interactions was examined. Quantitative survey research assessed user attitudes towards an electronic health record system and revealed that healthcare professionals from a wide range of…

  3. Electrophysiological brain dynamics during the esthetic judgment of human bodies and faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñoz, Francisco; Martín-Loeches, Manuel

    2015-01-12

    This experiment investigated how the esthetic judgment of human body and face modulates cognitive and affective processes. We hypothesized that judgments on ugliness and beauty would elicit separable event-related brain potentials (ERP) patterns, depending on the esthetic value of body and faces in both genders. In a pretest session, participants evaluated images in a range from very ugly to very beautiful, what generated three sets of beautiful, ugly and neutral faces and bodies. In the recording session, they performed a task consisting in a beautiful-neutral-ugly judgment. Cognitive and affective effects were observed on a differential pattern of ERP components (P200, P300 and LPC). Main findings revealed a P200 amplitude increase to ugly images, probably the result of a negativity bias in attentional processes. A P300 increase was found mostly to beautiful images, particularly to female bodies, consistent with the salience of these stimuli, particularly for stimulus categorization. LPC appeared significantly larger to both ugly and beautiful images, probably reflecting later, decision processes linked to keeping information in working memory. This finding was especially remarkable for ugly male faces. Our findings are discussed on the ground of evolutionary and adaptive value of esthetics in person evaluation. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Hold Item. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Associations among negative parenting, attention bias to anger, and social anxiety among youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulley, Lauren D; Oppenheimer, Caroline W; Hankin, Benjamin L

    2014-02-01

    Theories of affective learning suggest that early experiences contribute to emotional disorders by influencing the development of processing biases for negative emotional stimuli. Although studies have shown that physically abused children preferentially attend to angry faces, it is unclear whether youth exposed to more typical aspects of negative parenting exhibit the same type of bias. The current studies extend previous research by linking observed negative parenting styles (e.g., authoritarian) and behaviors (e.g., criticism and negative affect) to attention bias for angry faces in both a psychiatrically enriched (ages 11-17 years; N = 60) and a general community (ages 9-15 years; N = 75) sample of youth. In addition, the association between observed negative parenting (e.g., authoritarian style and negative affect) and youth social anxiety was mediated by attention bias for angry faces in the general community sample. Overall, findings provide preliminary support for theories of affective learning and risk for psychopathology among youth.

  5. Pleasant and unpleasant odors influence hedonic evaluations of human faces: an event-related potential study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie Jane Cook

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Odors can alter hedonic evaluations of human faces, but the neural mechanisms of such effects are poorly understood. The present study aimed to analyze the neural underpinning of odor-induced changes in evaluations of human faces in an odor-priming paradigm, using event-related potentials (ERPs. Healthy, young participants (N = 20 rated neutral faces presented after a three second pulse of a pleasant odor (jasmine, unpleasant odor (methylmercaptan, or no-odor control (clean air. Neutral faces presented in the pleasant odor condition were rated more pleasant than the same faces presented in the no-odor control condition, which in turn were rated more pleasant than faces in the unpleasant odor condition. Analysis of face-related potentials revealed four clusters of electrodes significantly affected by odor condition at specific time points during long-latency epochs (600−950 ms. In the 620−640 ms interval, two scalp-time clusters showed greater negative potential in the right parietal electrodes in response to faces in the pleasant odor condition, compared to those in the no-odor and unpleasant odor conditions. At 926 ms, face-related potentials showed greater positivity in response to faces in the pleasant and unpleasant odor conditions at the left and right lateral frontal-temporal electrodes, respectively. Our data shows that odor-induced shifts in evaluations of faces were associated with amplitude changes in the late (> 600 and ultra-late (> 900 ms latency epochs. The observed amplitude changes during the ultra-late epoch are consistent with a left/right hemisphere bias towards pleasant/unpleasant odor effects. Odors alter evaluations of human faces, even when there is a temporal lag between presentation of odors and faces. Our results provide an initial understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying effects of odors on hedonic evaluations.

  6. A face a mother could love: depression-related maternal neural responses to infant emotion faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laurent, Heidemarie K; Ablow, Jennifer C

    2013-01-01

    Depressed mothers show negatively biased responses to their infants' emotional bids, perhaps due to faulty processing of infant cues. This study is the first to examine depression-related differences in mothers' neural response to their own infant's emotion faces, considering both effects of perinatal depression history and current depressive symptoms. Primiparous mothers (n = 22), half of whom had a history of major depressive episodes (with one episode occurring during pregnancy and/or postpartum), were exposed to images of their own and unfamiliar infants' joy and distress faces during functional neuroimaging. Group differences (depression vs. no-depression) and continuous effects of current depressive symptoms were tested in relation to neural response to own infant emotion faces. Compared to mothers with no psychiatric diagnoses, those with depression showed blunted responses to their own infant's distress faces in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Mothers with higher levels of current symptomatology showed reduced responses to their own infant's joy faces in the orbitofrontal cortex and insula. Current symptomatology also predicted lower responses to own infant joy-distress in left-sided prefrontal and insula/striatal regions. These deficits in self-regulatory and motivational response circuits may help explain parenting difficulties in depressed mothers.

  7. 'Faceness' and affectivity: evidence for genetic contributions to distinct components of electrocortical response to human faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shannon, Robert W; Patrick, Christopher J; Venables, Noah C; He, Sheng

    2013-12-01

    The ability to recognize a variety of different human faces is undoubtedly one of the most important and impressive functions of the human perceptual system. Neuroimaging studies have revealed multiple brain regions (including the FFA, STS, OFA) and electrophysiological studies have identified differing brain event-related potential (ERP) components (e.g., N170, P200) possibly related to distinct types of face information processing. To evaluate the heritability of ERP components associated with face processing, including N170, P200, and LPP, we examined ERP responses to fearful and neutral face stimuli in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. Concordance levels for early brain response indices of face processing (N170, P200) were found to be stronger for MZ than DZ twins, providing evidence of a heritable basis to each. These findings support the idea that certain key neural mechanisms for face processing are genetically coded. Implications for understanding individual differences in recognition of facial identity and the emotional content of faces are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Face-body integration of intense emotional expressions of victory and defeat.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lili Wang

    Full Text Available Human facial expressions can be recognized rapidly and effortlessly. However, for intense emotions from real life, positive and negative facial expressions are difficult to discriminate and the judgment of facial expressions is biased towards simultaneously perceived body expressions. This study employed event-related potentials (ERPs to investigate the neural dynamics involved in the integration of emotional signals from facial and body expressions of victory and defeat. Emotional expressions of professional players were used to create pictures of face-body compounds, with either matched or mismatched emotional expressions in faces and bodies. Behavioral results showed that congruent emotional information of face and body facilitated the recognition of facial expressions. ERP data revealed larger P1 amplitudes for incongruent compared to congruent stimuli. Also, a main effect of body valence on the P1 was observed, with enhanced amplitudes for the stimuli with losing compared to winning bodies. The main effect of body expression was also observed in N170 and N2, with winning bodies producing larger N170/N2 amplitudes. In the later stage, a significant interaction of congruence by body valence was found on the P3 component. Winning bodies elicited lager P3 amplitudes than losing bodies did when face and body conveyed congruent emotional signals. Beyond the knowledge based on prototypical facial and body expressions, the results of this study facilitate us to understand the complexity of emotion evaluation and categorization out of laboratory.

  9. [Neural basis of self-face recognition: social aspects].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugiura, Motoaki

    2012-07-01

    Considering the importance of the face in social survival and evidence from evolutionary psychology of visual self-recognition, it is reasonable that we expect neural mechanisms for higher social-cognitive processes to underlie self-face recognition. A decade of neuroimaging studies so far has, however, not provided an encouraging finding in this respect. Self-face specific activation has typically been reported in the areas for sensory-motor integration in the right lateral cortices. This observation appears to reflect the physical nature of the self-face which representation is developed via the detection of contingency between one's own action and sensory feedback. We have recently revealed that the medial prefrontal cortex, implicated in socially nuanced self-referential process, is activated during self-face recognition under a rich social context where multiple other faces are available for reference. The posterior cingulate cortex has also exhibited this activation modulation, and in the separate experiment showed a response to attractively manipulated self-face suggesting its relevance to positive self-value. Furthermore, the regions in the right lateral cortices typically showing self-face-specific activation have responded also to the face of one's close friend under the rich social context. This observation is potentially explained by the fact that the contingency detection for physical self-recognition also plays a role in physical social interaction, which characterizes the representation of personally familiar people. These findings demonstrate that neuroscientific exploration reveals multiple facets of the relationship between self-face recognition and social-cognitive process, and that technically the manipulation of social context is key to its success.

  10. Pleasant and unpleasant odour-face combinations influence face and odour perception: An event-related potential study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Stephanie; Kokmotou, Katerina; Soto, Vicente; Fallon, Nicholas; Tyson-Carr, John; Thomas, Anna; Giesbrecht, Timo; Field, Matt; Stancak, Andrej

    2017-08-30

    Odours alter evaluations of concurrent visual stimuli. However, neural mechanisms underlying the effects of congruent and incongruent odours on facial expression perception are not clear. Moreover, the influence of emotional faces on odour perception is not established. We investigated the effects of one pleasant and one unpleasant odour paired with happy and disgusted faces, on subjective ratings and ERP responses to faces. Participants rated the pleasantness of happy and disgusted faces that appeared during 3s pleasant or unpleasant odour pulses, or without odour. Odour pleasantness and intensity ratings were recorded in each trial. EEG was recorded continuously using a 128-channel system. Happy and disgusted faces paired with pleasant and unpleasant odour were rated as more or less pleasant, respectively, compared to the same faces presented in the other odour conditions. Odours were rated as more pleasant when paired with happy faces, and unpleasant odour was rated more intense when paired with disgusted faces. Unpleasant odour paired with disgusted faces also decreased inspiration. Odour-face interactions were evident in the N200 and N400 components. Our results reveal bi-directional effects of odours and faces, and suggest that odour-face interactions may be represented in ERP components. Pairings of unpleasant odour and disgusted faces resulted in stronger hedonic ratings, ERP changes, increased odour intensity ratings and respiratory adjustment. This finding likely represents heightened adaptive responses to multimodal unpleasant stimuli, prompting appropriate behaviour in the presence of danger. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  11. Face Perception and Test Reliabilities in Congenital Prosopagnosia in Seven Tests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janina Esins

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Congenital prosopagnosia, the innate impairment in recognizing faces, is a very heterogeneous disorder with different phenotypical manifestations. To investigate the nature of prosopagnosia in more detail, we tested 16 prosopagnosics and 21 controls with an extended test battery addressing various aspects of face recognition. Our results show that prosopagnosics exhibited significant impairments in several face recognition tasks: impaired holistic processing (they were tested amongst others with the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT as well as reduced processing of configural information of faces. This test battery also revealed some new findings. While controls recognized moving faces better than static faces, prosopagnosics did not exhibit this effect. Furthermore, prosopagnosics had significantly impaired gender recognition—which is shown on a groupwise level for the first time in our study. There was no difference between groups in the automatic extraction of face identity information or in object recognition as tested with the Cambridge Car Memory Test. In addition, a methodological analysis of the tests revealed reduced reliability for holistic face processing tests in prosopagnosics. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that prosopagnosics showed a significantly reduced reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha in the CFMT compared to the controls. We suggest that compensatory strategies employed by the prosopagnosics might be the cause for the vast variety of response patterns revealed by the reduced test reliability. This finding raises the question whether classical face tests measure the same perceptual processes in controls and prosopagnosics.

  12. A dimensional approach to determine common and specific neurofunctional markers for depression and social anxiety during emotional face processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Lizhu; Becker, Benjamin; Zheng, Xiaoxiao; Zhao, Zhiying; Xu, Xiaolei; Zhou, Feng; Wang, Jiaojian; Kou, Juan; Dai, Jing; Kendrick, Keith M

    2018-02-01

    Major depression disorder (MDD) and anxiety disorder are both prevalent and debilitating. High rates of comorbidity between MDD and social anxiety disorder (SAD) suggest common pathological pathways, including aberrant neural processing of interpersonal signals. In patient populations, the determination of common and distinct neurofunctional markers of MDD and SAD is often hampered by confounding factors, such as generally elevated anxiety levels and disorder-specific brain structural alterations. This study employed a dimensional disorder approach to map neurofunctional markers associated with levels of depression and social anxiety symptoms in a cohort of 91 healthy subjects using an emotional face processing paradigm. Examining linear associations between levels of depression and social anxiety, while controlling for trait anxiety revealed that both were associated with exaggerated dorsal striatal reactivity to fearful and sad expression faces respectively. Exploratory analysis revealed that depression scores were positively correlated with dorsal striatal functional connectivity during processing of fearful faces, whereas those of social anxiety showed a negative association during processing of sad faces. No linear relationships between levels of depression and social anxiety were observed during a facial-identity matching task or with brain structure. Together, the present findings indicate that dorsal striatal neurofunctional alterations might underlie aberrant interpersonal processing associated with both increased levels of depression and social anxiety. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Negative hydrogen ion production mechanisms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bacal, M. [UPMC, LPP, Ecole Polytechnique, UMR CNRS 7648, Palaiseau (France); Wada, M. [School of Science and Engineering, Doshisha University, Kyoto 610-0321 (Japan)

    2015-06-15

    Negative hydrogen/deuterium ions can be formed by processes occurring in the plasma volume and on surfaces facing the plasma. The principal mechanisms leading to the formation of these negative ions are dissociative electron attachment to ro-vibrationally excited hydrogen/deuterium molecules when the reaction takes place in the plasma volume, and the direct electron transfer from the low work function metal surface to the hydrogen/deuterium atoms when formation occurs on the surface. The existing theoretical models and reported experimental results on these two mechanisms are summarized. Performance of the negative hydrogen/deuterium ion sources that emerged from studies of these mechanisms is reviewed. Contemporary negative ion sources do not have negative ion production electrodes of original surface type sources but are operated with caesium with their structures nearly identical to volume production type sources. Reasons for enhanced negative ion current due to caesium addition to these sources are discussed.

  14. Probing the Feature Map for Faces in Visual Search

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua Yang

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Controversy surrounds the mechanisms underlying the pop-out effect for faces in visual search. Is there a feature map for faces? If so, does it rely on the categorical distinction between faces and nonfaces, or on image-level face semblance? To probe the feature map, we compared search efficiency for faces, and nonface stimuli with high, low, and no face semblance. First, subjects performed a visual search task with objects as distractors. Only faces popped-out. Moreover, search efficiency for nonfaces correlated with image-level face semblance of the target. In a second experiment, faces were used as distractors but nonfaces did not pop-out. Interestingly, search efficiency for nonfaces was not modulated by face semblance, although searching for a face among faces was particularly difficult, reflecting a categorical boundary between nonfaces and faces. Finally, inversion and contrast negation significantly interacted with the effect of face semblance, ruling out the possibility that search efficiency solely depends on low-level features. Our study supports a parallel search for faces that is perhaps preattentive. Like other features (color, orientation etc., there appears to be a continuous face feature map for visual search. Our results also suggest that this map may include both image-level face semblance and face categoricity.

  15. Social and emotional relevance in face processing: Happy faces of future interaction partners enhance the LPP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian eBublatzky

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Human face perception is modulated by both emotional valence and social relevance, but their interaction has rarely been examined. Event-related brain potentials (ERP to happy, neutral, and angry facial expressions with different degrees of social relevance were recorded. Social relevance was manipulated by presenting pictures of two specific face actors as future interaction partners (meet condition, whereas two other face actors remained non-relevant. As a further control condition all stimuli were presented without specific task instructions (passive viewing condition. A within-subject design (Facial Expression x Relevance x Task was implemented, where randomly ordered face stimuli of four actors (2 women, from the KDEF were presented for 1s to 26 participants (16 female. Results showed an augmented N170, early posterior negativity (EPN, and late positive potential (LPP for emotional in contrast to neutral facial expressions. Of particular interest, face processing varied as a function of instructed social relevance. Whereas the meet condition was accompanied with unspecific effects regardless of relevance (P1, EPN, viewing potential interaction partners was associated with increased LPP amplitudes. The LPP was specifically enhanced for happy facial expressions of the future interaction partners. This underscores that social relevance can impact face processing already at an early stage of visual processing. These findings are discussed within the framework of motivated attention and face processing theories.

  16. Interactions between concentric form-from-structure and face perception revealed by visual masking but not adaptation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feczko, Eric; Shulman, Gordon L.; Petersen, Steven E.; Pruett, John R.

    2014-01-01

    Findings from diverse subfields of vision research suggest a potential link between high-level aspects of face perception and concentric form-from-structure perception. To explore this relationship, typical adults performed two adaptation experiments and two masking experiments to test whether concentric, but not nonconcentric, Glass patterns (a type of form-from-structure stimulus) utilize a processing mechanism shared by face perception. For the adaptation experiments, subjects were presented with an adaptor for 5 or 20 s, prior to discriminating a target. In the masking experiments, subjects saw a mask, then a target, and then a second mask. Measures of discriminability and bias were derived and repeated measures analysis of variance tested for pattern-specific masking and adaptation effects. Results from Experiment 1 show no Glass pattern-specific effect of adaptation to faces; results from Experiment 2 show concentric Glass pattern masking, but not adaptation, may impair upright/inverted face discrimination; results from Experiment 3 show concentric and radial Glass pattern masking impaired subsequent upright/inverted face discrimination more than translational Glass pattern masking; and results from Experiment 4 show concentric and radial Glass pattern masking impaired subsequent face gender discrimination more than translational Glass pattern masking. Taken together, these findings demonstrate interactions between concentric form-from-structure and face processing, suggesting a possible common processing pathway. PMID:24563526

  17. Efficacy of face-to-face versus self-guided treatments for disordered gambling: A meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goslar, Martina; Leibetseder, Max; Muench, Hannah M; Hofmann, Stefan G; Laireiter, Anton-Rupert

    2017-06-01

    Background and aims In the light of growing traditional and novel forms of gambling, the treatment of disordered gambling is gaining increasing importance and practical relevance. Most studies have examined face-to-face treatments. Although trials implementing self-guided treatments have recently been conducted, these options have not yet been systematically examined. The primary objective of this meta-analysis, therefore, was to analyze the efficacy of all types of psychological face-to-face and self-guided treatments. Methods A multilevel literature search yielded 27 randomized controlled studies totaling 3,879 participants to provide a comprehensive comparative evaluation of the short- and long-term efficacies of face-to-face and self-guided treatments for disordered gambling. Results As expected, the results revealed significantly higher effect sizes for face-to-face treatments (16 studies with Hedges's g ranging from 0.67 to 1.15) as compared with self-guided treatments (11 studies with Hedges's g ranging from 0.12 to 0.30) regarding the reduction of problematic gambling behavior. The intensity of treatment moderated the therapy effect, particularly for self-guided treatments. Discussion and Conclusions The results of this meta-analysis favor face-to-face treatments over self-guided treatments for the reduction of disordered gambling. Although the findings broaden the scope of knowledge about psychological treatment modalities for disordered gambling, further research is needed to identify the reasons for these differences with the goal to optimize the treatment for this disabling condition.

  18. Increased amygdala responses to emotional faces after psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roseman, Leor; Demetriou, Lysia; Wall, Matthew B; Nutt, David J; Carhart-Harris, Robin L

    2017-12-27

    Recent evidence indicates that psilocybin with psychological support may be effective for treating depression. Some studies have found that patients with depression show heightened amygdala responses to fearful faces and there is reliable evidence that treatment with SSRIs attenuates amygdala responses (Ma, 2015). We hypothesised that amygdala responses to emotional faces would be altered post-treatment with psilocybin. In this open-label study, 20 individuals diagnosed with moderate to severe, treatment-resistant depression, underwent two separate dosing sessions with psilocybin. Psychological support was provided before, during and after these sessions and 19 completed fMRI scans one week prior to the first session and one day after the second and last. Neutral, fearful and happy faces were presented in the scanner and analyses focused on the amygdala. Group results revealed rapid and enduring improvements in depressive symptoms post psilocybin. Increased responses to fearful and happy faces were observed in the right amygdala post-treatment, and right amygdala increases to fearful versus neutral faces were predictive of clinical improvements at 1-week. Psilocybin with psychological support was associated with increased amygdala responses to emotional stimuli, an opposite effect to previous findings with SSRIs. This suggests fundamental differences in these treatments' therapeutic actions, with SSRIs mitigating negative emotions and psilocybin allowing patients to confront and work through them. Based on the present results, we propose that psilocybin with psychological support is a treatment approach that potentially revives emotional responsiveness in depression, enabling patients to reconnect with their emotions. ISRCTN, number ISRCTN14426797. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  19. Network dynamics of human face perception.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cihan Mehmet Kadipasaoglu

    Full Text Available Prevailing theories suggests that cortical regions responsible for face perception operate in a serial, feed-forward fashion. Here, we utilize invasive human electrophysiology to evaluate serial models of face-processing via measurements of cortical activation, functional connectivity, and cortico-cortical evoked potentials. We find that task-dependent changes in functional connectivity between face-selective regions in the inferior occipital (f-IOG and fusiform gyrus (f-FG are bidirectional, not feed-forward, and emerge following feed-forward input from early visual cortex (EVC to both of these regions. Cortico-cortical evoked potentials similarly reveal independent signal propagations between EVC and both f-IOG and f-FG. These findings are incompatible with serial models, and support a parallel, distributed network underpinning face perception in humans.

  20. Neuropsychology of facial expressions. The role of consciousness in processing emotional faces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michela Balconi

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Neuropsychological studies have underlined the significant presence of distinct brain correlates deputed to analyze facial expression of emotion. It was observed that some cerebral circuits were considered as specific for emotional face comprehension as a function of conscious vs. unconscious processing of emotional information. Moreover, the emotional content of faces (i.e. positive vs. negative; more or less arousing may have an effect in activating specific cortical networks. Between the others, recent studies have explained the contribution of hemispheres in comprehending face, as a function of type of emotions (mainly related to the distinction positive vs. negative and of specific tasks (comprehending vs. producing facial expressions. Specifically, ERPs (event-related potentials analysis overview is proposed in order to comprehend how face may be processed by an observer and how he can make face a meaningful construct even in absence of awareness. Finally, brain oscillations is considered in order to explain the synchronization of neural populations in response to emotional faces when a conscious vs. unconscious processing is activated

  1. Threatening faces and social anxiety: A literature review

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Staugaard, Søren Risløv

    2010-01-01

    A threatening facial expression is a potent social sign of hostility or dominance. During the past 20 years, photographs of threatening faces have been increasingly included as stimuli in studies with socially anxious participants, based on the hypothesis that a threatening face is especially...... salient to people with fears of social interaction or negative evaluation. The purpose of this literature review is to systematically evaluate the accumulated research and suggest possible avenues for further research. The main conclusion is that photographs of threatening faces engage a broad range...... of perceptual processes in socially anxious participants, particularly when exposure times are very short...

  2. In-person contact begets calling and texting: interpersonal motives for cell phone use, face-to-face interaction, and loneliness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Borae; Park, Namkee

    2010-12-01

    This study examined how cell-phone use is related to interpersonal motives for using cell phones, face-to-face communication, and loneliness. A survey of 232 college students who owned a cell phone revealed that affection and inclusion were relatively strong motivations for using voice calls and text messaging, and that interpersonal motives were positively related to the amount of cell-phone use, including calling and texting. The amount of face-to-face interaction was positively associated with the participants' cell-phone use and their interpersonal motives for using cell phones: the more the participants engaged in face-to-face interaction with other people, the higher their motives were and the more frequent cell-phone use was. Loneliness did not have a direct relation to cell-phone use. Instead, the participants with higher levels of loneliness were less likely to engage in face-to-face social interaction, which led them to use cell phones less and to be less motivated to use cell phones for interpersonal purposes.

  3. What Faces Reveal: A Novel Method to Identify Patients at Risk of Deterioration Using Facial Expressions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madrigal-Garcia, Maria Isabel; Rodrigues, Marcos; Shenfield, Alex; Singer, Mervyn; Moreno-Cuesta, Jeronimo

    2018-07-01

    To identify facial expressions occurring in patients at risk of deterioration in hospital wards. Prospective observational feasibility study. General ward patients in a London Community Hospital, United Kingdom. Thirty-four patients at risk of clinical deterioration. A 5-minute video (25 frames/s; 7,500 images) was recorded, encrypted, and subsequently analyzed for action units by a trained facial action coding system psychologist blinded to outcome. Action units of the upper face, head position, eyes position, lips and jaw position, and lower face were analyzed in conjunction with clinical measures collected within the National Early Warning Score. The most frequently detected action units were action unit 43 (73%) for upper face, action unit 51 (11.7%) for head position, action unit 62 (5.8%) for eyes position, action unit 25 (44.1%) for lips and jaw, and action unit 15 (67.6%) for lower face. The presence of certain combined face displays was increased in patients requiring admission to intensive care, namely, action units 43 + 15 + 25 (face display 1, p facial expressions can be identified in deteriorating general ward patients. This tool may potentially augment risk prediction of current scoring systems.

  4. Rapid Categorization of Human and Ape Faces in 9-Month-Old Infants Revealed by Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peykarjou, Stefanie; Hoehl, Stefanie; Pauen, Sabina; Rossion, Bruno

    2017-10-02

    This study investigates categorization of human and ape faces in 9-month-olds using a Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation (FPVS) paradigm while measuring EEG. Categorization responses are elicited only if infants discriminate between different categories and generalize across exemplars within each category. In study 1, human or ape faces were presented as standard and deviant stimuli in upright and inverted trials. Upright ape faces presented among humans elicited strong categorization responses, whereas responses for upright human faces and for inverted ape faces were smaller. Deviant inverted human faces did not elicit categorization. Data were best explained by a model with main effects of species and orientation. However, variance of low-level image characteristics was higher for the ape than the human category. Variance was matched to replicate this finding in an independent sample (study 2). Both human and ape faces elicited categorization in upright and inverted conditions, but upright ape faces elicited the strongest responses. Again, data were best explained by a model of two main effects. These experiments demonstrate that 9-month-olds rapidly categorize faces, and unfamiliar faces presented among human faces elicit increased categorization responses. This likely reflects habituation for the familiar standard category, and stronger release for the unfamiliar category deviants.

  5. Negative reciprocity and retrenched pension rights

    OpenAIRE

    Montizaan, R.M.; Cörvers, F.; de Grip, A.; Dohmen, T.J.

    2012-01-01

    We document the importance of negatively reciprocal inclinations in labor relationships by showing that a retrenchment of pension rights, which is perceived as unfair, causes a larger reduction in job motivation the stronger workers' negatively reciprocal inclinations are. We exploit unique matched survey and administrative data on male employees in the public sector in the Netherlands and compare the job motivation of employees born in 1950, who faced a substantial retrenchment of their pens...

  6. Autistic traits and brain activation during face-to-face conversations in typically developed adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suda, Masashi; Takei, Yuichi; Aoyama, Yoshiyuki; Narita, Kosuke; Sakurai, Noriko; Fukuda, Masato; Mikuni, Masahiko

    2011-01-01

    Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviours. The severity of these characteristics is posited to lie on a continuum that extends into the general population. Brain substrates underlying ASD have been investigated through functional neuroimaging studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, fMRI has methodological constraints for studying brain mechanisms during social interactions (for example, noise, lying on a gantry during the procedure, etc.). In this study, we investigated whether variations in autism spectrum traits are associated with changes in patterns of brain activation in typically developed adults. We used near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a recently developed functional neuroimaging technique that uses near-infrared light, to monitor brain activation in a natural setting that is suitable for studying brain functions during social interactions. We monitored regional cerebral blood volume changes using a 52-channel NIRS apparatus over the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and superior temporal sulcus (STS), 2 areas implicated in social cognition and the pathology of ASD, in 28 typically developed participants (14 male and 14 female) during face-to-face conversations. This task was designed to resemble a realistic social situation. We examined the correlations of these changes with autistic traits assessed using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Both the PFC and STS were significantly activated during face-to-face conversations. AQ scores were negatively correlated with regional cerebral blood volume increases in the left STS during face-to-face conversations, especially in males. Our results demonstrate successful monitoring of brain function during realistic social interactions by NIRS as well as lesser brain activation in the left STS during face-to-face conversations in typically developed participants with higher levels of autistic

  7. Neural correlates of the eye dominance effect in human face perception: the left-visual-field superiority for faces revisited.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Wookyoung; Kang, Joong-Gu; Jeon, Hyeonjin; Shim, Miseon; Sun Kim, Ji; Leem, Hyun-Sung; Lee, Seung-Hwan

    2017-08-01

    Faces are processed best when they are presented in the left visual field (LVF), a phenomenon known as LVF superiority. Although one eye contributes more when perceiving faces, it is unclear how the dominant eye (DE), the eye we unconsciously use when performing a monocular task, affects face processing. Here, we examined the influence of the DE on the LVF superiority for faces using event-related potentials. Twenty left-eye-dominant (LDE group) and 23 right-eye-dominant (RDE group) participants performed the experiments. Face stimuli were randomly presented in the LVF or right visual field (RVF). The RDE group exhibited significantly larger N170 amplitudes compared with the LDE group. Faces presented in the LVF elicited N170 amplitudes that were significantly more negative in the RDE group than they were in the LDE group, whereas the amplitudes elicited by stimuli presented in the RVF were equivalent between the groups. The LVF superiority was maintained in the RDE group but not in the LDE group. Our results provide the first neural evidence of the DE's effects on the LVF superiority for faces. We propose that the RDE may be more biologically specialized for face processing. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

  8. A regional composite-face effect for species-specific recognition: Upper and lower halves play different roles in holistic processing of monkey faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhe; Quinn, Paul C; Jin, Haiyang; Sun, Yu-Hao P; Tanaka, James W; Pascalis, Olivier; Lee, Kang

    2018-04-25

    Using a composite-face paradigm, we examined the holistic processing induced by Asian faces, Caucasian faces, and monkey faces with human Asian participants in two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to judge whether the upper halves of two faces successively presented were the same or different. A composite-face effect was found for Asian faces and Caucasian faces, but not for monkey faces. In Experiment 2, participants were asked to judge whether the lower halves of the two faces successively presented were the same or different. A composite-face effect was found for monkey faces as well as for Asian faces and Caucasian faces. Collectively, these results reveal that own-species (i.e., own-race and other-race) faces engage holistic processing in both upper and lower halves of the face, but other-species (i.e., monkey) faces engage holistic processing only when participants are asked to match the lower halves of the face. The findings are discussed in the context of a region-based holistic processing account for the species-specific effect in face recognition. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Face Pareidolia in the Rhesus Monkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taubert, Jessica; Wardle, Susan G; Flessert, Molly; Leopold, David A; Ungerleider, Leslie G

    2017-08-21

    Face perception in humans and nonhuman primates is rapid and accurate [1-4]. In the human brain, a network of visual-processing regions is specialized for faces [5-7]. Although face processing is a priority of the primate visual system, face detection is not infallible. Face pareidolia is the compelling illusion of perceiving facial features on inanimate objects, such as the illusory face on the surface of the moon. Although face pareidolia is commonly experienced by humans, its presence in other species is unknown. Here we provide evidence for face pareidolia in a species known to possess a complex face-processing system [8-10]: the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta). In a visual preference task [11, 12], monkeys looked longer at photographs of objects that elicited face pareidolia in human observers than at photographs of similar objects that did not elicit illusory faces. Examination of eye movements revealed that monkeys fixated the illusory internal facial features in a pattern consistent with how they view photographs of faces [13]. Although the specialized response to faces observed in humans [1, 3, 5-7, 14] is often argued to be continuous across primates [4, 15], it was previously unclear whether face pareidolia arose from a uniquely human capacity. For example, pareidolia could be a product of the human aptitude for perceptual abstraction or result from frequent exposure to cartoons and illustrations that anthropomorphize inanimate objects. Instead, our results indicate that the perception of illusory facial features on inanimate objects is driven by a broadly tuned face-detection mechanism that we share with other species. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  10. Tolerance of geometric distortions in infant's face recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamashita, Wakayo; Kanazawa, So; Yamaguchi, Masami K

    2014-02-01

    The aim of the current study is to reveal the effect of global linear transformations (shearing, horizontal stretching, and vertical stretching) on the recognition of familiar faces (e.g., a mother's face) in 6- to 7-month-old infants. In this experiment, we applied the global linear transformations to both the infants' own mother's face and to a stranger's face, and we tested infants' preference between these faces. We found that only 7-month-old infants maintained preference for their own mother's face during the presentation of vertical stretching, while the preference for the mother's face disappeared during the presentation of shearing or horizontal stretching. These findings suggest that 7-month-old infants might not recognize faces based on calculating the absolute distance between facial features, and that the vertical dimension of facial features might be more related to infants' face recognition rather than the horizontal dimension. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Modulation of the composite face effect by unintended emotion cues

    OpenAIRE

    Gray, Katie L. H.; Murphy, Jennifer; Marsh, Jade E.; Cook, Richard

    2017-01-01

    When upper and lower regions from different emotionless faces are aligned to form a facial composite, observers ‘fuse’ the two halves together, perceptually. The illusory distortion induced by task-irrelevant (‘distractor’) halves hinders participants’ judgments about task-relevant (‘target’) halves. This composite-face effect reveals a tendency to integrate feature information from disparate regions of intact upright faces, consistent with theories of holistic face processing. However, obser...

  12. Familiar face + novel face = familiar face? Representational bias in the perception of morphed faces in chimpanzees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshi-Taka Matsuda

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Highly social animals possess a well-developed ability to distinguish the faces of familiar from novel conspecifics to induce distinct behaviors for maintaining society. However, the behaviors of animals when they encounter ambiguous faces of familiar yet novel conspecifics, e.g., strangers with faces resembling known individuals, have not been well characterised. Using a morphing technique and preferential-looking paradigm, we address this question via the chimpanzee’s facial–recognition abilities. We presented eight subjects with three types of stimuli: (1 familiar faces, (2 novel faces and (3 intermediate morphed faces that were 50% familiar and 50% novel faces of conspecifics. We found that chimpanzees spent more time looking at novel faces and scanned novel faces more extensively than familiar or intermediate faces. Interestingly, chimpanzees looked at intermediate faces in a manner similar to familiar faces with regards to the fixation duration, fixation count, and saccade length for facial scanning, even though the participant was encountering the intermediate faces for the first time. We excluded the possibility that subjects merely detected and avoided traces of morphing in the intermediate faces. These findings suggest a bias for a feeling-of-familiarity that chimpanzees perceive familiarity with an intermediate face by detecting traces of a known individual, as 50% alternation is sufficient to perceive familiarity.

  13. Happy Face Superiority Effect in Change Detection Paradigm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Domagoj Švegar

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to investigate which affective component guides cognitive processing of emotional facial expressions. According to the threat hypothesis, processing of angry faces is prioritized by the human cognitive system, because rapid detection of threat has a large adaptive value. The negativity hypothesis presumes that distressing emotional experiences of other people attract attention, regardless of whether they represent danger or not. The emotionality hypothesis proposes that positive emotional facial expressions can capture attention as effective as negative ones, while the happy face superiority hypothesis predicts that happy faces are prioritized. In the present study, which was conducted on 24 participants, change detection paradigm was used, because that procedure enables insight into the later stage of information processing. The results obtained show that happy facial expressions are heavily prioritized by the human cognitive system. In explanation of these results, that clearly support the happy face superiority hypothesis, we propose that angry expressions are initially prioritized by our cognitive system, because we benefit from early detection of potential threat in the environment, but in later cognitive processing, happy expressions are given the priority, because smiling is a valuable mechanism for forming and maintaining cooperative relationships. Besides the theoretical relevance, the present study is also valuable methodologically, because we demonstrated that change detection paradigm can be efficiently used for the research of emotional facial expressions processing.

  14. Holistic face representation is highly orientation-specific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenthal, Gideon; Levakov, Gidon; Avidan, Galia

    2017-09-29

    It has long been argued that face processing requires disproportionate reliance on holistic processing (HP), relative to that required for nonface object recognition. Nevertheless, whether the holistic nature of face perception is achieved via a unique internal representation or by the employment of an automated attention mechanism is still debated. Previous studies had used the face inversion effect (FIE), a unique face-processing marker, or the face composite task, a gold standard paradigm measuring holistic processing, to examine the validity of these two different hypotheses, with some studies combining the two paradigms. However, the results of such studies remain inconclusive, particularly pertaining to the issue of the two proposed HP mechanisms-an internal representation as opposed to an automated attention mechanism. Here, using the complete composite paradigm design, we aimed to examine whether face rotation yields a nonlinear or a linear drop in HP, thus supporting an account that face processing is based either on an orientation-dependent internal representation or on automated attention. Our results reveal that even a relatively small perturbation in face orientation (30 deg away from upright) already causes a sharp decline in HP. These findings support the face internal representation hypothesis and the notion that the holistic processing of faces is highly orientation-specific.

  15. Gender differences in BOLD activation to face photographs and video vignettes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fine, Jodene Goldenring; Semrud-Clikeman, Margaret; Zhu, David C

    2009-07-19

    Few neuroimaging studies have reported gender differences in response to human emotions, and those that have examined such differences have utilized face photographs. This study presented not only human face photographs of positive and negative emotions, but also video vignettes of positive and negative social human interactions in an attempt to provide a more ecologically appropriate stimuli paradigm. Ten male and 10 female healthy right-handed young adults were shown positive and negative affective social human faces and video vignettes to elicit gender differences in social/emotional perception. Conservative ROI (region of interest) analysis indicated greater male than female activation to positive affective photos in the anterior cingulate, medial frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus, all in the right hemisphere. No significant ROI gender differences were observed to negative affective photos. Male greater than female activation was seen in ROIs of the left posterior cingulate and the right inferior temporal gyrus to positive social videos. Male greater than female activation occurred in only the left middle temporal ROI for negative social videos. Consistent with previous findings, males were more lateralized than females. Although more activation was observed overall to video compared to photo conditions, males and females appear to process social video stimuli more similarly to one another than they do for photos. This study is a step forward in understanding the social brain with more ecologically valid stimuli that more closely approximates the demands of real-time social and affective processing.

  16. The neural basis of self-face recognition after self-concept threat and comparison with important others.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guan, Lili; Qi, Mingming; Zhang, Qinglin; Yang, Juan

    2014-01-01

    The implicit positive association (IPA) theory attributed self-face advantage to the IPA with self-concept. Previous behavioral study has found that self-concept threat (SCT) could eliminate the self-advantage in face recognition over familiar-face, without taking levels of facial familiarity into account. The current event-related potential study aimed to investigate whether SCT could eliminate the self-face advantage over stranger-face. Fifteen participants completed a "self-friend" comparison task in which participants identified the face orientation of self-face and friend-face after SCT and non-self-concept threat (NSCT) priming, and a "self-stranger" comparison task was also completed in which participants identified the face orientation of self-face and stranger-face after SCT and NSCT priming. The results showed that the N2 amplitudes were more negative for processing friend-face than self-face after NSCT priming, but there was no significant difference between them after SCT priming. Moreover, the N2 amplitudes were more negative for processing stranger-face than self-face both after SCT priming and after NSCT priming. Furthermore, SCT manipulated the N2 amplitudes of friend-face rather than self-face. Overall, the present study made a supplementary to the current IPA theory and further indicated that SCT would only eliminate this self-face recognition advantage when comparing with important others.

  17. Impaired processing of self-face recognition in anorexia nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirot, France; Lesage, Marine; Pedron, Lya; Meyer, Isabelle; Thomas, Pierre; Cottencin, Olivier; Guardia, Dewi

    2016-03-01

    Body image disturbances and massive weight loss are major clinical symptoms of anorexia nervosa (AN). The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of body changes and eating attitudes on self-face recognition ability in AN. Twenty-seven subjects suffering from AN and 27 control participants performed a self-face recognition task (SFRT). During the task, digital morphs between their own face and a gender-matched unfamiliar face were presented in a random sequence. Participants' self-face recognition failures, cognitive flexibility, body concern and eating habits were assessed with the Self-Face Recognition Questionnaire (SFRQ), Trail Making Test (TMT), Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2), respectively. Subjects suffering from AN exhibited significantly greater difficulties than control participants in identifying their own face (p = 0.028). No significant difference was observed between the two groups for TMT (all p > 0.1, non-significant). Regarding predictors of self-face recognition skills, there was a negative correlation between SFRT and body mass index (p = 0.01) and a positive correlation between SFRQ and EDI-2 (p face recognition.

  18. Neural processing of high and low spatial frequency information in faces changes across development: qualitative changes in face processing during adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, Judith C; Vlamings, Petra; Kemner, Chantal

    2013-05-01

    Face perception in adults depends on skilled processing of interattribute distances ('configural' processing), which is disrupted for faces presented in inverted orientation (face inversion effect or FIE). Children are not proficient in configural processing, and this might relate to an underlying immaturity to use facial information in low spatial frequency (SF) ranges, which capture the coarse information needed for configural processing. We hypothesized that during adolescence a shift from use of high to low SF information takes place. Therefore, we studied the influence of SF content on neural face processing in groups of children (9-10 years), adolescents (14-15 years) and young adults (21-29 years) by measuring event-related potentials (ERPs) to upright and inverted faces which varied in SF content. Results revealed that children show a neural FIE in early processing stages (i.e. P1; generated in early visual areas), suggesting a superficial, global facial analysis. In contrast, ERPs of adults revealed an FIE at later processing stages (i.e. N170; generated in face-selective, higher visual areas). Interestingly, adolescents showed FIEs in both processing stages, suggesting a hybrid developmental stage. Furthermore, adolescents and adults showed FIEs for stimuli containing low SF information, whereas such effects were driven by both low and high SF information in children. These results indicate that face processing has a protracted maturational course into adolescence, and is dependent on changes in SF processing. During adolescence, sensitivity to configural cues is developed, which aids the fast and holistic processing that is so special for faces. © 2013 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Testing protects against proactive interference in face-name learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinstein, Yana; McDermott, Kathleen B; Szpunar, Karl K

    2011-06-01

    Learning face-name pairings at a social function becomes increasingly more difficult the more individuals one meets. This phenomenon is attributable to proactive interference--the negative influence of prior learning on subsequent learning. Recent evidence suggests that taking a memory test can alleviate proactive interference in verbal list learning paradigms. We apply this technique to face-name pair learning. Participants studied four lists of 12 face-name pairings and either attempted to name the 12 faces just studied after every list or did not. Recall attempts after every list improved learning of the fourth list by over 100%. Moreover, no reduction in learning of face-name pairings occurred from list 1 to list 4 for participants who attempted to name studied faces between lists. These results suggest that testing oneself on the names of a group of new acquaintances before moving on to the next group is an effective mnemonic technique for social functions.

  20. Access to Awareness for Faces during Continuous Flash Suppression Is Not Modulated by Affective Knowledge.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milena Rabovsky

    Full Text Available It is a controversially debated topic whether stimuli can be analyzed up to the semantic level when they are suppressed from visual awareness during continuous flash suppression (CFS. Here, we investigated whether affective knowledge, i.e., affective biographical information about faces, influences the time it takes for initially invisible faces with neutral expressions to overcome suppression and break into consciousness. To test this, we used negative, positive, and neutral famous faces as well as initially unfamiliar faces, which were associated with negative, positive or neutral biographical information. Affective knowledge influenced ratings of facial expressions, corroborating recent evidence and indicating the success of our affective learning paradigm. Furthermore, we replicated shorter suppression durations for upright than for inverted faces, demonstrating the suitability of our CFS paradigm. However, affective biographical information did not modulate suppression durations for newly learned faces, and even though suppression durations for famous faces were influenced by affective knowledge, these effects did not differ between upright and inverted faces, indicating that they might have been due to low-level visual differences. Thus, we did not obtain unequivocal evidence for genuine influences of affective biographical information on access to visual awareness for faces during CFS.

  1. Eigenvector Weighting Function in Face Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pang Ying Han

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Graph-based subspace learning is a class of dimensionality reduction technique in face recognition. The technique reveals the local manifold structure of face data that hidden in the image space via a linear projection. However, the real world face data may be too complex to measure due to both external imaging noises and the intra-class variations of the face images. Hence, features which are extracted by the graph-based technique could be noisy. An appropriate weight should be imposed to the data features for better data discrimination. In this paper, a piecewise weighting function, known as Eigenvector Weighting Function (EWF, is proposed and implemented in two graph based subspace learning techniques, namely Locality Preserving Projection and Neighbourhood Preserving Embedding. Specifically, the computed projection subspace of the learning approach is decomposed into three partitions: a subspace due to intra-class variations, an intrinsic face subspace, and a subspace which is attributed to imaging noises. Projected data features are weighted differently in these subspaces to emphasize the intrinsic face subspace while penalizing the other two subspaces. Experiments on FERET and FRGC databases are conducted to show the promising performance of the proposed technique.

  2. Reproductive health barriers facing men and women with disabilities ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Reproductive health barriers facing men and women with disabilities in Durban, South Africa. ... Gender and Behaviour ... reproductive health services is often overshadowed by negative stereotypes that are held about persons with disabilities ...

  3. Temporal lobe and inferior frontal gyrus dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia during face-to-face conversation: a near-infrared spectroscopy study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takei, Yuichi; Suda, Masashi; Aoyama, Yoshiyuki; Yamaguchi, Miho; Sakurai, Noriko; Narita, Kosuke; Fukuda, Masato; Mikuni, Masahiko

    2013-11-01

    Schizophrenia (SC) is marked by poor social-role performance and social-skill deficits that are well reflected in daily conversation. Although the mechanism underlying these impairments has been investigated by functional neuroimaging, technical limitations have prevented the investigation of brain activation during conversation in typical clinical situations. To fill this research gap, this study investigated and compared frontal and temporal lobe activation in patients with SC during face-to-face conversation. Frontal and temporal lobe activation in 29 patients and 31 normal controls (NC) (n = 60) were measured during 180-s conversation periods by using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The grand average values of oxyhemoglobin concentration ([oxy-Hb]) changes during task performance were analyzed to determine their correlation with clinical variables and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) subscores. Compared to NCs, patients with SC exhibited decreased performance in the conversation task and decreased activation in both the temporal lobes and the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) during task performance, as indicated by the grand average of [oxy-Hb] changes. The decreased activation in the left temporal lobe was negatively correlated with the PANSS disorganization and negative symptoms subscores and that in the right IFG was negatively correlated with illness duration, PANSS disorganization, and negative symptom subscores. These findings indicate that brain dysfunction in SC during conversation is related to functional deficits in both the temporal lobes and the right IFG and manifests primarily in the form of disorganized thinking and negative symptomatology. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Neural synchronization during face-to-face communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Jing; Dai, Bohan; Peng, Danling; Zhu, Chaozhe; Liu, Li; Lu, Chunming

    2012-11-07

    Although the human brain may have evolutionarily adapted to face-to-face communication, other modes of communication, e.g., telephone and e-mail, increasingly dominate our modern daily life. This study examined the neural difference between face-to-face communication and other types of communication by simultaneously measuring two brains using a hyperscanning approach. The results showed a significant increase in the neural synchronization in the left inferior frontal cortex during a face-to-face dialog between partners but none during a back-to-back dialog, a face-to-face monologue, or a back-to-back monologue. Moreover, the neural synchronization between partners during the face-to-face dialog resulted primarily from the direct interactions between the partners, including multimodal sensory information integration and turn-taking behavior. The communicating behavior during the face-to-face dialog could be predicted accurately based on the neural synchronization level. These results suggest that face-to-face communication, particularly dialog, has special neural features that other types of communication do not have and that the neural synchronization between partners may underlie successful face-to-face communication.

