Interpersonal multisensory stimulation and emotion: The impact of threat-indicative facial expressions on enfacement

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (0) ◽  
pp. 97-98
Author(s):  
Brianna Beck ◽  
Caterina Bertini ◽  
Elisabetta Ladavas

Prior studies have identified an ‘enfacement effect’ in which participants incorporate another’s face into their self-face representation after observing that face touched repeatedly in synchrony with touch on their own face (Sforza et al., 2010; Tsakiris, 2008). The degree of self-face/other-face merging is positively correlated with participants’ trait-level empathy scores (Sforza et al., 2010) and affects judgments of the other’s personality (Paladino et al., 2010), suggesting that enfacement also modulates higher-order representations of ‘self’ and ‘other’ involved in social and emotional evaluations. To test this hypothesis, we varied not only whether visuo-tactile stimulation was synchronous or asynchronous but also whether the person being touched in the video displayed an emotional expression indicative of threat, either fear or anger. We hypothesized that participants would incorporate the faces of fearful others more than the faces of angry others after a shared visuo-tactile experience because of a potentially stronger representation of the sight of fear in somatosensory cortices compared to the sight of anger (Cardini et al., 2012). Instead, we found that the enfacement effect (i.e., greater self-face/other-face merging following synchronous compared to asynchronous visuo-tactile stimulation) was abolished if the other person displayed fear but remained if they expressed anger. This nonetheless suggests that enfacement operates on an evaluative self-representation as well as a physical one because the effect changes with the emotional content of the other’s face. Further research into the neural mechanism behind the enfacement effect is needed to determine why sight of fear diminishes it rather than enhancing it.

2000 ◽  
Vol 29 (544) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolores Canamero ◽  
Jakob Fredslund

We report work on a LEGO robot capable of displaying several emotional expressions in response to physical contact. Our motivation has been to explore believable emotional exchanges to achieve plausible interaction with a simple robot. We have worked toward this goal in two ways. <p>First, acknowledging the importance of physical manipulation in children's interactions, interaction with the robot is through tactile stimulation; the various kinds of stimulation that can elicit the robot's emotions are grounded in a model of emotion activation based on different stimulation patterns.</p><p>Second, emotional states need to be clearly conveyed. We have drawn inspiration from theories of human basic emotions with associated universal facial expressions, which we have implemented in a caricaturized face. We have conducted experiments on both children and adults to assess the recognizability of these expressions.</p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chit Yuen Yi ◽  
Matthew W. E. Murry ◽  
Amy L. Gentzler

Abstract. Past research suggests that transient mood influences the perception of facial expressions of emotion, but relatively little is known about how trait-level emotionality (i.e., temperament) may influence emotion perception or interact with mood in this process. Consequently, we extended earlier work by examining how temperamental dimensions of negative emotionality and extraversion were associated with the perception accuracy and perceived intensity of three basic emotions and how the trait-level temperamental effect interacted with state-level self-reported mood in a sample of 88 adults (27 men, 18–51 years of age). The results indicated that higher levels of negative mood were associated with higher perception accuracy of angry and sad facial expressions, and higher levels of perceived intensity of anger. For perceived intensity of sadness, negative mood was associated with lower levels of perceived intensity, whereas negative emotionality was associated with higher levels of perceived intensity of sadness. Overall, our findings added to the limited literature on adult temperament and emotion perception.


Author(s):  
Dianne Toe ◽  
Louise Paatsch ◽  
Amy Szarkowski

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children who use spoken language face unique challenges when communicating with others who have typical hearing, particularly their peers. In such contexts, the social use of language has been recognized as an area of vulnerability among individuals in this population and has become a focus for research and intervention. The development of pragmatic skills intersects with many aspects of child development, including emotional intelligence and executive function, as well as social and emotional development. While all these areas are important, they are beyond the scope of this chapter, which highlights the impact of pragmatics on the specific area of cognition. Cognitive pragmatics is broadly defined as the study of the mental processes involved in the understanding of meaning in the context of a cooperative interaction. This chapter explores how DHH children and young people construe meaning in the context of conversations and expository interactions with their peers. The chapter aims to examine the role played by the cognitive processes of making inferences and comprehending implicature, within the overall display of pragmatic skills. Further, the authors use this lens in the analysis of interactions between DHH children and their peers in order to shed light on the development of pragmatic skills in children who are DHH.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Ben-Max De Ruiter ◽  
Abel N. Keijzer ◽  
Maarten C.C.M. Hulshof ◽  
Adriaan D. Bins ◽  
Theo M. de Reijke ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Health related Quality of Life (HRQoL) is an important factor regarding treatment for localized Muscle Invasive Bladder Carcinoma (MIBC), as it may affect choice of treatment. The impact of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for MIBC on HRQoL has not yet been well-established. OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate evidence regarding HRQoL as assessed by validated questionnaires after definitive treatment with CRT for localized MIBC. METHODS: We performed a critical review of PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library in October 2020. Two reviewers independently screened articles for eligibility and assessed the methodological quality of the included articles using Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. A narrative synthesis was undertaken. RESULTS: Of 579 articles identified, 11 studies were eligible for inclusion, including three RCTs and 8 non-randomized studies, reporting on HRQoL data for 606 CRT patients. Global health declined at End of treatment (EoT), and recovered 3 months following treatment. Physical function declined from baseline at EoT and recovered between 3 and 24 months and was maintained at 5 years follow up. CRT had little effect on social and emotional function in the short-term, but HRQoL results in the long-term were lower compared to the general population. Urinary function declined from baseline at EoT, but returned to baseline at 6 months following CRT. After initial decline in bowel function, a complete return to baseline occurred 4 years following treatment. The majority of studies assessing sexual function showed no to little effect on sexual function. CONCLUSIONS: HRQoL recovers to baseline within 3 months to 2 years in almost all domains. The amount of available evidence regarding HRQoL following CRT for MIBC is limited and the quality of evidence is low.


