Abstract
Background: The humanoid robot WE4-RII was designed to express human emotions in order to improve human-robot interaction. We can read the emotions depicted in its gestures, yet might utilize different neural processes than those used for reading the emotions in human agents. Methodology: Here, fMRI was used to assess how brain areas activated by the perception of human basic emotions (facial expression of Anger, Joy, Disgust) and silent speech respond to a humanoid robot impersonating the same emotions, while participants were instructed to attend either to the emotion or to the motion depicted. Principal Findings: Increased responses to robot compared to human stimuli in the occipital and posterior temporal cortices suggest additional visual processing when perceiving a mechanical anthropomorphic agent. In contrast, activity in cortical areas endowed with mirror properties, like left Broca's area for the perception of speech, and in the processing of emotions like the left anterior insula for the perception of disgust and the orbitofrontal cortex for the perception of anger, is reduced for robot stimuli, suggesting lesser resonance with the mechanical agent. Finally, instructions to explicitly attend to the emotion significantly increased response to robot, but not human facial expressions in the anterior part of the left inferior frontal gyrus, a neural marker of motor resonance. Conclusions: Motor resonance towards a humanoid robot, but not a human, display of facial emotion is increased when attention is directed towards judging emotions. Significance: Artificial agents can be used to assess how factors like anthropomorphism affect neural response to the perception of human actions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e11577 |
| Journal | PLoS One |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Brain response to a humanoid robot in areas implicated in the perception of human emotional gestures. / Chaminade, Thierry; Zecca, Massimiliano; Blakemore, Sarah Jayne; Takanishi, Atsuo; Frith, Chris D.; Micera, Silvestro; Dario, Paolo; Rizzolatti, Giacomo; Gallese, Vittorio; Umiltà, Maria Alessandra.
In: PLoS One, Vol. 5, No. 7, e11577, 2010.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Brain response to a humanoid robot in areas implicated in the perception of human emotional gestures
AU - Chaminade, Thierry
AU - Zecca, Massimiliano
AU - Blakemore, Sarah Jayne
AU - Takanishi, Atsuo
AU - Frith, Chris D.
AU - Micera, Silvestro
AU - Dario, Paolo
AU - Rizzolatti, Giacomo
AU - Gallese, Vittorio
AU - Umiltà, Maria Alessandra
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Background: The humanoid robot WE4-RII was designed to express human emotions in order to improve human-robot interaction. We can read the emotions depicted in its gestures, yet might utilize different neural processes than those used for reading the emotions in human agents. Methodology: Here, fMRI was used to assess how brain areas activated by the perception of human basic emotions (facial expression of Anger, Joy, Disgust) and silent speech respond to a humanoid robot impersonating the same emotions, while participants were instructed to attend either to the emotion or to the motion depicted. Principal Findings: Increased responses to robot compared to human stimuli in the occipital and posterior temporal cortices suggest additional visual processing when perceiving a mechanical anthropomorphic agent. In contrast, activity in cortical areas endowed with mirror properties, like left Broca's area for the perception of speech, and in the processing of emotions like the left anterior insula for the perception of disgust and the orbitofrontal cortex for the perception of anger, is reduced for robot stimuli, suggesting lesser resonance with the mechanical agent. Finally, instructions to explicitly attend to the emotion significantly increased response to robot, but not human facial expressions in the anterior part of the left inferior frontal gyrus, a neural marker of motor resonance. Conclusions: Motor resonance towards a humanoid robot, but not a human, display of facial emotion is increased when attention is directed towards judging emotions. Significance: Artificial agents can be used to assess how factors like anthropomorphism affect neural response to the perception of human actions.
AB - Background: The humanoid robot WE4-RII was designed to express human emotions in order to improve human-robot interaction. We can read the emotions depicted in its gestures, yet might utilize different neural processes than those used for reading the emotions in human agents. Methodology: Here, fMRI was used to assess how brain areas activated by the perception of human basic emotions (facial expression of Anger, Joy, Disgust) and silent speech respond to a humanoid robot impersonating the same emotions, while participants were instructed to attend either to the emotion or to the motion depicted. Principal Findings: Increased responses to robot compared to human stimuli in the occipital and posterior temporal cortices suggest additional visual processing when perceiving a mechanical anthropomorphic agent. In contrast, activity in cortical areas endowed with mirror properties, like left Broca's area for the perception of speech, and in the processing of emotions like the left anterior insula for the perception of disgust and the orbitofrontal cortex for the perception of anger, is reduced for robot stimuli, suggesting lesser resonance with the mechanical agent. Finally, instructions to explicitly attend to the emotion significantly increased response to robot, but not human facial expressions in the anterior part of the left inferior frontal gyrus, a neural marker of motor resonance. Conclusions: Motor resonance towards a humanoid robot, but not a human, display of facial emotion is increased when attention is directed towards judging emotions. Significance: Artificial agents can be used to assess how factors like anthropomorphism affect neural response to the perception of human actions.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0011577
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0011577
M3 - Article
C2 - 20657777
AN - SCOPUS:77955402750
VL - 5
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 7
M1 - e11577
ER -