  5. The relationship of positive and negative expressiveness to the processing of emotion information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knyazev, Gennady G; Barchard, Kimberly A; Razumnikova, Olga M; Mitrofanova, Larisa G

    2012-06-01

    The tendency to express emotions non-verbally is positively related to perception of emotions in oneself. This study examined its relationship to perception of emotions in others. In 40 healthy adults, EEG theta synchronization was used to indicate emotion processing following presentation of happy, angry, and neutral faces. Both positive and negative expressiveness were associated with higher emotional sensitivity, as shown by cortical responses to facial expressions during the early, unconscious processing stage. At the late, conscious processing stage, positive expressiveness was associated with higher sensitivity to happy faces but lower sensitivity to angry faces. Thus, positive expressiveness predisposes people to allocate fewer attentional resources for conscious perception of angry faces. In contrast, negative expressiveness was consistently associated with higher sensitivity. The effects of positive expressiveness occurred in cortical areas that deal with emotions, but the effects of negative expressiveness occurred in areas engaged in self-referential processes in the context of social relationships. © 2012 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2012 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

  6. Can I trust you? Negative affective priming influences social judgments in schizophrenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hooker, Christine I.; Tully, Laura M.; Verosky, Sara C.; Fisher, Melissa; Holland, Christine; Vinogradov, Sophia

    2010-01-01

    Successful social interactions rely on the ability to make accurate judgments based on social cues as well as the ability to control the influence of internal or external affective information on those judgments. Prior research suggests that individuals with schizophrenia misinterpret social stimuli and this misinterpretation contributes to impaired social functioning. We tested the hypothesis that for people with schizophrenia social judgments are abnormally influenced by affective information. 23 schizophrenia and 35 healthy control participants rated the trustworthiness of faces following the presentation of neutral, negative (threat-related), or positive affective primes. Results showed that all participants rated faces as less trustworthy following negative affective primes compared to faces that followed neutral or positive primes. Importantly, this effect was significantly more pronounced for schizophrenia participants, suggesting that schizophrenia may be characterised by an exaggerated influence of negative affective information on social judgment. Furthermore, the extent that the negative affective prime influenced trustworthiness judgments was significantly associated with patients’ severity of positive symptoms, particularly feelings of persecution. These findings suggest that for people with schizophrenia negative affective information contributes to an interpretive bias, consistent with paranoid ideation, when judging the trustworthiness of others. This bias may contribute to social impairments in schizophrenia. PMID:20919787

  7. Visual attractiveness is leaky: The asymmetrical relationship between face and hair

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chihiro eSaegusa

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Predicting personality is crucial when communicating with people. It has been revealed that the perceived attractiveness or beauty of the face is a cue. As shown in the well-known what is beautiful is good stereotype, perceived attractiveness is often associated with desirable personality. Although such research on attractiveness used mainly the face isolated from other body parts, the face is not always seen in isolation in the real world. Rather, it is surrounded by one’s hairstyle, and is perceived as a part of total presence. In human vision, perceptual organization/integration occurs mostly in a bottom up, task-irrelevant fashion. This raises an intriguing possibility that task-irrelevant stimulus that is perceptually integrated with a target may influence our affective evaluation. In such a case, there should be a mutual influence between attractiveness perception of the face and surrounding hair, since they are assumed to share strong and unique perceptual organization. In the current study, we examined the influence of a task-irrelevant stimulus on our attractiveness evaluation, using face and hair as stimuli. The results revealed asymmetrical influences in the evaluation of one while ignoring the other. When hair was task-irrelevant, it still affected attractiveness of the face, but only if the hair itself had never been evaluated by the same evaluator. On the other hand, the face affected the hair regardless of whether the face itself was evaluated before. This has intriguing implications on the asymmetry between face and hair, and perceptual integration between them in general. Together with data from a post-hoc questionnaire, it is suggested that both implicit non-selective and explicit selective processes contribute to attractiveness evaluation. The findings provide an understanding of attractiveness perception in real-life situations, as well as a new paradigm to reveal unknown implicit aspects of information integration for

  8. Hidden Markov model analysis reveals the advantage of analytic eye movement patterns in face recognition across cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuk, Tim; Crookes, Kate; Hayward, William G; Chan, Antoni B; Hsiao, Janet H

    2017-12-01

    It remains controversial whether culture modulates eye movement behavior in face recognition. Inconsistent results have been reported regarding whether cultural differences in eye movement patterns exist, whether these differences affect recognition performance, and whether participants use similar eye movement patterns when viewing faces from different ethnicities. These inconsistencies may be due to substantial individual differences in eye movement patterns within a cultural group. Here we addressed this issue by conducting individual-level eye movement data analysis using hidden Markov models (HMMs). Each individual's eye movements were modeled with an HMM. We clustered the individual HMMs according to their similarities and discovered three common patterns in both Asian and Caucasian participants: holistic (looking mostly at the face center), left-eye-biased analytic (looking mostly at the two individual eyes in addition to the face center with a slight bias to the left eye), and right-eye-based analytic (looking mostly at the right eye in addition to the face center). The frequency of participants adopting the three patterns did not differ significantly between Asians and Caucasians, suggesting little modulation from culture. Significantly more participants (75%) showed similar eye movement patterns when viewing own- and other-race faces than different patterns. Most importantly, participants with left-eye-biased analytic patterns performed significantly better than those using either holistic or right-eye-biased analytic patterns. These results suggest that active retrieval of facial feature information through an analytic eye movement pattern may be optimal for face recognition regardless of culture. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Decoding of faces and face components in face-sensitive human visual cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David F Nichols

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available A great challenge to the field of visual neuroscience is to understand how faces are encoded and represented within the human brain. Here we show evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI for spatially distributed processing of the whole face and its components in face-sensitive human visual cortex. We used multi-class linear pattern classifiers constructed with a leave-one-scan-out verification procedure to discriminate brain activation patterns elicited by whole faces, the internal features alone, and the external head outline alone. Furthermore, our results suggest that whole faces are represented disproportionately in the fusiform cortex (FFA whereas the building blocks of faces are represented disproportionately in occipitotemporal cortex (OFA. Faces and face components may therefore be organized with functional clustering within both the FFA and OFA, but with specialization for face components in the OFA and the whole face in the FFA.

  10. La face de Dieu : pour une pragmatique de la spiritualité / God’s Face and the Pragmatics of Spirituality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brînduşa Grigoriu

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In literature, God is a being endowed with a “face”: Erving Goffman’s concept (1967, reshaped by Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson (1987, further developed by Catherine Kerbrat-Orecchioni (2001, 2005, can account for the “line of conduct” of the divine character, seen or apprehended as a person. The French and English romances belonging to the cycle of the Quest of the Holy Grail invite to the contemplation of this veiled, yet feared, face. In two hypostases : God’s “negative face”, corresponding to his territory and to his freedom from imposition, and the “positive” one, equivalent to his self-image, as delineated by relevant others (saints, angels, “celestial” knights. In its vibrant openness to humanity, the holy Grail is a literary representation of God’s “bifrons” face. It controls people’s access and departure, as well as their ontological dynamics. To illustrate this epiphany in a relevant, and explicitly religious medieval work, triggered by Chrétien’s Grail romance and going beyond the suggestions of this enigmatic paradigm, our corpus encompasses, on the one hand, the French Queste del Saint Graal of the Lancelot-Grail cycle, and, on the other hand, Le Morte Darthur, an English novel of the fifteenth century by Thomas Malory. Both texts retell, in a hermeneutic key, the accomplishment of the Quest of the Holy Grail and the assumption of Galaad. While the French text shows the hero undergo the destiny of all flesh (he falls onto his teeth, only to highlight the elevation of his soul, the English rewriting disrupts this dynamics : in this new context, Galaad’s body has no narrative existence of its own – it is only the soul that reveals itself, in meaningful ascension to heaven. All these differences play an important part in the sacred “face-work” projected by profane literature. The comparison of the French and English versions shows that the God of the Grail romances possesses specific ways

  11. Adaptation effects to attractiveness of face photographs and art portraits are domain-specific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayn-Leichsenring, Gregor U.; Kloth, Nadine; Schweinberger, Stefan R.; Redies, Christoph

    2013-01-01

    We studied the neural coding of facial attractiveness by investigating effects of adaptation to attractive and unattractive human faces on the perceived attractiveness of veridical human face pictures (Experiment 1) and art portraits (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 revealed a clear pattern of contrastive aftereffects. Relative to a pre-adaptation baseline, the perceived attractiveness of faces was increased after adaptation to unattractive faces, and was decreased after adaptation to attractive faces. Experiment 2 revealed similar aftereffects when art portraits rather than face photographs were used as adaptors and test stimuli, suggesting that effects of adaptation to attractiveness are not restricted to facial photographs. Additionally, we found similar aftereffects in art portraits for beauty, another aesthetic feature that, unlike attractiveness, relates to the properties of the image (rather than to the face displayed). Importantly, Experiment 3 showed that aftereffects were abolished when adaptors were art portraits and face photographs were test stimuli. These results suggest that adaptation to facial attractiveness elicits aftereffects in the perception of subsequently presented faces, for both face photographs and art portraits, and that these effects do not cross image domains. PMID:24349690

  12. Adaptation Effects to Attractiveness of Face Photographs and Art Portraits are Domain-Specific

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available We studied the neural coding of facial attractiveness by investigating effects of adaptation to attractive and unattractive human faces on the perceived attractiveness of veridical human face pictures (Experiment 1 and art portraits (Experiment 2. Experiment 1 revealed a clear pattern of contrastive aftereffects. Relative to a pre-adaptation baseline, the perceived attractiveness of faces was increased after adaptation to unattractive faces, and was decreased after adaptation to attractive faces. Experiment 2 revealed similar aftereffects when art portraits rather than face photographs were used as adaptors and test stimuli, suggesting that effects of adaptation to attractiveness are not restricted to facial photographs. Additionally, we found similar aftereffects in art portraits for beauty, another aesthetic feature that, unlike attractiveness, relates to the properties of the image (rather than to the face displayed. Importantly, Experiment 3 showed that aftereffects were abolished when adaptors were art portraits and face photographs were test stimuli. These results suggest that adaptation to facial attractiveness elicits aftereffects in the perception of subsequently presented faces, for both face photographs and art portraits, and that these effects do not cross image domains.

  13. Adolescent internalizing symptoms and negative life events: the sensitizing effects of earlier life stress and cortisol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruttle, Paula L; Armstrong, Jeffrey M; Klein, Marjorie H; Essex, Marilyn J

    2014-11-01

    Although adolescence is marked by increased negative life events and internalizing problems, few studies investigate this association as an ongoing longitudinal process. Moreover, while there are considerable individual differences in the degree to which these phenomena are linked, little is known about the origins of these differences. The present study examines early life stress (ELS) exposure and early-adolescent longitudinal afternoon cortisol level as predictors of the covariation between internalizing symptoms and negative life events across high school. ELS was assessed by maternal report during infancy, and the measure of cortisol was derived from assessments at ages 11, 13, and 15 years. Life events and internalizing symptoms were assessed at ages 15, 17, and 18 years. A two-level hierarchical linear model revealed that ELS and cortisol were independent predictors of the covariation of internalizing symptoms and negative life events. Compared to those with lower levels of ELS, ELS-exposed adolescents displayed tighter covariation between internalizing symptoms and negative life events. Adolescents with lower longitudinal afternoon cortisol displayed tighter covariation between negative life events and internalizing symptoms, while those with higher cortisol demonstrated weaker covariation, partially due to increased levels of internalizing symptoms when faced with fewer negative life events.

  14. Does a single session of electroconvulsive therapy alter the neural response to emotional faces in depression? A randomised sham-controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miskowiak, Kamilla W; Kessing, Lars V; Ott, Caroline V; Macoveanu, Julian; Harmer, Catherine J; Jørgensen, Anders; Revsbech, Rasmus; Jensen, Hans M; Paulson, Olaf B; Siebner, Hartwig R; Jørgensen, Martin B

    2017-09-01

    Negative neurocognitive bias is a core feature of major depressive disorder that is reversed by pharmacological and psychological treatments. This double-blind functional magnetic resonance imaging study investigated for the first time whether electroconvulsive therapy modulates negative neurocognitive bias in major depressive disorder. Patients with major depressive disorder were randomised to one active ( n=15) or sham electroconvulsive therapy ( n=12). The following day they underwent whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3T while viewing emotional faces and performed facial expression recognition and dot-probe tasks. A single electroconvulsive therapy session had no effect on amygdala response to emotional faces. Whole-brain analysis revealed no effects of electroconvulsive therapy versus sham therapy after family-wise error correction at the cluster level, using a cluster-forming threshold of Z>3.1 ( p2.3; pelectroconvulsive therapy-induced changes in parahippocampal and superior frontal responses to fearful versus happy faces as well as in fear-specific functional connectivity between amygdala and occipito-temporal regions. Across all patients, greater fear-specific amygdala - occipital coupling correlated with lower fear vigilance. Despite no statistically significant shift in neural response to faces after a single electroconvulsive therapy session, the observed trend changes after a single electroconvulsive therapy session point to an early shift in emotional processing that may contribute to antidepressant effects of electroconvulsive therapy.

  15. Famous face recognition, face matching, and extraversion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lander, Karen; Poyarekar, Siddhi

    2015-01-01

    It has been previously established that extraverts who are skilled at interpersonal interaction perform significantly better than introverts on a face-specific recognition memory task. In our experiment we further investigate the relationship between extraversion and face recognition, focusing on famous face recognition and face matching. Results indicate that more extraverted individuals perform significantly better on an upright famous face recognition task and show significantly larger face inversion effects. However, our results did not find an effect of extraversion on face matching or inverted famous face recognition.

  16. Spatial localization of knowledge-transfer channels and face-to-face contacts: A survey of the Jena university-industry linkages

    OpenAIRE

    Sauer, Thomas; Stoetzer, Matthias-Wolfgang; Gerlach, Andrea

    2007-01-01

    In this paper we examine the knowledge-Transfer Channels of the universities and public research institutes in Jena. The empirical study is based on a survey of 297 personal interviews with researchers of both types of organisations. Our study focuses on three questions: (a) The importance and multitude of existing transfer channels, (b) their geographic distribution and (c) the importance of face-to-face contacts. With regard to the first question the analysis reveals some shortcomings of th...

  17. Negative-pressure wound therapy with instillation: international consensus guidelines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Paul J; Attinger, Christopher E; Steinberg, John S; Evans, Karen K; Lehner, Burkhard; Willy, Christian; Lavery, Larry; Wolvos, Tom; Orgill, Dennis; Ennis, William; Lantis, John; Gabriel, Allen; Schultz, Gregory

    2013-12-01

    Negative-pressure wound therapy with instillation is increasingly utilized as an adjunct therapy for a wide variety of wounds. Despite its growing popularity, there is a paucity of evidence and lack of guidance to provide effective use of this therapy. A panel of experts was convened to provide guidance regarding the appropriate use of negative-pressure wound therapy with instillation. A face-to-face meeting was held where the available evidence was discussed and individual clinical experience with this therapy was shared. Follow-up communication among the panelists continued until consensus was achieved. The final consensus recommendations were derived through more than 80 percent agreement among the panelists. Nine consensus statements were generated that address the appropriate use of negative-pressure wound therapy with instillation. The question of clinical effectiveness of this therapy was not directly addressed by the consensus panel. This document serves as preliminary guidelines until more robust evidence emerges that will support or modify these consensus recommendations.

  18. Perceived face size in healthy adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Amour, Sarah; Harris, Laurence R

    2017-01-01

    Perceptual body size distortions have traditionally been studied using subjective, qualitative measures that assess only one type of body representation-the conscious body image. Previous research on perceived body size has typically focused on measuring distortions of the entire body and has tended to overlook the face. Here, we present a novel psychophysical method for determining perceived body size that taps into implicit body representation. Using a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC), participants were sequentially shown two life-size images of their own face, viewed upright, upside down, or tilted 90°. In one interval, the width or length dimension was varied, while the other interval contained an undistorted image. Participants reported which image most closely matched their own face. An adaptive staircase adjusted the distorted image to hone in on the image that was equally likely to be judged as matching their perceived face as the accurate image. When viewed upright or upside down, face width was overestimated and length underestimated, whereas perception was accurate for the on-side views. These results provide the first psychophysically robust measurements of how accurately healthy participants perceive the size of their face, revealing distortions of the implicit body representation independent of the conscious body image.

  19. The solution structure of the N-terminal zinc finger of GATA-1 reveals a specific binding face for the transcriptional co-factor FOG

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kowalski, K.; Czolij, R.; King, G.F.; Crossley, M.; Mackay, J.P.

    1999-01-01

    Zinc fingers (ZnFs) are generally regarded as DNA-binding motifs. However, a number of recent reports have implicated particular ZnFs in the mediation of protein-protein interactions. The N-terminal ZnF of GATA-1 (NF) is one such finger, having been shown to interact with a number of other proteins, including the recently discovered transcriptional co-factor FOG. Here we solve the three-dimensional structure of the NF in solution using multidimensional 1H/15N NMR spectroscopy, and we use 1H/15N spin relaxation measurements to investigate its backbone dynamics. The structure consists of two distorted β-hairpins and a single α-helix, and is similar to that of the C-terminal ZnF of chicken GATA-1. Comparisons of the NF structure with those of other C4-type zinc binding motifs, including hormone receptor and LIM domains, also reveal substantial structural homology. Finally, we use the structure to map the spatial locations of NF residues shown by mutagenesis to be essential for FOG binding, and demonstrate that these residues all lie on a single face of the NF. Notably, this face is well removed from the putative DNA- binding face of the NF, an observation which is suggestive of simultaneous roles for the NF; that is, stabilisation of GATA-1 DNA complexes and recruitment of FOG to GATA-1-controlled promoter regions

  20. The effects of mothers’ past infant-holding preferences on their adult children’s face processing lateralization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vervloed, M.P.J.; Hendriks, A.W.C.J.; Eijnde, E. van den

    2011-01-01

    Face processing development is negatively affected when infants have not been exposed to faces for some time because of congenital cataract blocking all vision (Le Grand, Mondloch, Maurer, & Brent, 2001). It is not clear, however, whether more subtle differences in face exposure may also have an

  1. Remote versus face-to-face check-ups for asthma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kew, Kayleigh M; Cates, Christopher J

    2016-04-18

    Asthma remains a significant cause of avoidable morbidity and mortality. Regular check-ups with a healthcare professional are essential to monitor symptoms and adjust medication.Health services worldwide are considering telephone and internet technologies as a way to manage the rising number of people with asthma and other long-term health conditions. This may serve to improve health and reduce the burden on emergency and inpatient services. Remote check-ups may represent an unobtrusive and efficient way of maintaining contact with patients, but it is uncertain whether conducting check-ups in this way is effective or whether it may have unexpected negative consequences. To assess the safety and efficacy of conducting asthma check-ups remotely versus usual face-to-face consultations. We identified trials from the Cochrane Airways Review Group Specialised Register (CAGR) up to 24 November 2015. We also searched www.clinicaltrials.gov, the World Health Organization (WHO) trials portal, reference lists of other reviews and contacted trial authors for additional information. We included parallel randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of adults or children with asthma that compared remote check-ups conducted using any form of technology versus standard face-to-face consultations. We excluded studies that used automated telehealth interventions that did not include personalised contact with a health professional. We included studies reported as full-text articles, as abstracts only and unpublished data. Two review authors screened the literature search results and independently extracted risk of bias and numerical data. We resolved any disagreements by consensus, and we contacted study authors for missing information.We analysed dichotomous data as odds ratios (ORs) using study participants as the unit of analysis, and continuous data as mean differences using the random-effects models. We rated all outcomes using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and

  2. Psychophysical thresholds of face visibility during infancy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gelskov, Sofie; Kouider, Sid

    2010-01-01

    The ability to detect and focus on faces is a fundamental prerequisite for developing social skills. But how well can infants detect faces? Here, we address this question by studying the minimum duration at which faces must appear to trigger a behavioral response in infants. We used a preferential...... looking method in conjunction with masking and brief presentations (300 ms and below) to establish the temporal thresholds of visibility at different stages of development. We found that 5 and 10 month-old infants have remarkably similar visibility thresholds about three times higher than those of adults....... By contrast, 15 month-olds not only revealed adult-like thresholds, but also improved their performance through memory-based strategies. Our results imply that the development of face visibility follows a non-linear course and is determined by a radical improvement occurring between 10 and 15 months....

  3. Consciousness and arousal effects on emotional face processing as revealed by brain oscillations. A gamma band analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balconi, Michela; Lucchiari, Claudio

    2008-01-01

    It remains an open question whether it is possible to assign a single brain operation or psychological function for facial emotion decoding to a certain type of oscillatory activity. Gamma band activity (GBA) offers an adequate tool for studying cortical activation patterns during emotional face information processing. In the present study brain oscillations were analyzed in response to facial expression of emotions. Specifically, GBA modulation was measured when twenty subjects looked at emotional (angry, fearful, happy, and sad faces) or neutral faces in two different conditions: supraliminal (10 ms) vs subliminal (150 ms) stimulation (100 target-mask pairs for each condition). The results showed that both consciousness and significance of the stimulus in terms of arousal can modulate the power synchronization (ERD decrease) during 150-350 time range: an early oscillatory event showed its peak at about 200 ms post-stimulus. GBA was enhanced by supraliminal more than subliminal elaboration, as well as more by high arousal (anger and fear) than low arousal (happiness and sadness) emotions. Finally a left-posterior dominance for conscious elaboration was found, whereas right hemisphere was discriminant in emotional processing of face in comparison with neutral face.

  4. Effects of acute psychosocial stress on neural activity to emotional and neutral faces in a face recognition memory paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shijia; Weerda, Riklef; Milde, Christopher; Wolf, Oliver T; Thiel, Christiane M

    2014-12-01

    Previous studies have shown that acute psychosocial stress impairs recognition of declarative memory and that emotional material is especially sensitive to this effect. Animal studies suggest a central role of the amygdala which modulates memory processes in hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and other brain areas. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate neural correlates of stress-induced modulation of emotional recognition memory in humans. Twenty-seven healthy, right-handed, non-smoker male volunteers performed an emotional face recognition task. During encoding, participants were presented with 50 fearful and 50 neutral faces. One hour later, they underwent either a stress (Trier Social Stress Test) or a control procedure outside the scanner which was followed immediately by the recognition session inside the scanner, where participants had to discriminate between 100 old and 50 new faces. Stress increased salivary cortisol, blood pressure and pulse, and decreased the mood of participants but did not impact recognition memory. BOLD data during recognition revealed a stress condition by emotion interaction in the left inferior frontal gyrus and right hippocampus which was due to a stress-induced increase of neural activity to fearful and a decrease to neutral faces. Functional connectivity analyses revealed a stress-induced increase in coupling between the right amygdala and the right fusiform gyrus, when processing fearful as compared to neutral faces. Our results provide evidence that acute psychosocial stress affects medial temporal and frontal brain areas differentially for neutral and emotional items, with a stress-induced privileged processing of emotional stimuli.

  5. The Effects of Mothers' Past Infant-Holding Preferences on Their Adult Children's Face Processing Lateralisation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vervloed, Mathijs P. J.; Hendriks, Angelique W.; van den Eijnde, Esther

    2011-01-01

    Face processing development is negatively affected when infants have not been exposed to faces for some time because of congenital cataract blocking all vision (Le Grand, Mondloch, Maurer, & Brent, 2001). It is not clear, however, whether more subtle differences in face exposure may also have an influence. The present study looked at the effect of…

  6. Dynamics of processing invisible faces in the brain: automatic neural encoding of facial expression information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yi; Shannon, Robert W; Vizueta, Nathalie; Bernat, Edward M; Patrick, Christopher J; He, Sheng

    2009-02-01

    The fusiform face area (FFA) and the superior temporal sulcus (STS) are suggested to process facial identity and facial expression information respectively. We recently demonstrated a functional dissociation between the FFA and the STS as well as correlated sensitivity of the STS and the amygdala to facial expressions using an interocular suppression paradigm [Jiang, Y., He, S., 2006. Cortical responses to invisible faces: dissociating subsystems for facial-information processing. Curr. Biol. 16, 2023-2029.]. In the current event-related brain potential (ERP) study, we investigated the temporal dynamics of facial information processing. Observers viewed neutral, fearful, and scrambled face stimuli, either visibly or rendered invisible through interocular suppression. Relative to scrambled face stimuli, intact visible faces elicited larger positive P1 (110-130 ms) and larger negative N1 or N170 (160-180 ms) potentials at posterior occipital and bilateral occipito-temporal regions respectively, with the N170 amplitude significantly greater for fearful than neutral faces. Invisible intact faces generated a stronger signal than scrambled faces at 140-200 ms over posterior occipital areas whereas invisible fearful faces (compared to neutral and scrambled faces) elicited a significantly larger negative deflection starting at 220 ms along the STS. These results provide further evidence for cortical processing of facial information without awareness and elucidate the temporal sequence of automatic facial expression information extraction.

  7. An emotional Stroop task with faces and words. A comparison of young and older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agustí, Ana I; Satorres, Encarnación; Pitarque, Alfonso; Meléndez, Juan C

    2017-08-01

    Given the contradictions of previous studies on the changes in attentional responses produced in aging a Stroop emotional task was proposed to compare young and older adults to words or faces with an emotional valence. The words happy or sad were superimposed on faces that express the emotion of happiness or sadness. The emotion expressed by the word and the face could agree or not (cued and uncued trials, respectively). 85 young and 66 healthy older adults had to identify both faces and words separately, and the interference between the two types of stimuli was examined. An interference effect was observed for both types of stimuli in both groups. There was more interference on positive faces and words than on negative stimuli. Older adults had more difficulty than younger in focusing on positive uncued trials, whereas there was no difference across samples on negative uncued trials. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Acceptability of psychological treatment to Chinese- and Caucasian-Australians: Internet treatment reduces barriers but face-to-face care is preferred.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Isabella; Sharpe, Louise; Li, Stephen; Hunt, Caroline

    2015-01-01

    Internet treatments have the potential to improve access, especially for cultural groups who face considerable treatment barriers. This study explored the perceived barriers and likelihood of using Internet and face-to-face treatments for depression among Chinese and Caucasian Australian participants. Three-hundred ninety-five (289 Chinese, 106 Caucasian) primary care patients completed a questionnaire about depression history, previous help-seeking, perceived barriers to Internet and face-to-face treatment, and likelihood of using either treatment for depressive symptoms. Internet treatment reduced perceived barriers (including stigma, lack of motivation, concerns of bringing up upsetting feelings, time constraints, transport difficulties, and cost) for both groups to a similar degree, except for time constraints. There were heightened concerns about the helpfulness, suitability, and confidentiality of Internet treatments. Chinese participants and individuals with a probable depression history reported increased perceived barriers across treatments. Both Chinese and Caucasian groups preferred face-to-face treatment across depression severity. However, when age was controlled, there were no significant concerns about Internet treatment, and face-to-face treatment was only preferred for severe depression. Only 12 % of the entire sample refused to try Internet treatment for depression. Endorsement of perceived Internet treatment barriers (including concerns of bringing up upsetting feelings, that treatment would be unhelpful or unsuitable, lack of motivation, cost, cultural sensitivity, and confidentiality) reduced the likelihood to try Internet treatments. Internet treatment reduced perceived treatment barriers across groups, with encouraging support for Internet treatment as an acceptable form of receiving help. Negative concerns about Internet treatment need to be addressed to encourage use.

  9. The varying value of a friendly face: Experimentally induced stress is associated with higher preferences for friendship with people possessing feminine versus masculine face traits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Anthony C; Harcus, Kerry

    2016-01-01

    Social support can provide a buffer to the negative consequences of stress. Previous research suggests that stress can promote affiliative and cooperative behaviours in those who are stressed. Here we examined how stress might influence who we choose to affiliate with. We measured preferences for friendships with friendly appearing feminized faces versus less friendly appearing masculinized faces after individuals undertook a stressful laboratory task. Stressed individuals had increased preferences for friendships with people with feminine faces. These data demonstrate that individuals prefer more friendly appearing feminine faced people as friends when stressed than when not stressed. This preference is likely adaptive in directing individuals towards others who are most likely to provide social support when it is needed and so reflect strategic friendship preferences.

  10. Face-to-Face Activities in Blended Learning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjærgaard, Annemette

    While blended learning combines online and face-to-face teaching, research on blended learning has primarily focused on the role of technology and the opportunities it creates for engaging students. Less focus has been put on face-to-face activities in blended learning. This paper argues...... that it is not only the online activities in blended learning that provide new opportunities for rethinking pedagogy in higher education, it is also imperative to reconsider the face-to-face activities when part of the learning is provided online. Based on a review of blended learning in business and management...... education, we identify what forms of teaching and learning are suggested to take place face-to-face when other activities are moved online. We draw from the Community of Inquiry framework to analyze how face-to-face activities contribute to a blended learning pedagogy and discuss the implications...

  11. The photosynthetic acclimation response of Lolium perenne to four years growth in a free-air CO{sub 2} enrichment (FACE) facility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Creasey, R. [Univ. of Essex (United Kingdom)

    1996-11-01

    In this study, the photosynthetic responses of field grown Lolium perenne to ambient (354 {mu}mol mol{sup -1}) and elevated (600 {mu}mol mol{sup -1}) C{sub a} were measured. The experiment utilized the FACE facility at Eschikon, Switzerland; here the L. Perenne swards had been grown at two nitrogen treatments, with six cuts per year, for 4 years. The study revealed a significant decrease in Rubisco activity (Vcmax) in the low nitrogen FACE plots; this is consistent with the theories of source-sink imbalance resulting in feedback inhibition and down-regulation. Such negative acclimation was not wholly supported by diurnal investigations which revealed an average stimulation of 53.38% and 52.78% in the low and high nitrogen, respectively. However, light response curves and AI investigations also suggested down-regulation, especially in the low nitrogen. SI is expected to decrease in response to elevated C{sub a}, if any change is seen. This was indeed observed in the high nitrogen plots but for the low nitrogen a significant increase was found. Conclusions drawn from this project center around the implications of negative acclimation to future crop productivity. For instance, inter-specific differences in response to elevated C{sub a} may result in ecosystem changes and new management techniques may be necessary. However, real predictions cannot be made from leaf level studies alone as these may not represent the overall changes at the whole plant level.

  12. Face recognition system and method using face pattern words and face pattern bytes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Yufeng

    2014-12-23

    The present invention provides a novel system and method for identifying individuals and for face recognition utilizing facial features for face identification. The system and method of the invention comprise creating facial features or face patterns called face pattern words and face pattern bytes for face identification. The invention also provides for pattern recognitions for identification other than face recognition. The invention further provides a means for identifying individuals based on visible and/or thermal images of those individuals by utilizing computer software implemented by instructions on a computer or computer system and a computer readable medium containing instructions on a computer system for face recognition and identification.

  13. Autistic traits are linked to reduced adaptive coding of face identity and selectively poorer face recognition in men but not women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhodes, Gillian; Jeffery, Linda; Taylor, Libby; Ewing, Louise

    2013-11-01

    Our ability to discriminate and recognize thousands of faces despite their similarity as visual patterns relies on adaptive, norm-based, coding mechanisms that are continuously updated by experience. Reduced adaptive coding of face identity has been proposed as a neurocognitive endophenotype for autism, because it is found in autism and in relatives of individuals with autism. Autistic traits can also extend continuously into the general population, raising the possibility that reduced adaptive coding of face identity may be more generally associated with autistic traits. In the present study, we investigated whether adaptive coding of face identity decreases as autistic traits increase in an undergraduate population. Adaptive coding was measured using face identity aftereffects, and autistic traits were measured using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and its subscales. We also measured face and car recognition ability to determine whether autistic traits are selectively related to face recognition difficulties. We found that men who scored higher on levels of autistic traits related to social interaction had reduced adaptive coding of face identity. This result is consistent with the idea that atypical adaptive face-coding mechanisms are an endophenotype for autism. Autistic traits were also linked with face-selective recognition difficulties in men. However, there were some unexpected sex differences. In women, autistic traits were linked positively, rather than negatively, with adaptive coding of identity, and were unrelated to face-selective recognition difficulties. These sex differences indicate that autistic traits can have different neurocognitive correlates in men and women and raise the intriguing possibility that endophenotypes of autism can differ in males and females. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. The Use of Technology for Phone and Face-to-Face Communication After Total Laryngectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Childes, Jana M; Palmer, Andrew D; Fried-Oken, Melanie; Graville, Donna J

    2017-02-01

    The purpose of this article is to describe the characteristics and experiences of individuals who use technology to support telephone or face-to-face communication after total laryngectomy. An online questionnaire was used to identify potential participants. Seventeen individuals met inclusion criteria and participated in an in-depth survey. They were compared with a reference group matched for age, gender, and time postsurgery who did not use these technologies. Open-ended responses were summarized. Compared with the matched reference group, individuals who used technology to support verbal communication had undergone more aggressive cancer treatment and used more communication methods. They were less likely to use an alaryngeal speech method, had greater difficulty over the telephone, and used more repair strategies in face-to-face communication. The 2 groups did not differ significantly in the frequency or success of their communication, however. Open-ended responses revealed great variety with regard to their reasons, purposes, and timing of technology use. There is a subset of individuals using technology to support verbal communication very successfully after laryngectomy. Usage was not limited to those who were unable to communicate verbally and often continued long after the initial postoperative period in many settings, for various purposes, and in combination with other methods of communication.

  15. Wintering area DDE source to migratory white-faced ibis revealed by satellite telemetry and prey sampling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yates, M.A.; Fuller, M.R.; Henny, C.J.; Seegar, W.S.; Garcia, Jorge H.

    2010-01-01

    Locations of contaminant exposure for nesting migratory species are difficult to fully understand because of possible additional sources encountered during migration or on the wintering grounds. A portion of the migratory white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) nesting at Carson Lake, Nevada continues to be exposed to dichloro-diphenyldichloro-ethylene (DDE) with no change, which is unusual, observed in egg concentrations between 1985 and 2000. About 45-63% of the earliest nesting segment shows reduced reproductive success correlated with elevated egg concentrations of >4 ??g/g wet weight (ww). Local prey (primarily earthworms) near nests contained little DDE so we tracked the migration and wintering movements of 20 adult males during 2000-2004 to determine the possible source. At various wintering sites, we found a correlation (r 2 = 0.518, P = 0.0125, N = 11) between DDE in earthworm composites and DDE in blood plasma of white-faced ibis wintering there, although the plasma was collected on their breeding grounds soon after arrival. The main source of DDE was wintering areas in the Mexicali Valley of Baja California Norte, Mexico, and probably the adjacent Imperial Valley, California, USA. This unusual continuing DDE problem for white-faced ibis is associated with: the long-term persistence in soil of DDE; the earthworms' ability to bioconcentrate DDE from soil; the proclivity of white-faced ibis to feed on earthworms in agricultural fields; the species's extreme sensitivity to DDE in their eggs; and perhaps its life history strategy of being a "capital breeder". We suggest surveying and sampling white-faced ibis eggs at nesting colonies, especially at Carson Lake, to monitor the continuing influence of DDE. ?? 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

  16. Wintering area DDE source to migratory white-faced ibis revealed by satellite telemetry and prey sampling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yates, Michael A; Fuller, Mark R; Henny, Charles J; Seegar, William S; Garcia, Jaqueline

    2010-01-01

    Locations of contaminant exposure for nesting migratory species are difficult to fully understand because of possible additional sources encountered during migration or on the wintering grounds. A portion of the migratory white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) nesting at Carson Lake, Nevada continues to be exposed to dichloro-diphenyldichloro-ethylene (DDE) with no change, which is unusual, observed in egg concentrations between 1985 and 2000. About 45-63% of the earliest nesting segment shows reduced reproductive success correlated with elevated egg concentrations of >4 microg/g wet weight (ww). Local prey (primarily earthworms) near nests contained little DDE so we tracked the migration and wintering movements of 20 adult males during 2000-2004 to determine the possible source. At various wintering sites, we found a correlation (r (2) = 0.518, P = 0.0125, N = 11) between DDE in earthworm composites and DDE in blood plasma of white-faced ibis wintering there, although the plasma was collected on their breeding grounds soon after arrival. The main source of DDE was wintering areas in the Mexicali Valley of Baja California Norte, Mexico, and probably the adjacent Imperial Valley, California, USA. This unusual continuing DDE problem for white-faced ibis is associated with: the long-term persistence in soil of DDE; the earthworms' ability to bioconcentrate DDE from soil; the proclivity of white-faced ibis to feed on earthworms in agricultural fields; the species's extreme sensitivity to DDE in their eggs; and perhaps its life history strategy of being a "capital breeder". We suggest surveying and sampling white-faced ibis eggs at nesting colonies, especially at Carson Lake, to monitor the continuing influence of DDE.

  17. Virtual & Real Face to Face Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teneqexhi, Romeo; Kuneshka, Loreta

    2016-01-01

    In traditional "face to face" lessons, during the time the teacher writes on a black or white board, the students are always behind the teacher. Sometimes, this happens even in the recorded lesson in videos. Most of the time during the lesson, the teacher shows to the students his back not his face. We do not think the term "face to…

  18. Increased fusiform area activation in schizophrenia during processing of spatial frequency-degraded faces, as revealed by fMRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silverstein, S M; All, S D; Kasi, R; Berten, S; Essex, B; Lathrop, K L; Little, D M

    2010-07-01

    People with schizophrenia demonstrate perceptual organization impairments, and these are thought to contribute to their face processing difficulties. We examined the neural substrates of emotionally neutral face processing in schizophrenia by investigating neural activity under three stimulus conditions: faces characterized by the full spectrum of spatial frequencies, faces with low spatial frequency information removed [high spatial frequency (HSF) condition], and faces with high spatial frequency information removed [low spatial frequency (LSF) condition]. Face perception in the HSF condition is more reliant on local feature processing whereas perception in the LSF condition requires greater reliance on global form processing. Past studies of perceptual organization in schizophrenia indicate that patients perform relatively more poorly with degraded stimuli but also that, when global information is absent, patients may perform better than controls because of their relatively increased ability to initially process individual features. Therefore, we hypothesized that people with schizophrenia (n=14) would demonstrate greater face processing difficulties than controls (n=13) in the LSF condition, whereas they would demonstrate a smaller difference or superior performance in the HSF condition. In a gender-discrimination task, behavioral data indicated high levels of accuracy for both groups, with a trend toward an interaction involving higher patient performance in the HSF condition and poorer patient performance in the LSF condition. Patients demonstrated greater activity in the fusiform gyrus compared to controls in both degraded conditions. These data suggest that impairments in basic integration abilities may be compensated for by relatively increased activity in this region.

  19. Vicarious Social Touch Biases Gazing at Faces and Facial Emotions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schirmer, Annett; Ng, Tabitha; Ebstein, Richard P

    2018-02-01

    Research has suggested that interpersonal touch promotes social processing and other-concern, and that women may respond to it more sensitively than men. In this study, we asked whether this phenomenon would extend to third-party observers who experience touch vicariously. In an eye-tracking experiment, participants (N = 64, 32 men and 32 women) viewed prime and target images with the intention of remembering them. Primes comprised line drawings of dyadic interactions with and without touch. Targets comprised two faces shown side-by-side, with one being neutral and the other being happy or sad. Analysis of prime fixations revealed that faces in touch interactions attracted longer gazing than faces in no-touch interactions. In addition, touch enhanced gazing at the area of touch in women but not men. Analysis of target fixations revealed that touch priming increased looking at both faces immediately after target onset, and subsequently, at the emotional face in the pair. Sex differences in target processing were nonsignificant. Together, the present results imply that vicarious touch biases visual attention to faces and promotes emotion sensitivity. In addition, they suggest that, compared with men, women are more aware of tactile exchanges in their environment. As such, vicarious touch appears to share important qualities with actual physical touch. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Negativity Bias in Dangerous Drivers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Chai

    Full Text Available The behavioral and cognitive characteristics of dangerous drivers differ significantly from those of safe drivers. However, differences in emotional information processing have seldom been investigated. Previous studies have revealed that drivers with higher anger/anxiety trait scores are more likely to be involved in crashes and that individuals with higher anger traits exhibit stronger negativity biases when processing emotions compared with control groups. However, researchers have not explored the relationship between emotional information processing and driving behavior. In this study, we examined the emotional information processing differences between dangerous drivers and safe drivers. Thirty-eight non-professional drivers were divided into two groups according to the penalty points that they had accrued for traffic violations: 15 drivers with 6 or more points were included in the dangerous driver group, and 23 drivers with 3 or fewer points were included in the safe driver group. The emotional Stroop task was used to measure negativity biases, and both behavioral and electroencephalograph data were recorded. The behavioral results revealed stronger negativity biases in the dangerous drivers than in the safe drivers. The bias score was correlated with self-reported dangerous driving behavior. Drivers with strong negativity biases reported having been involved in mores crashes compared with the less-biased drivers. The event-related potentials (ERPs revealed that the dangerous drivers exhibited reduced P3 components when responding to negative stimuli, suggesting decreased inhibitory control of information that is task-irrelevant but emotionally salient. The influence of negativity bias provides one possible explanation of the effects of individual differences on dangerous driving behavior and traffic crashes.

  1. The Impact of Early Bilingualism on Face Recognition Processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandel, Sonia; Burfin, Sabine; Méary, David; Ruiz-Tada, Elisa; Costa, Albert; Pascalis, Olivier

    2016-01-01

    Early linguistic experience has an impact on the way we decode audiovisual speech in face-to-face communication. The present study examined whether differences in visual speech decoding could be linked to a broader difference in face processing. To identify a phoneme we have to do an analysis of the speaker's face to focus on the relevant cues for speech decoding (e.g., locating the mouth with respect to the eyes). Face recognition processes were investigated through two classic effects in face recognition studies: the Other-Race Effect (ORE) and the Inversion Effect. Bilingual and monolingual participants did a face recognition task with Caucasian faces (own race), Chinese faces (other race), and cars that were presented in an Upright or Inverted position. The results revealed that monolinguals exhibited the classic ORE. Bilinguals did not. Overall, bilinguals were slower than monolinguals. These results suggest that bilinguals' face processing abilities differ from monolinguals'. Early exposure to more than one language may lead to a perceptual organization that goes beyond language processing and could extend to face analysis. We hypothesize that these differences could be due to the fact that bilinguals focus on different parts of the face than monolinguals, making them more efficient in other race face processing but slower. However, more studies using eye-tracking techniques are necessary to confirm this explanation.

  2. The impact of early bilingualism on face recognition processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonia Kandel

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Early linguistic experience has an impact on the way we decode audiovisual speech in face-to-face communication. The present study examined whether differences in visual speech decoding could be linked to a broader difference in face processing. To identify a phoneme we have to do an analysis of the speaker’s face to focus on the relevant cues for speech decoding (e.g., locating the mouth with respect to the eyes. Face recognition processes were investigated through two classic effects in face recognition studies: the Other Race Effect (ORE and the Inversion Effect. Bilingual and monolingual participants did a face recognition task with Caucasian faces (own race, Chinese faces (other race and cars that were presented in an Upright or Inverted position. The results revealed that monolinguals exhibited the classic ORE. Bilinguals did not. Overall, bilinguals were slower than monolinguals. These results suggest that bilinguals’ face processing abilities differ from monolinguals’. Early exposure to more than one language may lead to a perceptual organization that goes beyond language processing and could extend to face analysis. We hypothesize that these differences could be due to the fact that bilinguals focus on different parts of the face than monolinguals, making them more efficient in other race face processing but slower. However, more studies using eye-tracking techniques are necessary to confirm this explanation.

  3. Reading faces and Facing words

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Robotham, Julia Emma; Lindegaard, Martin Weis; Delfi, Tzvetelina Shentova

    unilateral lesions, we found no patient with a selective deficit in either reading or face processing. Rather, the patients showing a deficit in processing either words or faces were also impaired with the other category. One patient performed within the normal range on all tasks. In addition, all patients......It has long been argued that perceptual processing of faces and words is largely independent, highly specialised and strongly lateralised. Studies of patients with either pure alexia or prosopagnosia have strongly contributed to this view. The aim of our study was to investigate how visual...... perception of faces and words is affected by unilateral posterior stroke. Two patients with lesions in their dominant hemisphere and two with lesions in their non-dominant hemisphere were tested on sensitive tests of face and word perception during the stable phase of recovery. Despite all patients having...

  4. Unprecedented genomic diversity of RNA viruses in arthropods reveals the ancestry of negative-sense RNA viruses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ci-Xiu; Shi, Mang; Tian, Jun-Hua; Lin, Xian-Dan; Kang, Yan-Jun; Chen, Liang-Jun; Qin, Xin-Cheng; Xu, Jianguo; Holmes, Edward C; Zhang, Yong-Zhen

    2015-01-29

    Although arthropods are important viral vectors, the biodiversity of arthropod viruses, as well as the role that arthropods have played in viral origins and evolution, is unclear. Through RNA sequencing of 70 arthropod species we discovered 112 novel viruses that appear to be ancestral to much of the documented genetic diversity of negative-sense RNA viruses, a number of which are also present as endogenous genomic copies. With this greatly enriched diversity we revealed that arthropods contain viruses that fall basal to major virus groups, including the vertebrate-specific arenaviruses, filoviruses, hantaviruses, influenza viruses, lyssaviruses, and paramyxoviruses. We similarly documented a remarkable diversity of genome structures in arthropod viruses, including a putative circular form, that sheds new light on the evolution of genome organization. Hence, arthropods are a major reservoir of viral genetic diversity and have likely been central to viral evolution.

  5. Amygdala hyperactivation to angry faces in intermittent explosive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCloskey, Michael S; Phan, K Luan; Angstadt, Mike; Fettich, Karla C; Keedy, Sarah; Coccaro, Emil F

    2016-08-01

    Individuals with intermittent explosive disorder (IED) were previously found to exhibit amygdala hyperactivation and relatively reduced orbital medial prefrontal cortex (OMPFC) activation to angry faces while performing an implicit emotion information processing task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This study examines the neural substrates associated with explicit encoding of facial emotions among individuals with IED. Twenty unmedicated IED subjects and twenty healthy, matched comparison subjects (HC) underwent fMRI while viewing blocks of angry, happy, and neutral faces and identifying the emotional valence of each face (positive, negative or neutral). We compared amygdala and OMPFC reactivity to faces between IED and HC subjects. We also examined the relationship between amygdala/OMPFC activation and aggression severity. Compared to controls, the IED group exhibited greater amygdala response to angry (vs. neutral) facial expressions. In contrast, IED and control groups did not differ in OMPFC activation to angry faces. Across subjects amygdala activation to angry faces was correlated with number of prior aggressive acts. These findings extend previous evidence of amygdala dysfunction in response to the identification of an ecologically-valid social threat signal (processing angry faces) among individuals with IED, further substantiating a link between amygdala hyperactivity to social signals of direct threat and aggression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Facing Violence and Conflict with Communication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tufte, Thomas

    2012-01-01

    the negative forces such as aggression, desperation, violence and conflicts. Particularly, I explore the power of storytelling as a communicative strategy. I focus on the principles of empathy, dialogue and diversity inherent in the communication model that anchors storytelling methodology. I argue......In this essay the focus is around the material conditions of poverty, anxiety, social instability and insecurity faced by many around the globe. I articulate a communication theory and practical model that can address the aggression and desperation, which are embedded in violent practices...... and conflicts. My assertion is that many communicative disconnects lie in between the constructs of anxiety, insecurity and instability faced by many individuals in the world today and the inadequate way in which governments and other authorities communicate with their publics. My claim...

  7. Face Attention Network: An Effective Face Detector for the Occluded Faces

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Jianfeng; Yuan, Ye; Yu, Gang

    2017-01-01

    The performance of face detection has been largely improved with the development of convolutional neural network. However, the occlusion issue due to mask and sunglasses, is still a challenging problem. The improvement on the recall of these occluded cases usually brings the risk of high false positives. In this paper, we present a novel face detector called Face Attention Network (FAN), which can significantly improve the recall of the face detection problem in the occluded case without comp...

  8. Oxytocin effects on emotional response to others' faces via serotonin system in autism: A pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukai, Mina; Hirosawa, Tetsu; Kikuchi, Mitsuru; Ouchi, Yasuomi; Takahashi, Tetsuya; Yoshimura, Yuko; Miyagishi, Yoshiaki; Kosaka, Hirotaka; Yokokura, Masamichi; Yoshikawa, Etsuji; Bunai, Tomoyasu; Minabe, Yoshio

    2017-09-30

    The oxytocin (OT)-related serotonergic system is thought to play an important role in the etiology and social symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, no evidence exists for the relation between the prosocial effect of chronic OT administration and the brain serotonergic system. Ten male subjects with ASD were administered OT for 8-10 weeks in an open-label, single-arm, non-randomized, uncontrolled manner. Before and during the OT treatment, positron emission tomography was used with the ( 11 C)-3-amino-4-(2-[(demethylamino)methyl]phenylthio)benzonitrile( 11 C-DASB) radiotracer. Then binding of serotonin transporter ( 11 C-DASB BP ND ) was estimated. The main outcome measures were changes in 11 C-DASB BP ND and changes in the emotional response to others' faces. No significant change was found in the emotional response to others' faces after the 8-10 week OT treatment. However, the increased serotonin transporter (SERT) level in the striatum after treatment was correlated significantly with increased negative emotional response to human faces. This study revealed a relation between changes in the serotonergic system and in prosociality after chronic OT administration. Additional studies must be conducted to verify the chronic OT effects on social behavior via the serotonergic system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Positive or negative Poynting effect? The role of adscititious inequalities in hyperelastic materials

    KAUST Repository

    Mihai, L. A.

    2011-08-10

    Motivated by recent experiments on biopolymer gels whereby the reverse of the usual (positive) Poynting effect was observed, we investigate the effect of the so-called \\'adscititious inequalities\\' on the behaviour of hyperelastic materials subject to shear. We first demonstrate that for homogeneous isotropic materials subject to pure shear, the resulting deformation consists of a triaxial stretch combined with a simple shear in the direction of the shear force if and only if the Baker-Ericksen inequalities hold. Then for a cube deformed under pure shear, the positive Poynting effect occurs if the \\'sheared faces spread apart\\', whereas the negative Poynting effect is obtained if the \\'sheared faces draw together\\'. Similarly, under simple shear deformation, the positive Poynting effect is obtained if the \\'sheared faces tend to spread apart\\', whereas the negative Poynting effect occurs if the \\'sheared faces tend to draw together\\'. When the Poynting effect occurs under simple shear, it is reasonable to assume that the same sign Poynting effect is btained also under pure shear. Since the observation of the negative Poynting effect in semiflexible biopolymers implies that the (stronger) empirical inequalities may not hold, we conclude that these inequalities must not be imposed when such materials are described. © 2011 The Royal Society.

  10. How Well Do Computer-Generated Faces Tap Face Expertise?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kate Crookes

    Full Text Available The use of computer-generated (CG stimuli in face processing research is proliferating due to the ease with which faces can be generated, standardised and manipulated. However there has been surprisingly little research into whether CG faces are processed in the same way as photographs of real faces. The present study assessed how well CG faces tap face identity expertise by investigating whether two indicators of face expertise are reduced for CG faces when compared to face photographs. These indicators were accuracy for identification of own-race faces and the other-race effect (ORE-the well-established finding that own-race faces are recognised more accurately than other-race faces. In Experiment 1 Caucasian and Asian participants completed a recognition memory task for own- and other-race real and CG faces. Overall accuracy for own-race faces was dramatically reduced for CG compared to real faces and the ORE was significantly and substantially attenuated for CG faces. Experiment 2 investigated perceptual discrimination for own- and other-race real and CG faces with Caucasian and Asian participants. Here again, accuracy for own-race faces was significantly reduced for CG compared to real faces. However the ORE was not affected by format. Together these results signal that CG faces of the type tested here do not fully tap face expertise. Technological advancement may, in the future, produce CG faces that are equivalent to real photographs. Until then caution is advised when interpreting results obtained using CG faces.

