Sex Hormones and Processing of Facial Expressions of Emotion : A Systematic Literature Review
Osório, Flávia L. (National Institute of Science and Technology (Brasil))
de Paula Cassis, Juliana M. (Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, University of São Paulo)
Machado de Sousa, João P. (National Institute of Science and Technology (Brasil))
Poli-Neto, Omero (Department of Gynecology and ObstetricsUniversity of São Paulo)
Martín-Santos, Rocio (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Neurociències)

Date:	2018
Abstract:	Background: We systematically reviewed the literature to determine the influence of sex hormones on facial emotion processing (FEP) in healthy women at different phases of life. Methods: Searches were performed in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, LILACS, and SciELO. Twenty-seven articles were included in the review and allocated into five different categories according to their objectives and sample characteristics (menstrual cycle, oral contraceptives, pregnancy/postpartum, testosterone, and progesterone). Results: Despite the limited number of studies in some categories and the existence of inconsistencies in the results of interest, the findings of the review suggest that FEP may be enhanced during the follicular phase. Studies with women taking oral contraceptives showed reduced recognition accuracy and decreased responsiveness of different brain structures during FEP tasks. Studies with pregnant women and women in the postpartum showed that hormonal changes are associated with alterations in FEP and in brain functioning that could indicate the existence of a hypervigilant state in new and future mothers. Exogenous administration of testosterone enhanced the recognition of threatening facial expressions and the activation of brain structures involved in the processing of emotional stimuli. Conclusions: We conclude that sex hormones affect FEP in women, which may have an impact in adaptive processes of the species and in the onset of mood symptoms associated with the premenstrual syndrome.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Sex hormones ; Emotion ; Facial expression ; Oral contraceptives ; Estrogen ; Progesterone ; Testosterone
Published in:	Frontiers in psychology, Vol. 9 (april 2018) , ISSN 1664-1078

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00529
PMID: 29695991

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