Study Finds Key Brain Region’s Role in Facial Recognition

Neurons in the amygdala region of the brain respond to the visual stimulation processed by the retina and a network of interconnected brain structures. A recent study conducted by the California Institute of Technology has found that some of the brain cells that specialize in recognizing emotions may represent judgments based on the viewer’s preconceptions rather than the true emotion being expressed. Although the amygdala’s importance in facial recognition and emotional assessment is well-known, little is understood about how these processes work. During the study, researchers used electrodes placed deep in the brains of volunteers to record activity of individual neurons while they viewed pictures of faces whose emotions were difficult to recognize. Researchers found a subset of neurons that were “emotion-selective” because their responses distinguished between happy and fearful faces. The results of the study showed when a fear face was incorrectly judged as happy, the neurons responded as if a happy face was correctly judged as happy by the volunteer — even though they had chosen incorrectly. Additionally, when a happy face was incorrectly judged, the neurons responded as if it had been correctly judged. The results indicate that neurons’ responses were based on the perceived judgments that the volunteers made, rather than the actual emotion depicted. To read more about this study, click here.