Towards the neurobiology of emotional body language

Abstract

People's faces show fear in many different circumstances. However, when people are terrified, as well as showing emotion, they run for cover. When we see a bodily expression of emotion, we immediately know what specific action is associated with a particular emotion, leaving little need for interpretation of the signal, as is the case for facial expressions. Research on emotional body language is rapidly emerging as a new field in cognitive and affective neuroscience. This article reviews how whole-body signals are automatically perceived and understood, and their role in emotional communication and decision-making.

Faces, Bodies, Social Vision as Agent Vision, and Social Consciousness

“…With respect to the functional neuroanatomy we found that the fusiform cortex and amygdala play an important role in processing fearful bodily expressions (de Gelder, 2006a;de Gelder, Snyder, Greve, Gerard, & Hadjikhani, 2004;Hadjikhani & de Gelder, 2003), as was previously shown for fearful facial expressions (Dolan, Morris, & de Gelder, 2001;Morris, Friston et al, 1998;Morris, Ohman, & Dolan, 1998;Rotshtein, Malach, Hadar, Graif, & Hendler, 2001a, 2001b. The original finding has now been confirmed in other studies using upper body parts (Grosbras & Paus, 2006) and whole bodies van de Riet, Grèzes, & de Gelder, in press).…”

“…I. Gauthier, 2000;Hadjikhani & de Gelder, 2003;Kanwisher & Moscovitch, 2000) and the (p.54) superior temporal sulcus(STS). Interestingly, these three areas also figure in recent reports on body representation in the brain (de Gelder, 2006a;Peelen & Downing, 2007).…”

“…The finding that blindsight subjects can discriminate something as subtle as facial expressions without the contribution of primary visual cortex is, however, less puzzling when viewed against a broader biological context. Indeed, behavioral manifestations of emotion in the face or by whatever other means, including vocalizations and body language, have a high communicative function in many species (Darwin, 1872;de Gelder, 2006b;Hatfield, Cacioppo, & Rapson, 1994).…”

Interpreting Hand-Over-Face Gestures

“…Although researchers focus on facial expressions as the main channel for social emotional communication, de Gelder [4] suggests that there are similarities between how the brain reacts to emotional body language signals and how facial expressions are recognized. Hand-over-face gestures are not redundant information; they can emphasize the affective cues communicated through facial expressions and speech and give additional information to a communication.…”

Les émotions, modes d’action et de communication

“…Ces réactions ou réflexes émotionnels se seraient adaptés à l'environnement sans faire intervenir des processus d'élabora-tions cognitive et sociale. Surtout, la vision de ces réactions ou de ces réflexes émotionnels par des congénères engendre une réaction similaire chez les primates [11] et chez l'homme [12]. Ce point de vue permettrait d'expliquer que, dans le cadre des recherches sur la perception non consciente des expressions faciales, la peur se révèle être l'émotion la mieux perçue, en l'absence de conscience ou d'attention.…”