Microbiome ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Zheng ◽  
Pengtao Xu ◽  
Qiaoying Jiang ◽  
Qingqing Xu ◽  
Yafei Zheng ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Modification of the gut microbiota has been reported to reduce the incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). We hypothesized that the gut microbiota shifts might also have an effect on cognitive functions in T1D. Herein we used a non-absorbable antibiotic vancomycin to modify the gut microbiota in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced T1D mice and studied the impact of microbial changes on cognitive performances in T1D mice and its potential gut-brain neural mechanism. Results We found that vancomycin exposure disrupted the gut microbiome, altered host metabolic phenotypes, and facilitated cognitive impairment in T1D mice. Long-term acetate deficiency due to depletion of acetate-producing bacteria resulted in the reduction of synaptophysin (SYP) in the hippocampus as well as learning and memory impairments. Exogenous acetate supplement or fecal microbiota transplant recovered hippocampal SYP level in vancomycin-treated T1D mice, and this effect was attenuated by vagal inhibition or vagotomy. Conclusions Our results demonstrate the protective role of microbiota metabolite acetate in cognitive functions and suggest long-term acetate deficiency as a risk factor of cognitive decline.


2003 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. S296
Author(s):  
P. Shaw ◽  
K. Kucharska-Pietura ◽  
T. Russell ◽  
F. Zelaya ◽  
E. Amaro ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-64
Author(s):  
Zeibeda (Zeb) Sattar ◽  
Stephanie Wilkie ◽  
Jonathan Ling

Purpose This paper aims to explore residents' perceptions of a refurbishment programme to sheltered housing schemes and its impact on their well-being. Design/methodology/approach The methodology draws upon a realist evaluation framework. Four participatory appraisals (PAs) and 19 interviews with residents were conducted in the sheltered housing schemes. Ages of participants ranged from 50 to 99 years. Findings Two categories of residents were identified: healthy active older adults and older frail adults (or over 85+). Residents said their social and emotional well-being improved from the provision of indoor and outdoor communal areas. Older frail residents only accessed the new communal spaces when staff took them in their wheelchairs. The physical changes increased opportunities for social connections for residents. Conservatories and sensory gardens were most popular. Residents felt that structured activities in the new spaces and digital training would improve their social activities. Research limitations/implications The participatory methods spanned over an hour, and some residents felt too tired to complete the full session. Practical implications A practical limitation was that some sensory rooms were not fully completed at the time of the evaluation. Originality/value This paper adds the following: Perceptions of residents of a refurbishment programme in sheltered housing and the impact on their well-being. Perceptions of residents about social activities after a refurbishment programme. Perceptions of residents about the impact of physical changes to their sheltered housing schemes and impact on their internal accessibility to the improvements.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Renard ◽  
Evan Harrell ◽  
Brice Bathallier

Abstract Rodents depend on olfaction and touch to meet many of their fundamental needs. The joint significance of these sensory systems is underscored by an intricate coupling between sniffing and whisking. However, the impact of simultaneous olfactory and tactile inputs on sensory representations in the cortex remains elusive. To study these interactions, we recorded large populations of barrel cortex neurons using 2-photon calcium imaging in head-fixed mice during olfactory and tactile stimulation. We find that odors alter barrel cortex activity in at least two ways, first by enhancing whisking, and second by central cross-talk that persists after whisking is abolished by facial nerve sectioning. Odors can either enhance or suppress barrel cortex neuronal responses, and while odor identity can be decoded from population activity, it does not interfere with the tactile representation. Thus, barrel cortex represents olfactory information which, in the absence of learned associations, is coded independently of tactile information.


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