Neural responses to faces reflect social personality traits

TY - JOUR

T1 - Neural responses to faces reflect social personality traits

AU - Cheung, Celeste H M

AU - Rutherford, Helena J V

AU - Mayes, Linda C

AU - McPartland, James C

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - Faces are a developmentally primary and critically important source of social information, and they are processed differently from most other visual percepts. Studies of brain electrophysiology reveal a face-sensitive component, the N170, which is typically enhanced to faces relative to other stimuli. Research in social disabilities suggests that an atypical N170 response in this population may stem from decreased developmental exposure to faces secondary to reduced social interest. Here we examined the relationship between neural responses to faces and social personality characteristics in a normative sample. Participants were pre-screened to identify individuals scoring high on extraversion or introversion. Both groups were presented with upright and inverted face stimuli. An inversion effect, a marker of expertise for faces, was observed in people with high extraversion but not in those with high introversion. These findings suggest that, within typically developing populations, social attitudes are reflected in the neural correlates of face perception.

AB - Faces are a developmentally primary and critically important source of social information, and they are processed differently from most other visual percepts. Studies of brain electrophysiology reveal a face-sensitive component, the N170, which is typically enhanced to faces relative to other stimuli. Research in social disabilities suggests that an atypical N170 response in this population may stem from decreased developmental exposure to faces secondary to reduced social interest. Here we examined the relationship between neural responses to faces and social personality characteristics in a normative sample. Participants were pre-screened to identify individuals scoring high on extraversion or introversion. Both groups were presented with upright and inverted face stimuli. An inversion effect, a marker of expertise for faces, was observed in people with high extraversion but not in those with high introversion. These findings suggest that, within typically developing populations, social attitudes are reflected in the neural correlates of face perception.

KW - Brain

KW - Electroencephalography

KW - Evoked Potentials

KW - Face

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Personality

KW - Photic Stimulation

KW - Visual Perception

KW - Young Adult

U2 - 10.1080/17470911003597377

DO - 10.1080/17470911003597377

M3 - Article

C2 - 20544557

SN - 1747-0919

VL - 5

SP - 351

EP - 359

JO - Social Neuroscience

JF - Social Neuroscience

IS - 4

M1 - N/A

ER -