Culture, gaze and the neural processing of fear expressions

Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2010 Jun;5(2-3):340-8. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsp047. Epub 2009 Dec 17.

Abstract

The direction of others' eye gaze has important influences on how we perceive their emotional expressions. Here, we examined differences in neural activation to direct- versus averted-gaze fear faces as a function of culture of the participant (Japanese versus US Caucasian), culture of the stimulus face (Japanese versus US Caucasian), and the relation between the two. We employed a previously validated paradigm to examine differences in neural activation in response to rapidly presented direct- versus averted-fear expressions, finding clear evidence for a culturally determined role of gaze in the processing of fear. Greater neural responsivity was apparent to averted- versus direct-gaze fear in several regions related to face and emotion processing, including bilateral amygdalae, when posed on same-culture faces, whereas greater response to direct- versus averted-gaze fear was apparent in these same regions when posed on other-culture faces. We also found preliminary evidence for intercultural variation including differential responses across participants to Japanese versus US Caucasian stimuli, and to a lesser degree differences in how Japanese and US Caucasian participants responded to these stimuli. These findings reveal a meaningful role of culture in the processing of eye gaze and emotion, and highlight their interactive influences in neural processing.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Asian People
  • Communication
  • Cross-Cultural Comparison
  • Culture*
  • Emotions
  • Facial Expression*
  • Fear / psychology*
  • Female
  • Fixation, Ocular / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted
  • Male
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Social Perception*
  • White People
  • Young Adult