News Release

Facial expressions representing pain and pleasure

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Researchers report that mental representations of facial expressions of pain and orgasm are distinct based on an analysis of 40 Western and 40 East Asian observers; mental representations of pain were similar among Western and East Asian observers, whereas representations of orgasm contained culture-specific elements, suggesting that facial expressions serve a communicative role and that culture shapes the representation of the expressions.

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Article #18-07862: "Distinct facial expressions represent pain and pleasure across cultures," by Chaona Chen et al.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jose-Miguel Fernandez-Dols, Autonomous University of Madrid, SPAIN; tel: +34-914975232; e-mail: jose.dols@uam.es


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