  11. Impact of physical maltreatment on the regulation of negative affect and aggression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shackman, Jessica E; Pollak, Seth D

    2014-11-01

    Physically maltreated children are at risk for developing externalizing behavioral problems characterized by reactive aggression. The current experiment tested the relationships between individual differences in a neural index of social information processing, histories of child maltreatment, child negative affect, and aggressive behavior. Fifty boys (17 maltreated) performed an emotion recognition task while the P3b component of the event-related potential was recorded to index attention allocation to angry faces. Children then participated in a peer-directed aggression task. Negative affect was measured by recording facial electromyography, and aggression was indexed by the feedback that children provided to a putative peer. Physically maltreated children exhibited greater negative affect and more aggressive behavior, compared to nonmaltreated children, and this relationship was mediated by children's allocation of attention to angry faces. These data suggest that physical maltreatment leads to inappropriate regulation of both negative affect and aggression, which likely place maltreated children at increased risk for the development and maintenance of externalizing behavior disorders.

  12. Neural synchronization during face-to-face communication

    OpenAIRE

    Jiang, J.; Dai, B.; Peng, D.; Zhu, C.; Liu, L.; Lu, C.

    2012-01-01

    Although the human brain may have evolutionarily adapted to face-to-face communication, other modes of communication, e.g., telephone and e-mail, increasingly dominate our modern daily life. This study examined the neural difference between face-to-face communication and other types of communication by simultaneously measuring two brains using a hyperscanning approach. The results showed a significant increase in the neural synchronization in the left inferior frontal cortex during a face-to-...

  13. Variations in the serotonin-transporter gene are associated with attention bias patterns to positive and negative emotion faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Edgar, Koraly; Bar-Haim, Yair; McDermott, Jennifer Martin; Gorodetsky, Elena; Hodgkinson, Colin A; Goldman, David; Ernst, Monique; Pine, Daniel S; Fox, Nathan A

    2010-03-01

    Both attention biases to threat and a serotonin-transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) have been linked to heightened neural activation to threat and the emergence of anxiety. The short allele of 5-HTTLPR may act via its effect on neurotransmitter availability, while attention biases shape broad patterns of cognitive processing. We examined individual differences in attention bias to emotion faces as a function of 5-HTTLPR genotype. Adolescents (N=117) were classified for presumed SLC6A4 expression based on 5-HTTLPR-low (SS, SL(G), or L(G)L(G)), intermediate (SL(A) or L(A)L(G)), or high (L(A)L(A)). Participants completed the dot-probe task, measuring attention biases toward or away from angry and happy faces. Biases for angry faces increased with the genotype-predicted neurotransmission levels (low>intermediate>high). The reverse pattern was evident for happy faces. The data indicate a linear relation between 5-HTTLPR allelic status and attention biases to emotion, demonstrating a genetic mechanism for biased attention using ecologically valid stimuli that target socioemotional adaptation. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. [Face recognition in patients with autism spectrum disorders].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kita, Yosuke; Inagaki, Masumi

    2012-07-01

    The present study aimed to review previous research conducted on face recognition in patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Face recognition is a key question in the ASD research field because it can provide clues for elucidating the neural substrates responsible for the social impairment of these patients. Historically, behavioral studies have reported low performance and/or unique strategies of face recognition among ASD patients. However, the performance and strategy of ASD patients is comparable to those of the control group, depending on the experimental situation or developmental stage, suggesting that face recognition of ASD patients is not entirely impaired. Recent brain function studies, including event-related potential and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, have investigated the cognitive process of face recognition in ASD patients, and revealed impaired function in the brain's neural network comprising the fusiform gyrus and amygdala. This impaired function is potentially involved in the diminished preference for faces, and in the atypical development of face recognition, eliciting symptoms of unstable behavioral characteristics in these patients. Additionally, face recognition in ASD patients is examined from a different perspective, namely self-face recognition, and facial emotion recognition. While the former topic is intimately linked to basic social abilities such as self-other discrimination, the latter is closely associated with mentalizing. Further research on face recognition in ASD patients should investigate the connection between behavioral and neurological specifics in these patients, by considering developmental changes and the spectrum clinical condition of ASD.

  15. Emotional expectations influence neural sensitivity to fearful faces in humans:An event-related potential study

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2010-01-01

    The present study tested whether neural sensitivity to salient emotional facial expressions was influenced by emotional expectations induced by a cue that validly predicted the expression of a subsequently presented target face. Event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by fearful and neutral faces were recorded while participants performed a gender discrimination task under cued (‘expected’) and uncued (‘unexpected’) conditions. The behavioral results revealed that accuracy was lower for fearful compared with neutral faces in the unexpected condition, while accuracy was similar for fearful and neutral faces in the expected condition. ERP data revealed increased amplitudes in the P2 component and 200–250 ms interval for unexpected fearful versus neutral faces. By contrast, ERP responses were similar for fearful and neutral faces in the expected condition. These findings indicate that human neural sensitivity to fearful faces is modulated by emotional expectations. Although the neural system is sensitive to unpredictable emotionally salient stimuli, sensitivity to salient stimuli is reduced when these stimuli are predictable.

  16. The feeling of "face" in Confucian society: From a perspective of psychosocial Equilibrium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuei-Hsiang Han

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Previous research on the feeling of face has long described face as a complicated phenomenon in Confucian societies. Indeed, the feeling of face is highly context dependent. One may have very different (having or losing face perception if the same face event occurs in a different context. To better capture the features of how face is felt, effects on possible responses need to be considered. Therefore, this article adopts a perspective of psychosocial equilibrium to elaborate people’s feeling of face in Taiwan, a Confucian society. The first section illustrates the concept of psychosocial equilibrium and its psychodynamic effects on people’s feeling of face. Then, the second section of this article takes positive social situations (having face events as backdrop to exhibit how people balance their psychosocial equilibrium with different relationships. Following the positive social situations, the third section of this article then focuses on the negative situations (losing face events to explain how losing face is felt due to unbalance of psychosocial equilibrium with one’s relation in that specific context.

  17. The Feeling of "Face" in Confucian Society: From a Perspective of Psychosocial Equilibrium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Kuei-Hsiang

    2016-01-01

    Previous research on the feeling of "face" has long described "face" as a complicated phenomenon in Confucian societies. Indeed, the feeling of face is highly context dependent. One may have very different (having or losing) face perception if the same face event occurs in a different context. To better capture the features of how face is felt, effects on possible responses need to be considered. Therefore, this article adopts a perspective of psychosocial equilibrium to elaborate people's feeling of face in Taiwan, a Confucian society. The first section illustrates the concept of psychosocial equilibrium and its psychodynamic effects on people's feeling of face. Then, the second section of this article takes positive social situations (having face events) as backdrop to exhibit how people balance their psychosocial equilibrium with different relationships. Following the positive social situations, the third section of this article then focuses on the negative situations (losing face events) to explain how losing face is felt due to unbalance of psychosocial equilibrium with one's relation in that specific context.

  18. Neural mechanisms of negative reinforcement in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

    OpenAIRE

    Damiano, Cara R; Cockrell, Dillon C; Dunlap, Kaitlyn; Hanna, Eleanor K; Miller, Stephanie; Bizzell, Joshua; Kovac, Megan; Turner-Brown, Lauren; Sideris, John; Kinard, Jessica; Dichter, Gabriel S

    2015-01-01

    Background Previous research has found accumulating evidence for atypical reward processing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), particularly in the context of social rewards. Yet, this line of research has focused largely on positive social reinforcement, while little is known about the processing of negative reinforcement in individuals with ASD. Methods The present study examined neural responses to social negative reinforcement (a face displaying negative affect) and non-social negative re...

  19. Sex differences in face gender recognition: an event-related potential study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yueting; Gao, Xiaochao; Han, Shihui

    2010-04-23

    Multiple level neurocognitive processes are involved in face processing in humans. The present study examined whether the early face processing such as structural encoding is modulated by task demands that manipulate attention to perceptual or social features of faces and such an effect, if any, is different between men and women. Event-related brain potentials were recorded from male and female adults while they identified a low-level perceptual feature of faces (i.e., face orientation) and a high-level social feature of faces (i.e., gender). We found that task demands that required the processing of face orientations or face gender resulted in modulations of both the early occipital/temporal negativity (N170) and the late central/parietal positivity (P3). The N170 amplitude was smaller in the gender relative to the orientation identification task whereas the P3 amplitude was larger in the gender identification task relative to the orientation identification task. In addition, these effects were much stronger in women than in men. Our findings suggest that attention to social information in faces such as gender modulates both the early encoding of facial structures and late evaluative process of faces to a greater degree in women than in men.

  20. What marketing strategy for destinations with a negative image?

    OpenAIRE

    Seraphin, Hugues; Gowreesunkar, Vanessa; Hugues Seraphin

    2017-01-01

    Purpose\\ud This concluding article filters out meaningful marketing strategies that aim at re-positioning and re-establishing struggling tourism destinations with negative image. Drawing from a collection of case studies around the world, the article provides evidences from post-colonial, post-conflict and post-disaster destinations to finally anchor the overall conclusion of the theme issue.\\ud \\ud Design\\ud The article summarizes key issues faced by destinations plagued with a negative imag...

  1. Not just the norm: exemplar-based models also predict face aftereffects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, David A; Deroche, Mickael; Palmeri, Thomas J

    2014-02-01

    The face recognition literature has considered two competing accounts of how faces are represented within the visual system: Exemplar-based models assume that faces are represented via their similarity to exemplars of previously experienced faces, while norm-based models assume that faces are represented with respect to their deviation from an average face, or norm. Face identity aftereffects have been taken as compelling evidence in favor of a norm-based account over an exemplar-based account. After a relatively brief period of adaptation to an adaptor face, the perceived identity of a test face is shifted toward a face with attributes opposite to those of the adaptor, suggesting an explicit psychological representation of the norm. Surprisingly, despite near universal recognition that face identity aftereffects imply norm-based coding, there have been no published attempts to simulate the predictions of norm- and exemplar-based models in face adaptation paradigms. Here, we implemented and tested variations of norm and exemplar models. Contrary to common claims, our simulations revealed that both an exemplar-based model and a version of a two-pool norm-based model, but not a traditional norm-based model, predict face identity aftereffects following face adaptation.

  2. Differences between Caucasian and Asian attractive faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhee, S C

    2018-02-01

    There are discrepancies between the public's current beauty desires and conventional theories and historical rules regarding facial beauty. This photogrammetric study aims to describe in detail mathematical differences in facial configuration between attractive Caucasian and attractive Asian faces. To analyse the structural differences between attractive Caucasian and attractive Asian faces, frontal face and lateral face views for each race were morphed; facial landmarks were defined, and the relative photographic pixel distances and angles were measured. Absolute values were acquired by arithmetic conversion for comparison. The data indicate that some conventional beliefs of facial attractiveness can be applied but others are no longer valid in explaining perspectives of beauty between Caucasians and Asians. Racial differences in the perceptions of attractive faces were evident. Common features as a phenomenon of global fusion in the perspectives on facial beauty were revealed. Beauty standards differ with race and ethnicity, and some conventional rules for ideal facial attractiveness were found to be inappropriate. We must reexamine old principles of facial beauty and continue to fundamentally question it according to its racial, cultural, and neuropsychological aspects. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Attentional prioritization of infant faces is limited to own-race infants.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Hodsoll

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Recent evidence indicates that infant faces capture attention automatically, presumably to elicit caregiving behavior from adults and leading to greater probability of progeny survival. Elsewhere, evidence demonstrates that people show deficiencies in the processing of other-race relative to own-race faces. We ask whether this other-race effect impacts on attentional attraction to infant faces. Using a dot-probe task to reveal the spatial allocation of attention, we investigate whether other-race infants capture attention.South Asian and White participants (young adults aged 18-23 years responded to a probe shape appearing in a location previously occupied by either an infant face or an adult face; across trials, the race (South Asian/White of the faces was manipulated. Results indicated that participants were faster to respond to probes that appeared in the same location as infant faces than adult faces, but only on own-race trials.Own-race infant faces attract attention, but other-race infant faces do not. Sensitivity to face-specific care-seeking cues in other-race kindenschema may be constrained by interracial contact and experience.

  4. Decoding task-based attentional modulation during face categorization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Yu-Chin; Esterman, Michael; Han, Yuefeng; Rosen, Heather; Yantis, Steven

    2011-05-01

    Attention is a neurocognitive mechanism that selects task-relevant sensory or mnemonic information to achieve current behavioral goals. Attentional modulation of cortical activity has been observed when attention is directed to specific locations, features, or objects. However, little is known about how high-level categorization task set modulates perceptual representations. In the current study, observers categorized faces by gender (male vs. female) or race (Asian vs. White). Each face was perceptually ambiguous in both dimensions, such that categorization of one dimension demanded selective attention to task-relevant information within the face. We used multivoxel pattern classification to show that task-specific modulations evoke reliably distinct spatial patterns of activity within three face-selective cortical regions (right fusiform face area and bilateral occipital face areas). This result suggests that patterns of activity in these regions reflect not only stimulus-specific (i.e., faces vs. houses) responses but also task-specific (i.e., race vs. gender) attentional modulation. Furthermore, exploratory whole-brain multivoxel pattern classification (using a searchlight procedure) revealed a network of dorsal fronto-parietal regions (left middle frontal gyrus and left inferior and superior parietal lobule) that also exhibit distinct patterns for the two task sets, suggesting that these regions may represent abstract goals during high-level categorization tasks.

  5. fMRI activities in the emotional cerebellum: a preference for negative stimuli and goal-directed behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schraa-Tam, Caroline K L; Rietdijk, Willem J R; Verbeke, Willem J M I; Dietvorst, Roeland C; van den Berg, Wouter E; Bagozzi, Richard P; De Zeeuw, Chris I

    2012-03-01

    Several studies indicate that the cerebellum might play a role in experiencing and/or controlling emphatic emotions, but it remains to be determined whether there is a distinction between positive and negative emotions, and, if so, which specific parts of the cerebellum are involved in these types of emotions. Here, we visualized activations of the cerebellum and extracerebellar regions using high-field fMRI, while we asked participants to observe and imitate images with pictures of human faces expressing different emotional states or with moving geometric shapes as control. The state of the emotions could be positive (happiness and surprise), negative (anger and disgust), or neutral. The positive emotional faces only evoked mild activations of crus 2 in the cerebellum, whereas the negative emotional faces evoked prominent activations in lobules VI and VIIa in its hemispheres and lobules VIII and IX in the vermis. The cerebellar activations associated with negative emotions occurred concomitantly with activations of mirror neuron domains such as the insula and amygdala. These data suggest that the potential role of the cerebellum in control of emotions may be particularly relevant for goal-directed behavior that is required for observing and reacting to another person's (negative) expressions.

  6. A deficit in face-voice integration in developing vervet monkeys exposed to ethanol during gestation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahin Zangenehpour

    Full Text Available Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders display behavioural and intellectual impairments that strongly implicate dysfunction within the frontal cortex. Deficits in social behaviour and cognition are amongst the most pervasive outcomes of prenatal ethanol exposure. Our naturalistic vervet monkey model of fetal alcohol exposure (FAE provides an unparalleled opportunity to study the neurobehavioral outcomes of prenatal ethanol exposure in a controlled experimental setting. Recent work has revealed a significant reduction of the neuronal population in the frontal lobes of these monkeys. We used an intersensory matching procedure to investigate audiovisual perception of socially relevant stimuli in young FAE vervet monkeys. Here we show a domain-specific deficit in audiovisual integration of socially relevant stimuli. When FAE monkeys were shown a pair of side-by-side videos of a monkey concurrently presenting two different calls along with a single audio track matching the content of one of the calls, they were not able to match the correct video to the single audio track. This was manifest by their average looking time being equally spent towards both the matching and non-matching videos. However, a group of normally developing monkeys exhibited a significant preference for the non-matching video. This inability to integrate and thereby discriminate audiovisual stimuli was confined to the integration of faces and voices as revealed by the monkeys' ability to match a dynamic face to a complex tone or a black-and-white checkerboard to a pure tone, presumably based on duration and/or onset-offset synchrony. Together, these results suggest that prenatal ethanol exposure negatively affects a specific domain of audiovisual integration. This deficit is confined to the integration of information that is presented by the face and the voice and does not affect more elementary aspects of sensory integration.

  7. A deficit in face-voice integration in developing vervet monkeys exposed to ethanol during gestation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zangenehpour, Shahin; Javadi, Pasha; Ervin, Frank R; Palmour, Roberta M; Ptito, Maurice

    2014-01-01

    Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders display behavioural and intellectual impairments that strongly implicate dysfunction within the frontal cortex. Deficits in social behaviour and cognition are amongst the most pervasive outcomes of prenatal ethanol exposure. Our naturalistic vervet monkey model of fetal alcohol exposure (FAE) provides an unparalleled opportunity to study the neurobehavioral outcomes of prenatal ethanol exposure in a controlled experimental setting. Recent work has revealed a significant reduction of the neuronal population in the frontal lobes of these monkeys. We used an intersensory matching procedure to investigate audiovisual perception of socially relevant stimuli in young FAE vervet monkeys. Here we show a domain-specific deficit in audiovisual integration of socially relevant stimuli. When FAE monkeys were shown a pair of side-by-side videos of a monkey concurrently presenting two different calls along with a single audio track matching the content of one of the calls, they were not able to match the correct video to the single audio track. This was manifest by their average looking time being equally spent towards both the matching and non-matching videos. However, a group of normally developing monkeys exhibited a significant preference for the non-matching video. This inability to integrate and thereby discriminate audiovisual stimuli was confined to the integration of faces and voices as revealed by the monkeys' ability to match a dynamic face to a complex tone or a black-and-white checkerboard to a pure tone, presumably based on duration and/or onset-offset synchrony. Together, these results suggest that prenatal ethanol exposure negatively affects a specific domain of audiovisual integration. This deficit is confined to the integration of information that is presented by the face and the voice and does not affect more elementary aspects of sensory integration.

  8. Implicit conditioning of faces via the social regulation of emotion: ERP evidence of early attentional biases for security conditioned faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckes, Lane; Coan, James A; Morris, James P

    2013-08-01

    Not much is known about the neural and psychological processes that promote the initial conditions necessary for positive social bonding. This study explores one method of conditioned bonding utilizing dynamics related to the social regulation of emotion and attachment theory. This form of conditioning involves repeated presentations of negative stimuli followed by images of warm, smiling faces. L. Beckes, J. Simpson, and A. Erickson (2010) found that this conditioning procedure results in positive associations with the faces measured via a lexical decision task, suggesting they are perceived as comforting. This study found that the P1 ERP was similarly modified by this conditioning procedure and the P1 amplitude predicted lexical decision times to insecure words primed by the faces. The findings have implications for understanding how the brain detects supportive people, the flexibility and modifiability of early ERP components, and social bonding more broadly. Copyright © 2013 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  9. [Face recognition in patients with schizophrenia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doi, Hirokazu; Shinohara, Kazuyuki

    2012-07-01

    It is well known that patients with schizophrenia show severe deficiencies in social communication skills. These deficiencies are believed to be partly derived from abnormalities in face recognition. However, the exact nature of these abnormalities exhibited by schizophrenic patients with respect to face recognition has yet to be clarified. In the present paper, we review the main findings on face recognition deficiencies in patients with schizophrenia, particularly focusing on abnormalities in the recognition of facial expression and gaze direction, which are the primary sources of information of others' mental states. The existing studies reveal that the abnormal recognition of facial expression and gaze direction in schizophrenic patients is attributable to impairments in both perceptual processing of visual stimuli, and cognitive-emotional responses to social information. Furthermore, schizophrenic patients show malfunctions in distributed neural regions, ranging from the fusiform gyrus recruited in the structural encoding of facial stimuli, to the amygdala which plays a primary role in the detection of the emotional significance of stimuli. These findings were obtained from research in patient groups with heterogeneous characteristics. Because previous studies have indicated that impairments in face recognition in schizophrenic patients might vary according to the types of symptoms, it is of primary importance to compare the nature of face recognition deficiencies and the impairments of underlying neural functions across sub-groups of patients.

  10. Face gender categorization and hemispheric asymmetries: Contrasting evidence from connected and disconnected brains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prete, Giulia; Fabri, Mara; Foschi, Nicoletta; Tommasi, Luca

    2016-12-17

    We investigated hemispheric asymmetries in categorization of face gender by means of a divided visual field paradigm, in which female and male faces were presented unilaterally for 150ms each. A group of 60 healthy participants (30 males) and a male split-brain patient (D.D.C.) were asked to categorize the gender of the stimuli. Healthy participants categorized male faces presented in the right visual field (RVF) better and faster than when presented in the left visual field (LVF), and female faces presented in the LVF than in the RVF, independently of the participants' sex. Surprisingly, the recognition rates of D.D.C. were at chance levels - and significantly lower than those of the healthy participants - for both female and male faces presented in the RVF, as well as for female faces presented in the LVF. His performance was higher than expected by chance - and did not differ from controls - only for male faces presented in the LVF. The residual right-hemispheric ability of the split-brain patient in categorizing male faces reveals an own-gender bias lateralized in the right hemisphere, in line with the rightward own-identity and own-age bias previously shown in split-brain patients. The gender-contingent hemispheric dominance found in healthy participants confirms the previously shown right-hemispheric superiority in recognizing female faces, and also reveals a left-hemispheric superiority in recognizing male faces, adding an important evidence of hemispheric imbalance in the field of face and gender perception. Copyright © 2016 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Neural basis of distorted self-face recognition in social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Min-Kyeong; Yoon, Hyung-Jun; Shin, Yu-Bin; Lee, Seung-Koo; Kim, Jae-Jin

    2016-01-01

    The observer perspective causes patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) to excessively inspect their performance and appearance. This study aimed to investigate the neural basis of distorted self-face recognition in non-social situations in patients with SAD. Twenty patients with SAD and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy controls participated in this fMRI study. Data were acquired while participants performed a Composite Face Evaluation Task, during which they had to press a button indicating how much they liked a series of self-faces, attractively transformed self-faces, and attractive others' faces. Patients had a tendency to show more favorable responses to the self-face and unfavorable responses to the others' faces compared with controls, but the two groups' responses to the attractively transformed self-faces did not differ. Significant group differences in regional activity were observed in the middle frontal and supramarginal gyri in the self-face condition (patients self-face condition (patients > controls); and the middle frontal, supramarginal, and angular gyri in the attractive others' face condition (patients > controls). Most fronto-parietal activities during observation of the self-face were negatively correlated with preference scores in patients but not in controls. Patients with SAD have a positive point of view of their own face and experience self-relevance for the attractively transformed self-faces. This distorted cognition may be based on dysfunctions in the frontal and inferior parietal regions. The abnormal engagement of the fronto-parietal attentional network during processing face stimuli in non-social situations may be linked to distorted self-recognition in SAD.

  12. Bidirectional electric communication between the inferior occipital gyrus and the amygdala during face processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Wataru; Kochiyama, Takanori; Uono, Shota; Matsuda, Kazumi; Usui, Keiko; Usui, Naotaka; Inoue, Yushi; Toichi, Motomi

    2017-09-01

    Faces contain multifaceted information that is important for human communication. Neuroimaging studies have revealed face-specific activation in multiple brain regions, including the inferior occipital gyrus (IOG) and amygdala; it is often assumed that these regions constitute the neural network responsible for the processing of faces. However, it remains unknown whether and how these brain regions transmit information during face processing. This study investigated these questions by applying dynamic causal modeling of induced responses to human intracranial electroencephalography data recorded from the IOG and amygdala during the observation of faces, mosaics, and houses in upright and inverted orientations. Model comparisons assessing the experimental effects of upright faces versus upright houses and upright faces versus upright mosaics consistently indicated that the model having face-specific bidirectional modulatory effects between the IOG and amygdala was the most probable. The experimental effect between upright versus inverted faces also favored the model with bidirectional modulatory effects between the IOG and amygdala. The spectral profiles of modulatory effects revealed both same-frequency (e.g., gamma-gamma) and cross-frequency (e.g., theta-gamma) couplings. These results suggest that the IOG and amygdala communicate rapidly with each other using various types of oscillations for the efficient processing of faces. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4511-4524, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. The Anatomy of the Aging Face: A Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotofana, Sebastian; Fratila, Alina A M; Schenck, Thilo L; Redka-Swoboda, Wolfgang; Zilinsky, Isaac; Pavicic, Tatjana

    2016-06-01

    Rejuvenative procedures of the face are increasing in numbers, and a plethora of different therapeutic options are available today. Every procedure should aim for the patient's safety first and then for natural and long-lasting results. The face is one of the most complex regions in the human body and research continuously reveals new insights into the complex interplay of the different participating structures. Bone, ligaments, muscles, fat, and skin are the key players in the layered arrangement of the face.Aging occurs in all involved facial structures but the onset and the speed of age-related changes differ between each specific structure, between each individual, and between different ethnic groups. Therefore, knowledge of age-related anatomy is crucial for a physician's work when trying to restore a youthful face.This review focuses on the current understanding of the anatomy of the human face and tries to elucidate the morphological changes during aging of bone, ligaments, muscles, and fat, and their role in rejuvenative procedures. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  14. Viewing pain and happy faces elicited similar changes in postural body sway.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Gea

    Full Text Available Affective facial expressions are potent social cues that can induce relevant physiological changes, as well as behavioral dispositions in the observer. Previous studies have revealed that angry faces induced significant reductions in body sway as compared with neutral and happy faces, reflecting an avoidance behavioral tendency as freezing. The expression of pain is usually considered an unpleasant stimulus, but also a relevant cue for delivering effective care and social support. Nevertheless, there are few data about behavioral dispositions elicited by the observation of pain expressions in others. The aim of the present research was to evaluate approach-avoidance tendencies by using video recordings of postural body sway when participants were standing and observing facial expressions of pain, happy and neutral. We hypothesized that although pain faces would be rated as more unpleasant than the other faces, they would provoke significant changes in postural body sway as compared to neutral facial expressions. Forty healthy female volunteers (mean age 25 participated in the study. Amplitude of forward movements and backward movements in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral axes were obtained. Statistical analyses revealed that pain faces were the most unpleasant stimuli, and that both happy and pain faces were more arousing than neutral ones. Happy and pain faces also elicited greater amplitude of body sway in the anterior-posterior axes as compared with neutral faces. In addition, significant positive correlations were found between body sway elicited by pain faces and pleasantness and empathic ratings, suggesting that changes in postural body sway elicited by pain faces might be associated with approach and cooperative behavioral responses.

  15. Shades of Emotion: What the Addition of Sunglasses or Masks to Faces Reveals about the Development of Facial Expression Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberson, Debi; Kikutani, Mariko; Doge, Paula; Whitaker, Lydia; Majid, Asifa

    2012-01-01

    Three studies investigated developmental changes in facial expression processing, between 3 years-of-age and adulthood. For adults and older children, the addition of sunglasses to upright faces caused an equivalent decrement in performance to face inversion. However, younger children showed "better" classification of expressions of faces wearing…

  16. Will new antimicrobials overcome resistance among Gram-negatives?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bassetti, Matteo; Ginocchio, Francesca; Mikulska, Małgorzata; Taramasso, Lucia; Giacobbe, Daniele Roberto

    2011-10-01

    The spread of resistance among Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria represents a growing challenge for the development of new antimicrobials. The pace of antibiotic drug development has slowed during the last decade and, especially for Gram-negatives, clinicians are facing a dramatic shortage in the availability of therapeutic options to face the emergency of the resistance problem throughout the world. In this alarming scenario, although there is a shortage of compounds reaching the market in the near future, antibiotic discovery remains one of the keys to successfully stem and maybe overcome the tide of resistance. Analogs of already known compounds and new agents belonging to completely new classes of antimicrobials are in early stages of development. Novel and promising anti-Gram-negative antimicrobials belong both to old (cephalosporins, carbapenems, β-lactamase inhibitors, monobactams, aminoglycosides, polymyxin analogues and tetracycline) and completely new antibacterial classes (boron-containing antibacterial protein synthesis inhibitors, bis-indoles, outer membrane synthesis inhibitors, antibiotics targeting novel sites of the 50S ribosomal subunit and antimicrobial peptides). However, all of these compounds are still far from being introduced into clinical practice. Therefore, infection control policies and optimization in the use of already existing molecules are still the most effective approaches to reduce the spread of resistance and preserve the activity of antimicrobials.

  17. Sandwich masking eliminates both visual awareness of faces and face-specific brain activity through a feedforward mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Joseph A; Wu, Chien-Te; Woldorff, Marty G

    2011-06-07

    It is generally agreed that considerable amounts of low-level sensory processing of visual stimuli can occur without conscious awareness. On the other hand, the degree of higher level visual processing that occurs in the absence of awareness is as yet unclear. Here, event-related potential (ERP) measures of brain activity were recorded during a sandwich-masking paradigm, a commonly used approach for attenuating conscious awareness of visual stimulus content. In particular, the present study used a combination of ERP activation contrasts to track both early sensory-processing ERP components and face-specific N170 ERP activations, in trials with versus without awareness. The electrophysiological measures revealed that the sandwich masking abolished the early face-specific N170 neural response (peaking at ~170 ms post-stimulus), an effect that paralleled the abolition of awareness of face versus non-face image content. Furthermore, however, the masking appeared to render a strong attenuation of earlier feedforward visual sensory-processing signals. This early attenuation presumably resulted in insufficient information being fed into the higher level visual system pathways specific to object category processing, thus leading to unawareness of the visual object content. These results support a coupling of visual awareness and neural indices of face processing, while also demonstrating an early low-level mechanism of interference in sandwich masking.

  18. The effects of mothers’ past infant-holding preferences on their adult children’s face processing lateralisation

    OpenAIRE

    Vervloed, Mathijs P.J.; Hendriks, Angélique W.; van den Eijnde, Esther

    2011-01-01

    Face processing development is negatively affected when infants have not been exposed to faces for some time because of congenital cataract blocking all vision (Le Grand, Mondloch, Maurer, & Brent, 2001). It is not clear, however, whether more subtle differences in face exposure may also have an influence. The present study looked at the effect of the mother's preferred side of holding an infant, on her adult child's face processing lateralisation. Adults with a mother who had a left-arm pref...

  19. Different perceptual sensitivities for Chernoff's face between children and adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsurusawa, Reimi; Goto, Yoshinobu; Mitsudome, Akihisa; Nakashima, Taisuke; Tobimatsu, Shozo

    2008-02-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the differences between children and adults in recognizing facial expressions of simple line drawings of "Chernoff's face". First, the angles of the eyebrows and mouth of Chernoff's face were changed in a stepwise way with a personal computer, and the emotional response of the subjects was evaluated by a questionnaire. Second, three drawings of non-target stimuli (neutral face, angry face, and wheelchair) and target stimuli were used to elicit event-related potentials (ERPs). Children had higher scores for the facial expressions than adults, and relied much more on the angles of the eyebrows and mouth. The major ERP findings were (1) the latencies of P100 and N170 were significantly longer in children than adults, (2) the amplitudes of P100 were significantly larger in children than adults, but the N170 amplitudes were not significantly different, and (3) a slow negative shift was recorded with a latency of 240-460ms at the posterior-temporal site for angry face compared with neutral face in adults but not in children. These results suggest that the differences in the electrophysiological recognition of facial expressions can be set at 240ms after appearance of the Chernoff's face in adults but not in children.

  20. Self-Verification Strivings in Children Holding Negative Self-Views: The Mitigating Effects of a Preceding Success Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reijntjes, Albert; Thomaes, Sander; Kamphuis, Jan Henk; de Castro, Bram Orobio; Telch, Michael J

    2010-12-01

    Research among adults has consistently shown that people holding negative self-views prefer negative over positive feedback. The present study tested the hypothesis that this preference is less robust among pre-adolescents, such that it will be mitigated by a preceding positive event. Pre-adolescents (n = 75) holding positive or negative global self-esteem were randomized to a favorable or unfavorable peer evaluation outcome. Next, preferences for positive versus negative feedback were assessed using an unobtrusive behavioral viewing time measure. As expected, results showed that after being faced with the success outcome children holding negative self-views were as likely as their peers holding positive self-views to display a significant preference for positive feedback. In contrast, children holding negative self-views displayed a stronger preference for negative feedback after being faced with the unfavorable outcome that matched their pre-existing self-views.

  1. Face processing is gated by visual spatial attention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roy E Crist

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Human perception of faces is widely believed to rely on automatic processing by a domain-specifi c, modular component of the visual system. Scalp-recorded event-related potential (ERP recordings indicate that faces receive special stimulus processing at around 170 ms poststimulus onset, in that faces evoke an enhanced occipital negative wave, known as the N170, relative to the activity elicited by other visual objects. As predicted by modular accounts of face processing, this early face-specifi c N170 enhancement has been reported to be largely immune to the infl uence of endogenous processes such as task strategy or attention. However, most studies examining the infl uence of attention on face processing have focused on non-spatial attention, such as object-based attention, which tend to have longer-latency effects. In contrast, numerous studies have demonstrated that visual spatial attention can modulate the processing of visual stimuli as early as 80 ms poststimulus – substantially earlier than the N170. These temporal characteristics raise the question of whether this initial face-specifi c processing is immune to the infl uence of spatial attention. This question was addressed in a dual-visualstream ERP study in which the infl uence of spatial attention on the face-specifi c N170 could be directly examined. As expected, early visual sensory responses to all stimuli presented in an attended location were larger than responses evoked by those same stimuli when presented in an unattended location. More importantly, a signifi cant face-specifi c N170 effect was elicited by faces that appeared in an attended location, but not in an unattended one. In summary, early face-specifi c processing is not automatic, but rather, like other objects, strongly depends on endogenous factors such as the allocation of spatial attention. Moreover, these fi ndings underscore the extensive infl uence that top-down attention exercises over the processing of

  2. Postpartum depressive symptoms moderate the link between mothers’ neural response to positive faces in reward and social regions and observed caregiving

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Chaohui; Moses-Kolko, Eydie L; Phillips, Mary L; Stepp, Stephanie D; Hipwell, Alison E

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Postpartum depression may disrupt socio-affective neural circuitry and compromise provision of positive parenting. Although work has evaluated how parental response to negative stimuli is related to caregiving, research is needed to examine how depressive symptoms during the postpartum period may be related to neural response to positive stimuli, especially positive faces, given depression’s association with biased processing of positive faces. The current study examined the association between neural response to adult happy faces and observations of maternal caregiving and the moderating role of postpartum depression, in a sample of 18- to 22-year old mothers (n = 70) assessed at 17 weeks (s.d. = 4.7 weeks) postpartum. Positive caregiving was associated with greater precuneus and occipital response to positive faces among mothers with lower depressive symptoms, but not for those with higher symptoms. For mothers with higher depressive symptoms, greater ventral and dorsal striatal response to positive faces was associated with more positive caregiving, whereas the opposite pattern emerged for mothers with lower symptoms. There was no association between negative caregiving and neural response to positive faces or negative faces. Processing of positive stimuli may be an important prognostic target in mothers with depressive symptoms, given its link with healthy caregiving behaviors. PMID:29048603

  3. Cortical deficits of emotional face processing in adults with ADHD: its relation to social cognition and executive function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibáñez, Agustin; Petroni, Agustin; Urquina, Hugo; Torrente, Fernando; Torralva, Teresa; Hurtado, Esteban; Guex, Raphael; Blenkmann, Alejandro; Beltrachini, Leandro; Muravchik, Carlos; Baez, Sandra; Cetkovich, Marcelo; Sigman, Mariano; Lischinsky, Alicia; Manes, Facundo

    2011-01-01

    Although it has been shown that adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have impaired social cognition, no previous study has reported the brain correlates of face valence processing. This study looked for behavioral, neuropsychological, and electrophysiological markers of emotion processing for faces (N170) in adult ADHD compared to controls matched by age, gender, educational level, and handedness. We designed an event-related potential (ERP) study based on a dual valence task (DVT), in which faces and words were presented to test the effects of stimulus type (faces, words, or face-word stimuli) and valence (positive versus negative). Individual signatures of cognitive functioning in participants with ADHD and controls were assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation, including executive functioning (EF) and theory of mind (ToM). Compared to controls, the adult ADHD group showed deficits in N170 emotion modulation for facial stimuli. These N170 impairments were observed in the absence of any deficit in facial structural processing, suggesting a specific ADHD impairment in early facial emotion modulation. The cortical current density mapping of N170 yielded a main neural source of N170 at posterior section of fusiform gyrus (maximum at left hemisphere for words and right hemisphere for faces and simultaneous stimuli). Neural generators of N170 (fusiform gyrus) were reduced in ADHD. In those patients, N170 emotion processing was associated with performance on an emotional inference ToM task, and N170 from simultaneous stimuli was associated with EF, especially working memory. This is the first report to reveal an adult ADHD-specific impairment in the cortical modulation of emotion for faces and an association between N170 cortical measures and ToM and EF.

  4. Reward sensitivity to faces versus objects in children: an ERP study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stavropoulos, Katherine K M; Carver, Leslie J

    2014-10-01

    How children respond to social and nonsocial rewards has important implications for understanding social cognitive development. Adults find faces intrinsically rewarding. However, little is known about how children respond to face vs nonface rewards. We utilized event-related potentials (the stimulus-preceding negativity, SPN) to measure differences in reward anticipation during a guessing game in 6- to 8-year-olds. Children were presented with reward indicators accompanied by incidental face or nonface stimuli. Nonface stimuli were comprised of scrambled faces in the shape of arrows, controlling for low-level properties of the two conditions. Children showed an increased SPN when the reward stimuli were accompanied by faces, relative to nonface stimuli. This suggests that children find a face stimulus more rewarding than a nonface stimulus. The results have important implications for processing social vs nonsocial rewards in typically developing children, and allow testing of populations with deficits in social reward processing, such as autism spectrum disorder. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Source Reconstruction of Brain Potentials Using Bayesian Model Averaging to Analyze Face Intra-Domain vs. Face-Occupation Cross-Domain Processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olivares, Ela I; Lage-Castellanos, Agustín; Bobes, María A; Iglesias, Jaime

    2018-01-01

    We investigated the neural correlates of the access to and retrieval of face structure information in contrast to those concerning the access to and retrieval of person-related verbal information, triggered by faces. We experimentally induced stimulus familiarity via a systematic learning procedure including faces with and without associated verbal information. Then, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) in both intra-domain (face-feature) and cross-domain (face-occupation) matching tasks while N400-like responses were elicited by incorrect eyes-eyebrows completions and occupations, respectively. A novel Bayesian source reconstruction approach plus conjunction analysis of group effects revealed that in both cases the generated N170s were of similar amplitude but had different neural origin. Thus, whereas the N170 of faces was associated predominantly to right fusiform and occipital regions (the so-called "Fusiform Face Area", "FFA" and "Occipital Face Area", "OFA", respectively), the N170 of occupations was associated to a bilateral very posterior activity, suggestive of basic perceptual processes. Importantly, the right-sided perceptual P200 and the face-related N250 were evoked exclusively in the intra-domain task, with sources in OFA and extensively in the fusiform region, respectively. Regarding later latencies, the intra-domain N400 seemed to be generated in right posterior brain regions encompassing mainly OFA and, to some extent, the FFA, likely reflecting neural operations triggered by structural incongruities. In turn, the cross-domain N400 was related to more anterior left-sided fusiform and temporal inferior sources, paralleling those described previously for the classic verbal N400. These results support the existence of differentiated neural streams for face structure and person-related verbal processing triggered by faces, which can be activated differentially according to specific task demands.

  6. Source Reconstruction of Brain Potentials Using Bayesian Model Averaging to Analyze Face Intra-Domain vs. Face-Occupation Cross-Domain Processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ela I. Olivares

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the neural correlates of the access to and retrieval of face structure information in contrast to those concerning the access to and retrieval of person-related verbal information, triggered by faces. We experimentally induced stimulus familiarity via a systematic learning procedure including faces with and without associated verbal information. Then, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs in both intra-domain (face-feature and cross-domain (face-occupation matching tasks while N400-like responses were elicited by incorrect eyes-eyebrows completions and occupations, respectively. A novel Bayesian source reconstruction approach plus conjunction analysis of group effects revealed that in both cases the generated N170s were of similar amplitude but had different neural origin. Thus, whereas the N170 of faces was associated predominantly to right fusiform and occipital regions (the so-called “Fusiform Face Area”, “FFA” and “Occipital Face Area”, “OFA”, respectively, the N170 of occupations was associated to a bilateral very posterior activity, suggestive of basic perceptual processes. Importantly, the right-sided perceptual P200 and the face-related N250 were evoked exclusively in the intra-domain task, with sources in OFA and extensively in the fusiform region, respectively. Regarding later latencies, the intra-domain N400 seemed to be generated in right posterior brain regions encompassing mainly OFA and, to some extent, the FFA, likely reflecting neural operations triggered by structural incongruities. In turn, the cross-domain N400 was related to more anterior left-sided fusiform and temporal inferior sources, paralleling those described previously for the classic verbal N400. These results support the existence of differentiated neural streams for face structure and person-related verbal processing triggered by faces, which can be activated differentially according to specific task demands.

  7. Spatially generalizable representations of facial expressions: Decoding across partial face samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greening, Steven G; Mitchell, Derek G V; Smith, Fraser W

    2018-04-01

    A network of cortical and sub-cortical regions is known to be important in the processing of facial expression. However, to date no study has investigated whether representations of facial expressions present in this network permit generalization across independent samples of face information (e.g., eye region vs mouth region). We presented participants with partial face samples of five expression categories in a rapid event-related fMRI experiment. We reveal a network of face-sensitive regions that contain information about facial expression categories regardless of which part of the face is presented. We further reveal that the neural information present in a subset of these regions: dorsal prefrontal cortex (dPFC), superior temporal sulcus (STS), lateral occipital and ventral temporal cortex, and even early visual cortex, enables reliable generalization across independent visual inputs (faces depicting the 'eyes only' vs 'eyes removed'). Furthermore, classification performance was correlated to behavioral performance in STS and dPFC. Our results demonstrate that both higher (e.g., STS, dPFC) and lower level cortical regions contain information useful for facial expression decoding that go beyond the visual information presented, and implicate a key role for contextual mechanisms such as cortical feedback in facial expression perception under challenging conditions of visual occlusion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Susceptibility to emotional contagion for negative emotions improves detection of smile authenticity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manera, Valeria; Grandi, Elisa; Colle, Livia

    2013-01-01

    A smile is a context-dependent emotional expression. A smiling face can signal the experience of enjoyable emotions, but people can also smile to convince another person that enjoyment is occurring when it is not. For this reason, the ability to discriminate between felt and faked enjoyment expressions is a crucial social skill. Despite its importance, adults show remarkable individual variation in this ability. Revealing the factors responsible for these huge individual differences is a key challenge in this domain. Here we investigated, on a large sample of participants, whether individual differences in smile authenticity recognition are accounted for by differences in the predisposition to experience other people's emotions, i.e., by susceptibility to emotional contagion. Results showed that susceptibility to emotional contagion for negative emotions increased smile authenticity detection, while susceptibility to emotional contagion for positive emotions worsened detection performance, because it leaded to categorize most of the faked smiles as sincere. These findings suggest that susceptibility to emotional contagion plays a key role in complex emotion recognition, and point out the importance of analyzing the tendency to experience other people's positive and negative emotions as separate abilities.

  9. Mere Exposure and Racial Prejudice: Exposure to Other-Race Faces Increases Liking for Strangers of That Race.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zebrowitz, Leslie A; White, Benjamin; Wieneke, Kristin

    2008-01-01

    White participants were exposed to other-race or own-race faces to test the generalized mere exposure hypothesis in the domain of face perception, namely that exposure to a set of faces yields increased liking for similar faces that have never been seen. In Experiment 1, rapid supraliminal exposures to Asian faces increased White participants' subsequent liking for a different set of Asian faces. In Experiment 2, subliminal exposures to Black faces increased White participants' subsequent liking for a different set of Black faces. The findings are consistent with prominent explanations for mere exposure effects as well as with the familiar face overgeneralization hypothesis that prejudice derives in part from negative reactions to faces that deviate from the familiar own-race prototype.

  10. Mapping face categorization in the human ventral occipitotemporal cortex with direct neural intracranial recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossion, Bruno; Jacques, Corentin; Jonas, Jacques

    2018-02-26

    The neural basis of face categorization has been widely investigated with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), identifying a set of face-selective local regions in the ventral occipitotemporal cortex (VOTC). However, indirect recording of neural activity with fMRI is associated with large fluctuations of signal across regions, often underestimating face-selective responses in the anterior VOTC. While direct recording of neural activity with subdural grids of electrodes (electrocorticography, ECoG) or depth electrodes (stereotactic electroencephalography, SEEG) offers a unique opportunity to fill this gap in knowledge, these studies rather reveal widely distributed face-selective responses. Moreover, intracranial recordings are complicated by interindividual variability in neuroanatomy, ambiguity in definition, and quantification of responses of interest, as well as limited access to sulci with ECoG. Here, we propose to combine SEEG in large samples of individuals with fast periodic visual stimulation to objectively define, quantify, and characterize face categorization across the whole VOTC. This approach reconciles the wide distribution of neural face categorization responses with their (right) hemispheric and regional specialization, and reveals several face-selective regions in anterior VOTC sulci. We outline the challenges of this research program to understand the neural basis of face categorization and high-level visual recognition in general. © 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.

  11. Negative emotional stimuli reduce contextual cueing but not response times in inefficient search

    OpenAIRE

    Kunar, Melina A.; Watson, Derrick G.; Cole, Louise (Researcher in Psychology); Cox, Angeline

    2014-01-01

    In visual search, previous work has shown that negative stimuli narrow the focus of attention and speed reaction times (RTs). This paper investigates these two effects by first asking whether negative emotional stimuli narrow the focus of attention to reduce the learning of a display context in a contextual cueing task and, second, whether exposure to negative stimuli also reduces RTs in inefficient search tasks. In Experiment 1, participants viewed either negative or neutral images (faces or...

  12. Error-related negativity varies with the activation of gender stereotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Qingguo; Shu, Liangchao; Wang, Xiaoyi; Dai, Shenyi; Che, Hongmin

    2008-09-19

    The error-related negativity (ERN) was suggested to reflect the response-performance monitoring process. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the activation of gender stereotypes influences the ERN. Twenty-eight male participants were asked to complete a tool or kitchenware identification task. The prime stimulus is a picture of a male or female face and the target stimulus is either a kitchen utensil or a hand tool. The ERN amplitude on male-kitchenware trials is significantly larger than that on female-kitchenware trials, which reveals the low-level, automatic activation of gender stereotypes. The ERN that was elicited in this task has two sources--operation errors and the conflict between the gender stereotype activation and the non-prejudice beliefs. And the gender stereotype activation may be the key factor leading to this difference of ERN. In other words, the stereotype activation in this experimental paradigm may be indexed by the ERN.

  13. Disinhibition of negative true self for identity reconstructions in cyberspace: Advancing self-discrepancy theory for virtual setting.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chuan Hu

    Full Text Available In face-to-face communications, to avoid sanctions and disapproval from others, people are more likely to hide negative aspects of their true self (such as socially undesirable personalities, minds, beliefs and consciousness to avoid conflict with social norms and laws. The anonymity of cyberspace provides people a unique environment to behave more freely and openly with less restraint from the real word. Existing research related to online true self expression has mainly explored true self as an independent aspect of self. Regarding true self as a two-dimensional concept, this study investigates true self from the perspective of individuals' self-guide and identity reconstruction in both online and offline world. Using qualitative research methods, the current study investigates 57 participants through interviews and questionnaires. Content analysis reveals four factors that motivate people to express more true self (especially negative true self when reconstructing their online identity and involve true self as a part of their self-guide in anonymous environment. By incorporating true self as an important part of individuals' self-guide and identity online, the current study advances self-discrepancy theory, making it more comprehensive for cyberspace. The results are also interpreted based on self-determination theory. The theoretical contributions of this study are discussed and practical implications are also presented.

