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Sex Hormones and Processing of Facial Expressions of Emotion: A Systematic Literature Review.

ABSTRACT: Background: We systematically reviewed the literature to determine the influence of sex hormones on facial emotion processing (FEP) in healthy women at different phases of life. Methods: Searches were performed in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, LILACS, and SciELO. Twenty-seven articles were included in the review and allocated into five different categories according to their objectives and sample characteristics (menstrual cycle, oral contraceptives, pregnancy/postpartum, testosterone, and progesterone). Results: Despite the limited number of studies in some categories and the existence of inconsistencies in the results of interest, the findings of the review suggest that FEP may be enhanced during the follicular phase. Studies with women taking oral contraceptives showed reduced recognition accuracy and decreased responsiveness of different brain structures during FEP tasks. Studies with pregnant women and women in the postpartum showed that hormonal changes are associated with alterations in FEP and in brain functioning that could indicate the existence of a hypervigilant state in new and future mothers. Exogenous administration of testosterone enhanced the recognition of threatening facial expressions and the activation of brain structures involved in the processing of emotional stimuli. Conclusions: We conclude that sex hormones affect FEP in women, which may have an impact in adaptive processes of the species and in the onset of mood symptoms associated with the premenstrual syndrome.

SUBMITTER: Osorio FL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5904259 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Sex Hormones and Processing of Facial Expressions of Emotion: A Systematic Literature Review.

Osório Flávia L FL de Paula Cassis Juliana M JM Machado de Sousa João P JP Poli-Neto Omero O Martín-Santos Rocio R

Frontiers in psychology 20180411

Background: We systematically reviewed the literature to determine the influence of sex hormones on facial emotion processing (FEP) in healthy women at different phases of life. Methods: Searches were performed in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, LILACS, and SciELO. Twenty-seven articles were included in the review and allocated into five different categories according to their objectives and sample characteristics (menstrual cycle, oral contraceptives, pregnancy/pos ...[more]

PMID: 29695991

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Project description:The ability to recognize and express emotions from facial expressions are essential for successful social interactions. Facial Emotion Recognition (FER) and Facial Emotion Expressions (FEEs), both of which seem to be impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and contribute to socio-communicative difficulties, participate in the diagnostic criteria for ASD. Only a few studies have focused on FEEs processing and the rare behavioral studies of FEEs in ASD have yielded mixed results. Here, we review studies comparing the production of FEEs between participants with ASD and non-ASD control subjects, with a particular focus on the use of automatic facial expression analysis software. A systematic literature search in accordance with the PRISMA statement identified 20 reports published up to August 2020 concerning the use of new technologies to evaluate both spontaneous and voluntary FEEs in participants with ASD. Overall, the results highlight the importance of considering socio-demographic factors and psychiatric co-morbidities which may explain the previous inconsistent findings, particularly regarding quantitative data on spontaneous facial expressions. There is also reported evidence for an inadequacy of FEEs in individuals with ASD in relation to expected emotion, with a lower quality and coordination of facial muscular movements. Spatial and kinematic approaches to characterizing the synchrony, symmetry and complexity of facial muscle movements thus offer clues to identifying and exploring promising new diagnostic targets. These findings have allowed hypothesizing that there may be mismatches between mental representations and the production of FEEs themselves in ASD. Such considerations are in line with the Facial Feedback Hypothesis deficit in ASD as part of the Broken Mirror Theory, with the results suggesting impairments of neural sensory-motor systems involved in processing emotional information and ensuring embodied representations of emotions, which are the basis of human empathy. In conclusion, new technologies are promising tools for evaluating the production of FEEs in individuals with ASD, and controlled studies involving larger samples of patients and where possible confounding factors are considered, should be conducted in order to better understand and counter the difficulties in global emotional processing in ASD.

Dataset Information

Sex Hormones and Processing of Facial Expressions of Emotion: A Systematic Literature Review.

Publications

Sex Hormones and Processing of Facial Expressions of Emotion: A Systematic Literature Review.

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