Gender differences in the neural network of facial mimicry of smiles--An rTMS study

Sebastian Korb; Jennifer Malsert; Vincent Rochas; Tonia A Rihs; Sebastian W Rieger; Samir Schwab; Paula M Niedenthal; Didier Grandjean

doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2015.06.025

Gender differences in the neural network of facial mimicry of smiles--An rTMS study

Cortex. 2015 Sep:70:101-14. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.06.025. Epub 2015 Jul 6.

Authors

Sebastian Korb¹, Jennifer Malsert², Vincent Rochas³, Tonia A Rihs³, Sebastian W Rieger⁴, Samir Schwab⁵, Paula M Niedenthal⁶, Didier Grandjean²

Affiliations

¹ Neuroscience Area, SISSA, Trieste, Italy. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Geneva, Switzerland; Neuroscience of Emotion and Affective Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
³ Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
⁴ Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
⁵ Neuroscience of Emotion and Affective Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
⁶ Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.

PMID: 26211433
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.06.025

Abstract

Under theories of embodied emotion, exposure to a facial expression triggers facial mimicry. Facial feedback is then used to recognize and judge the perceived expression. However, the neural bases of facial mimicry and of the use of facial feedback remain poorly understood. Furthermore, gender differences in facial mimicry and emotion recognition suggest that different neural substrates might accompany the production of facial mimicry, and the processing of facial feedback, in men and women. Here, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was applied to the right primary motor cortex (M1), the right primary somatosensory cortex (S1), or, in a control condition, the vertex (VTX). Facial mimicry of smiles and emotion judgments were recorded in response to video clips depicting changes from neutral or angry to happy facial expressions. While in females rTMS over M1 and S1 compared to VTX led to reduced mimicry and, in the case of M1, delayed detection of smiles, there was no effect of TMS condition for males. We conclude that in female participants M1 and S1 play a role in the mimicry and in the use of facial feedback for accurate processing of smiles.

Keywords: Facial mimicry; Gender differences; Motor cortex; Somatosensory cortex; TMS.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Facial Expression
Facial Recognition / physiology*
Female
Humans
Imitative Behavior*
Male
Motor Cortex / physiology*
Neural Pathways
Sex Factors
Smiling*
Social Perception*
Somatosensory Cortex / physiology*
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation*
Young Adult