scholarly journals Facial EMG Activity Is Associated with Hedonic Experiences but Not Nutritional Values While Viewing Food Images

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Wataru Sato ◽  
Sakiko Yoshikawa ◽  
Tohru Fushiki
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Assessment ◽  
Practical Interest ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Skin Potential ◽  
Nutritional Values ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Facial Emg ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Food Images ◽  
Valence And Arousal

The physiological correlates of hedonic/emotional experiences to visual food stimuli are of theoretical and practical interest. Previous psychophysiological studies have shown that facial electromyography (EMG) signals were related to subjective hedonic ratings in response to food images. However, because other data showed positive correlations between hedonic ratings and objective nutritional values of food, whether the facial EMG reactions to food images could reflect the hedonic evaluation or nutritional assessment of food remains unknown. To address this issue, we measured subjective hedonic ratings (liking, wanting, valence, and arousal) and physiological signals (facial EMG of the corrugator supercilii, zygomatic major, masseter, and suprahyoid muscles, skin potential responses, and heart rates) while participants observed food images that had objective nutritional information (caloric, carbohydrate, fat, and protein contents). The results revealed that zygomatic major EMG activity was positively correlated with ratings of liking, wanting, and valence, but not with any objective nutritional value. These data indicate that facial EMG signals in response to food images reflect subjective hedonic experiences, but not objective nutritional values, associated with the food item.

scholarly journals Facial EMG Correlates of Subjective Hedonic Responses During Food Consumption

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wataru Sato ◽  
Kazusa Minemoto ◽  
Akira Ikegami ◽  
Makoto Nakauma ◽  
Takahiro Funami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Consumption ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Physiological Measures ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Facial Emg ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Hedonic Experience ◽  
Valence And Arousal ◽  
Liking Rating

An exploration of physiological correlates of subjective hedonic responses while eating food has practical and theoretical significance. Previous psychophysiological studies have suggested that some physiological measures, including facial electromyography (EMG), may correspond to hedonic responses while viewing food images or drinking liquids. However, whether consuming solid food could produce such subjective–physiological concordance remains untested. To investigate this issue, we assessed participants’ subjective ratings of liking, wanting, valence, and arousal while they consumed gel-type food stimuli of various flavors and textures. We additionally measured their physiological signals, including facial EMG from the corrugator supercilii. The results showed that liking, wanting, and valence ratings were negatively correlated with corrugator supercilii EMG activity. Only the liking rating maintained a negative association with corrugator supercilii activity when the other ratings were partialed out. These data suggest that the subjective hedonic experience, specifically the liking state, during food consumption can be objectively assessed using facial EMG signals and may be influenced by such somatic signals.

scholarly journals Pleasant Stroke Touch on Human Back by a Human and a Robot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoki Ishikura ◽  
Yuki Kitamura ◽  
Wataru Sato ◽  
Jun Takamatsu ◽  
Akishige Yuguchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Skin Conductance Response ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Medium Speed ◽  
Human Participants ◽  
Valence And Arousal ◽  
Reduced Activity

Abstract Pleasant touching is an important aspect of social interactions that is widely used as a caregiving technique. To address problems resulting from a lack of available human caregivers, previous research has attempted to develop robots that can perform this kind of pleasant touch. However, it remains unclear whether robots can provide such a pleasant touch in a manner similar to humans. To investigate this issue, we compared the effect of the speed of gentle strokes on the back between human and robot agents on the emotional responses of human participants (n = 28). A robot or a human stroked on the participants’ back at slow and medium speeds (i.e., 2.6 and 8.5 cm/s). Participants’ subjective (valence and arousal ratings) and physiological (facial electromyography (EMG) recorded from the corrugator supercilii and zygomatic major muscles, and skin conductance response) emotional reactions were measured. The subjective ratings demonstrated that the medium speed was more pleasant and arousing than the slow speed for both human and robot strokes. The corrugator supercilii EMG showed that the medium speed resulted in reduced activity in response to both human and robot strokes. These results demonstrate similar speed-dependent modulations of stroke on subjective and physiological positive emotional responses across human and robot agents and suggest that robots can provide a pleasant touch similar to that of humans.

scholarly journals Learning of Facial Responses to Faces Associated with Positive or Negative Emotional Expressions

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Aguado ◽  
Francisco J. Román ◽  
Sonia Rodríguez ◽  
Teresa Diéguez-Risco ◽  
Verónica Romero-Ferreiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Affective Responses ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Affective Valence ◽  
Affective Meaning ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Facial Expressions Of Emotion

