Neurotransmitter modulation of human facial emotion recognition

Journal article : Review

Human facial emotion recognition (FER) is an evolutionarily preserved process that influences affiliative behaviours, approach/avoidance and fight-or-flight responses in the face of detecting threat cues, thus enhancing adaptation and survival in social groups. Here, we provide a narrative literature review on how human FER is modulated by neurotransmitters and pharmacological agents, classifying the documented effects by central neurotransmitter systems. Synthesising the findings from studies involving functional neuroimaging and FER tasks, we highlight several emerging themes; for example, noradrenaline promotes an overall positive bias in FER, while serotonin, dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid modulate emotions relating to self-preservation. Finally, other neurotransmitters including the cholinergic and glutamatergic systems are responsible for rather non-specific pro-cognitive effects in FER. With the ongoing accumulation of evidence further characterising the individual contributions of each neurotransmitter system, we argue that a sensible next step would be the integration of experimental neuropharmacology with computational models to infer further insights into the temporal dynamics of different neurotransmitter systems modulating FER.

Authors: Vlazaki, M; Harmer, CJ; Cowen, PJ; Pulcu, E

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Journal: Journal of Psychopharmacology
• Volume: 39
• Issue: 10
• Pages: 1089-1102
• Publication date: 2025-05-16
• DOI: 10.1177/02698811251338225
• EISSN: 1461-7285
• ISSN: 0269-8811
• Language: English
• Keywords: facial emotion recognition; computational psychiatry; Neuropsychopharmacology
• Subtype: Review