Is the Devil (or Angel) Located in Frontal Cortical Areas?
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1
Grenoble-Alpes University, France
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2
Institut Universitaire de France, France
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3
Université Pierre Mendès-France, Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire de Psychologie, France
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4
Institut des Sciences Cognitives, L2C2 - (CNRS UMR 5230), France
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5
Université Catholique de Louvain, Psychology, Belgium
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6
Fund for Scientific Research, Belgium
In a recent article, we proposed a theoretical framework specifying the neural and psychological underpinnings of embodiment processes (Niedenthal, Mermillod, Maringer, & Hess, 2010). Under this theoretical model, the recognition of emotional expressions is not only driven by bottom-up processes from perceptual to cognitive areas but also by an important neural activity from high-level cortical areas involved in the processing of conceptual or social information.
On the basis of electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) experiments, we have shown that this theoretical model does not only apply to the recognition of emotional facial expressions but also to more complex social situations (e.g. dehumanization of outgroup individuals). These experiments revealed different empirical evidence of such top-down activity during the assessment of complex emotional or social situations. More precisely, we have shown that the level of mimicry (assessed by electromyographic activity), which is at the root of the embodiment theory, is significantly modulated by high-level complex social situations related to the group membership of the participants.
Keywords:
Visual Perception,
EEG,
EMG,
Embodiment theory,
emotional facial expressions,
top-down regulation
Conference:
XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 27 Jul - 31 Jul, 2014.
Presentation Type:
Poster
Topic:
Emotional and Social Processes
Citation:
Mermillod
M,
Beffara
B,
Bret
A,
Lepage
J,
Morisseau
T and
Vermeulen
N
(2015). Is the Devil (or Angel) Located in Frontal Cortical Areas?.
Conference Abstract:
XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.217.00265
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Received:
19 Feb 2015;
Published Online:
24 Apr 2015.
*
Correspondence:
Prof. Martial Mermillod, Grenoble-Alpes University, Grenoble, France, Martial.Mermillod@upmf-grenoble.fr