Neural Processing of Emotional Faces Requires Attention

Attention gates the processing of stimuli relatively early in visual cortex. Yet, existing data suggest that emotional stimuli activate brain regions automatically, largely immune from attentional control. To resolve this puzzle, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to first measure activat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2002-08, Vol.99 (17), p.11458-11463
Main Authors: Pessoa, L., McKenna, M., Gutierrez, E., Ungerleider, L. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Amygdala
Attention - physiology
Behavioral neuroscience
Biological Sciences
Brain
Brain - physiology
Brain Mapping - methods
Cognition & reasoning
Coordinate systems
Emotional expression
Emotions
Emotions - physiology
Eye Movements
Face
Facial Expression
Facial expressions
Fear
Female
Happiness
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Mental stimulation
Neurology
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Psychophysiology
Reference Values
Visual cortex
Visual Fields
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Summary:Attention gates the processing of stimuli relatively early in visual cortex. Yet, existing data suggest that emotional stimuli activate brain regions automatically, largely immune from attentional control. To resolve this puzzle, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to first measure activation in regions that responded differentially to faces with emotional expressions (fearful and happy) compared with neutral faces. We then measured the modulation of these responses by attention, using a competing task with a high attentional load. Contrary to the prevailing view, all brain regions responding differentially to emotional faces, including the amygdala, did so only when sufficient attentional resources were available to process the faces. Thus, the processing of facial expression appears to be under top-down control.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.172403899