Cited by 238Face Recognition and PerceptionAdvanced Neuroimaging Techniques and ApplicationsNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Damage to Association Fiber Tracts Impairs Recognition of the Facial Expression of Emotion

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Philippi, Carissa L., Mehta, Sonya, Grabowski, Thomas, Adolphs, Ralph, Rudrauf, David·2009·The Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

An array of cortical and subcortical structures have been implicated in the recognition of emotion from facial expressions. It remains unknown how these regions communicate as parts of a system to achieve recognition, but white matter tracts are likely critical to this process. We hypothesized that (1) damage to white matter tracts would be associated with recognition impairment and (2) the degree of disconnection of association fiber tracts [inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) and/or inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF)] connecting the visual cortex with emotion-related regions would negatively correlate with recognition performance. One hundred three patients with focal, stable brain lesions mapped onto a reference brain were tested on their recognition of six basic emotional facial expressions. Association fiber tracts from a probabilistic atlas were coregistered to the reference brain. Parameters estimating disconnection were entered in a general linear model to predict emotion recognition impairments, accounting for lesion size and cortical damage. Damage associated with the right IFOF significantly predicted an overall facial emotion recognition impairment and specific impairments for sadness, anger, and fear. One subject had a pure white matter lesion in the location of the right IFOF and ILF. He presented specific, unequivocal emotion recognition impairments. Additional analysis suggested that impairment in fear recognition can result from damage to the IFOF and not the amygdala. Our findings demonstrate the key role of white matter association tracts in the recognition of the facial expression of emotion and identify specific tracts that may be most critical.

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Crossref · 10.1523/jneurosci.0796-09.2009

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  • White matter association tracts are critical to emotion recognition even in the absence of focal amygdala damage.

    “Philippi et al. (2009) used sophisticated imaging techniques to identify damage to white matter association tracts in brain injured patients and reported that these tracts are critical to emotion recognition, even in the absence of focal amygdala damage.”

    From Affective Cognition and its Disruption in Mood Disorders (2011) · cites this paper as Philippi et al. (2009)

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  1. Armitage P Parmar M Some approaches to the problem of multiplicity in clinical trials 1986 Proceedings of the XIIth International Biometrics Conference July 27–Aug. Seattle, WA 1
  2. Cole J About face 1998 Cambridge, MA Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  3. Davidson RJ Izard CE Kagan J Zajonc R Affect cognition and hemispheric specialization Emotion, cognition and behavior 1984 New York Cambridge UP 320 365

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Authors
Philippi, C. L., Mehta, S., Grabowski, T., Adolphs, R., & Rudrauf, D.
Affiliations
  • University of Iowa (US)
  • California Institute of Technology (US)
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2009-12-02
Volume
29
Issue
48
Pages
15089-15099
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W2037537703
Cited by
238
References
92
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 18
FWCI
5.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • IRL - University of Missouri, St. Louis (University of Missouri–St. Louis) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Simons Foundation
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH080721)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (P01NS019632, R01NS058658)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
facial emotion recognition, white matter tracts, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, brain lesions, disconnection, basic emotions, fear recognition, amygdala, visual cortex, emotional processing
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Brain Injuries, Brain Mapping, Emotions, Facial Expression, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Functional Laterality, Male, Middle Aged, Nerve Fibers, Myelinated, Neural Pathways, Neuropsychological Tests, Personality Inventory, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Regression Analysis, Case-Control Studies, Prosopagnosia, Recognition, Psychology, Diffusion Tensor Imaging

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