  14. Development of face recognition: Dynamic causal modelling of MEG data

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    Wei He

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Electrophysiological studies of adults indicate that brain activity is enhanced during viewing of repeated faces, at a latency of about 250 ms after the onset of the face (M250/N250. The present study aimed to determine if this effect was also present in preschool-aged children, whose brain activity was measured in a custom-sized pediatric MEG system. The results showed that, unlike adults, face repetition did not show any significant modulation of M250 amplitude in children; however children’s M250 latencies were significantly faster for repeated than non-repeated faces. Dynamic causal modelling (DCM of the M250 in both age groups tested the effects of face repetition within the core face network including the occipital face area (OFA, the fusiform face area (FFA, and the superior temporal sulcus (STS. DCM revealed that repetition of identical faces altered both forward and backward connections in children and adults; however the modulations involved inputs to both FFA and OFA in adults but only to OFA in children. These findings suggest that the amplitude-insensitivity of the immature M250 may be due to a weaker connection between the FFA and lower visual areas. Keywords: MEG, Face recognition, Repetition, DCM, M250, M170

  15. The Dynamics of Chinese Face Mechanisms and Classroom Behaviour: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Xiaoxin

    2009-01-01

    Research on cross-cultural psychology, anthropology and sociology reveals that the impact of face on social interactions is both pervasive and powerful in Asia. Face, however, has not gained general acceptance as an important theoretical concept in the literature on Asian (Chinese in particular) classroom behaviour and management. This article…

  16. [Decrease in N170 evoked potential component latency during repeated presentation of face images].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verkhliutov, V M; Ushakov, V L; Strelets, V B

    2009-01-01

    The 15 healthy volunteers EEG from 28 channels was recorded during the presentation of visual stimuli in the form of face and building images. The stimuli were presented in two series. The first series consisted of 60 face and 60 building images presented in random order. The second series consisted of 30 face and 30 building images. The second series began 1.5-2 min after the end of the first ore. No instruction was given to the participants. P1, N170 and VPP EP components were identified for both stimuli categories. These components were located in the medial parietal area (Brodmann area 40). P1 and N170 components were recorded in the superior temporal fissure (Brodmann area 21, STS region), the first component had the latency 120 ms, the second one--155 ms. VPP was recorded with the latency 190 ms (Brodmann area 19). Dynamic mapping of EP components with the latency from 97 to 242 ms revealed the removal of positive maximums from occipital to frontal areas through temporal ones and their subsequent returning to occipital areas through the central ones. During the comparison of EP components to face and building images the amplitude differences were revealed in the following areas: P1--in frontal, central and anterior temporal areas, N170--in frontal, central, temporal and parietal areas, VPP--in all areas. It was also revealed that N170 latency was 12 ms shorter for face than for building images. It was proposed that the above mentioned N170 latency decrease for face in comparison with building images is connected with the different space location of the fusiform area responsible for face and building images recognition. Priming--the effect that is revealed during the repetitive face images presentation is interpreted as the manifestation of functional heterogeneity of the fusiform area responsible for the face images recognition. The hypothesis is put forward that the parts of extrastriate cortex which are located closer to the central retinotopical

  17. Disruption of retinoic acid receptor alpha reveals the growth promoter face of retinoic acid.

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    Giulia Somenzi

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Retinoic acid (RA, the bioactive derivative of Vitamin A, by epigenetically controlling transcription through the RA-receptors (RARs, exerts a potent antiproliferative effect on human cells. However, a number of studies show that RA can also promote cell survival and growth. In the course of one of our studies we observed that disruption of RA-receptor alpha, RARalpha, abrogates the RA-mediated growth-inhibitory effects and unmasks the growth-promoting face of RA (Ren et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 2005, 25:10591. The objective of this study was to investigate whether RA can differentially govern cell growth, in the presence and absence of RARalpha, through differential regulation of the "rheostat" comprising ceramide (CER, the sphingolipid with growth-inhibitory activity, and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P, the sphingolipid with prosurvival activity.We found that functional inhibition of endogenous RARalpha in breast cancer cells by using either RARalpha specific antagonists or a dominant negative RARalpha mutant hampers on one hand the RA-induced upregulation of neutral sphingomyelinase (nSMase-mediated CER synthesis, and on the other hand the RA-induced downregulation of sphingosine kinase 1, SK1, pivotal for S1P synthesis. In association with RA inability to regulate the sphingolipid rheostat, cells not only survive, but also grow more in response to RA both in vitro and in vivo. By combining genetic, pharmacological and biochemical approaches, we mechanistically demonstrated that RA-induced growth is, at least in part, due to non-RAR-mediated activation of the SK1-S1P signaling.In the presence of functional RARalpha, RA inhibits cell growth by concertedly, and inversely, modulating the CER and S1P synthetic pathways. In the absence of a functional RARalpha, RA-in a non-RAR-mediated fashion-promotes cell growth by activating the prosurvival S1P signaling. These two distinct, yet integrated processes apparently concur to the growth-promoter effects

  18. Successful decoding of famous faces in the fusiform face area.

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    Vadim Axelrod

    Full Text Available What are the neural mechanisms of face recognition? It is believed that the network of face-selective areas, which spans the occipital, temporal, and frontal cortices, is important in face recognition. A number of previous studies indeed reported that face identity could be discriminated based on patterns of multivoxel activity in the fusiform face area and the anterior temporal lobe. However, given the difficulty in localizing the face-selective area in the anterior temporal lobe, its role in face recognition is still unknown. Furthermore, previous studies limited their analysis to occipito-temporal regions without testing identity decoding in more anterior face-selective regions, such as the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. In the current high-resolution functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging study, we systematically examined the decoding of the identity of famous faces in the temporo-frontal network of face-selective and adjacent non-face-selective regions. A special focus has been put on the face-area in the anterior temporal lobe, which was reliably localized using an optimized scanning protocol. We found that face-identity could be discriminated above chance level only in the fusiform face area. Our results corroborate the role of the fusiform face area in face recognition. Future studies are needed to further explore the role of the more recently discovered anterior face-selective areas in face recognition.

  19. Cognitive Biases for Emotional Faces in High- and Low-Trait Depressive Participants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Hsing Hsieh

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the association between trait depression and information-processing biases. Thirty participants were divided into high- and low-trait depressive groups based on the median of their depressive subscale scores according to the Basic Personality Inventory. Information-processing biases were measured using a deployment-of-attention task (DOAT and a recognition memory task (RMT. For the DOAT, participants saw one emotional face paired with a neutral face of the same person, and then were forced to choose on which face the color patch had first occurred. The percentage of participants' choices favoring the happy, angry, or sad faces represented the selective attentional bias score for each emotion, respectively. For the RMT, participants rated different types of emotional faces and subsequently discriminated old faces from new faces. The memory strength for each type of face was calculated from hit and false-positive rates, based on the signal detection theory. Compared with the low-trait depressive group, the high-trait depressive group showed a negative cognitive style. This was an enhanced recognition memory for sad faces and a weakened inhibition of attending to sad faces, suggesting that those with high depressive trait may be vulnerable to interpersonal withdrawal.

  20. Abnormal GABAergic function and face processing in schizophrenia: A pharmacologic-fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tso, Ivy F; Fang, Yu; Phan, K Luan; Welsh, Robert C; Taylor, Stephan F

    2015-10-01

    The involvement of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system in schizophrenia is suggested by postmortem studies and the common use of GABA receptor-potentiating agents in treatment. In a recent study, we used a benzodiazepine challenge to demonstrate abnormal GABAergic function during processing of negative visual stimuli in schizophrenia. This study extended this investigation by mapping GABAergic mechanisms associated with face processing and social appraisal in schizophrenia using a benzodiazepine challenge. Fourteen stable, medicated schizophrenia/schizoaffective patients (SZ) and 13 healthy controls (HC) underwent functional MRI using the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) technique while they performed the Socio-emotional Preference Task (SePT) on emotional face stimuli ("Do you like this face?"). Participants received single-blinded intravenous saline and lorazepam (LRZ) in two separate sessions separated by 1-3weeks. Both SZ and HC recruited medial prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate during the SePT, relative to gender identification. A significant drug by group interaction was observed in the medial occipital cortex, such that SZ showed increased BOLD signal to LRZ challenge, while HC showed an expected decrease of signal; the interaction did not vary by task. The altered BOLD response to LRZ challenge in SZ was significantly correlated with increased negative affect across multiple measures. The altered response to LRZ challenge suggests that abnormal face processing and negative affect in SZ are associated with altered GABAergic function in the visual cortex, underscoring the role of impaired visual processing in socio-emotional deficits in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Real Time Face Quality Assessment for Face Log Generation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kamal, Nasrollahi; Moeslund, Thomas B.

    2009-01-01

    Summarizing a long surveillance video to just a few best quality face images of each subject, a face-log, is of great importance in surveillance systems. Face quality assessment is the back-bone for face log generation and improving the quality assessment makes the face logs more reliable....... Developing a real time face quality assessment system using the most important facial features and employing it for face logs generation are the concerns of this paper. Extensive tests using four databases are carried out to validate the usability of the system....

  2. Clinical Significance of CK19 Negative Breast Cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fujisue, Mamiko, E-mail: nishimura.reiki@cityhosp-kumamoto.jp; Nishimura, Reiki; Okumura, Yasuhiro [Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Kumamoto City Hospital, 1-1-60 Kotoh, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto 862-8505 (Japan); Tashima, Rumiko [Department of Surgery, Kumamoto City Hospital, 1-1-60 Kotoh, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto 862-8505 (Japan); Nishiyama, Yasuyuki; Osako, Tomofumi [Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Kumamoto City Hospital, 1-1-60 Kotoh, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto 862-8505 (Japan); Toyozumi, Yasuo; Arima, Nobuyuki [Department of Pathology, Kumamoto City Hospital, 1-1-60 Kotoh, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto 862-8505 (Japan)

    2012-12-21

    Analysis of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) by means of One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification (OSNA) is gaining widespread use as a quick and accurate method. This assay detects the expression level of cytokeratin 19 (CK19) which is present in some but not all breast tumors. In this study, the clinical significance of negative CK19 was investigated in 219 cases of primary breast cancer. In 179 patients with clinically negative nodes, OSNA and imprint smear cytology of SLN were performed simultaneously. The OSNA revealed a node-positive rate of 24.6%. Negative CK19 correlated significantly with negative ER/PgR and higher Ki-67 values, and marginally with higher nuclear grade and p53 overexpression. The triple negative subtype showed lower CK19 expression. OSNA revealed that one of the negative CK19 cases was actually a false negative but this was corrected with the use of the imprint smear cytology. In conclusion, CK19 negativity reflected the aggressiveness of primary breast cancer. OSNA assay used to analyze SLN was useful, but there is a possibility that it will mistakenly detect false negatives in CK19 negative tumors. Therefore, in tumors with negative CK19, the imprint smear cytology may be more useful in cases with macrometastasis.

  3. Clinical Significance of CK19 Negative Breast Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nobuyuki Arima

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Analysis of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs by means of One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification (OSNA is gaining widespread use as a quick and accurate method. This assay detects the expression level of cytokeratin 19 (CK19 which is present in some but not all breast tumors. In this study, the clinical significance of negative CK19 was investigated in 219 cases of primary breast cancer. In 179 patients with clinically negative nodes, OSNA and imprint smear cytology of SLN were performed simultaneously. The OSNA revealed a node-positive rate of 24.6%. Negative CK19 correlated significantly with negative ER/PgR and higher Ki-67 values, and marginally with higher nuclear grade and p53 overexpression. The triple negative subtype showed lower CK19 expression. OSNA revealed that one of the negative CK19 cases was actually a false negative but this was corrected with the use of the imprint smear cytology. In conclusion, CK19 negativity reflected the aggressiveness of primary breast cancer. OSNA assay used to analyze SLN was useful, but there is a possibility that it will mistakenly detect false negatives in CK19 negative tumors. Therefore, in tumors with negative CK19, the imprint smear cytology may be more useful in cases with macrometastasis.

  4. Clinical Significance of CK19 Negative Breast Cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujisue, Mamiko; Nishimura, Reiki; Okumura, Yasuhiro; Tashima, Rumiko; Nishiyama, Yasuyuki; Osako, Tomofumi; Toyozumi, Yasuo; Arima, Nobuyuki

    2012-01-01

    Analysis of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) by means of One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification (OSNA) is gaining widespread use as a quick and accurate method. This assay detects the expression level of cytokeratin 19 (CK19) which is present in some but not all breast tumors. In this study, the clinical significance of negative CK19 was investigated in 219 cases of primary breast cancer. In 179 patients with clinically negative nodes, OSNA and imprint smear cytology of SLN were performed simultaneously. The OSNA revealed a node-positive rate of 24.6%. Negative CK19 correlated significantly with negative ER/PgR and higher Ki-67 values, and marginally with higher nuclear grade and p53 overexpression. The triple negative subtype showed lower CK19 expression. OSNA revealed that one of the negative CK19 cases was actually a false negative but this was corrected with the use of the imprint smear cytology. In conclusion, CK19 negativity reflected the aggressiveness of primary breast cancer. OSNA assay used to analyze SLN was useful, but there is a possibility that it will mistakenly detect false negatives in CK19 negative tumors. Therefore, in tumors with negative CK19, the imprint smear cytology may be more useful in cases with macrometastasis

  5. A face in a (temporal) crowd.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hacker, Catrina M; Meschke, Emily X; Biederman, Irving

    2018-03-20

    Familiar objects, specified by name, can be identified with high accuracy when embedded in a rapidly presented sequence of images at rates exceeding 10 images/s. Not only can target objects be detected at such brief presentation rates, they can also be detected under high uncertainty, where their classification is defined negatively, e.g., "Not a Tool." The identification of a familiar speaker's voice declines precipitously when uncertainty is increased from one to a mere handful of possible speakers. Is the limitation imposed by uncertainty, i.e., the number of possible individuals, a general characteristic of processes for person individuation such that the identifiability of a familiar face would undergo a similar decline with uncertainty? Specifically, could the presence of an unnamed celebrity, thus any celebrity, be detected when presented in a rapid sequence of unfamiliar faces? If so, could the celebrity be identified? Despite the markedly greater physical similarity of faces compared to objects that are, say, not tools, the presence of a celebrity could be detected with moderately high accuracy (∼75%) at rates exceeding 7 faces/s. False alarms were exceedingly rare as almost all the errors were misses. Detection accuracy by moderate congenital prosopagnosics was lower than controls, but still well above chance. Given the detection of the presence of a celebrity, all subjects were almost always able to identify that celebrity, providing no role for a covert familiarity signal outside of awareness. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. 'What is it like to have ME?': the discursive construction of ME in computer-mediated communication and face-to-face interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guise, Jennifer; Widdicombe, Sue; McKinlay, Andy

    2007-01-01

    ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) or CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) is a debilitating illness for which no cause or medical tests have been identified. Debates over its nature have generated interest from qualitative researchers. However, participants are difficult to recruit because of the nature of their condition. Therefore, this study explores the utility of the internet as a means of eliciting accounts. We analyse data from focus groups and the internet in order to ascertain the extent to which previous research findings apply to the internet domain. Interviews were conducted among 49 members of internet groups (38 chatline, 11 personal) and 7 members of two face-to-face support groups. Discourse analysis of descriptions and accounts of ME or CFS revealed similar devices and interactional concerns in both internet and face-to-face communication. Participants constructed their condition as serious, enigmatic and not psychological. These functioned to deflect problematic assumptions about ME or CFS and to manage their accountability for the illness and its effects.

  7. Infants' Temperament and Mothers', and Fathers' Depression Predict Infants' Attention to Objects Paired with Emotional Faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aktar, Evin; Mandell, Dorothy J; de Vente, Wieke; Majdandžić, Mirjana; Raijmakers, Maartje E J; Bögels, Susan M

    2016-07-01

    Between 10 and 14 months, infants gain the ability to learn about unfamiliar stimuli by observing others' emotional reactions to those stimuli, so called social referencing (SR). Joint processing of emotion and head/gaze direction is essential for SR. This study tested emotion and head/gaze direction effects on infants' attention via pupillometry in the period following the emergence of SR. Pupil responses of 14-to-17-month-old infants (N = 57) were measured during computerized presentations of unfamiliar objects alone, before-and-after being paired with emotional (happy, sad, fearful vs. neutral) faces gazing towards (vs. away) from objects. Additionally, the associations of infants' temperament, and parents' negative affect/depression/anxiety with infants' pupil responses were explored. Both mothers and fathers of participating infants completed questionnaires about their negative affect, depression and anxiety symptoms and their infants' negative temperament. Infants allocated more attention (larger pupils) to negative vs. neutral faces when the faces were presented alone, while they allocated less attention to objects paired with emotional vs. neutral faces independent of head/gaze direction. Sad (but not fearful) temperament predicted more attention to emotional faces. Infants' sad temperament moderated the associations of mothers' depression (but not anxiety) with infants' attention to objects. Maternal depression predicted more attention to objects paired with emotional expressions in infants low in sad temperament, while it predicted less attention in infants high in sad temperament. Fathers' depression (but not anxiety) predicted more attention to objects paired with emotional expressions independent of infants' temperament. We conclude that infants' own temperamental dispositions for sadness, and their exposure to mothers' and fathers' depressed moods may influence infants' attention to emotion-object associations in social learning contexts.

  8. Cross-modal face recognition using multi-matcher face scores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Yufeng; Blasch, Erik

    2015-05-01

    The performance of face recognition can be improved using information fusion of multimodal images and/or multiple algorithms. When multimodal face images are available, cross-modal recognition is meaningful for security and surveillance applications. For example, a probe face is a thermal image (especially at nighttime), while only visible face images are available in the gallery database. Matching a thermal probe face onto the visible gallery faces requires crossmodal matching approaches. A few such studies were implemented in facial feature space with medium recognition performance. In this paper, we propose a cross-modal recognition approach, where multimodal faces are cross-matched in feature space and the recognition performance is enhanced with stereo fusion at image, feature and/or score level. In the proposed scenario, there are two cameras for stereo imaging, two face imagers (visible and thermal images) in each camera, and three recognition algorithms (circular Gaussian filter, face pattern byte, linear discriminant analysis). A score vector is formed with three cross-matched face scores from the aforementioned three algorithms. A classifier (e.g., k-nearest neighbor, support vector machine, binomial logical regression [BLR]) is trained then tested with the score vectors by using 10-fold cross validations. The proposed approach was validated with a multispectral stereo face dataset from 105 subjects. Our experiments show very promising results: ACR (accuracy rate) = 97.84%, FAR (false accept rate) = 0.84% when cross-matching the fused thermal faces onto the fused visible faces by using three face scores and the BLR classifier.

  9. Meta-analytic review of the development of face discrimination in infancy: Face race, face gender, infant age, and methodology moderate face discrimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugden, Nicole A; Marquis, Alexandra R

    2017-11-01

    Infants show facility for discriminating between individual faces within hours of birth. Over the first year of life, infants' face discrimination shows continued improvement with familiar face types, such as own-race faces, but not with unfamiliar face types, like other-race faces. The goal of this meta-analytic review is to provide an effect size for infants' face discrimination ability overall, with own-race faces, and with other-race faces within the first year of life, how this differs with age, and how it is influenced by task methodology. Inclusion criteria were (a) infant participants aged 0 to 12 months, (b) completing a human own- or other-race face discrimination task, (c) with discrimination being determined by infant looking. Our analysis included 30 works (165 samples, 1,926 participants participated in 2,623 tasks). The effect size for infants' face discrimination was small, 6.53% greater than chance (i.e., equal looking to the novel and familiar). There was a significant difference in discrimination by race, overall (own-race, 8.18%; other-race, 3.18%) and between ages (own-race: 0- to 4.5-month-olds, 7.32%; 5- to 7.5-month-olds, 9.17%; and 8- to 12-month-olds, 7.68%; other-race: 0- to 4.5-month-olds, 6.12%; 5- to 7.5-month-olds, 3.70%; and 8- to 12-month-olds, 2.79%). Multilevel linear (mixed-effects) models were used to predict face discrimination; infants' capacity to discriminate faces is sensitive to face characteristics including race, gender, and emotion as well as the methods used, including task timing, coding method, and visual angle. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Role of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in Healing of Diabetic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Journal of Surgical Technique and Case Report | Jan-Jun 2011 | Vol-3 | Issue-1. 10. Role of Negative ... case of any difficulty faced in the application of VAC dressings. BLEEDING ISSUE ... show exposed bone, tendon, joint capsule or fascia.

  11. ‘Distracters’ do not always distract: Visual working memory for angry faces is enhanced by incidental emotional words.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margaret Cecilia Jackson

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available We are often required to filter out distraction in order to focus on a primary task during which working memory (WM is engaged. Previous research has shown that negative versus neutral distracters presented during a visual WM maintenance period significantly impair memory for neutral information. However, the contents of WM are often also emotional in nature. The question we address here is how incidental information might impact upon visual WM when both this and the memory items contain emotional information. We presented emotional versus neutral words during the maintenance interval of an emotional visual WM faces task. Participants encoded two angry or happy faces into WM, and several seconds into a 9 second maintenance period a negative, positive, or neutral word was flashed on the screen three times. A single neutral test face was presented for retrieval with a face identity that was either present or absent in the preceding study array. WM for angry face identities was significantly better when an emotional (negative or positive versus neutral (or no word was presented. In contrast, WM for happy face identities was not significantly affected by word valence. These findings suggest that the presence of emotion within an intervening stimulus boosts the emotional value of threat-related information maintained in visual WM and thus improves performance. In addition, we show that incidental events that are emotional in nature do not always distract from an ongoing WM task.

  12. Adult Perceptions of Positive and Negative Infant Emotional Expressions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolzani Dinehart, Laura H.; Messinger, Daniel S.; Acosta, Susan I.; Cassel, Tricia; Ambadar, Zara; Cohn, Jeffrey

    2005-01-01

    Adults' perceptions provide information about the emotional meaning of infant facial expressions. This study asks whether similar facial movements influence adult perceptions of emotional intensity in both infant positive (smile) and negative (cry face) facial expressions. Ninety-five college students rated a series of naturally occurring and…

  13. Voicing on Virtual and Face to Face Discussion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamat, Hamidah

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents and discusses findings of a study conducted on pre-service teachers' experiences in virtual and face to face discussions. Technology has brought learning nowadays beyond the classroom context or time zone. The learning context and process no longer rely solely on face to face communications in the presence of a teacher.…

  14. Facing Aggression: Cues Differ for Female versus Male Faces

    OpenAIRE

    Geniole, Shawn N.; Keyes, Amanda E.; Mondloch, Catherine J.; Carr?, Justin M.; McCormick, Cheryl M.

    2012-01-01

    The facial width-to-height ratio (face ratio), is a sexually dimorphic metric associated with actual aggression in men and with observers' judgements of aggression in male faces. Here, we sought to determine if observers' judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio in female faces. In three studies, participants rated photographs of female and male faces on aggression, femininity, masculinity, attractiveness, and nurturing. In Studies 1 and 2, for female and male faces, judge...

  15. Buzz: Face-to-Face Contact and the Urban Economy

    OpenAIRE

    Michael Storper; Anthony J. Venables

    2003-01-01

    This paper argues that existing models of urban concentrations are incomplete unless grounded in the most fundamental aspect of proximity; face-to-face contact. Face-to-face contact has four main features; it is an efficient communication technology; it can help solve incentive problems; it can facilitate socialization and learning; and it provides psychological motivation. We discuss each of these features in turn, and develop formal economic models of two of them. Face-to-face is particular...

  16. Dynamics of Disagreement: Large-Scale Temporal Network Analysis Reveals Negative Interactions in Online Collaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsvetkova, Milena; García-Gavilanes, Ruth; Yasseri, Taha

    2016-11-01

    Disagreement and conflict are a fact of social life. However, negative interactions are rarely explicitly declared and recorded and this makes them hard for scientists to study. In an attempt to understand the structural and temporal features of negative interactions in the community, we use complex network methods to analyze patterns in the timing and configuration of reverts of article edits to Wikipedia. We investigate how often and how fast pairs of reverts occur compared to a null model in order to control for patterns that are natural to the content production or are due to the internal rules of Wikipedia. Our results suggest that Wikipedia editors systematically revert the same person, revert back their reverter, and come to defend a reverted editor. We further relate these interactions to the status of the involved editors. Even though the individual reverts might not necessarily be negative social interactions, our analysis points to the existence of certain patterns of negative social dynamics within the community of editors. Some of these patterns have not been previously explored and carry implications for the knowledge collection practice conducted on Wikipedia. Our method can be applied to other large-scale temporal collaboration networks to identify the existence of negative social interactions and other social processes.

  17. European cinema: face to face with Hollywood

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elsaesser, T.

    2005-01-01

    In the face of renewed competition from Hollywood since the early 1980s and the challenges posed to Europe's national cinemas by the fall of the Wall in 1989, independent filmmaking in Europe has begun to re-invent itself. European Cinema: Face to Face with Hollywood re-assesses the different

  18. Development of face recognition: Dynamic causal modelling of MEG data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Wei; Johnson, Blake W

    2018-04-01

    Electrophysiological studies of adults indicate that brain activity is enhanced during viewing of repeated faces, at a latency of about 250 ms after the onset of the face (M250/N250). The present study aimed to determine if this effect was also present in preschool-aged children, whose brain activity was measured in a custom-sized pediatric MEG system. The results showed that, unlike adults, face repetition did not show any significant modulation of M250 amplitude in children; however children's M250 latencies were significantly faster for repeated than non-repeated faces. Dynamic causal modelling (DCM) of the M250 in both age groups tested the effects of face repetition within the core face network including the occipital face area (OFA), the fusiform face area (FFA), and the superior temporal sulcus (STS). DCM revealed that repetition of identical faces altered both forward and backward connections in children and adults; however the modulations involved inputs to both FFA and OFA in adults but only to OFA in children. These findings suggest that the amplitude-insensitivity of the immature M250 may be due to a weaker connection between the FFA and lower visual areas. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  19. The Influence of Setting on Findings Produced in Qualitative Health Research: A Comparison between Face-to-Face and Online Discussion Groups about HIV/AIDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guendalina Graffigna

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available The authors focus their analysis in this article on online focus groups (FGs, in an attempt to describe how the setting shapes the conversational features of the discussion and influences data construction. Starting from a review of current dominant viewpoints, they compare face-to-face discussion groups with different formats of online FGs about AIDS, from a discourse analysis perspective. They conducted 2 face-to-face FGs, 2 chats, 2 forums, and 2 forums+plus+chat involving 64 participants aged 18 to 25 and living in Italy. Their findings seem not only to confirm the hypothesis of a general difference between a face-to-face discussion setting and an Internet-mediated one but also reveal differences among the forms of online FG, in terms of both the thematic articulation of discourse and the conversational and relational characteristics of group exchange, suggesting that exchanges on HIV/AIDS are characterized by the setting. This characterization seems to be important for situating the choice of tool, according to research objectives, and for better defining the technical aspects of the research project.

  20. Choosing the negative: A behavioral demonstration of morbid curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    This paper examined, with a behavioral paradigm, to what extent people choose to view stimuli that portray death, violence or harm. Based on briefly presented visual cues, participants made choices between highly arousing, negative images and positive or negative alternatives. The negative images displayed social scenes that involved death, violence or harm (e.g., war scene), or decontextualized, close-ups of physical harm (e.g., mutilated face) or natural threat (e.g., attacking shark). The results demonstrated that social negative images were chosen significantly more often than other negative categories. Furthermore, participants preferred social negative images over neutral images. Physical harm images and natural threat images were not preferred over neutral images, but were chosen in about thirty-five percent of the trials. These results were replicated across three different studies, including a study that presented verbal descriptions of images as pre-choice cues. Together, these results show that people deliberately subject themselves to negative images. With this, the present paper demonstrates a dynamic relationship between negative information and behavior and advances new insights into the phenomenon of morbid curiosity. PMID:28683147

  1. Does Accessibility of Positive and Negative Schema Vary by Child Physical Abuse Risk?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crouch, Julie L.; Risser, Heather J.; Skowronski, John J.; Milner, Joel S.; Farc, Magdalena M.; Irwin, Lauren M.

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To examine differences in accessibility of positive and negative schema in parents with high and low risk for child physical abuse (CPA). Methods: This study combined picture priming and lexical decision making methods to assess the accessibility of positive and negative words following presentation of child and adult faces. The child…

  2. Emotional facial expressions reduce neural adaptation to face identity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerlicher, Anna M V; van Loon, Anouk M; Scholte, H Steven; Lamme, Victor A F; van der Leij, Andries R

    2014-05-01

    In human social interactions, facial emotional expressions are a crucial source of information. Repeatedly presented information typically leads to an adaptation of neural responses. However, processing seems sustained with emotional facial expressions. Therefore, we tested whether sustained processing of emotional expressions, especially threat-related expressions, would attenuate neural adaptation. Neutral and emotional expressions (happy, mixed and fearful) of same and different identity were presented at 3 Hz. We used electroencephalography to record the evoked steady-state visual potentials (ssVEP) and tested to what extent the ssVEP amplitude adapts to the same when compared with different face identities. We found adaptation to the identity of a neutral face. However, for emotional faces, adaptation was reduced, decreasing linearly with negative valence, with the least adaptation to fearful expressions. This short and straightforward method may prove to be a valuable new tool in the study of emotional processing.

  3. The telltale face: possible mechanisms behind defector and cooperator recognition revealed by emotional facial expression metrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovács-Bálint, Zsófia; Bereczkei, Tamás; Hernádi, István

    2013-11-01

    In this study, we investigated the role of facial cues in cooperator and defector recognition. First, a face image database was constructed from pairs of full face portraits of target subjects taken at the moment of decision-making in a prisoner's dilemma game (PDG) and in a preceding neutral task. Image pairs with no deficiencies (n = 67) were standardized for orientation and luminance. Then, confidence in defector and cooperator recognition was tested with image rating in a different group of lay judges (n = 62). Results indicate that (1) defectors were better recognized (58% vs. 47%), (2) they looked different from cooperators (p towards the cooperator category (p < .01), and (4) females were more confident in detecting defectors (p < .05). According to facial microexpression analysis, defection was strongly linked with depressed lower lips and less opened eyes. Significant correlation was found between the intensity of micromimics and the rating of images in the cooperator-defector dimension. In summary, facial expressions can be considered as reliable indicators of momentary social dispositions in the PDG. Females may exhibit an evolutionary-based overestimation bias to detecting social visual cues of the defector face. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

  4. Seeing Jesus in toast: neural and behavioral correlates of face pareidolia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jiangang; Li, Jun; Feng, Lu; Li, Ling; Tian, Jie; Lee, Kang

    2014-04-01

    Face pareidolia is the illusory perception of non-existent faces. The present study, for the first time, contrasted behavioral and neural responses of face pareidolia with those of letter pareidolia to explore face-specific behavioral and neural responses during illusory face processing. Participants were shown pure-noise images but were led to believe that 50% of them contained either faces or letters; they reported seeing faces or letters illusorily 34% and 38% of the time, respectively. The right fusiform face area (rFFA) showed a specific response when participants "saw" faces as opposed to letters in the pure-noise images. Behavioral responses during face pareidolia produced a classification image (CI) that resembled a face, whereas those during letter pareidolia produced a CI that was letter-like. Further, the extent to which such behavioral CIs resembled faces was directly related to the level of face-specific activations in the rFFA. This finding suggests that the rFFA plays a specific role not only in processing of real faces but also in illusory face perception, perhaps serving to facilitate the interaction between bottom-up information from the primary visual cortex and top-down signals from the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Whole brain analyses revealed a network specialized in face pareidolia, including both the frontal and occipitotemporal regions. Our findings suggest that human face processing has a strong top-down component whereby sensory input with even the slightest suggestion of a face can result in the interpretation of a face. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. The Caledonian face test: A new test of face discrimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Logan, Andrew J; Wilkinson, Frances; Wilson, Hugh R; Gordon, Gael E; Loffler, Gunter

    2016-02-01

    This study aimed to develop a clinical test of face perception which is applicable to a wide range of patients and can capture normal variability. The Caledonian face test utilises synthetic faces which combine simplicity with sufficient realism to permit individual identification. Face discrimination thresholds (i.e. minimum difference between faces required for accurate discrimination) were determined in an "odd-one-out" task. The difference between faces was controlled by an adaptive QUEST procedure. A broad range of face discrimination sensitivity was determined from a group (N=52) of young adults (mean 5.75%; SD 1.18; range 3.33-8.84%). The test is fast (3-4 min), repeatable (test-re-test r(2)=0.795) and demonstrates a significant inversion effect. The potential to identify impairments of face discrimination was evaluated by testing LM who reported a lifelong difficulty with face perception. While LM's impairment for two established face tests was close to the criterion for significance (Z-scores of -2.20 and -2.27) for the Caledonian face test, her Z-score was -7.26, implying a more than threefold higher sensitivity. The new face test provides a quantifiable and repeatable assessment of face discrimination ability. The enhanced sensitivity suggests that the Caledonian face test may be capable of detecting more subtle impairments of face perception than available tests. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Face-Lift Satisfaction Using the FACE-Q.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinno, Sammy; Schwitzer, Jonathan; Anzai, Lavinia; Thorne, Charles H

    2015-08-01

    Face lifting is one of the most common operative procedures for facial aging and perhaps the procedure most synonymous with plastic surgery in the minds of the lay public, but no verifiable documentation of patient satisfaction exists in the literature. This study is the first to examine face-lift outcomes and patient satisfaction using a validated questionnaire. One hundred five patients undergoing a face lift performed by the senior author (C.H.T.) using a high, extended-superficial musculoaponeurotic system with submental platysma approximation technique were asked to complete anonymously the FACE-Q by e-mail. FACE-Q scores were assessed for each domain (range, 0 to 100), with higher scores indicating greater satisfaction with appearance or superior quality of life. Fifty-three patients completed the FACE-Q (50.5 percent response rate). Patients demonstrated high satisfaction with facial appearance (mean ± SD, 80.7 ± 22.3), and quality of life, including social confidence (90.4 ± 16.6), psychological well-being (92.8 ± 14.3), and early life impact (92.2 ± 16.4). Patients also reported extremely high satisfaction with their decision to undergo face lifting (90.5 ± 15.9). On average, patients felt they appeared 6.9 years younger than their actual age. Patients were most satisfied with the appearance of their nasolabial folds (86.2 ± 18.5), cheeks (86.1 ± 25.4), and lower face/jawline (86.0 ± 20.6), compared with their necks (78.1 ± 25.6) and area under the chin (67.9 ± 32.3). Patients who responded in this study were extremely satisfied with their decision to undergo face lifting and the outcomes and quality of life following the procedure.

  7. A Face Inversion Effect without a Face

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandman, Talia; Yovel, Galit

    2012-01-01

    Numerous studies have attributed the face inversion effect (FIE) to configural processing of internal facial features in upright but not inverted faces. Recent findings suggest that face mechanisms can be activated by faceless stimuli presented in the context of a body. Here we asked whether faceless stimuli with or without body context may induce…

  8. Dual-target cost in visual search for multiple unfamiliar faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mestry, Natalie; Menneer, Tamaryn; Cave, Kyle R; Godwin, Hayward J; Donnelly, Nick

    2017-08-01

    The efficiency of visual search for one (single-target) and either of two (dual-target) unfamiliar faces was explored to understand the manifestations of capacity and guidance limitations in face search. The visual similarity of distractor faces to target faces was manipulated using morphing (Experiments 1 and 2) and multidimensional scaling (Experiment 3). A dual-target cost was found in all experiments, evidenced by slower and less accurate search in dual- than single-target conditions. The dual-target cost was unequal across the targets, with performance being maintained on one target and reduced on the other, which we label "preferred" and "non-preferred" respectively. We calculated the capacity for each target face and show reduced capacity for representing the non-preferred target face. However, results show that the capacity for the non-preferred target can be increased when the dual-target condition is conducted after participants complete the single-target conditions. Analyses of eye movements revealed evidence for weak guidance of fixations in single-target search, and when searching for the preferred target in dual-target search. Overall, the experiments show dual-target search for faces is capacity- and guidance-limited, leading to superior search for 1 face over the other in dual-target search. However, learning faces individually may improve capacity with the second face. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  9. Mapping face recognition information use across cultures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sébastien eMiellet

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Face recognition is not rooted in a universal eye movement information-gathering strategy. Western observers favor a local facial feature sampling strategy, whereas Eastern observers prefer sampling face information from a global, central fixation strategy. Yet, the precise qualitative (the diagnostic and quantitative (the amount information underlying these cultural perceptual biases in face recognition remains undetermined.To this end, we monitored the eye movements of Western and Eastern observers during a face recognition task, with a novel gaze-contingent technique: the Expanding Spotlight. We used 2° Gaussian apertures centered on the observers' fixations expanding dynamically at a rate of 1° every 25ms at each fixation - the longer the fixation duration, the larger the aperture size. Identity-specific face information was only displayed within the Gaussian aperture; outside the aperture, an average face template was displayed to facilitate saccade planning. Thus, the Expanding Spotlight simultaneously maps out the facial information span at each fixation location.Data obtained with the Expanding Spotlight technique confirmed that Westerners extract more information from the eye region, whereas Easterners extract more information from the nose region. Interestingly, this quantitative difference was paired with a qualitative disparity. Retinal filters based on spatial frequency decomposition built from the fixations maps revealed that Westerners used local high-spatial frequency information sampling, covering all the features critical for effective face recognition (the eyes and the mouth. In contrast, Easterners achieved a similar result by using global low-spatial frequency information from those facial features.Our data show that the face system flexibly engages into local or global eye movement strategies across cultures, by relying on distinct facial information span and culturally tuned spatially filtered information. Overall, our

  10. Early ERP modulation for task-irrelevant subliminal faces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alan J Pegna

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available A number of investigations have reported that emotional faces can be processed subliminally, and that they give rise to specific patterns of brain activation in the absence of awareness. Recent event-related potential (ERP studies have suggested that electrophysiological differences occur early in time (<200ms in response to backward masked emotional faces. These findings have been taken as evidence of a rapid non-conscious pathway, which would allow threatening stimuli to be processed rapidly and subsequently allow appropriate avoidance action to be taken. However, for this to be the case, subliminal processing should arise even if the threatening stimulus is not attended. This point has in fact not yet been clearly established. In this ERP study, we investigated whether subliminal processing of fearful faces occurs outside the focus of attention. Fourteen healthy participants performed a line judgement task while fearful and non-fearful (happy or neutral faces were presented both subliminally and supraliminally. ERPs were compared across the 4 experimental conditions (i.e., subliminal and supraliminal; fearful and non-fearful. The earliest differences between fearful and non fearful faces appeared as an enhanced posterior negativity for the former at 170ms (the N170 component over right temporo-occipital electrodes. This difference was observed for both subliminal (p<.05 and supraliminal presentations (p<.01. Our results confirm that subliminal processing of fearful faces occurs early in the course of visual processing, and more importantly, that this arises even when the subject’s attention is engaged in an incidental task.

  11. Novel cancer gene variants and gene fusions of triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) reveal their molecular diversity conserved in the patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Jaeyun; Jang, Kiwon; Ju, Jung Min; Lee, Eunji; Lee, Jong Won; Kim, Hee Jung; Kim, Jisun; Lee, Sae Byul; Ko, Beom Seok; Son, Byung Ho; Lee, Hee Jin; Gong, Gyungyup; Ahn, Sei Yeon; Choi, Jung Kyoon; Singh, Shree Ram; Chang, Suhwan

    2018-04-20

    Despite the improved 5-year survival rate of breast cancer, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains a challenge due to lack of effective targeted therapy and higher recurrence and metastasis than other subtypes. To identify novel druggable targets and to understand its unique biology, we tried to implement 24 patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) of TNBC. The overall success rate of PDX implantation was 45%, much higher than estrogen receptor (ER)-positive cases. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed conserved ER/PR/Her2 negativity (with two exceptions) between the original and PDX tumors. Genomic analysis of 10 primary tumor-PDX pairs with Ion AmpliSeq CCP revealed high degree of variant conservation (85.0% to 96.9%) between primary and PDXs. Further analysis showed 44 rare variants with a predicted high impact in 36 genes including Trp53, Pten, Notch1, and Col1a1. Among them, we confirmed frequent Notch1 variant. Furthermore, RNA-seq analysis of 24 PDXs revealed 594 gene fusions, of which 163 were in-frame, including AZGP1-GJC3 and NF1-AARSD1. Finally, western blot analysis of oncogenic signaling proteins supporting molecular diversity of TNBC PDXs. Overall, our report provides a molecular basis for the usefulness of the TNBC PDX model in preclinical study. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  12. Anti-Makeup: Learning A Bi-Level Adversarial Network for Makeup-Invariant Face Verification

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Yi; Song, Lingxiao; Wu, Xiang; He, Ran; Tan, Tieniu

    2017-01-01

    Makeup is widely used to improve facial attractiveness and is well accepted by the public. However, different makeup styles will result in significant facial appearance changes. It remains a challenging problem to match makeup and non-makeup face images. This paper proposes a learning from generation approach for makeup-invariant face verification by introducing a bi-level adversarial network (BLAN). To alleviate the negative effects from makeup, we first generate non-makeup images from makeu...

  13. Ratings of Emotion in Laterally Presented Faces: Sex and handedness effects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Strien, J.W.; van Beek, S.

    2000-01-01

    Sixteen right-handed participants (8 male and 8 female students) and 16 left-handed participants (8 male and 8 female students) were presented with cartoon faces expressing emotions ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative. A forced-choice paradigm was used in which the participants

  14. Series 'Facing Radiation'. 2 Facing radiation is facing residents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanzawa, Takahiro

    2013-01-01

    The series is to report how general people, who are not at all radiological experts, have faced and understood the problems and tasks of radiation given by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident (Mar. 2011). The section 2 is reported by an officer of Date City, which localizes at 60 km northern west of the Plant, borders on Iitate Village of Fukushima prefecture, and is indicated as the important area of contamination search (IACS), which the reporter has been conducted for as responsible personnel. In July 2011, the ambient dose was as high as 3.0-3.5 mc-Sv/h and the tentative storage place of contaminated materials was decided by own initiative of residents of a small community, from which the real decontamination started in the City. The target dose after decontamination was defined to be 1.0 mc-Sv/h: however, 28/32 IACS municipalities in the prefecture had not defined the target although they had worked for 2 years after the Accident for their areas exceeding the standard 0.23 mc-Sv/h. At the moment of decontamination of the reporter's own house, he noticed that resident's concerns had directed toward its work itself, not toward the target dose, and wondered if these figures had obstructed to correctly face the radiation. At present that about 2.5 years have passed since the Accident, all of Date citizens have personal accumulated glass dosimeters for seeing the effective external dose and it seems that their dose will not exceed 1 mSv/y if the ambient dose estimated is 0.3-5 mc-Sv/h. Media run to popularity not to face radiation, experts tend to hesitate to face media and residents, and radiation dose will be hardly reduced to zero, despite that correct understanding of radiation is a shorter way for residents' own ease: facing radiation is facing residents. (T.T.)

  15. Greater Pupil Size in Response to Emotional Faces as an Early Marker of Social-Communicative Difficulties in Infants at High Risk for Autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Jennifer B; Luyster, Rhiannon J; Tager-Flusberg, Helen; Nelson, Charles A

    2016-01-01

    When scanning faces, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have shown reduced visual attention (e.g., less time on eyes) and atypical autonomic responses (e.g., heightened arousal). To understand how these differences might explain sub-clinical variability in social functioning, 9-month-olds, with or without a family history of ASD, viewed emotionally-expressive faces, and gaze and pupil diameter (a measure of autonomic activation) were recorded using eye-tracking. Infants at high-risk for ASD with no subsequent clinical diagnosis (HRA-) and low-risk controls (LRC) showed similar face scanning and attention to eyes and mouth. Attention was overall greater to eyes than mouth, but this varied as a function of the emotion presented. HRA- showed significantly larger pupil size than LRC. Correlations between scanning at 9 months, pupil size at 9 months, and 18-month social-communicative behavior, revealed positive associations between pupil size and attention to both face and eyes at 9 months in LRC, and a negative association between 9-month pupil size and 18-month social-communicative behavior in HRA-. The present findings point to heightened autonomic arousal in HRA-. Further, with greater arousal relating to worse social-communicative functioning at 18 months, this work points to a mechanism by which unaffected siblings might develop atypical social behavior.

  16. A brain network processing the age of faces.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    György A Homola

    Full Text Available Age is one of the most salient aspects in faces and of fundamental cognitive and social relevance. Although face processing has been studied extensively, brain regions responsive to age have yet to be localized. Using evocative face morphs and fMRI, we segregate two areas extending beyond the previously established face-sensitive core network, centered on the inferior temporal sulci and angular gyri bilaterally, both of which process changes of facial age. By means of probabilistic tractography, we compare their patterns of functional activation and structural connectivity. The ventral portion of Wernicke's understudied perpendicular association fasciculus is shown to interconnect the two areas, and activation within these clusters is related to the probability of fiber connectivity between them. In addition, post-hoc age-rating competence is found to be associated with high response magnitudes in the left angular gyrus. Our results provide the first evidence that facial age has a distinct representation pattern in the posterior human brain. We propose that particular face-sensitive nodes interact with additional object-unselective quantification modules to obtain individual estimates of facial age. This brain network processing the age of faces differs from the cortical areas that have previously been linked to less developmental but instantly changeable face aspects. Our probabilistic method of associating activations with connectivity patterns reveals an exemplary link that can be used to further study, assess and quantify structure-function relationships.

  17. Laughter exaggerates happy and sad faces depending on visual context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherman, Aleksandra; Sweeny, Timothy D; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

    2012-04-01

    Laughter is an auditory stimulus that powerfully conveys positive emotion. We investigated how laughter influenced the visual perception of facial expressions. We presented a sound clip of laughter simultaneously with a happy, a neutral, or a sad schematic face. The emotional face was briefly presented either alone or among a crowd of neutral faces. We used a matching method to determine how laughter influenced the perceived intensity of the happy, neutral, and sad expressions. For a single face, laughter increased the perceived intensity of a happy expression. Surprisingly, for a crowd of faces, laughter produced an opposite effect, increasing the perceived intensity of a sad expression in a crowd. A follow-up experiment revealed that this contrast effect may have occurred because laughter made the neutral distractor faces appear slightly happy, thereby making the deviant sad expression stand out in contrast. A control experiment ruled out semantic mediation of the laughter effects. Our demonstration of the strong context dependence of laughter effects on facial expression perception encourages a reexamination of the previously demonstrated effects of prosody, speech content, and mood on face perception, as they may be similarly context dependent.

  18. Morphology and structure of lipoproteins revealed by an optimized negative-staining protocol of electron microscopy[S

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lei; Song, James; Cavigiolio, Giorgio; Ishida, Brian Y.; Zhang, Shengli; Kane, John P.; Weisgraber, Karl H.; Oda, Michael N.; Rye, Kerry-Anne; Pownall, Henry J.; Ren, Gang

    2011-01-01

    Plasma lipoprotein levels are predictors of risk for coronary artery disease. Lipoprotein structure-function relationships provide important clues that help identify the role of lipoproteins in cardiovascular disease. The compositional and conformational heterogeneity of lipoproteins are major barriers to the identification of their structures, as discovered using traditional approaches. Although electron microscopy (EM) is an alternative approach, conventional negative staining (NS) produces rouleau artifacts. In a previous study of apolipoprotein (apo)E4-containing reconstituted HDL (rHDL) particles, we optimized the NS method in a way that eliminated rouleaux. Here we report that phosphotungstic acid at high buffer salt concentrations plays a key role in rouleau formation. We also validate our protocol for analyzing the major plasma lipoprotein classes HDL, LDL, IDL, and VLDL, as well as homogeneously prepared apoA-I-containing rHDL. High-contrast EM images revealed morphology and detailed structures of lipoproteins, especially apoA-I-containing rHDL, that are amenable to three-dimensional reconstruction by single-particle analysis and electron tomography. PMID:20978167

  19. GREECE FACES A YIN-YANG DEVELOPMENT PHASE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefania Andra SIMIONESCU

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The concept Yin-Yang represents the unity of opposites and complementarity. In this respect, from the economical point of view a positive Yin phase represents the cash flow, brings nutrition, gentleness and protection, while a negative Yin phase means capital loss, sloth and passive obedience, a positive Yang phase is translated as an action based on funds, emphasising the creation, the construction and the development of infrastructure thanks to an economical action plan, while a negative Yang phase leads to conflicts, to excessive product stocks and to a stock market collapse, causing, in this line, crisis and inflation by increasing prices and decreasing purchasing power. In the European Union, Greece faces a Yang negative phase. When having too much positive Yin monetary stimulus from the EU, the Yin-Yang balance turns in favour of a negative Yang bankrupcy and unemployment. Thus, I explore not only the Greece’s economical dimension, but also its geographic role, the synergy between culture and DNA and the last, but not the least, the human’s ability in creating a new positive Yin-Yang flourishing future.

  20. Metacognitive deficits predict future levels of negative symptoms in schizophrenia controlling for neurocognition, affect recognition, and self-expectation of goal attainment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lysaker, Paul H; Kukla, Marina; Dubreucq, Julien; Gumley, Andrew; McLeod, Hamish; Vohs, Jenifer L; Buck, Kelly D; Minor, Kyle S; Luther, Lauren; Leonhardt, Bethany L; Belanger, Elizabeth A; Popolo, Raffaele; Dimaggio, Giancarlo

    2015-10-01

    The recalcitrance of negative symptoms in the face of pharmacologic treatment has spurred interest in understanding the psychological factors that contribute to their formation and persistence. Accordingly, this study investigated whether deficits in metacognition, or the ability to form integrated ideas about oneself, others, and the world, prospectively predicted levels of negative symptoms independent of deficits in neurocognition, affect recognition and defeatist beliefs. Participants were 53 adults with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Prior to entry into a rehabilitation program, all participants completed concurrent assessments of metacognition with the Metacognitive Assessment Scale-Abbreviated, negative symptoms with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, neurocognition with the MATRICS battery, affect recognition with the Bell Lysaker Emotion Recognition Task, and one form of defeatist beliefs with the Recovery Assessment Scale. Negative symptoms were then reassessed one week, 9weeks, and 17weeks after entry into the program. A mixed effects regression model revealed that after controlling for baseline negative symptoms, a general index of neurocognition, defeatist beliefs and capacity for affect recognition, lower levels of metacognition predicted higher levels of negative symptoms across all subsequent time points. Poorer metacognition was able to predict later levels of elevated negative symptoms even after controlling for initial levels of negative symptoms. Results may suggest that metacognitive deficits are a risk factor for elevated levels of negative symptoms in the future. Clinical implications are also discussed. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  1. Face time: educating face transplant candidates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamparello, Brooke M; Bueno, Ericka M; Diaz-Siso, Jesus Rodrigo; Sisk, Geoffroy C; Pomahac, Bohdan

    2013-01-01

    Face transplantation is the innovative application of microsurgery and immunology to restore appearance and function to those with severe facial disfigurements. Our group aims to establish a multidisciplinary education program that can facilitate informed consent and build a strong knowledge base in patients to enhance adherence to medication regimes, recovery, and quality of life. We analyzed handbooks from our institution's solid organ transplant programs to identify topics applicable to face transplant patients. The team identified unique features of face transplantation that warrant comprehensive patient education. We created a 181-page handbook to provide subjects interested in pursuing transplantation with a written source of information on the process and team members and to address concerns they may have. While the handbook covers a wide range of topics, it is easy to understand and visually appealing. Face transplantation has many unique aspects that must be relayed to the patients pursuing this novel therapy. Since candidates lack third-party support groups and programs, the transplant team must provide an extensive educational component to enhance this complex process. As face transplantation continues to develop, programs must create sound education programs that address patients' needs and concerns to facilitate optimal care.

