Abstract
How do our brains respond when we are being watched by a group of people?Despite the large volume of literature devoted to face processing, this question has received very little attention. Here we measured the effects on the face-sensitive N170 and other ERPs to viewing displays of one, two and three faces in two experiments. In Experiment 1, overall image brightness and contrast were adjusted to be constant, whereas in Experiment 2 local contrast and brightness of individual faces were not manipulated. A robust positive-negative-positive (P100-N170-P250) ERP complex and an additional late positive ERP, the P400, were elicited to all stimulus types. As the number of faces in the display increased, N170 amplitude increased for both stimulus sets, and latency increased in Experiment 2. P100 latency and P250 amplitude were affected by changes in overall brightness and contrast, but not by the number of faces in the display per se. In Experiment 1 when overall brightness and contrast were adjusted to be constant, later ERP (P250 and P400) latencies showed differences as a function of hemisphere. Hence, our data indicate that N170 increases its magnitude when multiple faces are seen, apparently impervious to basic low-level stimulus features including stimulus size. Outstanding questions remain regarding category-sensitive neural activity that is elicited to viewing multiple items of stimulus categories other than faces.
Highlights
Why do we feel self-conscious when we are being watched by a group of people? If we are required to perform a certain task, the fact that we know that we are being watched by others can potentially alter our behavior (Conty et al, 2010a,b)
We studied how neural responses, P100, N170 (N1), and P250, varied when individuals face the direct gaze of differing numbers of faces—a likely scenario that would be often encountered in naturalistic stimulation
event-related potential (ERP) DATA In both experiments a prominent positive-negative-positive ERP complex consisting of three ERP components (P100, N170, and P250) was elicited to all three viewing conditions (Figure 2) and was maximal at the bilateral temporo-occipital scalp in both experiments (Figure 3)
Summary
If we are required to perform a certain task, the fact that we know that we are being watched by others can potentially alter our behavior (Conty et al, 2010a,b). It is the scrutiny of others and their gaze falling on us that is said to be at the heart of the problem. Perceived direct gaze from others is thought to increase arousal in the individual being watched (Conty et al, 2010a,b) This effect can be seen even when isolated eyes, devoid of the rest of the face, are presented (Conty et al, 2010b). Social anxiety has typically been investigated in terms of the brain’s response to viewing a face with an emotional expression such as fear or anger, with personality type influencing how the brain responds to the facial expression (Cremers et al, 2010; Demenescu et al, 2010; Calder et al, 2011)
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