Researchers pinpoint part of the brain that recognizes facial expressions

Researchers at The Ohio State University have pinpointed the area of the brain responsible for recognizing human facial expressions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the scientists have found that the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS)is activated when test subjects looked at images of people making different facial expressions.

Further, the researchers have discovered that neural patterns within the pSTS are specialized for recognizing movement in specific parts of the face. One pattern is tuned to detect a furrowed brow, another is tuned to detect the upturn of lips into a smile, and so on.

At ICE, we unfortunately don't have an fMRI to measure brain activity, but we do have a Spikerbox that can measure muscle contractions that occur with facial expressions!

Read the complete article from Ohio State University here: Researchers pinpoint part of the brain that recognizes facial expressions