  2. Positive and Negative Social Exchanges Experienced by Fathers and Mothers of Children with Autism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hickey, Emily J.; Dubois, Lindsay; Hartley, Sigan L.

    2018-01-01

    When faced with child-related challenges associated with autism spectrum disorder, positive and negative social exchanges may be critical to parents' psychological well-being. This study examined the types and sources of positive and negative social exchanges reported by mothers and fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder and their…

  3. Children can learn new facts equally well from interactive media versus face to face instruction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristine Kwok

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Today’s children have more opportunities than ever before to learn from interactive technology, yet experimental research assessing the efficacy of children’s learning from interactive media in comparison to traditional learning approaches is still quite scarce. Moreover, little work has examined the efficacy of using touch-screen devices for research purposes. The current study compared children’s rate of learning factual information about animals during a face-to-face instruction from an adult female researcher versus an analogous instruction from an interactive device. Eighty-six children ages 4 through 8 years (64% male completed the learning task in either the Face-to-Face condition (n = 43 or the Interactive Media condition (n = 43. In the Learning Phase of the experiment, which was presented as a game, children were taught novel facts about animals without being told that their memory of the facts would be tested. The facts were taught to the children either by an adult female researcher (Face-to-Face condition or from a pre-recorded female voice represented by a cartoon Llama (Interactive Media condition. In the Testing Phase of the experiment that immediately followed, children’s memory for the taught facts was tested using a 4-option forced-choice paradigm. Children’s rate of learning was significantly above chance in both conditions and a comparison of the rates of learning across the two conditions revealed no significant differences. Learning significantly improved from age 4 to age 8, however, even the preschool-aged children performed significantly above chance, and their performance did not differ between conditions. These results suggest that, interactive media can be equally as effective as one-on-one instruction, at least under certain conditions. Moreover, these results offer support for the validity of using interactive technology to collect data for research purposes. We discuss the implications of these results

  4. Children Can Learn New Facts Equally Well From Interactive Media Versus Face to Face Instruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwok, Kristine; Ghrear, Siba; Li, Vivian; Haddock, Taeh; Coleman, Patrick; Birch, Susan A J

    2016-01-01

    Today's children have more opportunities than ever before to learn from interactive technology, yet experimental research assessing the efficacy of children's learning from interactive media in comparison to traditional learning approaches is still quite scarce. Moreover, little work has examined the efficacy of using touch-screen devices for research purposes. The current study compared children's rate of learning factual information about animals during a face-to-face instruction from an adult female researcher versus an analogous instruction from an interactive device. Eighty-six children ages 4 through 8 years (64% male) completed the learning task in either the Face-to-Face condition ( n = 43) or the Interactive Media condition ( n = 43). In the Learning Phase of the experiment, which was presented as a game, children were taught novel facts about animals without being told that their memory of the facts would be tested. The facts were taught to the children either by an adult female researcher (Face-to-Face condition) or from a pre-recorded female voice represented by a cartoon Llama (Interactive Media condition). In the Testing Phase of the experiment that immediately followed, children's memory for the taught facts was tested using a 4-option forced-choice paradigm. Children's rate of learning was significantly above chance in both conditions and a comparison of the rates of learning across the two conditions revealed no significant differences. Learning significantly improved from age 4 to age 8, however, even the preschool-aged children performed significantly above chance, and their performance did not differ between conditions. These results suggest that, interactive media can be equally as effective as one-on-one instruction, at least under certain conditions. Moreover, these results offer support for the validity of using interactive technology to collect data for research purposes. We discuss the implications of these results for children's learning

  5. When does subliminal affective image priming influence the ability of schizophrenic patients to perceive face emotions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaina, Lucia Maria; Rana, Kunjan D; Cotos, Ionela; Li-Yang, Chen; Huang, Melissa A; Podea, Delia

    2014-12-24

    Deficits in face emotion perception are among the most pervasive aspects of schizophrenia impairments which strongly affects interpersonal communication and social skills. Schizophrenic patients (PSZ) and healthy control subjects (HCS) performed 2 psychophysical tasks. One, the SAFFIMAP test, was designed to determine the impact of subliminally presented affective or neutral images on the accuracy of face-expression (angry or neutral) perception. In the second test, FEP, subjects saw pictures of face-expression and were asked to rate them as angry, happy, or neutral. The following clinical scales were used to determine the acute symptoms in PSZ: Positive and Negative Syndrome (PANSS), Young Mania Rating (YMRS), Hamilton Depression (HAM-D), and Hamilton Anxiety (HAM-A). On the SAFFIMAP test, different from the HCS group, the PSZ group tended to categorize the neutral expression of test faces as angry and their response to the test-face expression was not influenced by the affective content of the primes. In PSZ, the PANSS-positive score was significantly correlated with correct perception of angry faces for aggressive or pleasant primes. YMRS scores were strongly correlated with PSZ's tendency to recognize angry face expressions when the prime was a pleasant or a neutral image. The HAM-D score was positively correlated with categorizing the test-faces as neutral, regardless of the affective content of the prime or of the test-face expression (angry or neutral). Despite its exploratory nature, this study provides the first evidence that conscious perception and categorization of facial emotions (neutral or angry) in PSZ is directly affected by their positive or negative symptoms of the disease as defined by their individual scores on the clinical diagnostic scales.

  6. Enhanced brain susceptibility to negative stimuli in adolescents: ERP evidences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiajin eYuan

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: previous studies investigated neural substrates of emotional face processing in adolescents and its comparison with adults. As emotional faces elicit more of emotional expression recognition rather than direct emotional responding, it remains undetermined how adolescents are different from adults in brain susceptibility to emotionally stressful stimuli. Methods: Event-Related Potentials were recorded for highly negative (HN, moderately negative (MN and Neutral pictures in 20 adolescents and 20 adults while subjects performed a standard/deviant distinction task by pressing different keys, irrespective of the emotionality of deviant stimuli. Results: Adolescents exhibited more negative amplitudes for HN versus neutral pictures in N1 (100-150ms, P2 (130-190ms, N2 (210-290ms and P3 (360-440ms components. In addition, adolescents showed more negative amplitudes for MN compared to neutral pictures in N1, P2 and N2 components. By contrast, adults exhibited significant emotion effects for HN stimuli in N2 and P3 amplitudes but not in N1 and P2 amplitudes, and they did not exhibit a significant emotion effect for MN stimuli at all these components. In the 210-290ms time interval, the emotion effect for HN stimuli was significant across frontal and central regions in adolescents, while this emotion effect was noticeable only in the central region for adults. Conclusions: Adolescents are more emotionally sensitive to negative stimuli compared to adults, regardless of the emotional intensity of the stimuli, possibly due to the immature prefrontal control system over the limbic emotional inputs during adolescence. Keywords: Event-Related Potentials (ERPs; Adolescence; Emotion intensity; Negative pictures; Emotional Susceptibility

  7. Thermography and thermoregulation of the face

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bremerich Andreas

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Although clinical diagnosis of thermoregulation is gaining in importance there is no consistent evidence on the value of thermography of the facial region. In particular there are no reference values established with standardised methods. Methods Skin temperatures were measured in the facial area at 32 fixed measuring sites in 26 health subjects (7–72 years with the aid of a contact thermograph (Eidatherm. A total of 6 measurements were performed separately for the two sides of the face at intervals of equal lengths (4 hours over a period of 24 hours. Thermoregulation was triggered by application of a cold stimulus in the region of the ipsilateral ear lobe. Results Comparison of the sides revealed significant asymmetry of face temperature. The left side of the face showed a temperature that was on the average 0.1°C lower than on the right. No increase in temperature was found following application of the cold stimulus. However, a significant circadian rhythm with mean temperature differences of 0.7°C was observed. Conclusion The results obtained should be seen as an initial basis for compiling an exact thermoprofile of the surface temperature of the facial region that takes into account the circadian rhythm, thus closing gaps in studies on physiological changes in the temperature of the skin of the face.

  8. Thermography and thermoregulation of the face

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rustemeyer, Jan; Radtke, Jürgen; Bremerich, Andreas

    2007-01-01

    Background Although clinical diagnosis of thermoregulation is gaining in importance there is no consistent evidence on the value of thermography of the facial region. In particular there are no reference values established with standardised methods. Methods Skin temperatures were measured in the facial area at 32 fixed measuring sites in 26 health subjects (7–72 years) with the aid of a contact thermograph (Eidatherm). A total of 6 measurements were performed separately for the two sides of the face at intervals of equal lengths (4 hours) over a period of 24 hours. Thermoregulation was triggered by application of a cold stimulus in the region of the ipsilateral ear lobe. Results Comparison of the sides revealed significant asymmetry of face temperature. The left side of the face showed a temperature that was on the average 0.1°C lower than on the right. No increase in temperature was found following application of the cold stimulus. However, a significant circadian rhythm with mean temperature differences of 0.7°C was observed. Conclusion The results obtained should be seen as an initial basis for compiling an exact thermoprofile of the surface temperature of the facial region that takes into account the circadian rhythm, thus closing gaps in studies on physiological changes in the temperature of the skin of the face. PMID:17362518

  9. The therapeutic effect of negative pressure in treating femoral head necrosis in rabbits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yin-gang; Wang, Xuezhi; Yang, Zhi; Zhang, Hong; Liu, Miao; Qiu, Yushen; Guo, Xiong

    2013-01-01

    Because negative pressure can stimulate vascular proliferation, improve blood circulation and promote osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells, we investigated the therapeutic effect of negative pressure on femoral head necrosis (FHN) in a rabbit model. Animals were divided into four groups (n = 60/group): [1] model control, [2] core decompression, [3] negative pressure and [4] normal control groups. Histological investigation revealed that at 4 and 8 weeks postoperatively, improvements were observed in trabecular bone shape, empty lacunae and numbers of bone marrow hematopoietic cells and fat cells in the negative pressure group compared to the core decompression group. At week 8, there were no significant differences between the negative pressure and normal control groups. Immunohistochemistry staining revealed higher expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) in the femoral heads in the negative pressure group compared with the core decompression group. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that cell organelles were further developed in the negative pressure group compared with the core decompression group. Microvascular ink staining revealed an increased number of bone marrow ink-stained blood vessels, a thicker vascular lumen and increased microvascular density in the negative pressure group relative to the core decompression group. Real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that expression levels of both VEGF and BMP-2 were higher in the negative pressure group compared with the core decompression group. In summary, negative pressure has a therapeutic effect on FHN. This effect is superior to core decompression, indicating that negative pressure is a potentially valuable method for treating early FHN.

  10. Bayesian Face Recognition and Perceptual Narrowing in Face-Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balas, Benjamin

    2012-01-01

    During the first year of life, infants' face recognition abilities are subject to "perceptual narrowing", the end result of which is that observers lose the ability to distinguish previously discriminable faces (e.g. other-race faces) from one another. Perceptual narrowing has been reported for faces of different species and different races, in…

  11. Acute pharmacologically induced shifts in serotonin availability abolish emotion-selective responses to negative face emotions in distinct brain networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grady, Cheryl Lynn; Siebner, Hartwig R; Hornboll, Bettina

    2013-01-01

    Pharmacological manipulation of serotonin availability can alter the processing of facial expressions of emotion. Using a within-subject design, we measured the effect of serotonin on the brain's response to aversive face emotions with functional MRI while 20 participants judged the gender...... of neutral, fearful and angry faces. In three separate and counterbalanced sessions, participants received citalopram (CIT) to raise serotonin levels, underwent acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) to lower serotonin, or were studied without pharmacological challenge (Control). An analysis designed to identify...

  12. Traditional Technology of Chromium-Tungsten Steels Facing, its Disadvantages and Suggestions for their Eliminations

    OpenAIRE

    Valuev, Denis Viktorovich; Malushin, N. N.; Valueva, Anna Vladimirovna; Dariev, R. S.; Mamadaliev, R. A.

    2016-01-01

    To reveal the disadvantages of the traditional technology of facing with chromium-tungsten steels analysis of the given technology was completed. The analysis showed that the main disadvantages of the technology are high-temperature heating and underutilization of high-alloyed metal properties. To eliminate the disadvantages we developed the methods of facing allowing obtaining faced metal which state is close to that of the hardened one without cracks.

  13. FUZZY FUSION OF PCA, ICA AND ILDA FACE ALGORITHMS FOR ENHANCED USER AUTHENTICATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PRASHANT KUMAR JAIN

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Use of biometrics has increased over last few years due to its inherent advantages over customary identification tools such as token card and password, etc. In biometrics, after fingerprint, face recognition is second most preferred method with reasonably good accuracy. In some applications like CCTV cameras where face of a person is available for processing, face recognition techniques can to be very useful. In this paper, integration of face recognition techniques PCA, ICA and ILDA using fuzzy fusion method is detailed. The preliminary results clearly reveal that the fusion of methods improves the accuracy of the user identification.

  14. Attention to internal face features in unfamiliar face matching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, Kingsley I; Butavicius, Marcus A; Lee, Michael D

    2008-08-01

    Accurate matching of unfamiliar faces is vital in security and forensic applications, yet previous research has suggested that humans often perform poorly when matching unfamiliar faces. Hairstyle and facial hair can strongly influence unfamiliar face matching but are potentially unreliable cues. This study investigated whether increased attention to the more stable internal face features of eyes, nose, and mouth was associated with more accurate face-matching performance. Forty-three first-year psychology students decided whether two simultaneously presented faces were of the same person or not. The faces were displayed for either 2 or 6 seconds, and had either similar or dissimilar hairstyles. The level of attention to internal features was measured by the proportion of fixation time spent on the internal face features and the sensitivity of discrimination to changes in external feature similarity. Increased attention to internal features was associated with increased discrimination in the 2-second display-time condition, but no significant relationship was found in the 6-second condition. Individual differences in eye-movements were highly stable across the experimental conditions.

  15. Face recognition : implementation of face recognition on AMIGO

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geelen, M.J.A.J.; Molengraft, van de M.J.G.; Elfring, J.

    2011-01-01

    In this (traineeship)report two possible methods of face recognition were presented. The first method describes how to detect and recognize faces by using the SURF algorithm. This algorithm finally was not used for recognizing faces, with the reason that the Eigenface algorithm was an already tested

  16. The complex duration perception of emotional faces: Effects of face direction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katrin Martina Kliegl

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The perceived duration of emotional face stimuli strongly depends on the expressed emotion. But, emotional faces also differ regarding a number of other features like gaze, face direction, or sex. Usually, these features have been controlled by only using pictures of female models with straight gaze and face direction. Doi and Shinohara (2009 reported that an overestimation of angry faces could only be found when the model’s gaze was oriented towards the observer. We aimed at replicating this effect for face direction. Moreover, we explored the effect of face direction on the duration perception sad faces. Controlling for the sex of the face model and the participant, female and male participants rated the duration of neutral, angry and sad face stimuli of both sexes photographed from different perspectives in a bisection task. In line with current findings, we report a significant overestimation of angry compared to neutral face stimuli that was modulated by face direction. Moreover, the perceived duration of sad face stimuli did not differ from that of neutral faces and was not influenced by face direction. Furthermore, we found that faces of the opposite sex appeared to last longer than those of the same sex. This outcome is discussed with regards to stimulus parameters like the induced arousal, social relevance and an evolutionary context.

  17. Negative remodeling at the ostium of the left circumflex artery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Y; Mehran, R; Moussa, I; Reyes, A; Moses, J W

    2001-12-01

    We report an ostial lesion with negative remodeling. Coronary angiography revealed a 60% stenosis at the ostium of the left circumflex artery (LCX). Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided directional atherectomy followed by stenting was planned. However, IVUS images revealed no significant stenosis and negative remodeling at the ostium of the LCX. The lesion did not undergo intervention.

  18. A causal relationship between face-patch activity and face-detection behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadagopan, Srivatsun; Zarco, Wilbert; Freiwald, Winrich A

    2017-04-04

    The primate brain contains distinct areas densely populated by face-selective neurons. One of these, face-patch ML, contains neurons selective for contrast relationships between face parts. Such contrast-relationships can serve as powerful heuristics for face detection. However, it is unknown whether neurons with such selectivity actually support face-detection behavior. Here, we devised a naturalistic face-detection task and combined it with fMRI-guided pharmacological inactivation of ML to test whether ML is of critical importance for real-world face detection. We found that inactivation of ML impairs face detection. The effect was anatomically specific, as inactivation of areas outside ML did not affect face detection, and it was categorically specific, as inactivation of ML impaired face detection while sparing body and object detection. These results establish that ML function is crucial for detection of faces in natural scenes, performing a critical first step on which other face processing operations can build.

  19. A psychosocial comparison of computer-mediated and face-to-face language use among severely disturbed adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmerman, D P

    1987-01-01

    This study analyzes the content of communications among 18 severely disturbed adolescents. Interactions were recorded from two sources: computer-based "conferences" for the group, and small group face-to-face sessions which addressed similar topics. The purpose was to determine whether there are important differences in indications of psychological state, interpersonal interest, and expressive style. The research was significant, given the strong attraction of computers to many adolescents and the paucity of research on social-psychological effects of this technology. A content analysis based on a total sample of 10,224 words was performed using the Harvard IV Psychosociological Dictionary. Results indicated that computer-mediated communication was more expressive of feelings and made more frequent mention of interpersonal issues. Further, it displayed a more positive object-relations stance, was less negative in expressive style, and appeared to diminish certain traditional gender differences in group communication. These findings suggest that the computer may have an interesting adjunct role to play in reducing communication deficits commonly observed in severely disturbed adolescent clinical populations.

  20. The Idea Is Good, but…: Failure to Replicate Associations of Oxytocinergic Polymorphisms with Face-Inversion in the N170.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aisha J L Munk

    Full Text Available In event-related potentials, the N170 manifests itself especially in reaction to faces. In the healthy population, face-inversion leads to stronger negative amplitudes and prolonged latencies of the N170, effects not being present in patients with autism-spectrum-disorder (ASD. ASD has frequently been associated with differences in oxytocinergic neurotransmission. This ERP-study aimed to investigate the face-inversion effect in association with oxytocinergic candidate genes. It was expected that risk-allele-carriers of the oxytocin-receptor-gene-polymorphism (rs53576 and of CD38 (rs379863 responded similar to upright and inverted faces as persons with ASD. Additionally, reactions to different facial emotional expressions were studied. As there have been difficulties with replications of those molecular genetic association studies, we aimed to replicate our findings in a second study.Seventy-two male subjects in the first-, and seventy-eight young male subjects in the replication-study conducted a face-inversion-paradigm, while recording EEG. DNA was extracted from buccal cells.Results revealed stronger N170-amplitudes and longer latencies in reaction to inverted faces in comparison to upright ones. Furthermore, effects of emotion on N170 were evident. Those effects were present in the first and in the second study. Whereas we found molecular-genetic associations of oxytocinergic polymorphisms with the N170 in the first study, we failed to do so in the replication sample.Results indicate that a deeper theoretical understanding of this research-field is needed, in order to generate possible explanations for these findings. Results, furthermore, support the hypotheses that success of reproducibility is correlated with strength of lower original p-values and larger effect sizes in the original study.

  1. The role of gamma-band activity in the representation of faces: reduced activity in the fusiform face area in congenital prosopagnosia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Dobel

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Congenital prosopagnosia (CP describes an impairment in face processing that is presumably present from birth. The neuronal correlates of this dysfunction are still under debate. In the current paper, we investigate high-frequent oscillatory activity in response to faces in persons with CP. Such neuronal activity is thought to reflect higher-level representations for faces.Source localization of induced Gamma-Band Responses (iGBR measured by magnetoencephalography (MEG was used to establish the origin of oscillatory activity in response to famous and unknown faces which were presented in upright and inverted orientation. Persons suffering from congenital prosopagnosia (CP were compared to matched controls.Corroborating earlier research, both groups revealed amplified iGBR in response to upright compared to inverted faces predominately in a time interval between 170 and 330 ms and in a frequency range from 50-100 Hz. Oscillatory activity upon known faces was smaller in comparison to unknown faces, suggesting a "sharpening" effect reflecting more efficient processing for familiar stimuli. These effects were seen in a wide cortical network encompassing temporal and parietal areas involved in the disambiguation of homogenous stimuli such as faces, and in the retrieval of semantic information. Importantly, participants suffering from CP displayed a strongly reduced iGBR in the left fusiform area compared to control participants.In sum, these data stress the crucial role of oscillatory activity for face representation and demonstrate the involvement of a distributed occipito-temporo-parietal network in generating iGBR. This study also provides the first evidence that persons suffering from an agnosia actually display reduced gamma band activity. Finally, the results argue strongly against the view that oscillatory activity is a mere epiphenomenon brought fourth by rapid eye-movements (micro saccades.

  2. Alternative face models for 3D face registration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salah, Albert Ali; Alyüz, Neşe; Akarun, Lale

    2007-01-01

    3D has become an important modality for face biometrics. The accuracy of a 3D face recognition system depends on a correct registration that aligns the facial surfaces and makes a comparison possible. The best results obtained so far use a one-to-all registration approach, which means each new facial surface is registered to all faces in the gallery, at a great computational cost. We explore the approach of registering the new facial surface to an average face model (AFM), which automatically establishes correspondence to the pre-registered gallery faces. Going one step further, we propose that using a couple of well-selected AFMs can trade-off computation time with accuracy. Drawing on cognitive justifications, we propose to employ category-specific alternative average face models for registration, which is shown to increase the accuracy of the subsequent recognition. We inspect thin-plate spline (TPS) and iterative closest point (ICP) based registration schemes under realistic assumptions on manual or automatic landmark detection prior to registration. We evaluate several approaches for the coarse initialization of ICP. We propose a new algorithm for constructing an AFM, and show that it works better than a recent approach. Finally, we perform simulations with multiple AFMs that correspond to different clusters in the face shape space and compare these with gender and morphology based groupings. We report our results on the FRGC 3D face database.

  3. A reconstructive ethic in the face of globalisation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingrid Adriana Alvarez Osses

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This investigation seeks to expound a critical ethic of hegemonic globalisation. We reflect on the common good ethics of Franz Hinkelammert, the contribution made by the intercultural dialogue of Raúl Fornet-Betancourt, the Ethics of Liberation of Enrique Dussel, and the situated, contextual thinking of Rodolfo Kusch. At the same time, the text reflects on the dilemmas of  globalisation, especially with respect to polarisation and mutual incomprehension. We attempt to descry prospects for a situated critical ethic in the face of the cultural and economic order which governs the world. It is also important to consider the relevance of other assumptions which seek  to change the logic of negation and non-recognition that have led to the Self and Totality. As part of this prospect, we propose a reconstructive ethic for the rehabilitation of a world order which has no ears for the voice of the victims of the profit imperative and a functional ethic based on utilitarism. This reveals a void in supportive behavior which demands a more responsible attitude towards those sectors which have always been passed over. Thus we propose  an ethic which will strengthen dialogue in pursuit of other possibilities for the human race.

  4. Withholding response to self-face is faster than to other-face.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Min; Hu, Yinying; Tang, Xiaochen; Luo, Junlong; Gao, Xiangping

    2015-01-01

    Self-face advantage refers to adults' response to self-face is faster than that to other-face. A stop-signal task was used to explore how self-face advantage interacted with response inhibition. The results showed that reaction times of self-face were faster than that of other-face not in the go task but in the stop response trials. The novelty of the finding was that self-face has shorter stop-signal reaction time compared to other-face in the successful inhibition trials. These results indicated the processing mechanism of self-face may be characterized by a strong response tendency and a corresponding strong inhibition control.

  5. Functional dissociation of the left and right fusiform gyrus in self-face recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Yina; Han, Shihui

    2012-10-01

    It is well known that the fusiform gyrus is engaged in face perception, such as the processes of face familiarity and identity. However, the functional role of the fusiform gyrus in face processing related to high-level social cognition remains unclear. The current study assessed the functional role of individually defined fusiform face area (FFA) in the processing of self-face physical properties and self-face identity. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor neural responses to rapidly presented face stimuli drawn from morph continua between self-face (Morph 100%) and a gender-matched friend's face (Morph 0%) in a face recognition task. Contrasting Morph 100% versus Morph 60% that differed in self-face physical properties but were both recognized as the self uncovered neural activity sensitive to self-face physical properties in the left FFA. Contrasting Morphs 50% that were recognized as the self versus a friend on different trials revealed neural modulations associated with self-face identity in the right FFA. Moreover, the right FFA activity correlated with the frequency of recognizing Morphs 50% as the self. Our results provide evidence for functional dissociations of the left and right FFAs in the representations of self-face physical properties and self-face identity. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Facing changes and changing faces in adolescence: a new model for investigating adolescent-specific interactions between pubertal, brain and behavioral development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scherf, K Suzanne; Behrmann, Marlene; Dahl, Ronald E

    2012-04-01

    Adolescence is a time of dramatic physical, cognitive, emotional, and social changes as well as a time for the development of many social-emotional problems. These characteristics raise compelling questions about accompanying neural changes that are unique to this period of development. Here, we propose that studying adolescent-specific changes in face processing and its underlying neural circuitry provides an ideal model for addressing these questions. We also use this model to formulate new hypotheses. Specifically, pubertal hormones are likely to increase motivation to master new peer-oriented developmental tasks, which will in turn, instigate the emergence of new social/affective components of face processing. We also predict that pubertal hormones have a fundamental impact on the re-organization of neural circuitry supporting face processing and propose, in particular, that, the functional connectivity, or temporal synchrony, between regions of the face-processing network will change with the emergence of these new components of face processing in adolescence. Finally, we show how this approach will help reveal why adolescence may be a period of vulnerability in brain development and suggest how it could lead to prevention and intervention strategies that facilitate more adaptive functional interactions between regions within the broader social information processing network. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Facing changes and changing faces in adolescence: A new model for investigating adolescent-specific interactions between pubertal, brain and behavioral development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scherf, K. Suzanne; Behrmann, Marlene; Dahl, Ronald E.

    2015-01-01

    Adolescence is a time of dramatic physical, cognitive, emotional, and social changes as well as a time for the development of many social-emotional problems. These characteristics raise compelling questions about accompanying neural changes that are unique to this period of development. Here, we propose that studying adolescent-specific changes in face processing and its underlying neural circuitry provides an ideal model for addressing these questions. We also use this model to formulate new hypotheses. Specifically, pubertal hormones are likely to increase motivation to master new peer-oriented developmental tasks, which will in turn, instigate the emergence of new social/affective components of face processing. We also predict that pubertal hormones have a fundamental impact on the reorganization of neural circuitry supporting face processing and propose, in particular, that, the functional connectivity, or temporal synchrony, between regions of the face-processing network will change with the emergence of these new components of face processing in adolescence. Finally, we show how this approach will help reveal why adolescence may be a period of vulnerability in brain development and suggest how it could lead to prevention and intervention strategies that facilitate more adaptive functional interactions between regions within the broader social information processing network. PMID:22483070

  8. About-face on face recognition ability and holistic processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richler, Jennifer J; Floyd, R Jackie; Gauthier, Isabel

    2015-01-01

    Previous work found a small but significant relationship between holistic processing measured with the composite task and face recognition ability measured by the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT; Duchaine & Nakayama, 2006). Surprisingly, recent work using a different measure of holistic processing (Vanderbilt Holistic Face Processing Test [VHPT-F]; Richler, Floyd, & Gauthier, 2014) and a larger sample found no evidence for such a relationship. In Experiment 1 we replicate this unexpected result, finding no relationship between holistic processing (VHPT-F) and face recognition ability (CFMT). A key difference between the VHPT-F and other holistic processing measures is that unique face parts are used on each trial in the VHPT-F, unlike in other tasks where a small set of face parts repeat across the experiment. In Experiment 2, we test the hypothesis that correlations between the CFMT and holistic processing tasks are driven by stimulus repetition that allows for learning during the composite task. Consistent with our predictions, CFMT performance was correlated with holistic processing in the composite task when a small set of face parts repeated over trials, but not when face parts did not repeat. A meta-analysis confirms that relationships between the CFMT and holistic processing depend on stimulus repetition. These results raise important questions about what is being measured by the CFMT, and challenge current assumptions about why faces are processed holistically.

  9. Neurocognitive mechanisms of gaze-expression interactions in face processing and social attention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Reiko; Labar, Kevin S

    2012-04-01

    The face conveys a rich source of non-verbal information used during social communication. While research has revealed how specific facial channels such as emotional expression are processed, little is known about the prioritization and integration of multiple cues in the face during dyadic exchanges. Classic models of face perception have emphasized the segregation of dynamic vs. static facial features along independent information processing pathways. Here we review recent behavioral and neuroscientific evidence suggesting that within the dynamic stream, concurrent changes in eye gaze and emotional expression can yield early independent effects on face judgments and covert shifts of visuospatial attention. These effects are partially segregated within initial visual afferent processing volleys, but are subsequently integrated in limbic regions such as the amygdala or via reentrant visual processing volleys. This spatiotemporal pattern may help to resolve otherwise perplexing discrepancies across behavioral studies of emotional influences on gaze-directed attentional cueing. Theoretical explanations of gaze-expression interactions are discussed, with special consideration of speed-of-processing (discriminability) and contextual (ambiguity) accounts. Future research in this area promises to reveal the mental chronometry of face processing and interpersonal attention, with implications for understanding how social referencing develops in infancy and is impaired in autism and other disorders of social cognition. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Do Faces Capture the Attention of Individuals with Williams Syndrome or Autism? Evidence from Tracking Eye Movements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riby, Deborah M.; Hancock, Peter J. B.

    2009-01-01

    The neuro-developmental disorders of Williams syndrome (WS) and autism can reveal key components of social cognition. Eye-tracking techniques were applied in two tasks exploring attention to pictures containing faces. Images were (i) scrambled pictures containing faces or (ii) pictures of scenes with embedded faces. Compared to individuals who…

  11. Suprasegmental information affects processing of talking faces at birth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guellai, Bahia; Mersad, Karima; Streri, Arlette

    2015-02-01

    From birth, newborns show a preference for faces talking a native language compared to silent faces. The present study addresses two questions that remained unanswered by previous research: (a) Does the familiarity with the language play a role in this process and (b) Are all the linguistic and paralinguistic cues necessary in this case? Experiment 1 extended newborns' preference for native speakers to non-native ones. Given that fetuses and newborns are sensitive to the prosodic characteristics of speech, Experiments 2 and 3 presented faces talking native and nonnative languages with the speech stream being low-pass filtered. Results showed that newborns preferred looking at a person who talked to them even when only the prosodic cues were provided for both languages. Nonetheless, a familiarity preference for the previously talking face is observed in the "normal speech" condition (i.e., Experiment 1) and a novelty preference in the "filtered speech" condition (Experiments 2 and 3). This asymmetry reveals that newborns process these two types of stimuli differently and that they may already be sensitive to a mismatch between the articulatory movements of the face and the corresponding speech sounds. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Simultaneous perceptual and response biases on sequential face attractiveness judgments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pegors, Teresa K.; Mattar, Marcelo G.; Bryan, Peter B.; Epstein, Russell A.

    2015-01-01

    Face attractiveness is a social characteristic that we often use to make first-pass judgments about the people around us. However, these judgments are highly influenced by our surrounding social world, and researchers still understand little about the mechanisms underlying these influences. In a series of three experiments, we used a novel sequential rating paradigm that enabled us to measure biases on attractiveness judgments from the previous face and the previous rating. Our results revealed two simultaneous and opposing influences on face attractiveness judgments that arise from our past experience of faces: a response bias in which attractiveness ratings shift towards a previously given rating, and a stimulus bias in which attractiveness ratings shift away from the mean attractiveness of the previous face. Furthermore, we provide evidence that the contrastive stimulus bias (but not the assimilative response bias) is strengthened by increasing the duration of the previous stimulus, suggesting an underlying perceptual mechanism. These results demonstrate that judgments of face attractiveness are influenced by information from our evaluative and perceptual history and that these influences have measurable behavioral effects over the course of just a few seconds. PMID:25867223

  13. Different neural and cognitive response to emotional faces in healthy monozygotic twins at risk of depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miskowiak, K W; Glerup, L; Vestbo, C; Harmer, C J; Reinecke, A; Macoveanu, J; Siebner, H R; Kessing, L V; Vinberg, M

    2015-05-01

    Negative cognitive bias and aberrant neural processing of emotional faces are trait-marks of depression. Yet it is unclear whether these changes constitute an endophenotype for depression and are also present in healthy individuals with hereditary risk for depression. Thirty healthy, never-depressed monozygotic (MZ) twins with a co-twin history of depression (high risk group: n = 13) or without co-twin history of depression (low-risk group: n = 17) were enrolled in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. During fMRI, participants viewed fearful and happy faces while performing a gender discrimination task. After the scan, they were given a faces dot-probe task, a facial expression recognition task and questionnaires assessing mood, personality traits and coping strategies. High-risk twins showed increased neural response to happy and fearful faces in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), pre-supplementary motor area and occipito-parietal regions compared to low-risk twins. They also displayed stronger negative coupling between amygdala and pregenual ACC, dmPFC and temporo-parietal regions during emotional face processing. These task-related changes in neural responses in high-risk twins were accompanied by impaired gender discrimination performance during face processing. They also displayed increased attention vigilance for fearful faces and were slower at recognizing facial expressions relative to low-risk controls. These effects occurred in the absence of differences between groups in mood, subjective state or coping. Different neural response and functional connectivity within fronto-limbic and occipito-parietal regions during emotional face processing and enhanced fear vigilance may be key endophenotypes for depression.

  14. Can human eyes prevent perceptual narrowing for monkey faces in human infants?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damon, Fabrice; Bayet, Laurie; Quinn, Paul C; Hillairet de Boisferon, Anne; Méary, David; Dupierrix, Eve; Lee, Kang; Pascalis, Olivier

    2015-07-01

    Perceptual narrowing has been observed in human infants for monkey faces: 6-month-olds can discriminate between them, whereas older infants from 9 months of age display difficulty discriminating between them. The difficulty infants from 9 months have processing monkey faces has not been clearly identified. It could be due to the structural characteristics of monkey faces, particularly the key facial features that differ from human faces. The current study aimed to investigate whether the information conveyed by the eyes is of importance. We examined whether the presence of Caucasian human eyes in monkey faces allows recognition to be maintained in 6-month-olds and facilitates recognition in 9- and 12-month-olds. Our results revealed that the presence of human eyes in monkey faces maintains recognition for those faces at 6 months of age and partially facilitates recognition of those faces at 9 months of age, but not at 12 months of age. The findings are interpreted in the context of perceptual narrowing and suggest that the attenuation of processing of other-species faces is not reversed by the presence of human eyes. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Faces in places: humans and machines make similar face detection errors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernard Marius 't Hart

    Full Text Available The human visual system seems to be particularly efficient at detecting faces. This efficiency sometimes comes at the cost of wrongfully seeing faces in arbitrary patterns, including famous examples such as a rock configuration on Mars or a toast's roast patterns. In machine vision, face detection has made considerable progress and has become a standard feature of many digital cameras. The arguably most wide-spread algorithm for such applications ("Viola-Jones" algorithm achieves high detection rates at high computational efficiency. To what extent do the patterns that the algorithm mistakenly classifies as faces also fool humans? We selected three kinds of stimuli from real-life, first-person perspective movies based on the algorithm's output: correct detections ("real faces", false positives ("illusory faces" and correctly rejected locations ("non faces". Observers were shown pairs of these for 20 ms and had to direct their gaze to the location of the face. We found that illusory faces were mistaken for faces more frequently than non faces. In addition, rotation of the real face yielded more errors, while rotation of the illusory face yielded fewer errors. Using colored stimuli increases overall performance, but does not change the pattern of results. When replacing the eye movement by a manual response, however, the preference for illusory faces over non faces disappeared. Taken together, our data show that humans make similar face-detection errors as the Viola-Jones algorithm, when directing their gaze to briefly presented stimuli. In particular, the relative spatial arrangement of oriented filters seems of relevance. This suggests that efficient face detection in humans is likely to be pre-attentive and based on rather simple features as those encoded in the early visual system.

  16. Processing of unattended facial emotions: a visual mismatch negativity study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stefanics, Gábor; Csukly, Gábor; Komlósi, Sarolta; Czobor, Pál; Czigler, István

    2012-02-01

    Facial emotions express our internal states and are fundamental in social interactions. Here we explore whether the repetition of unattended facial emotions builds up a predictive representation of frequently encountered emotions in the visual system. Participants (n=24) were presented peripherally with facial stimuli expressing emotions while they performed a visual detection task presented in the center of the visual field. Facial stimuli consisted of four faces of different identity, but expressed the same emotion (happy or fearful). Facial stimuli were presented in blocks of oddball sequence (standard emotion: p=0.9, deviant emotion: p=0.1). Event-related potentials (ERPs) to the same emotions were compared when the emotions were deviant and standard, respectively. We found visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) responses to unattended deviant emotions in the 170-360 ms post-stimulus range over bilateral occipito-temporal sites. Our results demonstrate that information about the emotional content of unattended faces presented at the periphery of the visual field is rapidly processed and stored in a predictive memory representation by the visual system. We also found evidence that differential processing of deviant fearful faces starts already at 70-120 ms after stimulus onset. This finding shows a 'negativity bias' under unattended conditions. Differential processing of fearful deviants were more pronounced in the right hemisphere in the 195-275 ms and 360-390 ms intervals, whereas processing of happy deviants evoked larger differential response in the left hemisphere in the 360-390 ms range, indicating differential hemispheric specialization for automatic processing of positive and negative affect. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Reading in Developmental Prosopagnosia: Evidence for a Dissociation Between Word and Face Recognition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Starrfelt, Randi; Klargaard, Solja; Petersen, Anders

    2018-01-01

    exposure durations (targeting the word superiority effect), and d) text reading. Results: Participants with developmental prosopagnosia performed strikingly similar to controls across the four reading tasks. Formal analysis revealed a significant dissociation between word and face recognition......, that is, impaired reading in developmental prosopagnosia. Method: We tested 10 adults with developmental prosopagnosia and 20 matched controls. All participants completed the Cambridge Face Memory Test, the Cambridge Face Perception test and a Face recognition questionnaire used to quantify everyday face...... recognition experience. Reading was measured in four experimental tasks, testing different levels of letter, word, and text reading: a) single word reading with words of varying length, b) vocal response times in single letter and short word naming, c) recognition of single letters and short words at brief...

  18. Structure of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator in the inward-facing conformation revealed by single particle electron microscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ateeq Al-Zahrani

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The most common inherited disease in European populations is cystic fibrosis. Mutations in the gene lead to loss of function of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator protein (CFTR. CFTR is a member of the ATP-binding cassette family of membrane proteins that mostly act as active transporters using ATP to move substances across membranes. These proteins undergo large conformational changes during the transport cycle, consistent with an inward-facing to outward-facing translocation mechanism that was originally proposed by Jardetzky. CFTR is the only member of this family of proteins that functions as an ion channel, and in this case ATP and phosphorylation of a regulatory domain controls the opening of the channel. In this article we describe the inward-facing conformation of the protein and show it can be modulated by the presence of a purified recombinant NHERF1-PDZ1 domain that binds with high affinity to the CFTR C-terminal PDZ motif (-QDTRL. ATP hydrolysis activity of CFTR can also be modulated by glutathione, which we postulate may bind to the inward-facing conformation of the protein. A homology model for CFTR, based on a mitochondrial ABC transporter of glutathione in the inward-facing configuration has been generated. The map and the model are discussed with respect to the biology of the channel and the specific relationship between glutathione levels in the cell and CFTR. Finally, disease-causing mutations are mapped within the model and discussed in terms of their likely physiological effects.

  19. The N250 brain potential to personally familiar and newly learned faces and objects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lara Justine Pierce

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Studies employing event-related potentials (ERPs have shown that when participants are monitoring for a novel target face, the presentation of their own face elicits an enhanced negative brain potential in posterior channels approximately 250 ms after stimulus onset. Here, we investigate whether the own-face N250 effect generalizes to other highly familiar objects, specifically, images of the participant’s own dog and own car. In our experiments, participants were asked to monitor for a pre-experimentally unfamiliar target face (Joe, a target dog (Experiment 1: Joe’s Dog or a target car (Experiment 2: Joe’s Car. The target face and object stimuli were presented with non-target foils that included novel face and object stimuli, the participant’s own face, their own dog (Experiment 1 and their own car (Experiment 2. The consistent findings across the two experiments were the following: 1 the N250 potential differentiated the target faces and objects from the non-target face and object foils and 2 despite being non-targets, the own face and own objects produced an N250 response that was equal in magnitude to the target faces and objects by the end of the experiment. Thus, as indicated by its response to personally familiar and recently familiarized faces and objects, the N250 component is a sensitive index of individuated representations in visual memory.

  20. An Attributional Analysis of Reactions to Negative Emotions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karasawa, Kaori

    1995-01-01

    Three studies examined observers' attributions and reactions to negative emotional displays, as well as expressers' expectations about others' reactions. Analysis revealed that people attribute others' negative emotions equally to situational factors and dispositions, whereas their own emotions are attributed to the situation more than to…

  1. Modulation of the composite face effect by unintended emotion cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Katie L H; Murphy, Jennifer; Marsh, Jade E; Cook, Richard

    2017-04-01

    When upper and lower regions from different emotionless faces are aligned to form a facial composite, observers 'fuse' the two halves together, perceptually. The illusory distortion induced by task-irrelevant ('distractor') halves hinders participants' judgements about task-relevant ('target') halves. This composite-face effect reveals a tendency to integrate feature information from disparate regions of intact upright faces, consistent with theories of holistic face processing. However, observers frequently perceive emotion in ostensibly neutral faces, contrary to the intentions of experimenters. This study sought to determine whether this 'perceived emotion' influences the composite-face effect. In our first experiment, we confirmed that the composite effect grows stronger as the strength of distractor emotion increased. Critically, effects of distractor emotion were induced by weak emotion intensities, and were incidental insofar as emotion cues hindered image matching, not emotion labelling per se . In Experiment 2, we found a correlation between the presence of perceived emotion in a set of ostensibly neutral distractor regions sourced from commonly used face databases, and the strength of illusory distortion they induced. In Experiment 3, participants completed a sequential matching composite task in which half of the distractor regions were rated high and low for perceived emotion, respectively. Significantly stronger composite effects were induced by the high-emotion distractor halves. These convergent results suggest that perceived emotion increases the strength of the composite-face effect induced by supposedly emotionless faces. These findings have important implications for the study of holistic face processing in typical and atypical populations.

  2. Perceptual and social attributes underlining age-related preferences for faces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanni SM Kiiski

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Although aesthetic preferences are known to be important in person perception and can play a significant role in everyday social decisions, the effect of the age of the observer on aesthetic preferences for faces of different ages has not yet been fully investigated. In the present study we investigated whether aesthetic preferences change with ageing, with an age-related bias in favouring faces from one’s own age group. In addition, we examined the role of age on both the perceptual qualities and the social attributes of faces that may influence these aesthetic judgements. Both younger and older adult observers provided ratings to images of younger, middle-aged and older unfamiliar faces. As well as attractiveness, the rating dimensions included other perceptual (distinctiveness, familiarity and social (competence, trustworthiness and dominance factors. The results suggested a consistent aesthetic preference for youthful faces across all ages of the observers but, surprisingly, no evidence for an age-related bias in attractiveness ratings. Older adults tended to provide higher ratings of attractiveness, competence and trustworthiness to the unfamiliar faces, consistent with the positivity effect previously reported. We also tested whether perceptual factors such as face familiarity or distinctiveness affected aesthetic ratings. Only ratings of familiarity, but not distinctiveness, were positively associated with the attractiveness of the faces. Moreover, ratings of familiarity decreased with increasing age of the face. With regard to the social characteristics of the faces, we found that the age of the face negatively correlated with ratings of trustworthiness provided by all observers, but with the competence ratings of older observers only. Interestingly, older adults provided higher ratings of perceived competence and trustworthiness to younger than older faces. However, our results also suggest that higher attractiveness ratings, together

  3. Perceptual and Social Attributes Underlining Age-Related Preferences for Faces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiiski, Hanni S. M.; Cullen, Brendan; Clavin, Sarah L.; Newell, Fiona N.

    2016-01-01

    Although aesthetic preferences are known to be important in person perception and can play a significant role in everyday social decisions, the effect of the age of the observer on aesthetic preferences for faces of different ages has not yet been fully investigated. In the present study we investigated whether aesthetic preferences change with aging, with an age-related bias in favoring faces from one’s own age group. In addition, we examined the role of age on both the perceptual qualities and the social attributes of faces that may influence these aesthetic judgements. Both younger and older adult observers provided ratings to images of younger, middle-aged and older unfamiliar faces. As well as attractiveness, the rating dimensions included other perceptual (distinctiveness, familiarity) and social (competence, trustworthiness and dominance) factors. The results suggested a consistent aesthetic preference for youthful faces across all ages of the observers but, surprisingly, no evidence for an age-related bias in attractiveness ratings. Older adults tended to provide higher ratings of attractiveness, competence and trustworthiness to the unfamiliar faces, consistent with the positivity effect previously reported. We also tested whether perceptual factors such as face familiarity or distinctiveness affected aesthetic ratings. Only ratings of familiarity, but not distinctiveness, were positively associated with the attractiveness of the faces. Moreover, ratings of familiarity decreased with increasing age of the face. With regard to the social characteristics of the faces, we found that the age of the face negatively correlated with ratings of trustworthiness provided by all observers, but with the competence ratings of older observers only. Interestingly, older adults provided higher ratings of perceived competence and trustworthiness to younger than older faces. However, our results also suggest that higher attractiveness ratings, together with older aged

  4. Different neural and cognitive response to emotional faces in healthy monozygotic twins at risk of depression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Miskowiak, K W; Glerup, L; Vestbo, C

    2015-01-01

    while performing a gender discrimination task. After the scan, they were given a faces dot-probe task, a facial expression recognition task and questionnaires assessing mood, personality traits and coping strategies. RESULTS: High-risk twins showed increased neural response to happy and fearful faces...... processing. These task-related changes in neural responses in high-risk twins were accompanied by impaired gender discrimination performance during face processing. They also displayed increased attention vigilance for fearful faces and were slower at recognizing facial expressions relative to low......BACKGROUND: Negative cognitive bias and aberrant neural processing of emotional faces are trait-marks of depression. Yet it is unclear whether these changes constitute an endophenotype for depression and are also present in healthy individuals with hereditary risk for depression. METHOD: Thirty...

  5. A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Blended Versus Face-to-Face Delivery of Evidence-Based Medicine to Medical Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maloney, Stephen; Nicklen, Peter; Rivers, George; Foo, Jonathan; Ooi, Ying Ying; Reeves, Scott; Walsh, Kieran; Ilic, Dragan

    2015-07-21

    third iteration and relative savings in the subsequent years. The sensitivity analysis indicates that approaches with higher transition costs, or staffing requirements over that of a traditional method, are likely to result in negative value propositions. Under the study conditions, a blended learning approach was more cost-effective to operate and resulted in improved value for the institution after the third year iteration, when compared to the traditional face-to-face model. The wider applicability of the findings are dependent on the type of blended learning utilized, staffing expertise, and educational context.

  6. P2-26: Comparison between Normal People and Schizophrenic Patients on Face Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yl-Woo Lee

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available This research was tested to compare face recognition of normal people and schizophrenic patients. Frontal male faces were used as stimuli, which were Northeast Asian and Southeast Asian. Normal people and patients with positive/negative symptom of schizophrenia participated in this research, and all participants were Korean. Participants were instructed to memorize a stimulus (target presented briefly, and recognize it later among another stimuli (fillers. In recognition task, five faces were presented with a target or without as fillers. The results showed that while schizophrenic patients had difficulty recognizing targets, all participants performed best in the condition of other ethnic target-own ethnic fillers. These results suggest that own ethnicity effect could not be observed, and imply that face processing of schizophrenic patients might be disrupted by perception level rather than memory level.

