Cerebellum and processing of negative facial emotions: Cerebellar transcranial DC stimulation specifically enhances the emotional recognition of facial anger and sadness

• Published in: Cognition and emotion Vol. 26; no. 5; pp. 786 - 799
• Main Authors: Ferrucci, Roberta, Giannicola, Gaia, Rosa, Manuela, Fumagalli, Manuela, Boggio, Paulo Sergio, Hallett, Mark, Zago, Stefano, Priori, Alberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hove Taylor & Francis Group 01.08.2012; Psychology Press
• Subjects: Adult; Affect - physiology; Affectivity. Emotion; Anatomical correlates of behavior; Anger - physiology; Attention - physiology; Attention task; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cerebellar dysfunction; Cerebellum; Cerebellum - physiology; Cortex; Electric Stimulation - methods; Emotion; Emotion recognition; Emotional disturbances; Emotions - physiology; Facial emotion recognition; Facial Expression; Facial expressions; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Personality. Affectivity; Photic Stimulation - methods; Positive affect; Prefrontal cortex; Prefrontal Cortex - physiology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Recognition, Psychology - physiology; Stimulation; tDCS; Visual Perception - physiology; Cerebellum; Anger; Human; Affect affectivity; Central nervous system; Facial emotion recognition; Cognition; Emotion emotionality; Prefrontal cortex; Emotional disorder; Experimental study; Emotional disturbances; Transcranial electrical stimulation; Encephalon; Cerebellar dysfunction; tDCS; Emotion; Face; Facial expression; Recognition
• ISSN: 0269-9931; 1464-0600; 1464-0600
• DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2011.619520

Some evidence suggests that the cerebellum participates in the complex network processing emotional facial expression. To evaluate the role of the cerebellum in recognising facial expressions we delivered transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex. A facial emotion recognition task was administered to 21 healthy subjects before and after cerebellar tDCS; we also tested subjects with a visual attention task and a visual analogue scale (VAS) for mood. Anodal and cathodal cerebellar tDCS both significantly enhanced sensory processing in response to negative facial expressions (anodal tDCS, p=.0021; cathodal tDCS, p=.018), but left positive emotion and neutral facial expressions unchanged (p>.05). tDCS over the right prefrontal cortex left facial expressions of both negative and positive emotion unchanged. These findings suggest that the cerebellum is specifically involved in processing facial expressions of negative emotion.