Hypothesis: the larger size of fearful eye whites (i.e., sclera) would be
sufficient to modulate amygdala responsivity
Therefore, maybe the amygdala is more responding to fear because it responds to the white eye, a general feature in fearful and surprised faces.

Human Amygdala Responsivity to Masked Fearful Eye Whites

- Amygdala is found to be responsive for both fearful and surprised facial expressions, similar features.
- Evidence that amygdala can respond to crude representations of stimuli.
- Amygdala may be responding to eye whites.
- Whalen et al 2005 paper: Human Amygdala Responsivity To Masked Fearful Eye Whites.


New York University

Fear expression activates amygdala during fMRI more than other expressions
Damage impairs fear expression recognition and sometimes voices but not other types of emotion

Evidence for Activation in the Amygdala in Response to Fear Face Expression

Paul J. Whalen, Jerome Kagan, Robert G. Cook, F. Caroline Davis, Hackjin Kim, Sara Polis, Donald G. McLaren, Leah H. Somerville, Ashly A. McLean, Jeffrey S. Maxwell, & Tom Johnstone. (2004). Human Amygdala Responsivity to Masked Fearful Eye Whites. Science, 306(5704), 2061.

Learn Before

Related

Learn After