  7. Face-to-face or face-to-screen? Undergraduates' opinions and test performance in classroom vs. online learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemp, Nenagh; Grieve, Rachel

    2014-01-01

    As electronic communication becomes increasingly common, and as students juggle study, work, and family life, many universities are offering their students more flexible learning opportunities. Classes once delivered face-to-face are often replaced by online activities and discussions. However, there is little research comparing students' experience and learning in these two modalities. The aim of this study was to compare undergraduates' preference for, and academic performance on, class material and assessment presented online vs. in traditional classrooms. Psychology students (N = 67) at an Australian university completed written exercises, a class discussion, and a written test on two academic topics. The activities for one topic were conducted face-to-face, and the other online, with topics counterbalanced across two groups. The results showed that students preferred to complete activities face-to-face rather than online, but there was no significant difference in their test performance in the two modalities. In their written responses, students expressed a strong preference for class discussions to be conducted face-to-face, reporting that they felt more engaged, and received more immediate feedback, than in online discussion. A follow-up study with a separate group (N = 37) confirmed that although students appreciated the convenience of completing written activities online in their own time, they also strongly preferred to discuss course content with peers in the classroom rather than online. It is concluded that online and face-to-face activities can lead to similar levels of academic performance, but that students would rather do written activities online but engage in discussion in person. Course developers could aim to structure classes so that students can benefit from both the flexibility of online learning, and the greater engagement experienced in face-to-face discussion. PMID:25429276

  8. Face-to-face or face-to-screen? Undergraduates' opinions and test performance in classroom vs. online learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemp, Nenagh; Grieve, Rachel

    2014-01-01

    As electronic communication becomes increasingly common, and as students juggle study, work, and family life, many universities are offering their students more flexible learning opportunities. Classes once delivered face-to-face are often replaced by online activities and discussions. However, there is little research comparing students' experience and learning in these two modalities. The aim of this study was to compare undergraduates' preference for, and academic performance on, class material and assessment presented online vs. in traditional classrooms. Psychology students (N = 67) at an Australian university completed written exercises, a class discussion, and a written test on two academic topics. The activities for one topic were conducted face-to-face, and the other online, with topics counterbalanced across two groups. The results showed that students preferred to complete activities face-to-face rather than online, but there was no significant difference in their test performance in the two modalities. In their written responses, students expressed a strong preference for class discussions to be conducted face-to-face, reporting that they felt more engaged, and received more immediate feedback, than in online discussion. A follow-up study with a separate group (N = 37) confirmed that although students appreciated the convenience of completing written activities online in their own time, they also strongly preferred to discuss course content with peers in the classroom rather than online. It is concluded that online and face-to-face activities can lead to similar levels of academic performance, but that students would rather do written activities online but engage in discussion in person. Course developers could aim to structure classes so that students can benefit from both the flexibility of online learning, and the greater engagement experienced in face-to-face discussion.

  9. Is the self always better than a friend? Self-face recognition in Christians and atheists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Yina; Han, Shihui

    2012-01-01

    Early behavioral studies found that human adults responded faster to their own faces than faces of familiar others or strangers, a finding referred to as self-face advantage. Recent research suggests that the self-face advantage is mediated by implicit positive association with the self and is influenced by sociocultural experience. The current study investigated whether and how Christian belief and practice affect the processing of self-face in a Chinese population. Christian and Atheist participants were recruited for an implicit association test (IAT) in Experiment 1 and a face-owner identification task in Experiment 2. Experiment 1 found that atheists responded faster to self-face when it shared the same response key with positive compared to negative trait adjectives. This IAT effect, however, was significantly reduced in Christians. Experiment 2 found that atheists responded faster to self-face compared to a friend's face, but this self-face advantage was significantly reduced in Christians. Hierarchical regression analyses further showed that the IAT effect positively predicted self-face advantage in atheists but not in Christians. Our findings suggest that Christian belief and practice may weaken implicit positive association with the self and thus decrease the advantage of the self over a friend during face recognition in the believers.

  10. Is the Self Always Better than a Friend? Self-Face Recognition in Christians and Atheists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Yina; Han, Shihui

    2012-01-01

    Early behavioral studies found that human adults responded faster to their own faces than faces of familiar others or strangers, a finding referred to as self-face advantage. Recent research suggests that the self-face advantage is mediated by implicit positive association with the self and is influenced by sociocultural experience. The current study investigated whether and how Christian belief and practice affect the processing of self-face in a Chinese population. Christian and Atheist participants were recruited for an implicit association test (IAT) in Experiment 1 and a face-owner identification task in Experiment 2. Experiment 1 found that atheists responded faster to self-face when it shared the same response key with positive compared to negative trait adjectives. This IAT effect, however, was significantly reduced in Christians. Experiment 2 found that atheists responded faster to self-face compared to a friend’s face, but this self-face advantage was significantly reduced in Christians. Hierarchical regression analyses further showed that the IAT effect positively predicted self-face advantage in atheists but not in Christians. Our findings suggest that Christian belief and practice may weaken implicit positive association with the self and thus decrease the advantage of the self over a friend during face recognition in the believers. PMID:22662231

  11. Handedness is related to neural mechanisms underlying hemispheric lateralization of face processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frässle, Stefan; Krach, Sören; Paulus, Frieder Michel; Jansen, Andreas

    2016-06-01

    While the right-hemispheric lateralization of the face perception network is well established, recent evidence suggests that handedness affects the cerebral lateralization of face processing at the hierarchical level of the fusiform face area (FFA). However, the neural mechanisms underlying differential hemispheric lateralization of face perception in right- and left-handers are largely unknown. Using dynamic causal modeling (DCM) for fMRI, we aimed to unravel the putative processes that mediate handedness-related differences by investigating the effective connectivity in the bilateral core face perception network. Our results reveal an enhanced recruitment of the left FFA in left-handers compared to right-handers, as evidenced by more pronounced face-specific modulatory influences on both intra- and interhemispheric connections. As structural and physiological correlates of handedness-related differences in face processing, right- and left-handers varied with regard to their gray matter volume in the left fusiform gyrus and their pupil responses to face stimuli. Overall, these results describe how handedness is related to the lateralization of the core face perception network, and point to different neural mechanisms underlying face processing in right- and left-handers. In a wider context, this demonstrates the entanglement of structurally and functionally remote brain networks, suggesting a broader underlying process regulating brain lateralization.

  12. NEGATION AFFIXES IN ENGLISH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dedy Subandowo -

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: This research entitled "Negation Affixes in English". This study is aimed to describe the various negation affixes in English, morphological process, morphophonemic and meaning. The research data were taken from various sources of English grammar book, morphology, research journal and the book which relatees to the research. English grammar books used in this study are written by Otto Jesperson, Marcella Frank, Greenbaum and Geoffrey Leech.  The method used in this research is the descriptive-qualitative method. While the data collection techniques are performed by using jot-down method. And the results of analysis are presented in tabular form and descriptive method. The result of the research shows that English has six types of negative affixes which are categorized by the intensity of its appearance, such as dis-, in-, non-, un-, anti- and -less. Based on the function, negation affixes are divided into several categories such as adjectives, nouns, verbs, and adverbs. The morphophonemic affix in- has four allomorphs, they are in-, im-, il- and ir- . While the analysis revealed that negation affixes have some basic meanings, such as ‘not’, ‘without’, and ‘anti’.

  13. Proton NMR metabolic profiling of CSF reveals distinct differentiation of meningitis from negative controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatterji, Tanushri; Singh, Suruchi; Sen, Manodeep; Singh, Ajai Kumar; Agarwal, Gaurav Raj; Singh, Deepak Kumar; Srivastava, Janmejai Kumar; Singh, Alka; Srivastava, Rajeshwar Nath; Roy, Raja

    2017-06-01

    Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an essential bio-fluid of the central nervous system (CNS), playing a vital role in the protection of CNS and performing neuronal function regulation. The chemical composition of CSF varies during onset of meningitis, neurodegenerative disorders (positive controls) and in traumatic cases (negative controls). The study design was broadly categorized into meningitis cases, negative controls and positive controls. Further differentiation among the three groups was carried out using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) followed by supervised Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA). The statistical analysis of meningitis vs. negative controls using PLS-DA model resulted in R 2 of 0.97 and Q 2 of 0.85. There was elevation in the levels of ketone bodies, total free amino acids, glutamine, creatine, citrate and choline containing compounds (choline and GPC) in meningitis cases. Similarly, meningitis vs. positive controls resulted in R 2 of 0.80 and Q 2 of 0.60 and showed elevation in the levels of total free amino acids, glutamine, creatine/creatinine and citrate in the meningitis group. Four cases of HIV were identified by PLS-DA model as well as by clinical investigations. On the basis of metabolic profile it was found that negative control CSF samples are more appropriate for differentiation of meningitis than positive control CSF samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Effectiveness of link prediction for face-to-face behavioral networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsugawa, Sho; Ohsaki, Hiroyuki

    2013-01-01

    Research on link prediction for social networks has been actively pursued. In link prediction for a given social network obtained from time-windowed observation, new link formation in the network is predicted from the topology of the obtained network. In contrast, recent advances in sensing technology have made it possible to obtain face-to-face behavioral networks, which are social networks representing face-to-face interactions among people. However, the effectiveness of link prediction techniques for face-to-face behavioral networks has not yet been explored in depth. To clarify this point, here we investigate the accuracy of conventional link prediction techniques for networks obtained from the history of face-to-face interactions among participants at an academic conference. Our findings were (1) that conventional link prediction techniques predict new link formation with a precision of 0.30-0.45 and a recall of 0.10-0.20, (2) that prolonged observation of social networks often degrades the prediction accuracy, (3) that the proposed decaying weight method leads to higher prediction accuracy than can be achieved by observing all records of communication and simply using them unmodified, and (4) that the prediction accuracy for face-to-face behavioral networks is relatively high compared to that for non-social networks, but not as high as for other types of social networks.

  15. Aging effects on selective attention-related electroencephalographic patterns during face encoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deiber, M-P; Rodriguez, C; Jaques, D; Missonnier, P; Emch, J; Millet, P; Gold, G; Giannakopoulos, P; Ibañez, V

    2010-11-24

    Previous electrophysiological studies revealed that human faces elicit an early visual event-related potential (ERP) within the occipito-temporal cortex, the N170 component. Although face perception has been proposed to rely on automatic processing, the impact of selective attention on N170 remains controversial both in young and elderly individuals. Using early visual ERP and alpha power analysis, we assessed the influence of aging on selective attention to faces during delayed-recognition tasks for face and letter stimuli, examining 36 elderly and 20 young adults with preserved cognition. Face recognition performance worsened with age. Aging induced a latency delay of the N1 component for faces and letters, as well as of the face N170 component. Contrasting with letters, ignored faces elicited larger N1 and N170 components than attended faces in both age groups. This counterintuitive attention effect on face processing persisted when scenes replaced letters. In contrast with young, elderly subjects failed to suppress irrelevant letters when attending faces. Whereas attended stimuli induced a parietal alpha band desynchronization within 300-1000 ms post-stimulus with bilateral-to-right distribution for faces and left lateralization for letters, ignored and passively viewed stimuli elicited a central alpha synchronization larger on the right hemisphere. Aging delayed the latency of this alpha synchronization for both face and letter stimuli, and reduced its amplitude for ignored letters. These results suggest that due to their social relevance, human faces may cause paradoxical attention effects on early visual ERP components, but they still undergo classical top-down control as a function of endogenous selective attention. Aging does not affect the face bottom-up alerting mechanism but reduces the top-down suppression of distracting letters, possibly impinging upon face recognition, and more generally delays the top-down suppression of task-irrelevant information

  16. Cross-Lagged Associations Between Adolescents' Depressive Symptoms and Negative Cognitive Style: The Role of Negative Life Events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kindt, Karlijn C M; Kleinjan, Marloes; Janssens, Jan M A M; Scholte, Ron H J

    2015-11-01

    Previous research has established that cognitive theory-based depression prevention programs aiming change in negative cognitive style in early adolescents do not have strong effects in universal settings. Although theories suggest that a negative cognitive style precedes depressive symptoms, empirical findings are mixed. We hypothesized that negative cognitive style may not predict depressive symptoms in adolescents with normative depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms, negative cognitive style and dependent negative life events were assessed in young adolescents (N = 1343; mean age = 13.4 years, SD = 0.77; 52.3 % girls) at four time points over an 18-month period. Using a cross-lagged panel design, results revealed that depressive symptoms predicted a negative cognitive style but not vice versa. However, when including dependent negative life events as a variable, depressive symptoms did not prospect a negative cognitive style consistently. When dependent negative life events were used as a time-varying covariate, depressive symptoms and a negative cognitive style were not related. We concluded that negative cognitive style is not predictive of depressive symptoms in a community sample of young adolescents. Moreover, the findings suggest that longitudinal relationships between depressive symptoms and a negative cognitive style are not meaningful when dependent negative life events are not considered.

  17. The Motivational Salience of Faces Is Related to Both Their Valence and Dominance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hongyi; Hahn, Amanda C; DeBruine, Lisa M; Jones, Benedict C

    2016-01-01

    Both behavioral and neural measures of the motivational salience of faces are positively correlated with their physical attractiveness. Whether physical characteristics other than attractiveness contribute to the motivational salience of faces is not known, however. Research with male macaques recently showed that more dominant macaques' faces hold greater motivational salience. Here we investigated whether dominance also contributes to the motivational salience of faces in human participants. Principal component analysis of third-party ratings of faces for multiple traits revealed two orthogonal components. The first component ("valence") was highly correlated with rated trustworthiness and attractiveness. The second component ("dominance") was highly correlated with rated dominance and aggressiveness. Importantly, both components were positively and independently related to the motivational salience of faces, as assessed from responses on a standard key-press task. These results show that at least two dissociable components underpin the motivational salience of faces in humans and present new evidence for similarities in how humans and non-human primates respond to facial cues of dominance.

  18. Face to Face or E-Learning in Turkish EFL Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solak, Ekrem; Cakir, Recep

    2014-01-01

    This purpose of this study was to understand e-learners and face to face learners' views towards learning English through e-learning in vocational higher school context and to determine the role of academic achievement and gender in e-learning and face to face learning. This study was conducted at a state-run university in 2012-2013 academic year…

  19. The construction FACE database - Codifying the NIOSH FACE reports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Xiuwen Sue; Largay, Julie A; Wang, Xuanwen; Cain, Chris Trahan; Romano, Nancy

    2017-09-01

    The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has published reports detailing the results of investigations on selected work-related fatalities through the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program since 1982. Information from construction-related FACE reports was coded into the Construction FACE Database (CFD). Use of the CFD was illustrated by analyzing major CFD variables. A total of 768 construction fatalities were included in the CFD. Information on decedents, safety training, use of PPE, and FACE recommendations were coded. Analysis shows that one in five decedents in the CFD died within the first two months on the job; 75% and 43% of reports recommended having safety training or installing protection equipment, respectively. Comprehensive research using FACE reports may improve understanding of work-related fatalities and provide much-needed information on injury prevention. The CFD allows researchers to analyze the FACE reports quantitatively and efficiently. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.

  20. Elektronická komunikace vs. komunikace face to face

    OpenAIRE

    Pipková, Zuzana

    2009-01-01

    This thesis deals with new forms of communication particularly electronic ones. The main goal is to distinguish electronic communication from face to face communication in a way that differs from traditional media theories. By using examples of the most important medium in electronic communication, Internet, it is shown that nowadays we have such forms of electronic communication that surpass the traditional classification of oral/written communication, immediate/mediate communication, face t...

  1. Processing language in face-to-face conversation: Questions with gestures get faster responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holler, Judith; Kendrick, Kobin H; Levinson, Stephen C

    2017-09-08

    The home of human language use is face-to-face interaction, a context in which communicative exchanges are characterised not only by bodily signals accompanying what is being said but also by a pattern of alternating turns at talk. This transition between turns is astonishingly fast-typically a mere 200-ms elapse between a current and a next speaker's contribution-meaning that comprehending, producing, and coordinating conversational contributions in time is a significant challenge. This begs the question of whether the additional information carried by bodily signals facilitates or hinders language processing in this time-pressured environment. We present analyses of multimodal conversations revealing that bodily signals appear to profoundly influence language processing in interaction: Questions accompanied by gestures lead to shorter turn transition times-that is, to faster responses-than questions without gestures, and responses come earlier when gestures end before compared to after the question turn has ended. These findings hold even after taking into account prosodic patterns and other visual signals, such as gaze. The empirical findings presented here provide a first glimpse of the role of the body in the psycholinguistic processes underpinning human communication.

  2. Effects of Cyberprogram 2.0 on "face-to-face" bullying, cyberbullying, and empathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garaigordobil, Maite; Martínez-Valderrey, Vanesa

    2015-01-01

    The considerable prevalence of cyberbullying and its noxious effects on all those concerned reveals the need for programs to prevent and/or intervene in this type of violence. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of Cyberprogram 2.0 on "face-to-face" bullying, cyberbullying, and empathy. A sample of 176 adolescents of the Basque Country (Spain), aged between 13 and 15 years, who studied Compulsory Secondary Education, was used. Of them, 93 were randomly assigned to the experimental condition, and 83 to the control condition. The study used a pretest-posttest repeated measures design with a control group. Before and after the program, two assessment instruments were administered. The results confirmed that the program significantly stimulated: (a) a decrease in the amount of bullying and cyberbullying behaviors suffered and/or carried out (level of victimization, perpetration, aggressive-victimization); and (b) an increase in the capacity for empathy. The study provides evidence of the effectiveness of Cyberprogram 2.0 to prevent and reduce bullying and cyberbullying. The discussion analyzes aspects of the program that may account for the significant intervention effects.

  3. The Online and Face-to-Face Counseling Attitudes Scales: A Validation Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rochlen, Aaron B.; Beretvas, S. Natasha; Zack, Jason S.

    2004-01-01

    This article reports on the development of measures of attitudes toward online and face-to-face counseling. Overall, participants expressed more favorable evaluations of face-to-face counseling than of online counseling. Significant correlations were found between online and face-to-face counseling with traditional help-seeking attitudes, comfort…

  4. The human brain and face: mechanisms of cranial, neurological and facial development revealed through malformations of holoprosencephaly, cyclopia and aberrations in chromosome 18.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gondré-Lewis, Marjorie C; Gboluaje, Temitayo; Reid, Shaina N; Lin, Stephen; Wang, Paul; Green, William; Diogo, Rui; Fidélia-Lambert, Marie N; Herman, Mary M

    2015-09-01

    The study of inborn genetic errors can lend insight into mechanisms of normal human development and congenital malformations. Here, we present the first detailed comparison of cranial and neuro pathology in two exceedingly rare human individuals with cyclopia and alobar holoprosencephaly (HPE) in the presence and absence of aberrant chromosome 18 (aCh18). The aCh18 fetus contained one normal Ch18 and one with a pseudo-isodicentric duplication of chromosome 18q and partial deletion of 18p from 18p11.31 where the HPE gene, TGIF, resides, to the p terminus. In addition to synophthalmia, the aCh18 cyclopic malformations included a failure of induction of most of the telencephalon - closely approximating anencephaly, unchecked development of brain stem structures, near absence of the sphenoid bone and a malformed neurocranium and viscerocranium that constitute the median face. Although there was complete erasure of the olfactory and superior nasal structures, rudiments of nasal structures derived from the maxillary bone were evident, but with absent pharyngeal structures. The second non-aCh18 cyclopic fetus was initially classified as a true Cyclops, as it appeared to have a proboscis and one median eye with a single iris, but further analysis revealed two eye globes as expected for synophthalmic cyclopia. Furthermore, the proboscis was associated with the medial ethmoid ridge, consistent with an incomplete induction of these nasal structures, even as the nasal septum and paranasal sinuses were apparently developed. An important conclusion of this study is that it is the brain that predicts the overall configuration of the face, due to its influence on the development of surrounding skeletal structures. The present data using a combination of macroscopic, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques provide an unparalleled analysis on the extent of the effects of median defects, and insight into normal development and patterning of the brain

  5. Facebook and MySpace: complement or substitute for face-to-face interaction?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kujath, Carlyne L

    2011-01-01

    Previous studies have claimed that social-networking sites are used as a substitute for face-to-face interaction, resulting in deteriorating relationship quality and decreased intimacy among its users. The present study hypothesized that this type of communication is not a substitute for face-to-face interaction; rather, that it is an extension of communication with face-to-face partners. A survey was administered to examine the use of Facebook and MySpace in this regard among 183 college students. The study confirmed that Facebook and MySpace do act as an extension of face-to-face interaction, but that some users do tend to rely on Facebook and MySpace for interpersonal communication more than face-to-face interaction.

  6. Auditory Emotion Word Primes Influence Emotional Face Categorization in Children and Adults, but Not Vice Versa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vesker, Michael; Bahn, Daniela; Kauschke, Christina; Tschense, Monika; Degé, Franziska; Schwarzer, Gudrun

    2018-01-01

    In order to assess how the perception of audible speech and facial expressions influence one another for the perception of emotions, and how this influence might change over the course of development, we conducted two cross-modal priming experiments with three age groups of children (6-, 9-, and 12-years old), as well as college-aged adults. In Experiment 1, 74 children and 24 adult participants were tasked with categorizing photographs of emotional faces as positive or negative as quickly as possible after being primed with emotion words presented via audio in valence-congruent and valence-incongruent trials. In Experiment 2, 67 children and 24 adult participants carried out a similar categorization task, but with faces acting as visual primes, and emotion words acting as auditory targets. The results of Experiment 1 showed that participants made more errors when categorizing positive faces primed by negative words versus positive words, and that 6-year-old children are particularly sensitive to positive word primes, giving faster correct responses regardless of target valence. Meanwhile, the results of Experiment 2 did not show any congruency effects for priming by facial expressions. Thus, audible emotion words seem to exert an influence on the emotional categorization of faces, while faces do not seem to influence the categorization of emotion words in a significant way.

  7. Strange-face Illusions During Interpersonal-Gazing and Personality Differences of Spirituality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caputo, Giovanni B

    Strange-face illusions are produced when two individuals gaze at each other in the eyes in low illumination for more than a few minutes. Usually, the members of the dyad perceive numinous apparitions, like the other's face deformations and perception of a stranger or a monster in place of the other, and feel a short lasting dissociation. In the present experiment, the influence of the spirituality personality trait on strength and number of strange-face illusions was investigated. Thirty participants were preliminarily tested for superstition (Paranormal Belief Scale, PBS) and spirituality (Spiritual Transcendence Scale, STS); then, they were randomly assigned to 15 dyads. Dyads performed the intersubjective gazing task for 10 minutes and, finally, strange-face illusions (measured through the Strange-Face Questionnaire, SFQ) were evaluated. The first finding was that SFQ was independent of PBS; hence, strange-face illusions during intersubjective gazing are authentically perceptual, hallucination-like phenomena, and not due to superstition. The second finding was that SFQ depended on the spiritual-universality scale of STS (a belief in the unitive nature of life; e.g., "there is a higher plane of consciousness or spirituality that binds all people") and the two variables were negatively correlated. Thus, strange-face illusions, in particular monstrous apparitions, could potentially disrupt binding among human beings. Strange-face illusions can be considered as 'projections' of the subject's unconscious into the other's face. In conclusion, intersubjective gazing at low illumination can be a tool for conscious integration of unconscious 'shadows of the Self' in order to reach completeness of the Self. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Encouraging Participation in Face-to-Face Lectures: The Index Card Technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daws, Laura Beth

    2018-01-01

    Courses: This activity will work in any face-to-face communication lecture course. Objectives: By the end of the semester in a face-to-face lecture class, every student will have engaged in verbal discussion.

  9. Power effects on implicit prejudice and stereotyping: The role of intergroup face processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmid, Petra C; Amodio, David M

    2017-04-01

    Power is thought to increase discrimination toward subordinate groups, yet its effect on different forms of implicit bias remains unclear. We tested whether power enhances implicit racial stereotyping, in addition to implicit prejudice (i.e., evaluative associations), and examined the effect of power on the automatic processing of faces during implicit tasks. Study 1 showed that manipulated high power increased both forms of implicit bias, relative to low power. Using a neural index of visual face processing (the N170 component of the ERP), Study 2 revealed that power affected the encoding of White ingroup vs. Black outgroup faces. Whereas high power increased the relative processing of outgroup faces during evaluative judgments in the prejudice task, it decreased the relative processing of outgroup faces during stereotype trait judgments. An indirect effect of power on implicit prejudice through enhanced processing of outgroup versus ingroup faces suggested a potential link between face processing and implicit bias. Together, these findings demonstrate that power can affect implicit prejudice and stereotyping as well as early processing of racial ingroup and outgroup faces.

  10. Comprehension of Action Negation Involves Inhibitory Simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco eForoni

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Previous research suggests that action language is comprehended by activating the motor system. We report a study, investigating a critical question in this research field: Do negative sentences activate the motor system? Participants were exposed to sentences in the affirmation and negation forms while the zygomatic muscle activity on the left side of the face was continuously measured (Electromyography technique: EMG. Sentences were descriptions of emotional expressions that mapped either directly upon the zygomatic muscle (e.g., ‘I am smiling’ or did not (e.g., ‘I am frowning’. Reading sentences involving the negation of the activity of a specific muscle (zygomatic major - I am not smiling is shown to lead to the inhibition of this muscle. Reading sentences involving the affirmative form instead (I am smiling leads to the activation of zygomatic mucle. In contrast, sentences describing an activity that is irrelevant to the zygomatic muscle (e.g., ‘I am frowning’ or ‘I am not frowning’ produce no muscle activity. These results extend the range of simulation models to negation and by implication to an abstract domain. We discuss how this research contributes to the grounding of abstract and concrete concepts.

  11. Childhood Poverty Predicts Adult Amygdala and Frontal Activity and Connectivity in Response to Emotional Faces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arash eJavanbakht

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Childhood poverty negatively impacts physical and mental health in adulthood. Altered brain development in response to social and environmental factors associated with poverty likely contributes to this effect, engendering maladaptive patterns of social attribution and/or elevated physiological stress. In this fMRI study, we examined the association between childhood poverty and neural processing of social signals (i.e., emotional faces in adulthood. 52 subjects from a longitudinal prospective study recruited as children, participated in a brain imaging study at 23-25 years of age using the Emotional Faces Assessment Task (EFAT. Childhood poverty, independent of concurrent adult income, was associated with higher amygdala and mPFC responses to threat vs. happy faces. Also, childhood poverty was associated with decreased functional connectivity between left amygdala and mPFC. This study is unique because it prospectively links childhood poverty to emotional processing during adulthood, suggesting a candidate neural mechanism for negative social-emotional bias. Adults who grew up poor appear to be more sensitive to social threat cues and less sensitive to positive social cues.

  12. Early (N170) activation of face-specific cortex by face-like objects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadjikhani, Nouchine; Kveraga, Kestutis; Naik, Paulami; Ahlfors, Seppo P.

    2009-01-01

    The tendency to perceive faces in random patterns exhibiting configural properties of faces is an example of pareidolia. Perception of ‘real’ faces has been associated with a cortical response signal arising at about 170ms after stimulus onset; but what happens when non-face objects are perceived as faces? Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we found that objects incidentally perceived as faces evoked an early (165ms) activation in the ventral fusiform cortex, at a time and location similar to that evoked by faces, whereas common objects did not evoke such activation. An earlier peak at 130 ms was also seen for images of real faces only. Our findings suggest that face perception evoked by face-like objects is a relatively early process, and not a late re-interpretation cognitive phenomenon. PMID:19218867

  13. Face-to-Face Interference in Typical and Atypical Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riby, Deborah M.; Doherty-Sneddon, Gwyneth; Whittle, Lisa

    2012-01-01

    Visual communication cues facilitate interpersonal communication. It is important that we look at faces to retrieve and subsequently process such cues. It is also important that we sometimes look away from faces as they increase cognitive load that may interfere with online processing. Indeed, when typically developing individuals hold face gaze…

  14. Social consequences of subclinical negative symptoms: An EMG study of facial expressions within a social interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riehle, Marcel; Lincoln, Tania M

    2017-06-01

    The negative symptoms of schizophrenia are related to lower social functioning even in non-clinical samples, but little is known about the distinct social consequences of motivational and expressive negative symptoms. In this study we focused on expressive negative symptoms and examined how these symptoms and varying degrees of pro-social facial expressiveness (smiling and mimicry of smiling) relate to the social evaluations by face-to-face interaction partners and to social support. We examined 30 dyadic interactions within a sample of non-clinical participants (N = 60) who were rated on motivational and expressive negative symptoms with the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS). We collected data on both interaction partners' smiling-muscle (zygomaticus major) activation simultaneously with electromyography and assessed the general amount of smiling and the synchrony of smiling muscle activations between interaction partners (mimicry of smiling). Interaction partners rated their willingness for future interactions with each other after the interactions. Interaction partners of participants scoring higher on expressive negative symptoms expressed less willingness for future interactions with these participants (r = -0.37; p = 0.01). Smiling behavior was negatively related to expressive negative symptoms but also explained by motivational negative symptoms. Mimicry of smiling and both negative symptom domains were also associated with participants' satisfaction with their social support network. Non-clinical sample with (relatively) low levels of symptoms. Expressive negative symptoms have tangible negative interpersonal consequences and directly relate to diminished pro-social behavior and social support, even in non-clinical samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. The Influence of the Bed with a Semiopen Hood on Bacteria Removal in a Negative-Pressure Isolation Room

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeng-Min Huang

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This study numerically investigates the influence of a sickbed with a semiopened hood on bacteria removal in a negative-pressure isolation room. The parameters include air change rate, lying style, the length and height of hood, flow rate allotments, and the positions of outlets. The results show that the hood has excellent effect on the removal of contaminated air, which is much better than the case without hood. The flow field of patient's face up cough is very different from face side cough, and the contaminated air cannot be removed properly through one air outlet. There are three outlets on the hood, set straight above the patient's face and at both sides. The allotment of the exhaust flow rate of the upper outlet to that of side outlets is suggested to be 4: 6. When the total air change rate is above 6 ACH, the hood length has slight influence on pollutant removal. The increase of hood height has a negative impact when the patient coughs lying on back. When the side exhaust flow rate is high, the hood height has a slight impact for face side cough. The recommended air change rate for the negative-pressure ward with sickbed hood is above 5 ACH.

  16. Faces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mortensen, Kristine Køhler; Brotherton, Chloe

    2018-01-01

    for the face the be put into action. Based on an ethnographic study of Danish teenagers’ use of SnapChat we demonstrate how the face is used as a central medium for interaction with peers. Through the analysis of visual SnapChat messages we investigate how SnapChat requires the sender to put an ‘ugly’ face...... already secured their popular status on the heterosexual marketplace in the broad context of the school. Thus SnapChat functions both as a challenge to beauty norms of ‘flawless faces’ and as a reinscription of these same norms by further manifesting the exclusive status of the popular girl...

  17. Why Do Rape Survivors Volunteer for Face-to-Face Interviews? A Meta-Study of Victims' Reasons for and Concerns about Research Participation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Rebecca; Adams, Adrienne E.

    2009-01-01

    There is growing interest in understanding how different research methods are perceived by victims of violence and what survivors will reveal to researchers (termed "meta-research" or "meta-studies"). The purpose of this project was to conduct a qualitative meta-study on why rape survivors chose to participate in community-based, face-to-face…

  18. Race perception and gaze direction differently impair visual working memory for faces: An event-related potential study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sessa, Paola; Dalmaso, Mario

    2016-01-01

    Humans are amazingly experts at processing and recognizing faces, however there are moderating factors of this ability. In the present study, we used the event-related potential technique to investigate the influence of both race and gaze direction on visual working memory (i.e., VWM) face representations. In a change detection task, we orthogonally manipulated race (own-race vs. other-race faces) and eye-gaze direction (direct gaze vs. averted gaze). Participants were required to encode identities of these faces. We quantified the amount of information encoded in VWM by monitoring the amplitude of the sustained posterior contralateral negativity (SPCN) time-locked to the faces. Notably, race and eye-gaze direction differently modulated SPCN amplitude such that other-race faces elicited reduced SPCN amplitudes compared with own-race faces only when displaying a direct gaze. On the other hand, faces displaying averted gaze, independently of their race, elicited increased SPCN amplitudes compared with faces displaying direct gaze. We interpret these findings as denoting that race and eye-gaze direction affect different face processing stages.

  19. The impact of beliefs about face recognition ability on memory retrieval processes in young and older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humphries, Joyce E; Flowe, Heather D; Hall, Louise C; Williams, Louise C; Ryder, Hannah L

    2016-01-01

    This study examined whether beliefs about face recognition ability differentially influence memory retrieval in older compared to young adults. Participants evaluated their ability to recognise faces and were also given information about their ability to perceive and recognise faces. The information was ostensibly based on an objective measure of their ability, but in actuality, participants had been randomly assigned the information they received (high ability, low ability or no information control). Following this information, face recognition accuracy for a set of previously studied faces was measured using a remember-know memory paradigm. Older adults rated their ability to recognise faces as poorer compared to young adults. Additionally, negative information about face recognition ability improved only older adults' ability to recognise a previously seen face. Older adults were also found to engage in more familiarity than item-specific processing than young adults, but information about their face recognition ability did not affect face processing style. The role that older adults' memory beliefs have in the meta-cognitive strategies they employ is discussed.

  20. Early (M170) activation of face-specific cortex by face-like objects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadjikhani, Nouchine; Kveraga, Kestutis; Naik, Paulami; Ahlfors, Seppo P

    2009-03-04

    The tendency to perceive faces in random patterns exhibiting configural properties of faces is an example of pareidolia. Perception of 'real' faces has been associated with a cortical response signal arising at approximately 170 ms after stimulus onset, but what happens when nonface objects are perceived as faces? Using magnetoencephalography, we found that objects incidentally perceived as faces evoked an early (165 ms) activation in the ventral fusiform cortex, at a time and location similar to that evoked by faces, whereas common objects did not evoke such activation. An earlier peak at 130 ms was also seen for images of real faces only. Our findings suggest that face perception evoked by face-like objects is a relatively early process, and not a late reinterpretation cognitive phenomenon.

  1. Age-related differences in event-related potentials for early visual processing of emotional faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilimire, Matthew R; Mienaltowski, Andrew; Blanchard-Fields, Fredda; Corballis, Paul M

    2014-07-01

    With advancing age, processing resources are shifted away from negative emotional stimuli and toward positive ones. Here, we explored this 'positivity effect' using event-related potentials (ERPs). Participants identified the presence or absence of a visual probe that appeared over photographs of emotional faces. The ERPs elicited by the onsets of angry, sad, happy and neutral faces were recorded. We examined the frontocentral emotional positivity (FcEP), which is defined as a positive deflection in the waveforms elicited by emotional expressions relative to neutral faces early on in the time course of the ERP. The FcEP is thought to reflect enhanced early processing of emotional expressions. The results show that within the first 130 ms young adults show an FcEP to negative emotional expressions, whereas older adults show an FcEP to positive emotional expressions. These findings provide additional evidence that the age-related positivity effect in emotion processing can be traced to automatic processes that are evident very early in the processing of emotional facial expressions. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Segmentation precedes face categorization under suboptimal conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlijn eVan Den Boomen

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Both categorization and segmentation processes play a crucial role in face perception. However, the functional relation between these subprocesses is currently unclear. The present study investigates the temporal relation between segmentation-related and category-selective responses in the brain, using electroencephalography (EEG. Surface segmentation and category content were both manipulated using texture-defined objects, including faces. This allowed us to study brain activity related to segmentation and to categorization. In the main experiment, participants viewed texture-defined objects for a duration of 800 ms. EEG results revealed that segmentation-related responses precede category-selective responses. Three additional experiments revealed that the presence and timing of categorization depends on stimulus properties and presentation duration. Photographic objects were presented for a long and short (92 ms duration and evoked fast category-selective responses in both cases. On the other hand, presentation of texture-defined objects for a short duration only evoked segmentation-related but no category-selective responses. Category-selective responses were much slower when evoked by texture-defined than by photographic objects. We suggest that in case of categorization of objects under suboptimal conditions, such as when low-level stimulus properties are not sufficient for fast object categorization, segmentation facilitates the slower categorization process.

  3. Segmentation precedes face categorization under suboptimal conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Den Boomen, Carlijn; Fahrenfort, Johannes J; Snijders, Tineke M; Kemner, Chantal

    2015-01-01

    Both categorization and segmentation processes play a crucial role in face perception. However, the functional relation between these subprocesses is currently unclear. The present study investigates the temporal relation between segmentation-related and category-selective responses in the brain, using electroencephalography (EEG). Surface segmentation and category content were both manipulated using texture-defined objects, including faces. This allowed us to study brain activity related to segmentation and to categorization. In the main experiment, participants viewed texture-defined objects for a duration of 800 ms. EEG results revealed that segmentation-related responses precede category-selective responses. Three additional experiments revealed that the presence and timing of categorization depends on stimulus properties and presentation duration. Photographic objects were presented for a long and short (92 ms) duration and evoked fast category-selective responses in both cases. On the other hand, presentation of texture-defined objects for a short duration only evoked segmentation-related but no category-selective responses. Category-selective responses were much slower when evoked by texture-defined than by photographic objects. We suggest that in case of categorization of objects under suboptimal conditions, such as when low-level stimulus properties are not sufficient for fast object categorization, segmentation facilitates the slower categorization process.

  4. The Role of Compensation Criteria to Minimize Face-Time Bias and Support Faculty Career Flexibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lydia Pleotis Howell MD

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Work-life balance is important to recruitment and retention of the younger generation of medical faculty, but medical school flexibility policies have not been fully effective. We have reported that our school’s policies are underutilized due to faculty concerns about looking uncommitted to career or team. Since policies include leaves and accommodations that reduce physical presence, faculty may fear “face-time bias,” which negatively affects evaluation of those not “seen” at work. Face-time bias is reported to negatively affect salary and career progress. We explored face-time bias on a leadership level and described development of compensation criteria intended to mitigate face-time bias, raise visibility, and reward commitment and contribution to team/group goals. Leaders from 6 partner departments participated in standardized interviews and group meetings. Ten compensation plans were analyzed, and published literature was reviewed. Leaders did not perceive face-time issues but saw team pressure and perception of availability as performance motivators. Compensation plans were multifactor productivity based with many quantifiable criteria; few addressed team contributions. Using these findings, novel compensation criteria were developed based on a published model to mitigate face-time bias associated with team perceptions. Criteria for organizational citizenship to raise visibility and reward group outcomes were included. We conclude that team pressure and perception of availability have the potential to lead to bias and may contribute to underuse of flexibility policies. Recognizing organizational citizenship and cooperative effort via specific criteria in a compensation plan may enhance a culture of flexibility. These novel criteria have been effective in one pilot department.

  5. Collaborative Random Faces-Guided Encoders for Pose-Invariant Face Representation Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Ming; Zhang, Yizhe; Fu, Yun

    2018-04-01

    Learning discriminant face representation for pose-invariant face recognition has been identified as a critical issue in visual learning systems. The challenge lies in the drastic changes of facial appearances between the test face and the registered face. To that end, we propose a high-level feature learning framework called "collaborative random faces (RFs)-guided encoders" toward this problem. The contributions of this paper are three fold. First, we propose a novel supervised autoencoder that is able to capture the high-level identity feature despite of pose variations. Second, we enrich the identity features by replacing the target values of conventional autoencoders with random signals (RFs in this paper), which are unique for each subject under different poses. Third, we further improve the performance of the framework by incorporating deep convolutional neural network facial descriptors and linking discriminative identity features from different RFs for the augmented identity features. Finally, we conduct face identification experiments on Multi-PIE database, and face verification experiments on labeled faces in the wild and YouTube Face databases, where face recognition rate and verification accuracy with Receiver Operating Characteristic curves are rendered. In addition, discussions of model parameters and connections with the existing methods are provided. These experiments demonstrate that our learning system works fairly well on handling pose variations.

  6. Configuration perception and face memory, and face context effects in developmental prosopagnosia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huis in 't Veld, Elisabeth; Van den Stock, Jan; de Gelder, Beatrice

    2012-01-01

    This study addresses two central and controversial issues in developmental prosopagnosia (DP), configuration- versus feature-based face processing and the influence of affective information from either facial or bodily expressions on face recognition. A sample of 10 DPs and 10 controls were tested with a previously developed face and object recognition and memory battery (Facial Expressive Action Stimulus Test, FEAST), a task measuring the influence of emotional faces and bodies on face identity matching (Face-Body Compound task), and an emotionally expressive face memory task (Emotional Face Memory task, FaMe-E). We show that DPs were impaired in upright, but not inverted, face matching but they performed at the level of controls on part-to-whole matching. Second, DPs showed impaired memory for both neutral and emotional faces and scored within the normal range on the Face-Body Compound task. Third, configural perception but not feature-based processing was significantly associated with memory performance. Taken together the results indicate that DPs have a deficit in configural processing at the perception stage that may underlie the memory impairment.

  7. The Face-to-Face Light Detection Paradigm: A New Methodology for Investigating Visuospatial Attention Across Different Face Regions in Live Face-to-Face Communication Settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Laura A; Malloy, Daniel M; Cone, John M; Hendrickson, David L

    2010-01-01

    We introduce a novel paradigm for studying the cognitive processes used by listeners within interactive settings. This paradigm places the talker and the listener in the same physical space, creating opportunities for investigations of attention and comprehension processes taking place during interactive discourse situations. An experiment was conducted to compare results from previous research using videotaped stimuli to those obtained within the live face-to-face task paradigm. A headworn apparatus is used to briefly display LEDs on the talker's face in four locations as the talker communicates with the participant. In addition to the primary task of comprehending speeches, participants make a secondary task light detection response. In the present experiment, the talker gave non-emotionally-expressive speeches that were used in past research with videotaped stimuli. Signal detection analysis was employed to determine which areas of the face received the greatest focus of attention. Results replicate previous findings using videotaped methods.

  8. Using online learning in a traditional face-to-face environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozlowski, Dawn

    2002-01-01

    A model for designing online learning was developed and implemented in a Registered Nurse-to-Bachelor of Science in Nursing course using online and face-to-face methodologies. The combination of online and face-to-face learning modalities may help the student who is a novice Internet explorer or seasoned Web navigator by offering technological support as well as providing constant in-person feedback regarding course requirements. The face-to-face component facilitates a sense of community and peer support that sometimes is lacking in an entirely online course. During the 2 semesters this model was used, students expressed satisfaction with having the course facilitator/professor physically available for consultation and advisement. Evaluation of this online/on-site course is ongoing and uses computer-administered qualitative questionnaires, a facilitator-moderated focus group, and Likert-type course evaluations.

  9. Face/core interface fracture characterization of mixed mode bending sandwich specimens

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Quispitupa, Amilcar; Berggreen, Christian; Carlsson, L.A.

    2011-01-01

    and PVC H45, H100 and H250 foam core materials were evaluated. A methodology to perform precracking on fracture specimens in order to achieve a sharp and representative crack front is outlined. The mixed mode loading was controlled in the mixed mode bending (MMB) test rig by changing the loading......Debonding of the core from the face sheets is a critical failure mode in sandwich structures. This paper presents an experimental study on face/core debond fracture of foam core sandwich specimens under a wide range of mixed mode loading conditions. Sandwich beams with E‐glass fibre face sheets...... application point (lever arm distance). Finite element analysis was performed to determine the mode‐mixity at the crack tip. The results showed that the face/core interface fracture toughness increased with increased mode II loading. Post failure analysis of the fractured specimens revealed that the crack...

  10. Saline flushing fluids restricting contamination of the near-face zone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weil, W

    1982-01-01

    Questions are covered which concern the characteristics and main properties of saline solutions without solid phase and their use as flushing fluids. Attention is drawn to the fact that these solutions are universally used in flushing and other operations of wells with high gradients of bed pressures, and also in those cases where the oil and gas levels are especially sensitive to negative influence of traditional clay solutions which cause irreversible decrease in permeability of the reservoirs through contamination and plugging of the pores in the near-face zone, and consequently, influence the decrease in bed productivity. The described methods and chemical reagents decrease the filtering of these solutions in the reservoirs, improve viscosity and stabilize the near-face zone.

  11. Effects of exposure to facial expression variation in face learning and recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chang Hong; Chen, Wenfeng; Ward, James

    2015-11-01

    Facial expression is a major source of image variation in face images. Linking numerous expressions to the same face can be a huge challenge for face learning and recognition. It remains largely unknown what level of exposure to this image variation is critical for expression-invariant face recognition. We examined this issue in a recognition memory task, where the number of facial expressions of each face being exposed during a training session was manipulated. Faces were either trained with multiple expressions or a single expression, and they were later tested in either the same or different expressions. We found that recognition performance after learning three emotional expressions had no improvement over learning a single emotional expression (Experiments 1 and 2). However, learning three emotional expressions improved recognition compared to learning a single neutral expression (Experiment 3). These findings reveal both the limitation and the benefit of multiple exposures to variations of emotional expression in achieving expression-invariant face recognition. The transfer of expression training to a new type of expression is likely to depend on a relatively extensive level of training and a certain degree of variation across the types of expressions.

  12. Atomic-scale processes revealing dynamic twin boundary strengthening mechanisms in face-centered cubic materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Z.Q.; Chisholm, M.F.; He, L.L.; Pennycook, S.J.; Ye, H.Q.

    2012-01-01

    We report experimental investigations on interactions/reactions between dislocations and twin boundaries in Al. The absorption of screw dislocations via cross-slip and the production of stair-rods via reactions with non-screw dislocations were verified by atomic resolution imaging. Importantly, the resulting partial dislocations moving along twin boundaries can produce secondary sessile defects. These immobile defects act as obstacles to other dislocations and also serve to pin the twin boundaries. These findings show the atomic-level dynamics of the dislocation–twin boundary processes and the unique strengthening mechanism of twin boundaries in face-centered cubic metals.

  13. Causes of coal degradation at working faces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sikora, W

    1985-01-01

    Coal comminution by shearer loaders at working faces and factors influencing it are analyzed. Three groups of factors are evaluated: coal mechanical properties, design and specifications of shearer loaders and mining schemes. On the basis of analyses, recommendations for increasing proportion of coarse coal and reducing coal comminution in underground coal mines in Poland are made. Increasing output of coarse coal in coal seams with a high proportion of dull coal is most economic. Increasing power of drive systems for shearer loaders to 500 kW or more decisively influences grain size distribution of coal and increases proportion of coarse coal, especially in seams of dull coal. Gradually increasing cutting depth of a shearer loader negatively influences haulage speed and coarse coal output. Replacing gradual cutting depth increase by attack at the full cutting depth increases proportion of coarse coal. When medium or thick coal seams are mined a coal bench from 0.3 to 0.5 m thick should be left in the roof or between 2 benches cut by 2 cutting drums. The coal bench left in the face disintegrates under the influence of gravity and the proportion of coarse coal increases. Optimizing yield strength of powered supports at a working face is a further method for improving grain size distribution of coal and increasing proportion of coarse coal. 2 references.

  14. Integration of DPC and clinical microbiological data in Japan reveals importance of confirming a negative follow-up blood culture in patients with MRSA bacteremia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyamoto, Naoki; Yahara, Koji; Horita, Rie; Yano, Tomomi; Tashiro, Naotaka; Morii, Daiichi; Tsutsui, Atsuko; Yaita, Kenichiro; Shibayama, Keigo; Watanabe, Hiroshi

    2017-10-01

    Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia is one of the commonest and most life-threatening of all infectious diseases. The morbidity and mortality rates associated with MRSA bacteremia are higher than those associated with bacteremia caused by other pathogens. A common guideline in MRSA bacteremia treatment is to confirm bacteremia clearance through additional blood cultures 2-4 days after initial positive cultures and as needed thereafter. However, no study has presented statistical evidence of how and to what extent confirming a negative follow-up blood culture impacts clinical outcome. We present this evidence for the first time, by combining clinical microbiological data of blood cultures and the DPC administrative claims database; both had been systematically accumulated through routine medical care in hospitals. We used electronic medical records to investigate the clinical background and infection source in detail. By analyzing data from a university hospital, we revealed how survival curves change when a negative follow-up blood culture is confirmed. We also demonstrated confirmation of a negative culture is significantly associated with clinical outcomes: there was a more than three-fold increase in mortality risk (after adjusting for clinical background) if a negative blood culture was not confirmed within 14 days of the initial positive blood culture. Although we used data from only one university hospital, our novel approach and results will be a basis for future studies in several hospitals in Japan to provide statistical evidence of the clinical importance of confirming a negative follow-up blood culture in bacteremia patients, including those with MRSA infections. Copyright © 2017 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Looking at My Own Face: Visual Processing Strategies in Self–Other Face Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anya Chakraborty

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available We live in an age of ‘selfies.’ Yet, how we look at our own faces has seldom been systematically investigated. In this study we test if the visual processing of the highly familiar self-face is different from other faces, using psychophysics and eye-tracking. This paradigm also enabled us to test the association between the psychophysical properties of self-face representation and visual processing strategies involved in self-face recognition. Thirty-three adults performed a self-face recognition task from a series of self-other face morphs with simultaneous eye-tracking. Participants were found to look longer at the lower part of the face for self-face compared to other-face. Participants with a more distinct self-face representation, as indexed by a steeper slope of the psychometric response curve for self-face recognition, were found to look longer at upper part of the faces identified as ‘self’ vs. those identified as ‘other’. This result indicates that self-face representation can influence where we look when we process our own vs. others’ faces. We also investigated the association of autism-related traits with self-face processing metrics since autism has previously been associated with atypical self-processing. The study did not find any self-face specific association with autistic traits, suggesting that autism-related features may be related to self-processing in a domain specific manner.

  16. Use of social media to encourage face to face communication

    OpenAIRE

    Čufer, Matija; Knežević, Anja

    2017-01-01

    Face-to-face communication is of key importance for successful socialization of a person into a society. Social media makes a good complement to such form of communication. Parents and pedagogical workers must be aware of children not replacing face-to-face communication for communication through the social media in the process of education and growing up. Young people nevertheless frequently communicate through the social media. For this reason, we tried to extract positive features of those...

  17. USE OF IMAGE ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING REAL TIME FACE RECOGNITION EFFICIENCY ON WEARABLE GADGETS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MUHAMMAD EHSAN RANA

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research is to study the effects of image enhancement techniques on face recognition performance of wearable gadgets with an emphasis on recognition rate.In this research, a number of image enhancement techniques are selected that include brightness normalization, contrast normalization, sharpening, smoothing, and various combinations of these. Subsequently test images are obtained from AT&T database and Yale Face Database B to investigate the effect of these image enhancement techniques under various conditions such as change of illumination and face orientation and expression.The evaluation of data, collected during this research, revealed that the effect of image pre-processing techniques on face recognition highly depends on the illumination condition under which these images are taken. It is revealed that the benefit of applying image enhancement techniques on face images is best seen when there is high variation of illumination among images. Results also indicate that highest recognition rate is achieved when images are taken under low light condition and image contrast is enhanced using histogram equalization technique and then image noise is reduced using median smoothing filter. Additionally combination of contrast normalization and mean smoothing filter shows good result in all scenarios. Results obtained from test cases illustrate up to 75% improvement in face recognition rate when image enhancement is applied to images in given scenarios.

