The right hemisphere is responsible for emotional expression
Not only is the right hemisphere is capable of identifying emotional expression, it also plays a vital role in emotional expression via the face or the prosody of the voice. The right frontal lobe is of critical importance for emotional expression of virtually every kind through the face and body posture. The one exception to the right hemisphere superiority for the expression of emotion is anger. Anger is robustly connected with the left frontal lobe. Aggression is motivating and dopamine plays a crucial role in the rewards it offers.
It is the right hemisphere that mediates spontaneous facial expressions in reaction to humor or other emotions, including smiling and laughter. It is also the right hemisphere that is responsible for the peculiarly human ability to express sadness through tears. The left half of the face which is controlled by the right hemisphere, is more involved in emotional expression. Emotions are also more strongly perceived when expressed by the left half of the face. and, intriguingly, the left half of the face is also larger than the right in right-handers. Although facial expression of emotion is a human universal, there are, inevitably, differences in facial expression across cultures; and because of the very fact that the left half of the face displays more complex emotional information, being able to convey mixed feelings, it seems that it may be easier in cross-cultural situations for people to read the relatively simple information conveyed by the right side of the face.
References
- Mcgilchrist, Iain. (2010). The Master and His Emissary Chapter 2 What Do the Hemispheres Do (121). London, UK: Yale University Press.
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Type:🔴 Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Neuropsychology Status:☀️