Neural responses to facial expression and face identity in the monkey amygdala
Neural responses to facial expression and face identity in the monkey amygdala
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DOI：
10.1152/jn.00714.2006
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发表时间：
2007-02-01
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Amaral, D. G.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gothard, K. M.;Battaglia, F. P.;Amaral, D. G.
杏仁核被认为在面孔加工中起重要作用，但其激活的特异性，以面对刺激和身份和表达的相对贡献，其激活是未知的。在目前的研究中，当猴子被动地观看计算机显示器上的猴子面孔、人类面孔和物体的图像时，杏仁核的神经活动被记录下来。相当比例的神经元选择性地对每个类别的图像做出反应。进一步研究了猴子面孔的神经反应，以确定是面孔身份还是面部表情驱动了面孔选择性反应。这些神经元中的大多数（64%）对身份和面部表情都有反应，这表明这些参数在杏仁核中联合处理。然而，大部分神经元表现出纯粹的身份选择性或表达选择性反应。神经元对特定的面部表情有选择性，与其他表情引起的放电率相比，它们的放电率会增加或减少。对安抚面孔的反应通常以放电率的显着下降为标志，而对威胁面孔的反应则与放电率的增加密切相关。因此，杏仁核的整体激活可能比中性或安抚面孔更大。
The amygdala is purported to play an important role in face processing, yet the specificity of its activation to face stimuli and the relative contribution of identity and expression to its activation are unknown. In the current study, neural activity in the amygdala was recorded as monkeys passively viewed images of monkey faces, human faces, and objects on a computer monitor. Comparable proportions of neurons responded selectively to images from each category. Neural responses to monkey faces were further examined to determine whether face identity or facial expression drove the face-selective responses. The majority of these neurons (64%) responded both to identity and facial expression, suggesting that these parameters are processed jointly in the amygdala. Large fractions of neurons, however, showed pure identity-selective or expression-selective responses. Neurons were selective for a particular facial expression by either increasing or decreasing their firing rate compared with the firing rates elicited by the other expressions. Responses to appeasing faces were often marked by significant decreases of firing rates, whereas responses to threatening faces were strongly associated with increased firing rate. Thus global activation in the amygdala might be larger to threatening faces than to neutral or appeasing faces.