AbstractThe possibility that facial expressions of emotion change the affective valence of faces through associative learning was explored using facial electromyography (EMG). In Experiment 1, EMG activity was registered while the participants (N = 57) viewed sequences of neutral faces (Stimulus 1 or S1) changing to either a happy or an angry expression (Stimulus 2 or S2). As a consequence of learning, participants who showed patterning of facial responses in the presence of angry and happy faces, that is, higher Corrugator Supercilii (CS) activity in the presence of angry faces and higher Zygomaticus Major (ZM) activity in the presence of happy faces, showed also a similar pattern when viewing the corresponding S1 faces. Explicit evaluations made by an independent sample of participants (Experiment 2) showed that evaluation of S1 faces was changed according to the emotional expression with which they had been associated. These results are consistent with an interpretation of rapid facial reactions to faces as affective responses that reflect the valence of the stimulus and that are sensitive to learned changes in the affective meaning of faces.

scholarly journals Ambiguity Processing Bias Induced by Depressed Mood Is Associated with Diminished Pleasantness

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Xiao Lin ◽  
Ya-Bin Sun ◽  
Yu-Zheng Wang ◽  
Lu Fan ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Depressed Mood ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Facial Emg ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Judgement Bias ◽  
Processing Bias ◽  
Neutral Mood ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Source Of Information

AbstractDepressed individuals are biased to perceive, interpret, and judge ambiguous cues in a negative/pessimistic manner. Depressed mood can induce and exacerbate these biases, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We theorize that depressed mood can bias ambiguity processing by altering one’s subjective emotional feelings (e.g. pleasantness/unpleasantness) of the cues. This is because when there is limited objective information, individuals often rely on subjective feelings as a source of information for cognitive processing. To test this theory, three groups (induced depression vs. spontaneous depression vs. neutral) were tested in the Judgement Bias Task (JBT), a behavioral assay of ambiguity processing bias. Subjective pleasantness/unpleasantness of cues was measured by facial electromyography (EMG) from the zygomaticus major (ZM, “smiling”) and from the corrugator supercilii (CS, “frowning”) muscles. As predicted, induced sad mood (vs. neutral mood) yielded a negative bias with a magnitude comparable to that in a spontaneous depressed mood. The facial EMG data indicates that the negative judgement bias induced by depressed mood was associated with a decrease in ZM reactivity (i.e., diminished perceived pleasantness of cues). Our results suggest that depressed mood may bias ambiguity processing by affecting the reward system.

scholarly journals Emotional valence sensing using a wearable facial EMG device

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wataru Sato ◽  
Koichi Murata ◽  
Yasuyuki Uraoka ◽  
Kazuaki Shibata ◽  
Sakiko Yoshikawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Wearable Devices ◽  
Cued Recall ◽  
Wearable Device ◽  
Autonomic Nervous System Activity ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Facial Emg ◽  
Nervous System Activity ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii

AbstractEmotion sensing using physiological signals in real-life situations can be practically valuable. Previous studies have developed wearable devices that record autonomic nervous system activity, which reflects emotional arousal. However, no study determined whether emotional valence can be assessed using wearable devices. To this end, we developed a wearable device to record facial electromyography (EMG) from the corrugator supercilii (CS) and zygomatic major (ZM) muscles. To validate the device, in Experiment 1, we used a traditional wired device and our wearable device, to record participants’ facial EMG while they were viewing emotional films. Participants viewed the films again and continuously rated their recalled subjective valence during the first viewing. The facial EMG signals recorded using both wired and wearable devices showed that CS and ZM activities were, respectively, negatively and positively correlated with continuous valence ratings. In Experiment 2, we used the wearable device to record participants’ facial EMG while they were playing Wii Bowling games and assessed their cued-recall continuous valence ratings. CS and ZM activities were correlated negatively and positively, respectively, with continuous valence ratings. These data suggest the possibility that facial EMG signals recorded by a wearable device can be used to assess subjective emotional valence in future naturalistic studies.

scholarly journals Communicating emotion through facial expressions: Social consequences and neural correlates

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Craig Williams ◽  
Yuan Chang Leong ◽  
Eleanor A. Collier ◽  
Erik C Nook ◽  
Jae-Young Son ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Facial Emg ◽  
Emotion Experience ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
Social Tuning

Individuals modulate their facial emotion expressions in the presence of other people. Does this social tuning reflect changes in emotional experiences or attempts to communicate emotions to others? Here, “target” participants underwent facial electromyography (EMG) recording while viewing emotion-inducing images, believing they were either visible or not visible to “observer” participants. In Study 1, when targets believed they were visible, they produced greater EMG activity and were more accurately perceived by observers, but did not report accompanying changes in their emotion experience. In Study 2, simultaneous facial EMG recording and fMRI scanning revealed that social tuning of targets’ facial expressions correlated with activity in brain structures associated with mentalizing. These findings speak to long-standing, competing accounts of emotion expression, and suggest that individuals actively tune their facial expressions in social settings to communicate their experiences to others.