  18. Interference among the Processing of Facial Emotion, Face Race, and Face Gender

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Yongna; Tse, Chi-Shing

    2016-01-01

    People are able to simultaneously process multiple dimensions of facial properties. Facial processing models are based on the processing of facial properties. This paper examined the processing of facial emotion, face race and face gender using categorization tasks. The same set of Chinese, White and Black faces, each posing a neutral, happy or angry expression, was used in three experiments. Facial emotion interfered with face race in all the tasks. The interaction of face race and face gend...

  19. Early (N170) activation of face-specific cortex by face-like objects

    OpenAIRE

    Hadjikhani, Nouchine; Kveraga, Kestutis; Naik, Paulami; Ahlfors, Seppo P.

    2009-01-01

    The tendency to perceive faces in random patterns exhibiting configural properties of faces is an example of pareidolia. Perception of ‘real’ faces has been associated with a cortical response signal arising at about 170ms after stimulus onset; but what happens when non-face objects are perceived as faces? Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we found that objects incidentally perceived as faces evoked an early (165ms) activation in the ventral fusiform cortex, at a time and location similar t...

  20. The effects of a culturally gender-specifying peripheral cue (headscarf) on the categorization of faces by gender.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Megreya, Ahmed M

    2015-06-01

    Faces convey a wealth of cues that influence social categorizations and subsequent cognition and behavior. This study examined the effects of wearing a headscarf on face categorization by gender using Egyptian observers who have an extensive exposure with headscarf-framed female faces. A typical headscarf (worn by females) enhanced perceived femininity whereas an atypical headscarf (worn by males) reduced perceived masculinity. Regardless of whether the faces were presented briefly, or until participants responded, the typical headscarf had no effect on categorizing female faces but the atypical headscarf greatly slowed down categorizing male faces. However, a typical headscarf advantage was noticed when the atypical headscarf condition was removed. In addition, both typical and atypical headscarf effects were greatly strengthened when faces were presented as negatives. These data provide support to the dynamic continuity account of social categorization that suggests a competition among multiple simultaneous representations until a construal is stabilized. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Emotional face expression modulates occipital-frontal effective connectivity during memory formation in a bottom-up fashion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daiming eXiu

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the role of bottom-up and top-down neural mechanisms in the processing of emotional face expression during memory formation. Functional brain imaging data was acquired during incidental learning of positive (‘happy’, neutral and negative (‘angry’ or ‘fearful’ faces. Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM was applied on the fMRI data to characterize effective connectivity within a brain network involving face perception (inferior occipital gyrus and fusiform gyrus and successful memory formation related areas (hippocampus, superior parietal lobule, amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex. The bottom-up models assumed processing of emotional face expression along feed forward pathways to the orbitofrontal cortex. The top-down models assumed that the orbitofrontal cortex processed emotional valence and mediated connections to the hippocampus. A subsequent recognition memory test showed an effect of negative emotion on the response bias, but not on memory performance. Our DCM findings showed that the bottom-up model family of effective connectivity best explained the data across all subjects and specified that emotion affected most bottom-up connections to the orbitofrontal cortex, especially from the occipital visual cortex and superior parietal lobule. Of those pathways to the orbitofrontal cortex the connection from the inferior occipital gyrus correlated with memory performance independently of valence. We suggest that bottom-up neural mechanisms support effects of emotional face expression and memory formation in a parallel and partially overlapping fashion.

  2. Prioritized Identification of Attractive and Romantic Partner Faces in Rapid Serial Visual Presentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Koyo; Arai, Shihoko; Kawabata, Hideaki

    2017-11-01

    People are sensitive to facial attractiveness because it is an important biological and social signal. As such, our perceptual and attentional system seems biased toward attractive faces. We tested whether attractive faces capture attention and enhance memory access in an involuntary manner using a dual-task rapid serial visual presentation (dtRSVP) paradigm, wherein multiple faces were successively presented for 120 ms. In Experiment 1, participants (N = 26) were required to identify two female faces embedded in a stream of animal faces as distractors. The results revealed that identification of the second female target (T2) was better when it was attractive compared to neutral or unattractive. In Experiment 2, we investigated whether perceived attractiveness affects T2 identification (N = 27). To this end, we performed another dtRSVP task involving participants in a romantic partnership with the opposite sex, wherein T2 was their romantic partner's face. The results demonstrated that a romantic partner's face was correctly identified more often than was the face of a friend or unknown person. Furthermore, the greater the intensity of passionate love participants felt for their partner (as measured by the Passionate Love Scale), the more often they correctly identified their partner's face. Our experiments indicate that attractive and romantic partners' faces facilitate the identification of the faces in an involuntary manner.

  3. Assessing Students Perceptions on Intensive Face to Face in Open ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Therefore, this study assessed students‟ perception on Intensive Face to Face sessions. The study specifically aimed at identifying students‟ perception on quality of interaction between tutors and students and between students on the other hand. It also explored the nature of challenges students meet in attending face to ...

  4. Is that me or my twin? Lack of self-face recognition advantage in identical twins.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matteo Martini

    Full Text Available Despite the increasing interest in twin studies and the stunning amount of research on face recognition, the ability of adult identical twins to discriminate their own faces from those of their co-twins has been scarcely investigated. One's own face is the most distinctive feature of the bodily self, and people typically show a clear advantage in recognizing their own face even more than other very familiar identities. Given the very high level of resemblance of their faces, monozygotic twins represent a unique model for exploring self-face processing. Herein we examined the ability of monozygotic twins to distinguish their own face from the face of their co-twin and of a highly familiar individual. Results show that twins equally recognize their own face and their twin's face. This lack of self-face advantage was negatively predicted by how much they felt physically similar to their co-twin and by their anxious or avoidant attachment style. We speculate that in monozygotic twins, the visual representation of the self-face overlaps with that of the co-twin. Thus, to distinguish the self from the co-twin, monozygotic twins have to rely much more than control participants on the multisensory integration processes upon which the sense of bodily self is based. Moreover, in keeping with the notion that attachment style influences perception of self and significant others, we propose that the observed self/co-twin confusion may depend upon insecure attachment.

  5. If it bleeds, it leads: separating threat from mere negativity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kveraga, Kestutis; Boshyan, Jasmine; Adams, Reginald B; Mote, Jasmine; Betz, Nicole; Ward, Noreen; Hadjikhani, Nouchine; Bar, Moshe; Barrett, Lisa F

    2015-01-01

    Most theories of emotion hold that negative stimuli are threatening and aversive. Yet in everyday experiences some negative sights (e.g. car wrecks) attract curiosity, whereas others repel (e.g. a weapon pointed in our face). To examine the diversity in negative stimuli, we employed four classes of visual images (Direct Threat, Indirect Threat, Merely Negative and Neutral) in a set of behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Participants reliably discriminated between the images, evaluating Direct Threat stimuli most quickly, and Merely Negative images most slowly. Threat images evoked greater and earlier blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activations in the amygdala and periaqueductal gray, structures implicated in representing and responding to the motivational salience of stimuli. Conversely, the Merely Negative images evoked larger BOLD signal in the parahippocampal, retrosplenial, and medial prefrontal cortices, regions which have been implicated in contextual association processing. Ventrolateral as well as medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortices were activated by both threatening and Merely Negative images. In conclusion, negative visual stimuli can repel or attract scrutiny depending on their current threat potential, which is assessed by dynamic shifts in large-scale brain network activity. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. The Effect of Screen-to-Screen Versus Face-to-Face Consultation on Doctor-Patient Communication: An Experimental Study with Simulated Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tates, Kiek; Antheunis, Marjolijn L; Kanters, Saskia; Nieboer, Theodoor E; Gerritse, Maria Be

    2017-12-20

    ' satisfaction with the consultation (b=.533, Pcommunication, as indicated by information exchange, interpersonal relationship building, and shared decision making, did not differ significantly between Web-based and face-to-face consultations. Doctors and simulated patients were equally satisfied with both types of consultation medium, and no differences were found in the manner in which participants perceived communicative behavior during these consultations. The findings suggest that worries about a negative impact of Web-based video consultation on the quality of patient-provider consultations seem unwarranted as they offer the same interaction quality and satisfaction level as regular face-to-face consultations. ©Kiek Tates, Marjolijn L Antheunis, Saskia Kanters, Theodoor E Nieboer, Maria BE Gerritse. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 20.12.2017.

  7. Developmental Changes in Mother-Infant Face-to-Face Communication: Birth to 3 Months.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavelli, Manuela; Fogel, Alan

    2002-01-01

    Investigated development of face-to-face communication in infants between 1 and 14 weeks old and their mothers. Found a curvilinear development of early face-to-face communication, with increases occurring between weeks 4 and 9. When placed on a sofa, infants' face-to-face communication was longer than when they were held. Girls spent a longer…

  8. Structures with negative index of refraction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soukoulis, Costas M [Ames, IA; Zhou, Jiangfeng [Ames, IA; Koschny, Thomas [Ames, IA; Zhang, Lei [Ames, IA; Tuttle, Gary [Ames, IA

    2011-11-08

    The invention provides simplified negative index materials (NIMs) using wire-pair structures, 4-gap single ring split-ring resonator (SRR), fishnet structures and overleaf capacitor SRR. In the wire-pair arrangement, a pair of short parallel wires and continuous wires are used. In the 4-gap single-ring SRR, the SRRs are centered on the faces of a cubic unit cell combined with a continuous wire type resonator. Combining both elements creates a frequency band where the metamaterial is transparent with simultaneously negative .di-elect cons. and .mu.. In the fishnet structure, a metallic mesh on both sides of the dielectric spacer is used. The overleaf capacitor SRR changes the gap capacities to small plate capacitors by making the sections of the SRR ring overlap at the gaps separated by a thin dielectric film. This technique is applicable to conventional SRR gaps but it best deploys for the 4-gap single-ring structures.

  9. Neonatal face-to-face interactions promote later social behaviour in infant rhesus monkeys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dettmer, Amanda M.; Kaburu, Stefano S. K.; Simpson, Elizabeth A.; Paukner, Annika; Sclafani, Valentina; Byers, Kristen L.; Murphy, Ashley M.; Miller, Michelle; Marquez, Neal; Miller, Grace M.; Suomi, Stephen J.; Ferrari, Pier F.

    2016-01-01

    In primates, including humans, mothers engage in face-to-face interactions with their infants, with frequencies varying both within and across species. However, the impact of this variation in face-to-face interactions on infant social development is unclear. Here we report that infant monkeys (Macaca mulatta) who engaged in more neonatal face-to-face interactions with mothers have increased social interactions at 2 and 5 months. In a controlled experiment, we show that this effect is not due to physical contact alone: monkeys randomly assigned to receive additional neonatal face-to-face interactions (mutual gaze and intermittent lip-smacking) with human caregivers display increased social interest at 2 months, compared with monkeys who received only additional handling. These studies suggest that face-to-face interactions from birth promote young primate social interest and competency. PMID:27300086

  10. Neural markers of emotional face perception across psychotic disorders and general population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabharwal, Amri; Kotov, Roman; Szekely, Akos; Leung, Hoi-Chung; Barch, Deanna M; Mohanty, Aprajita

    2017-07-01

    There is considerable variation in negative and positive symptoms of psychosis, global functioning, and emotional face perception (EFP), not only in schizophrenia but also in other psychotic disorders and healthy individuals. However, EFP impairment and its association with worse symptoms and global functioning have been examined largely in the domain of schizophrenia. The present study adopted a dimensional approach to examine the association of behavioral and neural measures of EFP with symptoms of psychosis and global functioning across individuals with schizophrenia spectrum (SZ; N = 28) and other psychotic (OP; N = 29) disorders, and never-psychotic participants (NP; N = 21). Behavioral and functional MRI data were recorded as participants matched emotional expressions of faces and geometrical shapes. Lower accuracy and increased activity in early visual regions, hippocampus, and amygdala during emotion versus shape matching were associated with higher negative, but not positive, symptoms and lower global functioning, across all participants. This association remained even after controlling for group-related (SZ, OP, and NP) variance, dysphoria, and antipsychotic medication status, except in amygdala. Furthermore, negative symptoms mediated the relationship between behavioral and brain EFP measures and global functioning. This study provides some of the first evidence supporting the specific relationship of EFP measures with negative symptoms and global functioning across psychotic and never-psychotic samples, and transdiagnostically across different psychotic disorders. Present findings help bridge the gap between basic EFP-related neuroscience research and clinical research in psychosis, and highlight EFP as a potential symptom-specific marker that tracks global functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. Effects of symmetry and familiarity on the attractiveness of human faces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mentus Tatjana

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The effects of both symmetry (perceptual factor and familiarity (cognitive factor on facial attractiveness were investigated. From the photographs of original slightly asymmetric faces, symmetric left-left (LL and right-right (RR versions were generated. Familiarity was induced in the learning block using the repetitive presentation of original faces. In the test block participants rated the attractiveness of original, previously seen (familiar faces, original, not previously seen faces, and both LL and RR versions of all faces. The analysis of variance showed main effects of symmetry. Post hoc tests revealed that asymmetric original faces were rated as more attractive than both LL and RR symmetric versions. Familiarity doesn’t have a significant main effect, but the symmetry-familiarity interaction was obtained. Additional post hoc tests indicated that facial attractiveness is positively associated with natural slight asymmetry rather than with perfect symmetry. Also, unfamiliar LL symmetric versions were rated as more attractive than familiar LL versions, whereas familiar RR versions were rated as more attractive than RR unfamiliar faces. These results suggested that symmetry (perceptual factor and familiarity (cognitive or memorial factor play differential roles in facial attractiveness, and indicate a relatively stronger effect of the perceptual compared to the cognitive factor. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. ON179018 i br. ON179033

  12. Development of ODL in a Newly Industrialized Country according to Face-to-Face Contact, ICT, and E-Readiness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Marinda van Zyl

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available A large number of unqualified and under-qualified in-service teachers are holding back socio-economical development in South Africa, a newly industrialized country. Open and distance learning (ODL provides an innovative strategy and praxis for developing and newly industrialized countries to reach their educational and socio-economical objectives through professional development and training. In order to examine factors which affect the success of ODL offered by the North-West University in South Africa, a qualitative and quantitative research approach is used. Factors examined include face-to-face classroom contact, the implementation and use of ICTs, and e-readiness. The relationships between these factors are also discussed. A questionnaire was administered to 87 teacher-students in four Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE programs to collect quantitative data regarding aspects of their classes and the e-readiness of students. This data was qualitatively elaborated upon by three semi-structured, open-ended focus-group interviews. Besides descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rank-order correlations (r were determined between variables pertaining to negative feelings towards face-to-face classroom contact, ODL as students’ choice of delivery mode, and students’ positive attitude towards information and communication technology (ICT. Combined quantitative and qualitative findings were used to evaluate the effectiveness of contact classes as well as the e-readiness of students towards the attainment of ODL development Phase D. This phase refers to UNESCO’s description of ICT implementation, integration, and use. Relationships (Spearman’s rank-order correlations between ODL, as teacher-students’ choice of educational delivery mode, and aspects of their e-readiness suggest that the e-readiness of teacher-students is implicit to their choice of ODL as educational delivery mode for professional development.

  13. The dual nature of the human face: There is a little Jekyll and a little Hyde in all of us.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karolann eRobinson

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The fact that a mere glance makes it possible to extract a wealth of information about the person being observed is testament to both the salience of the human face and the brain's high efficiency in processing this information. Prior work has revealed that social judgments of faces are determined by facial features that vary on two orthogonal dimensions: trustworthiness and dominance. We conducted two experiments to investigate the visual information subtending trustworthiness and dominance judgments. In Exp. 1, we used the Bubbles technique to identify the facial areas and the spatial frequencies that modulate these two judgments. Our results show that the eye and mouth areas in high-to-medium spatial frequency bands were positively correlated with judgments of trustworthiness; the eyebrows region in medium-to-low frequency bands was positively correlated with judgments of dominance; and the lower left jawbone in medium-to-low frequency bands was negatively correlated with judgments of dominance. In Exp. 2, we used the results of Exp. 1 to induce subtle variations in the relative contrast of different facial areas, and showed that it is possible to rig social perception using such a manipulation.

  14. A systems view of mother-infant face-to-face communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beebe, Beatrice; Messinger, Daniel; Bahrick, Lorraine E; Margolis, Amy; Buck, Karen A; Chen, Henian

    2016-04-01

    Principles of a dynamic, dyadic systems view of mother-infant face-to-face communication, which considers self- and interactive processes in relation to one another, were tested. The process of interaction across time in a large low-risk community sample at infant age 4 months was examined. Split-screen videotape was coded on a 1-s time base for communication modalities of attention, affect, orientation, touch, and composite facial-visual engagement. Time-series approaches generated self- and interactive contingency estimates in each modality. Evidence supporting the following principles was obtained: (a) Significant moment-to-moment predictability within each partner (self-contingency) and between the partners (interactive contingency) characterizes mother-infant communication. (b) Interactive contingency is organized by a bidirectional, but asymmetrical, process: Maternal contingent coordination with infant is higher than infant contingent coordination with mother. (c) Self-contingency organizes communication to a far greater extent than interactive contingency. (d) Self- and interactive contingency processes are not separate; each affects the other in communication modalities of facial affect, facial-visual engagement, and orientation. Each person's self-organization exists in a dynamic, homoeostatic (negative feedback) balance with the degree to which the person coordinates with the partner. For example, those individuals who are less facially stable are likely to coordinate more strongly with the partner's facial affect and vice versa. Our findings support the concept that the dyad is a fundamental unit of analysis in the investigation of early interaction. Moreover, an individual's self-contingency is influenced by the way the individual coordinates with the partner. Our results imply that it is not appropriate to conceptualize interactive processes without simultaneously accounting for dynamically interrelated self-organizing processes. (c) 2016 APA, all

  15. Interference among the Processing of Facial Emotion, Face Race, and Face Gender

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yongna; Tse, Chi-Shing

    2016-01-01

    People can process multiple dimensions of facial properties simultaneously. Facial processing models are based on the processing of facial properties. The current study examined the processing of facial emotion, face race, and face gender using categorization tasks. The same set of Chinese, White and Black faces, each posing a neutral, happy or angry expression, was used in three experiments. Facial emotion interacted with face race in all the tasks. The interaction of face race and face gender was found in the race and gender categorization tasks, whereas the interaction of facial emotion and face gender was significant in the emotion and gender categorization tasks. These results provided evidence for a symmetric interaction between variant facial properties (emotion) and invariant facial properties (race and gender). PMID:27840621

  16. Interference among the Processing of Facial Emotion, Face Race, and Face Gender.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yongna; Tse, Chi-Shing

    2016-01-01

    People can process multiple dimensions of facial properties simultaneously. Facial processing models are based on the processing of facial properties. The current study examined the processing of facial emotion, face race, and face gender using categorization tasks. The same set of Chinese, White and Black faces, each posing a neutral, happy or angry expression, was used in three experiments. Facial emotion interacted with face race in all the tasks. The interaction of face race and face gender was found in the race and gender categorization tasks, whereas the interaction of facial emotion and face gender was significant in the emotion and gender categorization tasks. These results provided evidence for a symmetric interaction between variant facial properties (emotion) and invariant facial properties (race and gender).

  17. Altered organization of face processing networks in temporal lobe epilepsy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, Jeffrey D.; Fling, Brett W.; Cramer, Steven C.; Lin, Jack J.

    2015-01-01

    SUMMARY Objective Deficits in social cognition are common and significant in people with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), but the functional and structural underpinnings remain unclear. The present study investigated how the side of seizure focus impacts face processing networks in temporal lobe epilepsy. Methods We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of a face processing paradigm to identify face responsive regions in 24 individuals with unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy (Left = 15; Right = 9) and 19 healthy controls. fMRI signals of face responsive regions ispilateral and contralateral to the side of seizure onset were delineated in TLE and compared to the healthy controls with right and left side combined. Diffusion tensor images were acquired to investigate structural connectivity between face regions that differed in fMRI signals between the two groups. Results In temporal lobe epilepsy, activation of the cortical face processing networks varied according to side of seizure onset. In temporal lobe epilepsy, the laterality of amygdala activation was shifted to the side contralateral to the seizure focus while controls showed no significant asymmetry. Furthermore, compared to controls, patients with TLE showed decreased activation of the occipital face responsive region in the ipsilateral side and an increased activity of the anterior temporal lobe in the contralateral side to the seizure focus. Probabilistic tractography revealed that the occipital face area and anterior temporal lobe are connected via the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, which in individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy showed reduced integrity. Significance Taken together, these findings suggest that brain function and white matter integrity of networks subserving face processing are impaired on the side of seizure onset, accompanied by altered responses on the side contralateral to the seizure. PMID:25823855

  18. Interpersonal similarity between body movements in face-to-face communication in daily life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higo, Naoki; Ogawa, Ken-ichiro; Minemura, Juichi; Xu, Bujie; Nozawa, Takayuki; Ogata, Taiki; Ara, Koji; Yano, Kazuo; Miyake, Yoshihiro

    2014-01-01

    Individuals are embedded in social networks in which they communicate with others in their daily lives. Because smooth face-to-face communication is the key to maintaining these networks, measuring the smoothness of such communication is an important issue. One indicator of smoothness is the similarity of the body movements of the two individuals concerned. A typical example noted in experimental environments is the interpersonal synchronization of body movements such as nods and gestures during smooth face-to-face communication. It should therefore be possible to estimate quantitatively the smoothness of face-to-face communication in social networks through measurement of the synchronization of body movements. However, this is difficult because social networks, which differ from disciplined experimental environments, are open environments for the face-to-face communication between two individuals. In such open environments, their body movements become complicated by various external factors and may follow unstable and nonuniform patterns. Nevertheless, we consider there to be some interaction during face-to-face communication that leads to the interpersonal synchronization of body movements, which can be seen through the interpersonal similarity of body movements. The present study aims to clarify such interaction in terms of body movements during daily face-to-face communication in real organizations of more than 100 people. We analyzed data on the frequency of body movement for each individual during face-to-face communication, as measured by a wearable sensor, and evaluated the degree of interpersonal similarity of body movements between two individuals as their frequency difference. Furthermore, we generated uncorrelated data by resampling the data gathered and compared these two data sets statistically to distinguish the effects of actual face-to-face communication from those of the activities accompanying the communication. Our results confirm an

  19. Interpersonal similarity between body movements in face-to-face communication in daily life.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naoki Higo

    Full Text Available Individuals are embedded in social networks in which they communicate with others in their daily lives. Because smooth face-to-face communication is the key to maintaining these networks, measuring the smoothness of such communication is an important issue. One indicator of smoothness is the similarity of the body movements of the two individuals concerned. A typical example noted in experimental environments is the interpersonal synchronization of body movements such as nods and gestures during smooth face-to-face communication. It should therefore be possible to estimate quantitatively the smoothness of face-to-face communication in social networks through measurement of the synchronization of body movements. However, this is difficult because social networks, which differ from disciplined experimental environments, are open environments for the face-to-face communication between two individuals. In such open environments, their body movements become complicated by various external factors and may follow unstable and nonuniform patterns. Nevertheless, we consider there to be some interaction during face-to-face communication that leads to the interpersonal synchronization of body movements, which can be seen through the interpersonal similarity of body movements. The present study aims to clarify such interaction in terms of body movements during daily face-to-face communication in real organizations of more than 100 people. We analyzed data on the frequency of body movement for each individual during face-to-face communication, as measured by a wearable sensor, and evaluated the degree of interpersonal similarity of body movements between two individuals as their frequency difference. Furthermore, we generated uncorrelated data by resampling the data gathered and compared these two data sets statistically to distinguish the effects of actual face-to-face communication from those of the activities accompanying the communication. Our results

  20. Negative affect, negative urgency, thought suppression, and bulimic symptoms: a moderated mediation analysis in a sample at-risk for bulimic symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavender, Jason M; Green, Daniel; Anestis, Michael D; Tull, Matthew T; Gratz, Kim L

    2015-05-01

    Research suggests that negative affect, negative urgency, and thought suppression are related to bulimic symptoms, either directly or indirectly. This study examined associations between these constructs in a sample at-risk for bulimic symptoms. Participants (N = 80) recruited from a residential substance abuse treatment facility completed self-report questionnaires. A regression-based bootstrapping approach was used to examine the indirect effect of negative affect on bulimic symptoms through negative urgency and the moderating role of thought suppression in the association between negative affect and negative urgency. Results revealed a significant indirect effect, significant moderation, and a significant moderated mediation effect, with an indirect effect of negative affect on bulimic symptoms through negative urgency, conditional upon low to moderate (but not high) levels of thought suppression. These findings suggest that negative affect may promote rash actions, particularly in the context of low to moderate thought suppression, leading to increased risk of bulimic symptoms. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

  1. Deep--deeper--deepest? Encoding strategies and the recognition of human faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sporer, S L

    1991-03-01

    Various encoding strategies that supposedly promote deeper processing of human faces (e.g., character judgments) have led to better recognition than more shallow processing tasks (judging the width of the nose). However, does deeper processing actually lead to an improvement in recognition, or, conversely, does shallow processing lead to a deterioration in performance when compared with naturally employed encoding strategies? Three experiments systematically compared a total of 8 different encoding strategies manipulating depth of processing, amount of elaboration, and self-generation of judgmental categories. All strategies that required a scanning of the whole face were basically equivalent but no better than natural strategy controls. The consistently worst groups were the ones that rated faces along preselected physical dimensions. This can be explained by subjects' lesser task involvement as revealed by manipulation checks.

  2. Eyewitness Memory in Face-to-Face and Immersive Avatar-to-Avatar Contexts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donna A. Taylor

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Technological advances offer possibilities for innovation in the way eyewitness testimony is elicited. Typically, this occurs face-to-face. We investigated whether a virtual environment, where interviewer and eyewitness communicate as avatars, might confer advantages by attenuating the social and situational demands of a face-to-face interview, releasing more cognitive resources for invoking episodic retrieval mode. In conditions of intentional encoding, eyewitnesses were interviewed 48 h later, either face-to-face or in a virtual environment (N = 38. Participants in the virtual environment significantly outperformed those interviewed face-to-face on all episodic performance measures – improved correct reporting reduced errors, and increased accuracy. Participants reported finding it easier to admit not remembering event information to the avatar, and finding the avatar easier to talk to. These novel findings, and our pattern of retrieval results indicates the potential of avatar-to-avatar communication in virtual environments, and provide impetus for further research investigating eyewitness cognition in contemporary retrieval contexts.

  3. Eyewitness Memory in Face-to-Face and Immersive Avatar-to-Avatar Contexts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Donna A; Dando, Coral J

    2018-01-01

    Technological advances offer possibilities for innovation in the way eyewitness testimony is elicited. Typically, this occurs face-to-face. We investigated whether a virtual environment, where interviewer and eyewitness communicate as avatars, might confer advantages by attenuating the social and situational demands of a face-to-face interview, releasing more cognitive resources for invoking episodic retrieval mode. In conditions of intentional encoding, eyewitnesses were interviewed 48 h later, either face-to-face or in a virtual environment ( N = 38). Participants in the virtual environment significantly outperformed those interviewed face-to-face on all episodic performance measures - improved correct reporting reduced errors, and increased accuracy. Participants reported finding it easier to admit not remembering event information to the avatar, and finding the avatar easier to talk to. These novel findings, and our pattern of retrieval results indicates the potential of avatar-to-avatar communication in virtual environments, and provide impetus for further research investigating eyewitness cognition in contemporary retrieval contexts.

  4. Characteristics of problem drinkers in e-therapy versus face-to-face treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Postel, Marloes G; de Haan, Hein A; Ter Huurne, Elke D; Becker, Eni S; de Jong, Cor A J

    2011-11-01

    The availability of online treatment programs offers the potential to reach more problem drinkers. This study compared the client populations of an e-therapy program (asynchronous client-therapist communication via the Internet) and a face-to-face treatment program. To determine whether e-therapy and face-to-face groups differed from each other and changed over time. We compared the baseline characteristics of four naturalistic groups (N = 4593): two e-therapy groups (2005-2006 and 2008-2009) and two consecutive series of ambulant face-to-face clients admitted for treatment as usual. The characteristics we were interested in were gender, age, education level, working situation, and earlier treatment for drinking problems. The results showed that the baseline characteristics of e-therapy and face-to-face clients differed by gender, education level, work situation, prior alcohol treatment, and age. We also found that both e-therapy groups differed over time by gender, work situation, and prior alcohol treatment. The e-therapy program successfully attracted clients who were different from those who were represented in regular face-to-face alcohol treatment services. This indicates that e-therapy decreases the barriers to treatment facilities and enhances the accessibility. However, the e-therapy population changed over time. Although the e-therapy program still reached an important new group of clients in 2008-2009, this group showed more overlap with the traditional face-to-face group of clients probably as a result of improved acceptance of e-therapy in the general population. Although e-therapy seems to be better accepted in the general population, anonymous treatment seems necessary to reach a broader range of problem drinkers.

  5. Older Adults' Coping with Negative Life Events: Common Processes of Managing Health, Interpersonal, and Financial/Work Stressors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moos, Rudolf H.; Brennan, Penny L.; Schutte, Kathleen K.; Moos, Bernice S.

    2006-01-01

    This study examined how older adults cope with negative life events in health, interpersonal, and financial/work domains and whether common stress and coping processes hold across these three domains. On three occasions, older adults identified the most severe negative event they faced in the last year and described how they appraised and coped…

  6. Improving Posthospital Discharge Telephone Reach Rates Through Prehospital Discharge Face-to-Face Meetings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vergara, Franz H; Sheridan, Daniel J; Sullivan, Nancy J; Budhathoki, Chakra

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether a face-to-face meeting with patients by a telephonic case manager prehospital discharge would result in increased telephone follow-up (TFU) reach rates posthospital discharge. Acute care adult medicine inpatient units. A quasiexperimental design was utilized. Two adult inpatient medicine units were selected as the intervention and comparison groups. The framework of the study is the transitions theory. A convenience sampling technique was used, whereby 88 eligible patients on the intervention unit received face-to-face meetings prehospital discharge whereas 123 patients on the comparison unit received standard care (no face-to-face meetings). Cross-tabulation and chi-square tests were employed to examine the association of face-to-face meeting intervention and TFU reach rates. Implementing brief (face-to-face meetings by a telephonic case manager prehospital discharge resulted in a TFU reach rate of 87% on the intervention unit, whereas the comparison unit only had a 58% TFU reach rate (p communication with more patients posthospital discharge. A brief prehospital discharge face-to-face meeting with patients assisted them to understand the reasons for a posthospital discharge telephone call, identified the best times to call using accurate telephone numbers, and taught patients how best to prepare for the call. In addition, by meeting patients face-to-face, the telephonic case manager was no longer an unknown person on the telephone asking them questions about their medical condition. These factors combined may have significantly helped to increase TFU reach rates.

  7. Face and enactment of identities in the L2 classroom

    CERN Document Server

    Kidd, Joshua Alexander

    2016-01-01

    This book examines student identities as revealed through the pragmatics of face during an English L2 classroom interaction between Japanese students and a native speaker teacher. This study reminds us that what may be considered acceptable language use in the classroom can shift dramatically according to social, cultural and individual contexts.

  8. Gaze Cueing by Pareidolia Faces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kohske Takahashi

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Visual images that are not faces are sometimes perceived as faces (the pareidolia phenomenon. While the pareidolia phenomenon provides people with a strong impression that a face is present, it is unclear how deeply pareidolia faces are processed as faces. In the present study, we examined whether a shift in spatial attention would be produced by gaze cueing of face-like objects. A robust cueing effect was observed when the face-like objects were perceived as faces. The magnitude of the cueing effect was comparable between the face-like objects and a cartoon face. However, the cueing effect was eliminated when the observer did not perceive the objects as faces. These results demonstrated that pareidolia faces do more than give the impression of the presence of faces; indeed, they trigger an additional face-specific attentional process.

  9. Gaze cueing by pareidolia faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, Kohske; Watanabe, Katsumi

    2013-01-01

    Visual images that are not faces are sometimes perceived as faces (the pareidolia phenomenon). While the pareidolia phenomenon provides people with a strong impression that a face is present, it is unclear how deeply pareidolia faces are processed as faces. In the present study, we examined whether a shift in spatial attention would be produced by gaze cueing of face-like objects. A robust cueing effect was observed when the face-like objects were perceived as faces. The magnitude of the cueing effect was comparable between the face-like objects and a cartoon face. However, the cueing effect was eliminated when the observer did not perceive the objects as faces. These results demonstrated that pareidolia faces do more than give the impression of the presence of faces; indeed, they trigger an additional face-specific attentional process.

  10. Illumination robust face recognition using spatial adaptive shadow compensation based on face intensity prior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Cheng-Ta; Huang, Kae-Horng; Lee, Chang-Hsing; Han, Chin-Chuan; Fan, Kuo-Chin

    2017-12-01

    Robust face recognition under illumination variations is an important and challenging task in a face recognition system, particularly for face recognition in the wild. In this paper, a face image preprocessing approach, called spatial adaptive shadow compensation (SASC), is proposed to eliminate shadows in the face image due to different lighting directions. First, spatial adaptive histogram equalization (SAHE), which uses face intensity prior model, is proposed to enhance the contrast of each local face region without generating visible noises in smooth face areas. Adaptive shadow compensation (ASC), which performs shadow compensation in each local image block, is then used to produce a wellcompensated face image appropriate for face feature extraction and recognition. Finally, null-space linear discriminant analysis (NLDA) is employed to extract discriminant features from SASC compensated images. Experiments performed on the Yale B, Yale B extended, and CMU PIE face databases have shown that the proposed SASC always yields the best face recognition accuracy. That is, SASC is more robust to face recognition under illumination variations than other shadow compensation approaches.

  11. Face ethnicity and measurement reliability affect face recognition performance in developmental prosopagnosia: evidence from the Cambridge Face Memory Test-Australian.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKone, Elinor; Hall, Ashleigh; Pidcock, Madeleine; Palermo, Romina; Wilkinson, Ross B; Rivolta, Davide; Yovel, Galit; Davis, Joshua M; O'Connor, Kirsty B

    2011-03-01

    The Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT, Duchaine & Nakayama, 2006) provides a validated format for testing novel face learning and has been a crucial instrument in the diagnosis of developmental prosopagnosia. Yet, some individuals who report everyday face recognition symptoms consistent with prosopagnosia, and are impaired on famous face tasks, perform normally on the CFMT. Possible reasons include measurement error, CFMT assessment of memory only at short delays, and a face set whose ethnicity is matched to only some Caucasian groups. We develop the "CFMT-Australian" (CFMT-Aus), which complements the CFMT-original by using ethnicity better matched to a different European subpopulation. Results confirm reliability (.88) and validity (convergent, divergent using cars, inversion effects). We show that face ethnicity within a race has subtle but clear effects on face processing even in normal participants (includes cross-over interaction for face ethnicity by perceiver country of origin in distinctiveness ratings). We show that CFMT-Aus clarifies diagnosis of prosopagnosia in 6 previously ambiguous cases. In 3 cases, this appears due to the better ethnic match to prosopagnosics. We also show that face memory at short (<3-min), 20-min, and 24-hr delays taps overlapping processes in normal participants. There is some suggestion that a form of prosopagnosia may exist that is long delay only and/or reflects failure to benefit from face repetition. © 2011 Psychology Press, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business

  12. Neonatal face-to-face interactions promote later social behaviour in infant rhesus monkeys

    OpenAIRE

    Dettmer, Amanda M.; Kaburu, Stefano S. K.; Simpson, Elizabeth A.; Paukner, Annika; Sclafani, Valentina; Byers, Kristen L.; Murphy, Ashley M.; Miller, Michelle; Marquez, Neal; Miller, Grace M.; Suomi, Stephen J.; Ferrari, Pier F.

    2016-01-01

    In primates, including humans, mothers engage in face-to-face interactions with their infants, with frequencies varying both within and across species. However, the impact of this variation in face-to-face interactions on infant social development is unclear. Here we report that infant monkeys (Macaca mulatta) who engaged in more neonatal face-to-face interactions with mothers have increased social interactions at 2 and 5 months. In a controlled experiment, we show that this effect is not due...

  13. Quantified Faces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Mette-Marie Zacher

    2016-01-01

    artist Marnix de Nijs' Physiognomic Scrutinizer is an interactive installation whereby the viewer's face is scanned and identified with historical figures. The American artist Zach Blas' project Fag Face Mask consists of three-dimensional portraits that blend biometric facial data from 30 gay men's faces...... and critically examine bias in surveillance technologies, as well as scientific investigations, regarding the stereotyping mode of the human gaze. The American artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg creates three-dimensional portraits of persons she has “identified” from their garbage. Her project from 2013 entitled...

  14. About Face

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Basics PTSD Treatment What is AboutFace? Resources for Professionals Get Help Home Watch Videos by Topic Videos ... Basics PTSD Treatment What is AboutFace? Resources for Professionals Get Help PTSD We've been there. After ...

  15. About Face

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Treatment What is AboutFace? Resources for Professionals Get Help Home Watch Videos by Topic Videos by Type ... Treatment What is AboutFace? Resources for Professionals Get Help PTSD We've been there. After a traumatic ...

  16. Editing faces in videos

    OpenAIRE

    Amberg, Brian

    2011-01-01

    Editing faces in movies is of interest in the special effects industry. We aim at producing effects such as the addition of accessories interacting correctly with the face or replacing the face of a stuntman with the face of the main actor. The system introduced in this thesis is based on a 3D generative face model. Using a 3D model makes it possible to edit the face in the semantic space of pose, expression, and identity instead of pixel space, and due to its 3D nature allows...

  17. Towards Robust Face Recognition from Video

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Price, JR

    2001-01-01

    A novel, template-based method for face recognition is presented. The goals of the proposed method are to integrate multiple observations for improved robustness and to provide auxiliary confidence data for subsequent use in an automated video surveillance system. The proposed framework consists of a parallel system of classifiers, referred to as observers, where each observer is trained on one face region. The observer outputs are combined to yield the final recognition result. Three of the four confounding factors-expression, illumination, and decoration-are specifically addressed in this paper. The extension of the proposed approach to address the fourth confounding factor-pose-is straightforward and well supported in previous work. A further contribution of the proposed approach is the computation of a revealing confidence measure. This confidence measure will aid the subsequent application of the proposed method to video surveillance scenarios. Results are reported for a database comprising 676 images of 160 subjects under a variety of challenging circumstances. These results indicate significant performance improvements over previous methods and demonstrate the usefulness of the confidence data

  18. Amygdala and fusiform gyrus temporal dynamics: Responses to negative facial expressions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rauch Scott L

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The amygdala habituates in response to repeated human facial expressions; however, it is unclear whether this brain region habituates to schematic faces (i.e., simple line drawings or caricatures of faces. Using an fMRI block design, 16 healthy participants passively viewed repeated presentations of schematic and human neutral and negative facial expressions. Percent signal changes within anatomic regions-of-interest (amygdala and fusiform gyrus were calculated to examine the temporal dynamics of neural response and any response differences based on face type. Results The amygdala and fusiform gyrus had a within-run "U" response pattern of activity to facial expression blocks. The initial block within each run elicited the greatest activation (relative to baseline and the final block elicited greater activation than the preceding block. No significant differences between schematic and human faces were detected in the amygdala or fusiform gyrus. Conclusion The "U" pattern of response in the amygdala and fusiform gyrus to facial expressions suggests an initial orienting, habituation, and activation recovery in these regions. Furthermore, this study is the first to directly compare brain responses to schematic and human facial expressions, and the similarity in brain responses suggest that schematic faces may be useful in studying amygdala activation.

  19. Training approach-avoidance of smiling faces affects emotional vulnerability in socially anxious individuals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rinck, Mike; Telli, Sibel; Kampmann, Isabel L.; Woud, Marcella L.; Kerstholt, Merel; te Velthuis, Sarai; Wittkowski, Matthias; Becker, Eni S.

    2013-01-01

    Previous research revealed an automatic behavioral bias in high socially anxious individuals (HSAs): although their explicit evaluations of smiling faces are positive, they show automatic avoidance of these faces. This is reflected by faster pushing than pulling of smiling faces in an Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT; Heuer et al., 2007). The current study addressed the causal role of this avoidance bias for social anxiety. To this end, we used the AAT to train HSAs, either to approach smiling faces or to avoid them. We examined whether such an AAT training could change HSAs' automatic avoidance tendencies, and if yes, whether AAT effects would generalize to a new approach task with new facial stimuli, and to mood and anxiety in a social threat situation (a video-recorded self-presentation). We found that HSAs trained to approach smiling faces did indeed approach female faces faster after the training than HSAs trained to avoid smiling faces. Moreover, approach-faces training reduced emotional vulnerability: it led to more positive mood and lower anxiety after the self-presentation than avoid-faces training. These results suggest that automatic approach-avoidance tendencies have a causal role in social anxiety, and that they can be modified by a simple computerized training. This may open new avenues in the therapy of social phobia. PMID:23970862

  20. Training Approach-Avoidance of Smiling Faces Affects Emotional Vulnerability in Socially Anxious Individuals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mike eRinck

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Previous research revealed an automatic behavioral bias in high socially anxious individuals (HSAs: Although their explicit evaluations of smiling faces are positive, they show automatic avoidance of these faces. This is reflected by faster pushing than pulling of smiling faces in an Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT; Heuer, Rinck, & Becker, 2007. The current study addressed the causal role of this avoidance bias for social anxiety. To this end, we used the AAT to train HSAs, either to approach smiling faces or to avoid them. We examined whether such an AAT training could change HSAs’ automatic avoidance tendencies, and if yes, whether AAT effects would generalize to a new approach task with new facial stimuli, and to mood and anxiety in a social threat situation (a video-recorded self-presentation. We found that HSAs trained to approach smiling faces did indeed approach female faces faster after the training than HSAs trained to avoid smiling faces. Moreover, approach-faces training reduced emotional vulnerability: It led to more positive mood and lower anxiety after the self-presentation than avoid-faces training. These results suggest that automatic approach-avoidance tendencies have a causal role in social anxiety, and that they can be modified by a simple computerized training. This may open new avenues in the therapy of social phobia.

  1. Mathematics revealed

    CERN Document Server

    Berman, Elizabeth

    1979-01-01

    Mathematics Revealed focuses on the principles, processes, operations, and exercises in mathematics.The book first offers information on whole numbers, fractions, and decimals and percents. Discussions focus on measuring length, percent, decimals, numbers as products, addition and subtraction of fractions, mixed numbers and ratios, division of fractions, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The text then examines positive and negative numbers and powers and computation. Topics include division and averages, multiplication, ratios, and measurements, scientific notation and estim

  2. Happy faces are preferred regardless of familiarity--sad faces are preferred only when familiar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Hsin-I; Shimojo, Shinsuke; Yeh, Su-Ling

    2013-06-01

    Familiarity leads to preference (e.g., the mere exposure effect), yet it remains unknown whether it is objective familiarity, that is, repetitive exposure, or subjective familiarity that contributes to preference. In addition, it is unexplored whether and how different emotions influence familiarity-related preference. The authors investigated whether happy or sad faces are preferred or perceived as more familiar and whether this subjective familiarity judgment correlates with preference for different emotional faces. An emotional face--happy or sad--was paired with a neutral face, and participants rated the relative preference and familiarity of each of the paired faces. For preference judgment, happy faces were preferred and sad faces were less preferred, compared with neutral faces. For familiarity judgment, happy faces did not show any bias, but sad faces were perceived as less familiar than neutral faces. Item-by-item correlational analyses show preference for sad faces--but not happy faces--positively correlate with familiarity. These results suggest a direct link between positive emotion and preference, and argue at least partly against a common cause for familiarity and preference. Instead, facial expression of different emotional valence modulates the link between familiarity and preference.

  3. Geotourism and volcanoes: health hazards facing tourists at volcanic and geothermal destinations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heggie, Travis W

    2009-09-01

    Volcano tourism and tourism to geothermal destinations is increasingly popular. If such endeavors are to be a sustainable sector of the tourism industry, tourists must be made aware of the potential health hazards facing them in volcanic environments. With the aim of creating awareness amongst the tourism industry and practitioners of travel medicine, this paper reviews the potential influences and effects of volcanic gases such as carbon dioxide (CO(2)), hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), and hydrogen chloride/hydrochloric acid (HCl). It also reviews the negative health impacts of tephra and ash, lava flows, landslides, and mudflows. Finally, future research striving to quantify the health risks facing volcano tourists is recommended.

  4. Face inversion increases attractiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leder, Helmut; Goller, Juergen; Forster, Michael; Schlageter, Lena; Paul, Matthew A

    2017-07-01

    Assessing facial attractiveness is a ubiquitous, inherent, and hard-wired phenomenon in everyday interactions. As such, it has highly adapted to the default way that faces are typically processed: viewing faces in upright orientation. By inverting faces, we can disrupt this default mode, and study how facial attractiveness is assessed. Faces, rotated at 90 (tilting to either side) and 180°, were rated on attractiveness and distinctiveness scales. For both orientations, we found that faces were rated more attractive and less distinctive than upright faces. Importantly, these effects were more pronounced for faces rated low in upright orientation, and smaller for highly attractive faces. In other words, the less attractive a face was, the more it gained in attractiveness by inversion or rotation. Based on these findings, we argue that facial attractiveness assessments might not rely on the presence of attractive facial characteristics, but on the absence of distinctive, unattractive characteristics. These unattractive characteristics are potentially weighed against an individual, attractive prototype in assessing facial attractiveness. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Measuring External Face Appearance for Face Classification

    OpenAIRE

    Masip, David; Lapedriza, Agata; Vitria, Jordi

    2007-01-01

    In this chapter we introduce the importance of the external features in face classification problems, and propose a methodology to extract the external features obtaining an aligned feature set. The extracted features can be used as input to any standard pattern recognition classifier, as the classic feature extraction approaches dealing with internal face regions in the literature. The resulting scheme follows a top-down segmentation approach to deal with the diversity inherent to the extern...

  6. Optimizing Fuzzy Rule Base for Illumination Compensation in Face Recognition using Genetic Algorithms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bima Sena Bayu Dewantara

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Fuzzy rule optimization is a challenging step in the development of a fuzzy model. A simple two inputs fuzzy model may have thousands of combination of fuzzy rules when it deals with large number of input variations. Intuitively and trial‐error determination of fuzzy rule is very difficult. This paper addresses the problem of optimizing Fuzzy rule using Genetic Algorithm to compensate illumination effect in face recognition. Since uneven illumination contributes negative effects to the performance of face recognition, those effects must be compensated. We have developed a novel algorithmbased on a reflectance model to compensate the effect of illumination for human face recognition. We build a pair of model from a single image and reason those modelsusing Fuzzy.Fuzzy rule, then, is optimized using Genetic Algorithm. This approachspendsless computation cost by still keepinga high performance. Based on the experimental result, we can show that our algorithm is feasiblefor recognizing desired person under variable lighting conditions with faster computation time. Keywords: Face recognition, harsh illumination, reflectance model, fuzzy, genetic algorithm

  7. Web-Based vs. Face-to-Face MBA Classes: A Comparative Assessment Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brownstein, Barry; Brownstein, Deborah; Gerlowski, Daniel A.

    2008-01-01

    The challenges of online learning include ensuring that the learning outcomes are at least as robust as in the face-to-face sections of the same course. At the University of Baltimore, both online sections and face-to-face sections of core MBA courses are offered. Once admitted to the MBA, students are free to enroll in any combination of…

  8. Reading in developmental prosopagnosia: Evidence for a dissociation between word and face recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Starrfelt, Randi; Klargaard, Solja K; Petersen, Anders; Gerlach, Christian

    2018-02-01

    Recent models suggest that face and word recognition may rely on overlapping cognitive processes and neural regions. In support of this notion, face recognition deficits have been demonstrated in developmental dyslexia. Here we test whether the opposite association can also be found, that is, impaired reading in developmental prosopagnosia. We tested 10 adults with developmental prosopagnosia and 20 matched controls. All participants completed the Cambridge Face Memory Test, the Cambridge Face Perception test and a Face recognition questionnaire used to quantify everyday face recognition experience. Reading was measured in four experimental tasks, testing different levels of letter, word, and text reading: (a) single word reading with words of varying length,(b) vocal response times in single letter and short word naming, (c) recognition of single letters and short words at brief exposure durations (targeting the word superiority effect), and d) text reading. Participants with developmental prosopagnosia performed strikingly similar to controls across the four reading tasks. Formal analysis revealed a significant dissociation between word and face recognition, as the difference in performance with faces and words was significantly greater for participants with developmental prosopagnosia than for controls. Adult developmental prosopagnosics read as quickly and fluently as controls, while they are seemingly unable to learn efficient strategies for recognizing faces. We suggest that this is due to the differing demands that face and word recognition put on the perceptual system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  9. Tritium saturation in plasma-facing materials surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Longhurst, G.R.; Anderl, R.A.; Pawelko, R.J.; Causey, R.A.; Federici, G.; Haasz, A.A.

