The contribution of anterior and posterior regions of the right hemisphere to the recognition of emotional faces

Abstract

To investigate the contribution of posterior and anterior parts of the right hemisphere (RH) to emotional facial recognition, we studied 11 participants with anterior strokes of the right hemisphere (ASRH), 16 patients with posterior strokes of the right hemisphere (PSRH), and 31 normal controls. All individuals were right-handed and nondemented. The ability to recognize emotional facial expressions was assessed by using Ekman and Friesen's (1976) Pictures of Facial Affect. Analysis revealed that both groups of patients presented with an impaired recognition of emotional faces. However, patients with PSRH were able to identify facial expressions better than participants with ASRH. In comparison to participants sustaining PSRH, patients with ASRH were particularly impaired on recognizing faces of negative valence. Thus, our results suggest that anterior parts of the RH seem to play an important role in the recognition of emotional facial expressions.

Keywords:

• Nonverbal communication
• Facial affect
• Cerebral infarction
• Emotional perception impairment

A portion of this study was presented at the 34th Annual Meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society in Portland, Oregon, February 2007.