Kyoto University · Neuroscience
Professor Wataru Sato's research lab focuses on the neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying human social perception, particularly the processing of facial emotions. The lab investigates how dynamic and static facial expressions are perceived, represented, and recognized in the brain, with a strong emphasis on emotionality, social cognition, and individual differences in conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using neuroimaging (fMRI, structural MRI), electrophysiological methods (ERP, ICA), and behavioral analyses of facial animation, the lab explores the interplay between brain structure, function, and subjective experience—especially in relation to happiness and emotional communication.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
To investigate the hypothesis that early visual processing of stimuli might be boosted by signals of emotionality, we analyzed event related potentials (ERPs) of twelve right-handed normal subjects. Gray-scale still images of faces with emotional (fearful and happy) or neutral expressions were presented randomly while the subjects performed gender discrimination of the faces. The results demonstrated that the faces with emotion (both fear and happiness) elicited a larger negative peak at about 2
In this study, we presented computer‐morphing animations of the facial expressions of six emotions to 43 subjects and asked them to evaluate the naturalness of the rate of change of each expression. The results showed that the naturalness of the expressions depended on the velocity of change, and the patterns for the four velocities differed with the emotions. Principal component analysis of the data extracted the structures that underlie the evaluation of dynamic facial expressions, which diffe
These results suggest that weak activity and connectivity of the social brain network underlie the impairment in social interaction involving dynamic facial expressions in individuals with ASD.
These structural and functional MRI studies provide supportive evidence for the hypothesis that an atypical social brain network underlies behavioral social problems in ASD.
Happiness is a subjective experience that is an ultimate goal for humans. Psychological studies have shown that subjective happiness can be measured reliably and consists of emotional and cognitive components. However, the neural substrates of subjective happiness remain unclear. To investigate this issue, we used structural magnetic resonance imaging and questionnaires that assessed subjective happiness, the intensity of positive and negative emotional experiences, and purpose in life. We found
These results suggest that facial mimicry influences the sharing and recognition of emotional valence in response to others' dynamic facial expressions.
Facial expressions that show emotion play an important role in human social interactions. In previous theoretical studies, researchers have suggested that there are universal, prototypical facial expressions specific to basic emotions. However, the results of some empirical studies that tested the production of emotional facial expressions based on particular scenarios only partially supported the theoretical predictions. In addition, all of the previous studies were conducted in Western culture
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