    1998-01-01

    Plasma-facing components in the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) will experience high heat loads and intense plasma fluxes of order 10 20 -10 23 particles/m 2 s. Experiments on Be and W, two of the materials considered for use in ITER, have revealed that a tritium saturation phenomenon can take place under these conditions in which damage to the surface results that enhances the return of implanted tritium to the plasma and inhibits uptake of tritium. This phenomenon is important because it implies that tritium inventories due to implantation in these plasma-facing materials will probably be lower than was previously estimated using classical recombination-limited release at the plasma surface. Similarly, permeation through these components to the coolant streams should be reduced. In this paper we discuss evidences for the existence of this phenomenon, describe techniques for modeling it, and present results of the application of such modeling to prior experiments. (orig.)

  10. Tritium saturation in plasma-facing materials surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Longhurst, G.R.; Anderl, R.A.; Pawelko, R.J. [Idaho Nat. Eng. and Environ. Lab., Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Causey, R.A. [Sandia National Labs., Livermore, CA (United States); Federici, G. [ITER Garching Joint Work Site, Garching (Germany); Haasz, A.A. [Toronto Univ., ON (Canada). Inst. for Aerospace Studies

    1998-10-01

    Plasma-facing components in the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) will experience high heat loads and intense plasma fluxes of order 10{sup 20}-10{sup 23} particles/m{sup 2}s. Experiments on Be and W, two of the materials considered for use in ITER, have revealed that a tritium saturation phenomenon can take place under these conditions in which damage to the surface results that enhances the return of implanted tritium to the plasma and inhibits uptake of tritium. This phenomenon is important because it implies that tritium inventories due to implantation in these plasma-facing materials will probably be lower than was previously estimated using classical recombination-limited release at the plasma surface. Similarly, permeation through these components to the coolant streams should be reduced. In this paper we discuss evidences for the existence of this phenomenon, describe techniques for modeling it, and present results of the application of such modeling to prior experiments. (orig.) 39 refs.

  11. Recognition of face and non-face stimuli in autistic spectrum disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arkush, Leo; Smith-Collins, Adam P R; Fiorentini, Chiara; Skuse, David H

    2013-12-01

    The ability to remember faces is critical for the development of social competence. From childhood to adulthood, we acquire a high level of expertise in the recognition of facial images, and neural processes become dedicated to sustaining competence. Many people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have poor face recognition memory; changes in hairstyle or other non-facial features in an otherwise familiar person affect their recollection skills. The observation implies that they may not use the configuration of the inner face to achieve memory competence, but bolster performance in other ways. We aimed to test this hypothesis by comparing the performance of a group of high-functioning unmedicated adolescents with ASD and a matched control group on a "surprise" face recognition memory task. We compared their memory for unfamiliar faces with their memory for images of houses. To evaluate the role that is played by peripheral cues in assisting recognition memory, we cropped both sets of pictures, retaining only the most salient central features. ASD adolescents had poorer recognition memory for faces than typical controls, but their recognition memory for houses was unimpaired. Cropping images of faces did not disproportionately influence their recall accuracy, relative to controls. House recognition skills (cropped and uncropped) were similar in both groups. In the ASD group only, performance on both sets of task was closely correlated, implying that memory for faces and other complex pictorial stimuli is achieved by domain-general (non-dedicated) cognitive mechanisms. Adolescents with ASD apparently do not use domain-specialized processing of inner facial cues to support face recognition memory. © 2013 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Effects of "face" consciousness on status consumption among Chinese consumers: perceived social value as a mediator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jie; Zhang, Xin-An; Sun, Gong

    2015-02-01

    Chinese consumers are interested in status consumption, i.e., in striving to enhance their social standings through the consumption of luxury products. This study investigates how face consciousness, one's social self-esteem, and desire to be respected influences status consumption behavior in China. The Consciousness of Social Face Scale, the Social Value Scale, and the Status Consumption Scale were administered to 192 MBA students from a university in east China (117 men, 69 women, 6 unreported sex). The results revealed that face consciousness was positively related to Chinese consumers' status consumption. Moreover, the results showed that the effects of face consciousness on status consumption were partly mediated by consumer social value. The findings highlight the importance of face consciousness in understanding Chinese consumer behaviors.

  13. Affective reactions and context-dependent processing of negations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enrico Rubaltelli

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Three experiments demonstrate how the processing of negations is contingent on the evaluation context in which the negative information is presented. In addition, the strategy used to process the negations induced different affective reactions toward the stimuli, leading to inconsistency of preference. Participants were presented with stimuli described by either stating the presence of positive features (explicitly positive alternative or negating the presence of negative features (non-negative alternative. Alternatives were presented for either joint (JE or separate evaluation (SE. Experiment 1 showed that the non-negative stimuli were judged less attractive than the positive ones in JE but not in SE. Experiment 2 revealed that the non-negative stimuli induced a less clear and less positive feeling when they were paired with explicitly positive stimuli rather than evaluated separately. Non-negative options were also found less easy to judge than the positive ones in JE but not in SE. Finally, Experiment 3 showed that people process negations using two different models depending on the evaluation mode. Through a memory task, we found that in JE people process the non-negative attributes as negations of negative features, whereas in SE they directly process the non-negative attributes as positive features.

  14. Faces with Light Makeup Are Better Recognized than Faces with Heavy Makeup.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tagai, Keiko; Ohtaka, Hitomi; Nittono, Hiroshi

    2016-01-01

    Many women wear facial makeup to accentuate their appeal and attractiveness. Makeup may vary from natural (light) to glamorous (heavy), depending of the context of interpersonal situations, an emphasis on femininity, and current societal makeup trends. This study examined how light makeup and heavy makeup influenced attractiveness ratings and facial recognition. In a rating task, 38 Japanese women assigned attractiveness ratings to 36 Japanese female faces with no makeup, light makeup, and heavy makeup (12 each). In a subsequent recognition task, the participants were presented with 36 old and 36 new faces. Results indicated that attractiveness was rated highest for the light makeup faces and lowest for the no makeup faces. In contrast, recognition performance was higher for the no makeup and light make up faces than for the heavy makeup faces. Faces with heavy makeup produced a higher rate of false recognition than did other faces, possibly because heavy makeup creates an impression of the style of makeup itself, rather than the individual wearing the makeup. The present study suggests that light makeup is preferable to heavy makeup in that light makeup does not interfere with individual recognition and gives beholders positive impressions.

  15. Faces with light makeup are better recognized than faces with heavy makeup

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keiko eTagai

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Many women wear facial makeup to accentuate their appeal and attractiveness. Makeup may vary from natural (light to glamorous (heavy, depending of the context of interpersonal situations, an emphasis on femininity, and current societal makeup trends. This study examined how light makeup and heavy makeup influenced attractiveness ratings and facial recognition. In a rating task, 38 Japanese women assigned attractiveness ratings to 36 Japanese female faces with no makeup, light makeup, and heavy makeup (12 each. In a subsequent recognition task, the participants were presented with 36 old and 36 new faces. Results indicated that attractiveness was rated highest for the light makeup faces and lowest for the no makeup faces. In contrast, recognition performance was higher for the no makeup and light make up faces than for the heavy makeup faces. Faces with heavy makeup produced a higher rate of false recognition than did other faces, possibly because heavy makeup creates an impression of the style of makeup itself, rather than the individual wearing the makeup. The present study suggests that light makeup is preferable to heavy makeup in that light makeup does not interfere with individual recognition and gives beholders positive impressions.

  16. Neural mechanisms of negative reinforcement in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damiano, Cara R; Cockrell, Dillon C; Dunlap, Kaitlyn; Hanna, Eleanor K; Miller, Stephanie; Bizzell, Joshua; Kovac, Megan; Turner-Brown, Lauren; Sideris, John; Kinard, Jessica; Dichter, Gabriel S

    2015-01-01

    Previous research has found accumulating evidence for atypical reward processing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), particularly in the context of social rewards. Yet, this line of research has focused largely on positive social reinforcement, while little is known about the processing of negative reinforcement in individuals with ASD. The present study examined neural responses to social negative reinforcement (a face displaying negative affect) and non-social negative reinforcement (monetary loss) in children with ASD relative to typically developing children, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that children with ASD demonstrated hypoactivation of the right caudate nucleus while anticipating non-social negative reinforcement and hypoactivation of a network of frontostriatal regions (including the nucleus accumbens, caudate nucleus, and putamen) while anticipating social negative reinforcement. In addition, activation of the right caudate nucleus during non-social negative reinforcement was associated with individual differences in social motivation. These results suggest that atypical responding to negative reinforcement in children with ASD may contribute to social motivational deficits in this population.

  17. Recognizing the same face in different contexts: Testing within-person face recognition in typical development and in autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neil, Louise; Cappagli, Giulia; Karaminis, Themelis; Jenkins, Rob; Pellicano, Elizabeth

    2016-03-01

    Unfamiliar face recognition follows a particularly protracted developmental trajectory and is more likely to be atypical in children with autism than those without autism. There is a paucity of research, however, examining the ability to recognize the same face across multiple naturally varying images. Here, we investigated within-person face recognition in children with and without autism. In Experiment 1, typically developing 6- and 7-year-olds, 8- and 9-year-olds, 10- and 11-year-olds, 12- to 14-year-olds, and adults were given 40 grayscale photographs of two distinct male identities (20 of each face taken at different ages, from different angles, and in different lighting conditions) and were asked to sort them by identity. Children mistook images of the same person as images of different people, subdividing each individual into many perceived identities. Younger children divided images into more perceived identities than adults and also made more misidentification errors (placing two different identities together in the same group) than older children and adults. In Experiment 2, we used the same procedure with 32 cognitively able children with autism. Autistic children reported a similar number of identities and made similar numbers of misidentification errors to a group of typical children of similar age and ability. Fine-grained analysis using matrices revealed marginal group differences in overall performance. We suggest that the immature performance in typical and autistic children could arise from problems extracting the perceptual commonalities from different images of the same person and building stable representations of facial identity. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Lost in Translation: Adapting a Face-to-Face Course Into an Online Learning Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenzig, Melissa J

    2015-09-01

    Online education has grown dramatically over the past decade. Instructors who teach face-to-face courses are being called on to adapt their courses to the online environment. Many instructors do not have sufficient training to be able to effectively move courses to an online format. This commentary discusses the growth of online learning, common challenges faced by instructors adapting courses from face-to-face to online, and best practices for translating face-to-face courses into online learning opportunities. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  19. The activation of visual face memory and explicit face recognition are delayed in developmental prosopagnosia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parketny, Joanna; Towler, John; Eimer, Martin

    2015-08-01

    Individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) are strongly impaired in recognizing faces, but the causes of this deficit are not well understood. We employed event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to study the time-course of neural processes involved in the recognition of previously unfamiliar faces in DPs and in age-matched control participants with normal face recognition abilities. Faces of different individuals were presented sequentially in one of three possible views, and participants had to detect a specific Target Face ("Joe"). EEG was recorded during task performance to Target Faces, Nontarget Faces, or the participants' Own Face (which had to be ignored). The N250 component was measured as a marker of the match between a seen face and a stored representation in visual face memory. The subsequent P600f was measured as an index of attentional processes associated with the conscious awareness and recognition of a particular face. Target Faces elicited reliable N250 and P600f in the DP group, but both of these components emerged later in DPs than in control participants. This shows that the activation of visual face memory for previously unknown learned faces and the subsequent attentional processing and conscious recognition of these faces are delayed in DP. N250 and P600f components to Own Faces did not differ between the two groups, indicating that the processing of long-term familiar faces is less affected in DP. However, P600f components to Own Faces were absent in two participants with DP who failed to recognize their Own Face during the experiment. These results provide new evidence that face recognition deficits in DP may be linked to a delayed activation of visual face memory and explicit identity recognition mechanisms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. The asymmetrical force of persuasive knowledge across the positive-negative divide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordmo, Mads; Selart, Marcus

    2015-01-01

    In two experimental studies we explore to what extent the general effects of positive and negative framing also apply to positive and negative persuasion. Our results reveal that negative persuasion induces substantially higher levels of skepticism and awareness of being subjected to a persuasion attempt. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in positive persuasion, more claims lead to stronger persuasion, while in negative persuasion, the numerosity of claims carries no significant effect. We interpret this finding along the lines of a satiety-model of persuasion. Finally, using diluted, or low strength claims in a persuasion attempt, we reveal a significant interaction between dispositional reactance and dilution of claims on persuasion knowledge. The interaction states that diluted claims increase the awareness of being subjected to a persuasion attempt, but only for those with a high dispositional level of reactance.

  1. The asymmetrical force of persuasive knowledge across the positive-negative divide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mads eNordmo

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available In two experimental studies we explore to what extent the general effects of positive and negative framing also apply to positive and negative persuasion. Our results reveal that negative persuasion induces substantially higher levels of skepticism and awareness of being subjected to a persuasion attempt. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in positive persuasion, more claims lead to stronger persuasion, while in negative persuasion, the numerosity of claims carries no significant effect. We interpret this finding along the lines of a satiety-model of persuasion. Finally, using diluted, or low strength claims in a persuasion attempt, we reveal a significant interaction between dispositional reactance and dilution of claims on persuasion knowledge. The interaction states that diluted claims increase the awareness of being subjected to a persuasion attempt, but only for those with a high dispositional level of reactance.

  2. The asymmetrical force of persuasive knowledge across the positive–negative divide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordmo, Mads; Selart, Marcus

    2015-01-01

    In two experimental studies we explore to what extent the general effects of positive and negative framing also apply to positive and negative persuasion. Our results reveal that negative persuasion induces substantially higher levels of skepticism and awareness of being subjected to a persuasion attempt. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in positive persuasion, more claims lead to stronger persuasion, while in negative persuasion, the numerosity of claims carries no significant effect. We interpret this finding along the lines of a satiety-model of persuasion. Finally, using diluted, or low strength claims in a persuasion attempt, we reveal a significant interaction between dispositional reactance and dilution of claims on persuasion knowledge. The interaction states that diluted claims increase the awareness of being subjected to a persuasion attempt, but only for those with a high dispositional level of reactance. PMID:26388821

  3. Gaze Cueing by Pareidolia Faces

    OpenAIRE

    Kohske Takahashi; Katsumi Watanabe

    2013-01-01

    Visual images that are not faces are sometimes perceived as faces (the pareidolia phenomenon). While the pareidolia phenomenon provides people with a strong impression that a face is present, it is unclear how deeply pareidolia faces are processed as faces. In the present study, we examined whether a shift in spatial attention would be produced by gaze cueing of face-like objects. A robust cueing effect was observed when the face-like objects were perceived as faces. The magnitude of the cuei...

  4. Crossing the “Uncanny Valley”: adaptation to cartoon faces can influence perception of human faces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Haiwen; Russell, Richard; Nakayama, Ken; Livingstone, Margaret

    2013-01-01

    Adaptation can shift what individuals identify to be a prototypical or attractive face. Past work suggests that low-level shape adaptation can affect high-level face processing but is position dependent. Adaptation to distorted images of faces can also affect face processing but only within sub-categories of faces, such as gender, age, and race/ethnicity. This study assesses whether there is a representation of face that is specific to faces (as opposed to all shapes) but general to all kinds of faces (as opposed to subcategories) by testing whether adaptation to one type of face can affect perception of another. Participants were shown cartoon videos containing faces with abnormally large eyes. Using animated videos allowed us to simulate naturalistic exposure and avoid positional shape adaptation. Results suggest that adaptation to cartoon faces with large eyes shifts preferences for human faces toward larger eyes, supporting the existence of general face representations. PMID:20465173

  5. Amygdala reactivity to sad faces in preschool children: An early neural marker of persistent negative affect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael S. Gaffrey

    2016-02-01

    Conclusions: The current findings provide preliminary evidence for amygdala activity as a potential biomarker of persistent negative affect during early childhood and suggest future work examining the origins and long-term implications of this relationship is necessary.

  6. A multi-view face recognition system based on cascade face detector and improved Dlib

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Hongjun; Chen, Pei; Shen, Wei

    2018-03-01

    In this research, we present a framework for multi-view face detect and recognition system based on cascade face detector and improved Dlib. This method is aimed to solve the problems of low efficiency and low accuracy in multi-view face recognition, to build a multi-view face recognition system, and to discover a suitable monitoring scheme. For face detection, the cascade face detector is used to extracted the Haar-like feature from the training samples, and Haar-like feature is used to train a cascade classifier by combining Adaboost algorithm. Next, for face recognition, we proposed an improved distance model based on Dlib to improve the accuracy of multiview face recognition. Furthermore, we applied this proposed method into recognizing face images taken from different viewing directions, including horizontal view, overlooks view, and looking-up view, and researched a suitable monitoring scheme. This method works well for multi-view face recognition, and it is also simulated and tested, showing satisfactory experimental results.

  7. Facial expression primes and implicit regulation of negative emotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, HeungSik; Kim, Shin Ah; Kim, Sang Hee

    2015-06-17

    An individual's responses to emotional information are influenced not only by the emotional quality of the information, but also by the context in which the information is presented. We hypothesized that facial expressions of happiness and anger would serve as primes to modulate subjective and neural responses to subsequently presented negative information. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a functional MRI study in which the brains of healthy adults were scanned while they performed an emotion-rating task. During the task, participants viewed a series of negative and neutral photos, one at a time; each photo was presented after a picture showing a face expressing a happy, angry, or neutral emotion. Brain imaging results showed that compared with neutral primes, happy facial primes increased activation during negative emotion in the dorsal anterior cingulated cortex and the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, which are typically implicated in conflict detection and implicit emotion control, respectively. Conversely, relative to neutral primes, angry primes activated the right middle temporal gyrus and the left supramarginal gyrus during the experience of negative emotion. Activity in the amygdala in response to negative emotion was marginally reduced after exposure to happy primes compared with angry primes. Relative to neutral primes, angry facial primes increased the subjectively experienced intensity of negative emotion. The current study results suggest that prior exposure to facial expressions of emotions modulates the subsequent experience of negative emotion by implicitly activating the emotion-regulation system.

  8. Degraded Impairment of Emotion Recognition in Parkinson's Disease Extends from Negative to Positive Emotions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chia-Yao; Tien, Yi-Min; Huang, Jong-Tsun; Tsai, Chon-Haw; Hsu, Li-Chuan

    2016-01-01

    Because of dopaminergic neurodegeneration, patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) show impairment in the recognition of negative facial expressions. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether PD patients with more advanced motor problems would show a much greater deficit in recognition of emotional facial expressions than a control group and whether impairment of emotion recognition would extend to positive emotions. Twenty-nine PD patients and 29 age-matched healthy controls were recruited. Participants were asked to discriminate emotions in Experiment  1 and identify gender in Experiment  2. In Experiment  1, PD patients demonstrated a recognition deficit for negative (sadness and anger) and positive faces. Further analysis showed that only PD patients with high motor dysfunction performed poorly in recognition of happy faces. In Experiment  2, PD patients showed an intact ability for gender identification, and the results eliminated possible abilities in the functions measured in Experiment  2 as alternative explanations for the results of Experiment  1. We concluded that patients' ability to recognize emotions deteriorated as the disease progressed. Recognition of negative emotions was impaired first, and then the impairment extended to positive emotions.

  9. Depressed mothers' infants are less responsive to faces and voices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Field, Tiffany; Diego, Miguel; Hernandez-Reif, Maria

    2009-06-01

    A review of our recent research suggests that infants of depressed mothers appeared to be less responsive to faces and voices as early as the neonatal period. At that time they have shown less orienting to the live face/voice stimulus of the Brazelton scale examiner and to their own and other infants' cry sounds. This lesser responsiveness has been attributed to higher arousal, less attentiveness and less "empathy." Their delayed heart rate decelerations to instrumental and vocal music sounds have also been ascribed to their delayed attention and/or slower processing. Later at 3-6 months they showed less negative responding to their mothers' non-contingent and still-face behavior, suggesting that they were more accustomed to this behavior in their mothers. The less responsive behavior of the depressed mothers was further compounded by their comorbid mood states of anger and anxiety and their difficult interaction styles including withdrawn or intrusive interaction styles and their later authoritarian parenting style. Pregnancy massage was effectively used to reduce prenatal depression and facilitate more optimal neonatal behavior. Interaction coaching was used during the postnatal period to help these dyads with their interactions and ultimately facilitate the infants' development.

  10. Associations among Negative Parenting, Attention Bias to Anger, and Social Anxiety among Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulley, Lauren D.; Oppenheimer, Caroline W.; Hankin, Benjamin L.

    2014-01-01

    Theories of affective learning suggest that early experiences contribute to emotional disorders by influencing the development of processing biases for negative emotional stimuli. Although studies have shown that physically abused children preferentially attend to angry faces, it is unclear whether youth exposed to more typical aspects of negative…

  11. The Use of Computer-Mediated Communication To Enhance Subsequent Face-to-Face Discussions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dietz-Uhler, Beth; Bishop-Clark, Cathy

    2001-01-01

    Describes a study of undergraduate students that assessed the effects of synchronous (Internet chat) and asynchronous (Internet discussion board) computer-mediated communication on subsequent face-to-face discussions. Results showed that face-to-face discussions preceded by computer-mediated communication were perceived to be more enjoyable.…

  12. Adjudicating between face-coding models with individual-face fMRI responses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johan D Carlin

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The perceptual representation of individual faces is often explained with reference to a norm-based face space. In such spaces, individuals are encoded as vectors where identity is primarily conveyed by direction and distinctiveness by eccentricity. Here we measured human fMRI responses and psychophysical similarity judgments of individual face exemplars, which were generated as realistic 3D animations using a computer-graphics model. We developed and evaluated multiple neurobiologically plausible computational models, each of which predicts a representational distance matrix and a regional-mean activation profile for 24 face stimuli. In the fusiform face area, a face-space coding model with sigmoidal ramp tuning provided a better account of the data than one based on exemplar tuning. However, an image-processing model with weighted banks of Gabor filters performed similarly. Accounting for the data required the inclusion of a measurement-level population averaging mechanism that approximates how fMRI voxels locally average distinct neuronal tunings. Our study demonstrates the importance of comparing multiple models and of modeling the measurement process in computational neuroimaging.

  13. Using Negative Emotions to Trace the Experience of Borderline Personality Pathology: Interconnected Relationships Revealed in an Experience Sampling Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Mary Kate; Fleeson, William; Arnold, Elizabeth Mayfield; Furr, R Michael

    2016-02-01

    While emotional difficulties are highly implicated in borderline personality disorder (BPD), the dynamic relationships between emotions and BPD symptoms that occur in everyday life are unknown. The current paper examined the function of negative emotions as they relate to BPD symptoms in real time. Experience sampling methodology with 281 participants measured negative emotions and borderline symptoms, expressed as a spectrum of experiences, five times daily for two weeks. Overall, having a BDP diagnosis was associated with experiencing more negative emotions. Multilevel modeling supported positive concurrent relationships between negative emotions and BPD symptoms. Lagged models showed that even after 3 hours negative emotions and several symptoms continued to influence each other. Therefore, results indicated that negative emotions and BPD symptoms are intricately related; some evidenced long-lasting relationships. This research supports emotion-symptom contingencies within BPD and provides insight regarding the reactivity and functionality of negative emotions in borderline pathology.

  14. Schizophrenia and Category-Selectivity in the Brain: Normal for Faces but Abnormal for Houses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Kronbichler

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Face processing is regularly found to be impaired in schizophrenia (SZ, thus suggesting that social malfunctioning might be caused by dysfunctional face processing. Most studies focused on emotional face processes, whereas non-emotional face processing received less attention. While current reports on abnormal face processing in SZ are mixed, examinations of non-emotional face processing compared to adequate control stimuli may clarify whether SZ is characterized by a face-processing deficit. Patients with SZ (n = 28 and healthy controls (n = 30 engaged in an fMRI scan where images of non-emotional faces and houses were presented. A simple inverted-picture detection task warranted the participants’ attention. Region of interest (ROI analyses were conducted on face-sensitive regions including the fusiform face area, the occipital face area, and the superior temporal sulcus. Scene-sensitivity was assessed in the parahippocampal place area (PPA and served as control condition. Patients did not show aberrant face-related neural processes in face-sensitive regions. This finding was also evident when analyses were done on individually defined ROIs or on in-house-localizer ROIs. Patients revealed a decreased specificity toward house stimuli as reflected in decreased neural response toward houses in the PPA. Again, this result was supported by supplementary analyses. Neural activation toward neutral faces was not found to be impaired in SZ, therefore speaking against an overall face-processing deficit. Aberrant activation in scene-sensitive PPA is also found in assessments of memory processes in SZ. It is up to future studies to show how impairments in PPA relate to functional outcome in SZ.

  15. Face recognition accuracy of forensic examiners, superrecognizers, and face recognition algorithms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, P Jonathon; Yates, Amy N; Hu, Ying; Hahn, Carina A; Noyes, Eilidh; Jackson, Kelsey; Cavazos, Jacqueline G; Jeckeln, Géraldine; Ranjan, Rajeev; Sankaranarayanan, Swami; Chen, Jun-Cheng; Castillo, Carlos D; Chellappa, Rama; White, David; O'Toole, Alice J

    2018-05-29

    Achieving the upper limits of face identification accuracy in forensic applications can minimize errors that have profound social and personal consequences. Although forensic examiners identify faces in these applications, systematic tests of their accuracy are rare. How can we achieve the most accurate face identification: using people and/or machines working alone or in collaboration? In a comprehensive comparison of face identification by humans and computers, we found that forensic facial examiners, facial reviewers, and superrecognizers were more accurate than fingerprint examiners and students on a challenging face identification test. Individual performance on the test varied widely. On the same test, four deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs), developed between 2015 and 2017, identified faces within the range of human accuracy. Accuracy of the algorithms increased steadily over time, with the most recent DCNN scoring above the median of the forensic facial examiners. Using crowd-sourcing methods, we fused the judgments of multiple forensic facial examiners by averaging their rating-based identity judgments. Accuracy was substantially better for fused judgments than for individuals working alone. Fusion also served to stabilize performance, boosting the scores of lower-performing individuals and decreasing variability. Single forensic facial examiners fused with the best algorithm were more accurate than the combination of two examiners. Therefore, collaboration among humans and between humans and machines offers tangible benefits to face identification accuracy in important applications. These results offer an evidence-based roadmap for achieving the most accurate face identification possible. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  16. Face-blind for other-race faces: Individual differences in other-race recognition impairments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Lulu; Crookes, Kate; Dawel, Amy; Pidcock, Madeleine; Hall, Ashleigh; McKone, Elinor

    2017-01-01

    We report the existence of a previously undescribed group of people, namely individuals who are so poor at recognition of other-race faces that they meet criteria for clinical-level impairment (i.e., they are "face-blind" for other-race faces). Testing 550 participants, and using the well-validated Cambridge Face Memory Test for diagnosing face blindness, results show the rate of other-race face blindness to be nontrivial, specifically 8.1% of Caucasians and Asians raised in majority own-race countries. Results also show risk factors for other-race face blindness to include: a lack of interracial contact; and being at the lower end of the normal range of general face recognition ability (i.e., even for own-race faces); but not applying less individuating effort to other-race than own-race faces. Findings provide a potential resolution of contradictory evidence concerning the importance of the other-race effect (ORE), by explaining how it is possible for the mean ORE to be modest in size (suggesting a genuine but minor problem), and simultaneously for individuals to suffer major functional consequences in the real world (e.g., eyewitness misidentification of other-race offenders leading to wrongful imprisonment). Findings imply that, in legal settings, evaluating an eyewitness's chance of having made an other-race misidentification requires information about the underlying face recognition abilities of the individual witness. Additionally, analogy with prosopagnosia (inability to recognize even own-race faces) suggests everyday social interactions with other-race people, such as those between colleagues in the workplace, will be seriously impacted by the ORE in some people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. Dissociation between face perception and face memory in adults, but not children, with developmental prosopagnosia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirsten A. Dalrymple

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Cognitive models propose that face recognition is accomplished through a series of discrete stages, including perceptual representation of facial structure, and encoding and retrieval of facial information. This implies that impaired face recognition can result from failures of face perception, face memory, or both. Studies of acquired prosopagnosia, autism spectrum disorders, and the development of normal face recognition support the idea that face perception and face memory are distinct processes, yet this distinction has received little attention in developmental prosopagnosia (DP. To address this issue, we tested the face perception and face memory of children and adults with DP. By definition, face memory is impaired in DP, so memory deficits were present in all participants. However, we found that all children, but only half of the adults had impaired face perception. Thus, results from adults indicate that face perception and face memory are dissociable, while the results from children provide no evidence for this division. Importantly, our findings raise the possibility that DP is qualitatively different in childhood versus adulthood. We discuss theoretical explanations for this developmental pattern and conclude that longitudinal studies are necessary to better understand the developmental trajectory of face perception and face memory deficits in DP.

  18. Dissociation between face perception and face memory in adults, but not children, with developmental prosopagnosia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalrymple, Kirsten A; Garrido, Lúcia; Duchaine, Brad

    2014-10-01

    Cognitive models propose that face recognition is accomplished through a series of discrete stages, including perceptual representation of facial structure, and encoding and retrieval of facial information. This implies that impaired face recognition can result from failures of face perception, face memory, or both. Studies of acquired prosopagnosia, autism spectrum disorders, and the development of normal face recognition support the idea that face perception and face memory are distinct processes, yet this distinction has received little attention in developmental prosopagnosia (DP). To address this issue, we tested the face perception and face memory of children and adults with DP. By definition, face memory is impaired in DP, so memory deficits were present in all participants. However, we found that all children, but only half of the adults had impaired face perception. Thus, results from adults indicate that face perception and face memory are dissociable, while the results from children provide no evidence for this division. Importantly, our findings raise the possibility that DP is qualitatively different in childhood versus adulthood. We discuss theoretical explanations for this developmental pattern and conclude that longitudinal studies are necessary to better understand the developmental trajectory of face perception and face memory deficits in DP. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  19. Orienting to face expression during encoding improves men's recognition of own gender faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fulton, Erika K; Bulluck, Megan; Hertzog, Christopher

    2015-10-01

    It is unclear why women have superior episodic memory of faces, but the benefit may be partially the result of women engaging in superior processing of facial expressions. Therefore, we hypothesized that orienting instructions to attend to facial expression at encoding would significantly improve men's memory of faces and possibly reduce gender differences. We directed 203 college students (122 women) to study 120 faces under instructions to orient to either the person's gender or their emotional expression. They later took a recognition test of these faces by either judging whether they had previously studied the same person or that person with the exact same expression; the latter test evaluated recollection of specific facial details. Orienting to facial expressions during encoding significantly improved men's recognition of own-gender faces and eliminated the advantage that women had for male faces under gender orienting instructions. Although gender differences in spontaneous strategy use when orienting to faces cannot fully account for gender differences in face recognition, orienting men to facial expression during encoding is one way to significantly improve their episodic memory for male faces. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Delayed Face Recognition in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zahra Shahrivar

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs have great problems in social interactions including face recognition. There are many studies reporting deficits in face memory in individuals with ASDs. On the other hand, some studies indicate that this kind of memory is intact in this group. In the present study, delayed face recognition has been investigated in children and adolescents with ASDs compared to the age and sex matched typically developing group.Methods: In two sessions, Benton Facial Recognition Test was administered to 15 children and adolescents with ASDs (high functioning autism and Asperger syndrome and to 15 normal participants, ages 8-17 years. In the first condition, the long form of Benton Facial Recognition Test was used without any delay. In the second session, this test was administered with 15 seconds delay after one week. The reaction times and correct responses were measured in both conditions as the dependent variables.Results: Comparison of the reaction times and correct responses in the two groups revealed no significant difference in delayed and non-delayed conditions. Furthermore, no significant difference was observed between the two conditions in ASDs patients when comparing the variables. Although a significant correlation (p<0.05 was found between delayed and non-delayed conditions, it was not significant in the normal group. Moreover, data analysis revealed no significant difference between the two groups in the two conditions when the IQ was considered as covariate. Conclusion: In this study, it was found that the ability to recognize faces in simultaneous and delayed conditions is similar between adolescents with ASDs and their normal counterparts.

  1. Do international flights promote FDI? : the role of face-to-face communication

    OpenAIRE

    Tanaka, Kiyoyasu

    2016-01-01

    Air transportation facilitates face-to-face interactions across borders for the spatial expansion of manufacturing production. I investigate the impact of international flights on FDI entry by Japanese firms. I find that FDI entry significantly increases with the weekly frequency of flights from Japan, and the positive impact increases with a proxy for an intensity of face-to-face communication between the parent firm and foreign affiliate. The results are robust to estimation methods, additi...

  2. Doctor-patient communication: a comparison between telemedicine consultation and face-to-face consultation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiao; Sawada, Yoshie; Takizawa, Takako; Sato, Hiroko; Sato, Mahito; Sakamoto, Hironosuke; Utsugi, Toshihiro; Sato, Kunio; Sumino, Hiroyuki; Okamura, Shinichi; Sakamaki, Tetsuo

    2007-01-01

    The objective of this study was to compare doctor-patient communications in clinical consultations via telemedicine technology to doctor-patient communications in face-to-face clinical consultations. Five doctors who had been practicing internal medicine for 8 to 18 years, and twenty patients were enrolled in this study; neither doctors nor patients had previous experience of telemedicine. The patients received both a telemedicine consultation and a face-to-face consultation. Three measures--video observation, medical record volume, and participants' satisfaction--were used for the assessment. It was found that the time spent on the telemedicine consultation was substantially longer than the time spent on the face-to-face consultation. No statistically significant differences were found in the number of either closed or open-ended questions asked by doctors between both types of consultation. Empathy-utterances, praise-utterances, and facilitation-utterances were, however, seen less in the telemedicine consultations than in the face-to-face consultations. The volume of the medical records was statistically smaller in the telemedicine consultations than in the face-to-face consultations. Patients were satisfied with the telemedicine consultation, but doctors were dissatisfied with it and felt hampered by the communication barriers. This study suggests that new training programs are needed for doctors to develop improved communication skills and the ability to express empathy in telemedicine consultations.

  3. Processing of emotional faces in congenital amusia: An emotional music priming event-related potential study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhishuai, Jin; Hong, Liu; Daxing, Wu; Pin, Zhang; Xuejing, Lu

    2017-01-01

    Congenital amusia is characterized by lifelong impairments in music perception and processing. It is unclear whether pitch detection deficits impact amusic individuals' perception of musical emotion. In the current work, 19 amusics and 21 healthy controls were subjected to electroencephalography (EEG) while being exposed to music excerpts and emotional faces. We assessed each individual's ability to discriminate positive- and negative-valenced emotional faces and analyzed electrophysiological indices, in the form of event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded at 32 sites, following exposure to emotionally positive or negative music excerpts. We observed smaller N2 amplitudes in response to facial expressions in the amusia group than in the control group, suggesting that amusics were less affected by the musical stimuli. The late-positive component (LPC) in amusics was similar to that in controls. Our results suggest that the neurocognitive deficit characteristic of congenital amusia is fundamentally an impairment in musical information processing rather than an impairment in emotional processing.

  4. Processing of emotional faces in congenital amusia: An emotional music priming event-related potential study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin Zhishuai

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Congenital amusia is characterized by lifelong impairments in music perception and processing. It is unclear whether pitch detection deficits impact amusic individuals' perception of musical emotion. In the current work, 19 amusics and 21 healthy controls were subjected to electroencephalography (EEG while being exposed to music excerpts and emotional faces. We assessed each individual's ability to discriminate positive- and negative-valenced emotional faces and analyzed electrophysiological indices, in the form of event-related potentials (ERPs recorded at 32 sites, following exposure to emotionally positive or negative music excerpts. We observed smaller N2 amplitudes in response to facial expressions in the amusia group than in the control group, suggesting that amusics were less affected by the musical stimuli. The late-positive component (LPC in amusics was similar to that in controls. Our results suggest that the neurocognitive deficit characteristic of congenital amusia is fundamentally an impairment in musical information processing rather than an impairment in emotional processing.

  5. Isolation and molecular characterization of a urease-negative Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae mutant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ito, Hiroya; Takahashi, Sayaka; Asai, Tetsuo; Tamura, Yutaka; Yamamoto, Koshi

    2018-01-01

    An atypical urease-negative mutant of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serovar 2 was isolated in Japan. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the urease gene cluster revealed that the insertion of a short DNA sequence into the cbiM gene was responsible for the urease-negative activity of the mutant. Veterinary diagnostic laboratories should be watchful for the presence of aberrant urease-negative A. pleuropneumoniae isolates.

  6. Hyper-realistic face masks: a new challenge in person identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, Jet Gabrielle; Ueda, Yoshiyuki; Minemoto, Kazusa; Noyes, Eilidh; Yoshikawa, Sakiko; Jenkins, Rob

    2017-01-01

    We often identify people using face images. This is true in occupational settings such as passport control as well as in everyday social environments. Mapping between images and identities assumes that facial appearance is stable within certain bounds. For example, a person's apparent age, gender and ethnicity change slowly, if at all. It also assumes that deliberate changes beyond these bounds (i.e., disguises) would be easy to spot. Hyper-realistic face masks overturn these assumptions by allowing the wearer to look like an entirely different person. If unnoticed, these masks break the link between facial appearance and personal identity, with clear implications for applied face recognition. However, to date, no one has assessed the realism of these masks, or specified conditions under which they may be accepted as real faces. Herein, we examined incidental detection of unexpected but attended hyper-realistic masks in both photographic and live presentations. Experiment 1 (UK; n = 60) revealed no evidence for overt detection of hyper-realistic masks among real face photos, and little evidence of covert detection. Experiment 2 (Japan; n = 60) extended these findings to different masks, mask-wearers and participant pools. In Experiment 3 (UK and Japan; n = 407), passers-by failed to notice that a live confederate was wearing a hyper-realistic mask and showed limited evidence of covert detection, even at close viewing distance (5 vs. 20 m). Across all of these studies, viewers accepted hyper-realistic masks as real faces. Specific countermeasures will be required if detection rates are to be improved.

  7. vMMN for schematic faces: automatic detection of change in emotional expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kairi eKreegipuu

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Our brain is able to automatically detect changes in sensory stimulation, including in vision. A large variety of changes of features in stimulation elicit a deviance-reflecting ERP component known as the mismatch negativity (MMN. The present study has three main goals: (1 to register vMMN using a rapidly presented stream of schematic faces (neutral, happy, angry; adapted from Öhman et al., 2001; (2 to compare elicited vMMNs to angry and happy schematic faces in two different paradigms, in a traditional oddball design with frequent standard and rare target and deviant stimuli (12.5% each and in an version of an optimal multi-feature paradigm with several deviant stimuli (altogether 37.5% in the stimulus block; (3 to compare vMMNs to subjective ratings of valence, arousal and attention capture for happy and angry schematic faces, i.e., to estimate the effect of affective value of stimuli on their automatic detection. Eleven observers (19-32 years, 6 women took part in both experiments, an oddball and optimum paradigm. Stimuli were rapidly presented schematic faces and an object with face-features that served as the target stimulus to be detected by a button-press. Results show that a vMMN-type response at posterior sites was equally elicited in both experiments. Post-experimental reports confirmed that the angry face attracted more automatic attention than the happy face but the difference did not emerge directly at the ERP level. Thus, when interested in studying change detection in facial expressions we encourage the use of the optimum (multi-feature design in order to save time and other experimental resources.

  8. When negation is not negation

    OpenAIRE

    Milicevic, Nataša

    2008-01-01

    In this paper I will discuss the formation of different types of yes/no questions in Serbian (examples in (1)), focusing on the syntactically and semantically puzzling example (1d), which involves the negative auxiliary inversion. Although there is a negative marker on the fronted auxiliary, the construction does not involve sentential negation. This coincides with the fact that the negative quantifying NPIs cannot be licensed. The question formation and sentential negation have similar synta...

  9. Electronically excited negative ion resonant states in chloroethylenes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khvostenko, O.G., E-mail: khv@mail.ru; Lukin, V.G.; Tuimedov, G.M.; Khatymova, L.Z.; Kinzyabulatov, R.R.; Tseplin, E.E.

    2015-02-15

    Highlights: • Several novel dissociative negative ion channels were revealed in chloroethylenes. • The electronically excited resonant states were recorded in all chloroethylenes under study. • The states were assigned to the inter-shell types, but not to the core-excited Feshbach one. - Abstract: The negative ion mass spectra of the resonant electron capture by molecules of 1,1-dichloroethylene, 1,2-dichloroethylene-cis, 1,2-dichloroethylene-trans, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene have been recorded in the 0–12 eV range of the captured electron energy using static magnetic sector mass spectrometer modified for operation in the resonant electron capture regime. As a result, several novel low-intensive dissociation channels were revealed in the compounds under study. Additionally, the negative ion resonant states were recorded at approximately 3–12 eV, mostly for the first time. These resonant states were assigned to the electronically excited resonances of the inter-shell type by comparing their energies with those of the parent neutral molecules triplet and singlet electronically excited states known from the energy-loss spectra obtained by previous studies.

  10. The time course of face processing: startle eyeblink response modulation by face gender and expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duval, Elizabeth R; Lovelace, Christopher T; Aarant, Justin; Filion, Diane L

    2013-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of both facial expression and face gender on startle eyeblink response patterns at varying lead intervals (300, 800, and 3500ms) indicative of attentional and emotional processes. We aimed to determine whether responses to affective faces map onto the Defense Cascade Model (Lang et al., 1997) to better understand the stages of processing during affective face viewing. At 300ms, there was an interaction between face expression and face gender with female happy and neutral faces and male angry faces producing inhibited startle. At 3500ms, there was a trend for facilitated startle during angry compared to neutral faces. These findings suggest that affective expressions are perceived differently in male and female faces, especially at short lead intervals. Future studies investigating face processing should take both face gender and expression into account. © 2013.

  11. Enhanced Attention to Speaking Faces Versus Other Event Types Emerges Gradually Across Infancy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahrick, Lorraine E.; Todd, James Torrence; Castellanos, Irina; Sorondo, Barbara M.

    2017-01-01

    The development of attention to dynamic faces vs. objects providing synchronous audiovisual vs. silent visual stimulation was assessed in a large sample of infants. Maintaining attention to the faces and voices of people speaking is critical for perceptual, cognitive, social, and language development. However, no studies have systematically assessed when, if, or how attention to speaking faces emerges and changes across infancy. Two measures of attention maintenance, habituation time (HT) and look-away rate (LAR), were derived from cross-sectional data of 2- to 8-month-old infants (N = 801). Results indicated that attention to audiovisual faces and voices was maintained across age, whereas attention to each of the other event types (audiovisual objects, silent dynamic faces, silent dynamic objects) declined across age. This reveals a gradually emerging advantage in attention maintenance (longer habituation times, lower look-away rates) for audiovisual speaking faces compared with the other three event types. At 2 months, infants showed no attentional advantage for faces (with greater attention to audiovisual than to visual events), at 3 months, they attended more to dynamic faces than objects (in the presence or absence of voices), and by 4 to 5 and 6 to 8 months significantly greater attention emerged to temporally coordinated faces and voices of people speaking compared with all other event types. Our results indicate that selective attention to coordinated faces and voices over other event types emerges gradually across infancy, likely as a function of experience with multimodal, redundant stimulation from person and object events. PMID:27786526

  12. Brain Activity Related to the Judgment of Face-Likeness: Correlation between EEG and Face-Like Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuji Nihei

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Faces represent important information for social communication, because social information, such as face-color, expression, and gender, is obtained from faces. Therefore, individuals' tend to find faces unconsciously, even in objects. Why is face-likeness perceived in non-face objects? Previous event-related potential (ERP studies showed that the P1 component (early visual processing, the N170 component (face detection, and the N250 component (personal detection reflect the neural processing of faces. Inverted faces were reported to enhance the amplitude and delay the latency of P1 and N170. To investigate face-likeness processing in the brain, we explored the face-related components of the ERP through a face-like evaluation task using natural faces, cars, insects, and Arcimboldo paintings presented upright or inverted. We found a significant correlation between the inversion effect index and face-like scores in P1 in both hemispheres and in N170 in the right hemisphere. These results suggest that judgment of face-likeness occurs in a relatively early stage of face processing.

  13. Brain Activity Related to the Judgment of Face-Likeness: Correlation between EEG and Face-Like Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nihei, Yuji; Minami, Tetsuto; Nakauchi, Shigeki

    2018-01-01

    Faces represent important information for social communication, because social information, such as face-color, expression, and gender, is obtained from faces. Therefore, individuals' tend to find faces unconsciously, even in objects. Why is face-likeness perceived in non-face objects? Previous event-related potential (ERP) studies showed that the P1 component (early visual processing), the N170 component (face detection), and the N250 component (personal detection) reflect the neural processing of faces. Inverted faces were reported to enhance the amplitude and delay the latency of P1 and N170. To investigate face-likeness processing in the brain, we explored the face-related components of the ERP through a face-like evaluation task using natural faces, cars, insects, and Arcimboldo paintings presented upright or inverted. We found a significant correlation between the inversion effect index and face-like scores in P1 in both hemispheres and in N170 in the right hemisphere. These results suggest that judgment of face-likeness occurs in a relatively early stage of face processing.

  14. A Comparison of Online and Face-to-Face Approaches to Teaching Introduction to American Government

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolsen, Toby; Evans, Michael; Fleming, Anna McCaghren

    2016-01-01

    This article reports results from a large study comparing four different approaches to teaching Introduction to American Government: (1) traditional, a paper textbook with 100% face-to-face lecture-style teaching; (2) breakout, a paper textbook with 50% face-to-face lecture-style teaching and 50% face-to-face small-group breakout discussion…

  15. Attention Capture by Faces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langton, Stephen R. H.; Law, Anna S.; Burton, A. Mike; Schweinberger, Stefan R.

    2008-01-01

    We report three experiments that investigate whether faces are capable of capturing attention when in competition with other non-face objects. In Experiment 1a participants took longer to decide that an array of objects contained a butterfly target when a face appeared as one of the distracting items than when the face did not appear in the array.…

  16. Suicidal nitrogen inhalation by use of scuba full-face diving mask.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Straka, Lubomir; Novomesky, Frantisek; Gavel, Anton; Mlynar, Juraj; Hejna, Petr

    2013-09-01

    A 29-year-old man was found dead lying on the bed in a hotel room in a famous Slovak mountain resort. He had a full-face diving mask on his face, connected through a diving breath regulator to a valve of an industrial (nondiving) high-pressure tank containing pure 100% nitrogen. The breath regulator (open-circuit type) used allowed inhalation of nitrogen without addition of open air, and the full-face diving mask assured aspiration of the gas even during the time of unconsciousness. At autopsy, we found the typical signs of suffocation. Toxicological analysis revealed 94.7% content of nitrogen in alveolar air. Following the completion of the police investigation, the manner of death was classified as a suicide. Within the medico-legal literature, there has been only one similar case of suicidal nitrogen inhalation described. © 2013 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  17. Increasing the Value of Agricultural Products in the Face of Global ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Paper examined the increasing value of agricultural products in the face of global economic recession in Anambra State. The paper revealed that Anambra State is endowed with human and natural resources and if properly harnessed, can go a long way in arresting the food insecurity in the State and alleviate the ...

  18. Elements of person knowledge: Episodic recollection helps us to identify people but not to recognize their faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacKenzie, Graham; Donaldson, David I

    2016-12-01

    Faces automatically draw attention, allowing rapid assessments of personality and likely behaviour. How we respond to people is, however, highly dependent on whether we know who they are. According to face processing models person knowledge comes from an extended neural system that includes structures linked to episodic memory. Here we use scalp recorded brain signals to demonstrate the specific role of episodic memory processes during face processing. In two experiments we recorded Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) while participants made identify, familiar or unknown responses to famous faces. ERPs revealed neural signals previously associated with episodic recollection for identify but not familiar faces. These findings provide novel evidence suggesting that recollection is central to face processing, providing one source of person knowledge that can be used to moderate the initial impressions gleaned from the core neural system that supports face recognition. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Why We Respond Faster to the Self than to Others? An Implicit Positive Association Theory of Self-Advantage during Implicit Face Recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Yina; Han, Shihui

    2010-01-01

    Human adults usually respond faster to their own faces rather than to those of others. We tested the hypothesis that an implicit positive association (IPA) with self mediates self-advantage in face recognition through 4 experiments. Using a self-concept threat (SCT) priming that associated the self with negative personal traits and led to a…

  20. Real-time teleophthalmology versus face-to-face consultation: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Irene J; Dobson, Lucy P; Bartnik, Stephen; Muir, Josephine; Turner, Angus W

    2017-08-01

    Introduction Advances in imaging capabilities and the evolution of real-time teleophthalmology have the potential to provide increased coverage to areas with limited ophthalmology services. However, there is limited research assessing the diagnostic accuracy of face-to-face teleophthalmology consultation. This systematic review aims to determine if real-time teleophthalmology provides comparable accuracy to face-to-face consultation for the diagnosis of common eye health conditions. Methods A search of PubMed, Embase, Medline and Cochrane databases and manual citation review was conducted on 6 February and 7 April 2016. Included studies involved real-time telemedicine in the field of ophthalmology or optometry, and assessed diagnostic accuracy against gold-standard face-to-face consultation. The revised quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS-2) tool assessed risk of bias. Results Twelve studies were included, with participants ranging from four to 89 years old. A broad number of conditions were assessed and include corneal and retinal pathologies, strabismus, oculoplastics and post-operative review. Quality assessment identified a high or unclear risk of bias in patient selection (75%) due to an undisclosed recruitment processes. The index test showed high risk of bias in the included studies, due to the varied interpretation and conduct of real-time teleophthalmology methods. Reference standard risk was overall low (75%), as was the risk due to flow and timing (75%). Conclusion In terms of diagnostic accuracy, real-time teleophthalmology was considered superior to face-to-face consultation in one study and comparable in six studies. Store-and-forward image transmission coupled with real-time videoconferencing is a suitable alternative to overcome poor internet transmission speeds.