Abstract
Smooth social communication consists of both verbal and non-verbal information. However, when presented with incongruence between verbal information and nonverbal information, the relationship between an individual judging trustworthiness in those who present the verbal-nonverbal incongruence and the brain activities observed during judgment for trustworthiness are not clear. In the present study, we attempted to identify the impact of incongruencies between verbal information and facial expression on the value of trustworthiness and brain activity using event-related potentials (ERP). Combinations of verbal information [positive/negative] and facial expressions [smile/angry] expressions were presented randomly on a computer screen to 17 healthy volunteers. The value of trustworthiness of the presented facial expression was evaluated by the amount of donation offered by the observer to the person depicted on the computer screen. In addition, the time required to judge the value of trustworthiness was recorded for each trial. Using electroencephalography, ERP were obtained by averaging the wave patterns recorded while the participants judged the value of trustworthiness. The amount of donation offered was significantly lower when the verbal information and facial expression were incongruent, particularly for [negative × smile]. The amplitude of the early posterior negativity (EPN) at the temporal lobe showed no significant difference between all conditions. However, the amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP) at the parietal electrodes for the incongruent condition [negative × smile] was higher than that for the congruent condition [positive × smile]. These results suggest that the LPP amplitude observed from the parietal cortex is involved in the processing of incongruence between verbal information and facial expression.
Highlights
When an individual experiences a particular emotion, it is usually manifest as a particular facial expression
Our results suggest that activity in the parietal lobe increases when observing a smiling face paired with negative verbal information, that is, when the verbal information and facial expression are incongruent [7]
This study investigated changes in the perceived trustworthiness of a person showing a facial expression when incongruent information was provided by a sentence followed by a facial expression
Summary
When an individual experiences a particular emotion, it is usually manifest as a particular facial expression. Individuals infer other people’s emotions by observing. Many studies have examined brain activities related to the face and the recognition of facial expression. Using event-related potentials (ERP), Clark et al analyzed facial recognition temporally [1]. Their results demonstrated that, when compared to the blank conditions used as a baseline, face stimuli activated the occipito-temporal lobe, including the fusiform facial area (FFA). In ERP, when facial images are displayed, a latency of approximately 170 ms negative (N170) is observed in the occipito-temporal lobe in the vicinity of the FFA [2]
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