Representation of face information in the human amygdala and prefrontal cortex

• Applicant: Dr. Oana Tudusciuc
• Subject Area: Developmental Neurobiology
• Term: from 2009 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 120175932

Studies using electrophysiology in monkeys, as well as neuroimaging and neuropsychology in humans, have shown that a distributed set of brain structures processes social information. Among these brain structures, the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex stand out as critical for mediating social cognition. Among the type of social information processing they subserve, face perception stands out as one important type, and has perhaps been studied in the greatest detail. Yet important open questions remain, in part due to the limited temporal and spatial resolution of functional imaging methods. The aim of this project is to investigate the neural mechanisms of face processing in the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala in humans. I will focus on one specific and very important aspect: the representation of emotions from facial expressions. A combination of behavioral studies, single-unit recordings, and functional magnetic imaging will be performed to address this topic in detail.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Dr. Ralph Adolphs