Neuroscience and facial expressions of emotion: the role of amygdala-prefrontal interactions
Abstract
The aim of this review is to show the fruitfulness of using images of facial expressions as experimental stimuli in order to study how neural systems support biologically relevant learning as it relates to social interactions. Here we consider facial expressions as naturally conditioned stimuli which, when presented in experimental paradigms, evoke activation in amygdala–prefrontal neural circuits that serve to decipher the predictive meaning of the expressions. Facial expressions offer a relatively innocuous strategy with which to investigate these normal variations in affective information processing, as well as the promise of elucidating what role the aberrance of such processing might play in emotional disorders.
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The amygdala has been associated with reward processing, emotional processing, and fear response.
“which has been associated with reward processing (Ernst et al., 2005), emotional processing (Whalen et al., 2013), and fear response (LeDoux, 2003)”
From Becoming a sexual being: The “elephant in the room” of adolescent brain development (2017) · cites this paper as Whalen et al., 2013
The quality of parent-child relationships affects both sexual behavior and neural development and activation, specifically in the amygdala.
“The quality of parent-child relationships affects both sexual behavior and neural development and activation, specifically in the amygdala”
From Becoming a sexual being: The “elephant in the room” of adolescent brain development (2017) · cites this paper as Whalen et al., 2013
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- Authors
- Whalen, P. J., Raila, H., Bennett, R., Mattek, A., Brown, A., Taylor, J., van Tieghem, M., Tanner, A., Miner, M., & Palmer, A.
- Affiliations
- Dartmouth College (US)
- Yale University (US)
- Fordham University (US)
- Venue
- Emotion Review
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2013-01
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 78-83
- ISSN
- 1754-0739 (ISSN-L)
- 1754-0747
- OpenAlex
- W2079797581
- Cited by
- 64
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 7
- FWCI
- 4.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Emotion Review (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Keywords
- emotional facial expressions, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, emotional learning, social interaction, conditioned stimulus, emotional processing, emotional disorders
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