Oxytocin’s Role in the Recognition of Emotions

Summary: A new study reports oxytocin plays a role in facial mimicry.

Source: SISSA.

The “social” neuropeptide plays a role in facial mimicry.

Studies have demonstrated that oxytocin plays a role in facilitating the perception of emotions in other people’s facial expressions. An international study conducted by Sebastian Korb and colleagues tested the idea that this phenomenon is related to facial mimicry. According to embodied cognition theory, the recognition of others’ emotions is facilitated by their imitation and reproduction with our own face. The study confirms this facilitating effect, which proves to be more pronounced for expressions conveying negative emotions, especially when seen on the face of a child.

Oxytoxin, whether functioning as a hormone or a neurotransmitter, is involved in a series of important physiological and psychological functions. It promotes maternal attachment, lactation, pair bonding and group cohesion. However, the oxytocin is actually far more complex. It can sometimes even lead to aggressive behaviour.

Experimental results show that intranasal administration of oxytocin makes people more willing to take care of others and better at recognizing emotions.

It was this latter effect that attracted the attention of Sebastian Korb, researcher at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste and expert on facial mimicry: “What is the mechanism at the basis of the emotion recognition facilitation observed after the administration of intranasal oxytocin?” Korb asked himself.

According to embodied cognition theory, the ability to imitate an emotional expression seen on the face of others facilitates the recognition of the emotion. “Could oxytocin be stimulating the imitation?”.

To test the existence of a relationship between oxytocin and facial mimicry, Korb and colleagues selected a sample of 60 adult males and gave half the sample a dose of oxytocin and the other half a dose of placebo. After a sufficient time interval for the drug to take effect, the subjects underwent a series of tests assessing the evaluation and recognition of emotional expressions shown in a series of short videos depicting adult or infant faces. As they performed the tests, the response of their facial muscles was also recorded to measure facial mimicry.

Image shows a crying baby.
The results showed that facial mimicry was more pronounced in the subject who received the oxytocin dose compared to those who received the placebo, and that this increase in mimicry was greater when subjects observed newborns crying. NeuroscienceNews.com image is adapted from the SISSA press release.

The results showed that facial mimicry was more pronounced in the subject who received the oxytocin dose compared to those who received the placebo, and that this increase in mimicry was greater when subjects observed newborns crying.

“The finding is interesting not only because it shows that oxytocin has a modulating effect on facial mimicry, but also because there is a strong response to infant faces even in males, whereas effects of oxytocin on caregiving had typically been shown in women”.

About this psychology research article

The study, published in Hormones and Behavior was conducted with the participation of the University of Geneva in Switzerland and the University of Wisconsin in the United States.

Source: SISSA
Image Source: This NeuroscienceNews.com image is adapted from the SISSA press release.
Original Research: Abstract for “Sniff and mimic — Intranasal oxytocin increases facial mimicry in a sample of men” by Sebastian Korb, Jennifer Malsert, Lane Strathearn, Patrik Vuilleumier, and Paula Niedenthal in Hormones and Behavior. Published online June 6 016 doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.06.003

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]SISSA. “Oxytocin’s Role in the Recognition of Emotions.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 14 June 2016.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/emotion-oxytocin-4475/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]SISSA. (2016, June 14). Oxytocin’s Role in the Recognition of Emotions. NeuroscienceNew. Retrieved June 14, 2016 from https://neurosciencenews.com/emotion-oxytocin-4475/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]SISSA. “Oxytocin’s Role in the Recognition of Emotions.” https://neurosciencenews.com/emotion-oxytocin-4475/ (accessed June 14, 2016).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]


Abstract

Sniff and mimic — Intranasal oxytocin increases facial mimicry in a sample of men

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has many potential social benefits. For example, intranasal administration of OT appears to trigger caregiving behavior and to improve the recognition of emotional facial expressions. But the mechanism for these effects is not yet clear. Recent findings relating OT to action imitation and to the visual processing of the eye region of faces point to mimicry as a mechanism through which OT improves processing of emotional expression. To test the hypothesis that increased levels of OT in the brain enhance facial mimicry, 60 healthy male participants were administered, in a double-blind between-subjects design, 24 international units (IUs) of OT or placebo (PLA) through nasal spray. Facial mimicry and emotion judgments were recorded in response to movie clips depicting changing facial expressions. As expected, facial mimicry was increased in the OT group, but effects were strongest for angry infant faces. These findings provide further evidence for the importance of OT in social cognitive skills, and suggest that facial mimicry mediates the effects of OT on improved emotion recognition.

“Sniff and mimic — Intranasal oxytocin increases facial mimicry in a sample of men” by Sebastian Korb, Jennifer Malsert, Lane Strathearn, Patrik Vuilleumier, and Paula Niedenthal in Hormones and Behavior. Published online June 6 016 doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.06.003

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