Human amygdala sensitivity to the pupil size of others
Open accessAbstract
Stimulation of the amygdala produces pupil dilation in animal and human subjects. The present study examined whether the amygdala is sensitive to variations in the pupil size of others. Male subjects underwent event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging while passively viewing unfamiliar female faces whose pupils were either unaltered (natural variations in large and small pupils) or altered to be larger or smaller than their original size. Results revealed that the right amygdala and left amygdala/substantia innominata were sensitive to the pupil size of others, exhibiting increased activity for faces with relatively large pupils. Upon debrief, no subject reported being aware that the pupils had been manipulated. These results suggest a function for the amygdala in the detection of changes in pupil size, an index of arousal and/or interest on the part of a conspecific, even in the absence of explicit knowledge.
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People with large pupils are commonly rated as more attractive and activate neural responses in the amygdala.
“For example, people with large pupils are commonly rated as more attractive and activate neural responses in the amygdala [35,36], and a recent study demonstrates that human participants evaluate those with dilating pupils as more friendly, attractive and trustworthy and behave more cooperatively with them in the trust game [37].”
From Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves (2023) · cites this paper as [36]
The Discussion reports greater amygdala activity for faces with big versus small pupils. But the Results (Effect of Attractiveness) found no significant difference in attractiveness ratings between those faces, so this paper does not support the attractiveness part of the claim. (LLM, conf=0.92)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredHumans have a cognitive tendency to perceive emotional arousal based on iris-pupil contrast and make inferences about a person's personality.
“humans have a cognitive tendency to perceive emotional arousal based on iris–pupil contrast and make inferences about a person's personality [33–37].”
From Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves (2023) · cites this paper as [36]
The Discussion describes pupil dilation as an indicator of another person's arousal, and the Conclusion reports greater amygdala activity for big-pupil faces. But the Conclusion also says explicit arousal ratings did not differ between big- and small-pupil faces; the paper does not establish perception of arousal based on iris–pupil contrast or inferences about personality. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSeeing others' dilated pupils causes significantly higher amygdala activation than viewing undilated pupils, an effect that appears unrelated to subjective reports of attractiveness.
“Seeing others' dilated pupils also causes significantly higher amygdala activation than viewing undilated pupils, an effect that nonetheless appears to be unrelated to subjective reports of attractiveness (Demos et al., 2008;Amemiya and Ohtomo, 2012).”
From Oxytocin enhances pupil dilation and sensitivity to 'hidden' emotional expressions (2013) · cites this paper as Demos et al., 2008
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- Authors
- Demos, K. E., Kelley, W. M., Ryan, S. L., Davis, F. C., & Whalen, P. J.
- Affiliations
- Dartmouth College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Demos, K.E.
- ORCID
- Demos, K.E.
- Venue
- Cerebral Cortex
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2008-03-27
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 2729-2734
- ISSN
- 1047-3211 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-2199
- PMC
- PMC2583162
- OpenAlex
- W2119582005
- Cited by
- 112
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 5.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- Cerebral Cortex (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Dartmouth College
- U.S. Public Health Service (080716, 069315)
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH080716, 080716, 069315)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Keywords
- amygdala, pupil size, social perception, facial expressions, arousal detection, substantia innominata, face perception, unconscious processes, pupillometry
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Amygdala, Arousal, Cues, Facial Expression, Female, Humans, Functional Laterality, Male, Pupil, Visual Acuity, Visual Perception, Knowledge, Young Adult
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