Task-invariant Brain Responses to the Social Value of Faces

• Published in: Journal of cognitive neuroscience Vol. 23; no. 10; pp. 2766 - 2781
• Main Authors: Todorov, Alexander, Said, Christopher P., Oosterhof, Nikolaas N., Engell, Andrew D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: One Rogers Street, Cambridge, MA 02142-1209, USA MIT Press 01.10.2011; MIT Press Journals, The
• Subjects: Adolescent; Analysis of Variance; Brain; Brain - blood supply; Brain - physiology; Brain Mapping; Decision making; Decision Making - physiology; Face; Facial Expression; Female; Functional Laterality - physiology; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Judgment; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Neurosciences; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Oxygen - blood; Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology; Photic Stimulation; Reaction Time - physiology; Sensory perception; Social Values; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0898-929X; 1530-8898
• DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2011.21616

In two fMRI experiments ( = 44) using tasks with different demands—approach–avoidance versus one-back recognition decisions—we measured the responses to the social value of faces. The face stimuli were produced by a parametric model of face evaluation that reduces multiple social evaluations to two orthogonal dimensions of valence and power [Oosterhof, N. N., & Todorov, A. The functional basis of face evaluation. 11087–11092, 2008]. Independent of the task, the response within regions of the occipital, fusiform, and lateral prefrontal cortices was sensitive to the valence dimension, with larger responses to low-valence faces. Additionally, there were extensive quadratic responses in the fusiform gyri and dorsal amygdala, with larger responses to faces at the extremes of the face valence continuum than faces in the middle. In all these regions, participants' avoidance decisions correlated with brain responses, with faces more likely to be avoided evoking stronger responses. The findings suggest that both explicit and implicit face evaluation engage multiple brain regions involved in attention, affect, and decision making.