Personality influences the neural responses to viewing facial expressions of emotion
Cognitive research has long been aware of the relationship between individual differences in personality and performance on behavioural tasks. However, within the field of cognitive neuroscience, the way in which such differences manifest at a neural level has received relatively little attention. W...
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Published in | Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences Vol. 366; no. 1571; pp. 1684 - 1701 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
The Royal Society
12.06.2011
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Cognitive research has long been aware of the relationship between individual differences in personality and performance on behavioural tasks. However, within the field of cognitive neuroscience, the way in which such differences manifest at a neural level has received relatively little attention. We review recent research addressing the relationship between personality traits and the neural response to viewing facial signals of emotion. In one section, we discuss work demonstrating the relationship between anxiety and the amygdala response to facial signals of threat. A second section considers research showing that individual differences in reward drive (behavioural activation system), a trait linked to aggression, influence the neural responsivity and connectivity between brain regions implicated in aggression when viewing facial signals of anger. Finally, we address recent criticisms of the correlational approach to fMRI analyses and conclude that when used appropriately, analyses examining the relationship between personality and brain activity provide a useful tool for understanding the neural basis of facial expression processing and emotion processing in general. |
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Bibliography: | istex:B548BE4B37517AFB0A05860198191DDE2364CC9D ark:/67375/V84-CTR8L6JN-D ArticleID:rstb20100362 href:rstb20100362.pdf Theme issue 'Face perception: social, neuropsychological and comparative perspectives' compiled and edited by Anthony C. Little, Benedict C. Jones and Lisa M. DeBruine ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Feature-3 ObjectType-Review-1 |
ISSN: | 0962-8436 1471-2970 |
DOI: | 10.1098/rstb.2010.0362 |