scholarly journals Reliability of surface facial electromyography

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula Hess ◽  
Ruben C. Arslan ◽  
Heidi Mauersberger ◽  
Christophe Blaison ◽  
Michael Dufner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Stability ◽  
Affective Reactions ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Affective Stimuli ◽  
Facial Emg ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Method Factors ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Zygomaticus Major

Data from two studies were used to estimate the reliability of facial EMG when used to index facial mimicry (Study 1) or affective reactions to pictorial stimuli (Study 2). Results for individual muscle sites varied between muscles and depending on data treatment. For ifference scores, acceptable internal consistencies were found only for corrugator supercilii, and test-retest reliabilities were low. For contrast measures describing patterns of reactions to stimuli, such as high zygomaticus major combined with low corrugator upercilii, acceptable internal consistencies were found for facial reactions to smiling faces and positive affective reactions to affiliative images (Study 2). Facial reactions to negative emotions (Study 1) and facial reactions to power and somewhat less to chievement imagery (Study 2) showed unsatisfactory internal consistencies. For contrast measures, good temporal stability over 24 months (Study 1) and 15 months (Study 2), respectively, was obtained. In Study 1, the effect of method factors such as mode of presentation was more reliable than the emotion effect. Overall, people’s facial reactions to affective stimuli seem to be influenced by a variety of factors other than the emotion-eliciting element per se, which resulted in biased internal consistency estimates. However, the influence of these factors in turn seemed to be stable over time.

Gradients of Facial EMG and Cardiac Activity During Emotional Stimulation

1999 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Ritz ◽  
Bernhard Dahme ◽  
Christiane Claussen
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Activity ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Neutral Stimulus ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Sinus Arrhythmia ◽  
Stimulus Series ◽  
Facial Emg ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Response Habituation

Abstract We investigated the effects of a serial presentation of short emotional stimuli on facial EMG, mood and autonomic functioning including total respiratory resistance (TRR). Twenty asthmatic and 20 nonasthmatic subjects viewed series of happy and depressing pictures and Velten statements. Each series consisted of nine affectively homogeneous stimuli plus one neutral stimulus. During prestimulus, presentation and imagination intervals of each stimulus presentation, heart period (HP) and EMG activity over corrugator supercilii, orbicularis oculi and zygomaticus major muscle sites were recorded. Each series was followed by 1 min measurements of TRR, HP, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, ventilation, and mood. Each stimulus was rated with respect to pleasure and arousal. Successive increases of corrugator EMG were observed throughout the series of depressing and happy stimuli. These gradients were comparable for prestimulus, presentation or imagination intervals, thus yielding no evidence for response habituation or sensitization. Other muscle sites showed only negligible EMG gradients, while HP revealed successive shortening over each stimulus series. Marginal evidence was found to support the suggestion that successive corrugator increases affected mood and stimulus evaluations. Subjects with significant positive corrugator EMG gradients throughout depressing pictures revealed significantly lower TRR following the stimulus series. The observed changes in HP and TRR are compatible with an economical model of autonomic-somatic coupling.

scholarly journals Smile (but only deliberately) though your heart is aching: Loneliness is associated with impaired spontaneous smile mimicry

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Resonance Mechanism ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Video Clips ◽  
Behavioral Mechanism ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Physiological Dysregulation ◽  
Resonance Response ◽  
Perceived Social Isolation

As social beings, humans harbor an evolved capacity for loneliness—perceived social isolation. Feelings of loneliness are associated with aberrant affective and social processing, as well as deleterious physiological dysregulation. We investigated how loneliness affects spontaneous facial mimicry (SFM), an interpersonal resonance mechanism involved in social connection and emotional contagion. We used facial electromyography (fEMG) to measure activity of the zygomaticus major (“smiling muscle”) and corrugator supercilii (“frowning muscle”) while participants viewed emotional stimuli, such as video clips of actors expressing anger, fear, sadness, or joy, and emotional IAPS images. We also measured self-reported loneliness, depression, and extraversion levels. Evidence for SFM was found in greater fEMG activity of the zygomaticus and corrugator to positive and negative emotions, respectively. However, individuals reporting higher levels of loneliness lacked SFM for expressions of joy. Loneliness did not affect deliberate mimicry activity to the same expressions, or spontaneous reactions to positive, negative, or neutral IAPS images. Depression and extraversion did not predict any differences in fEMG responses. We argue that impaired automaticity of “smiling back” at another—a faulty interpersonal resonance response—represents a pervasive behavioral mechanism that likely contributes to negative social and emotional consequences of loneliness and may facilitate loneliness contagion.

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