Neuromodulation of facial emotion recognition in health and disease: A systematic review

Facial emotion recognition (FER) is the ability to recognize and discriminate basic emotional states from facial expressions. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has been used to alter FER in health and disease with different parameters and conditions, but the magnitude and directionality of this effect has not previously been systematically studied. In this systematic review, we aimed to explore the effect of NIBS on FER performance. Data were collected in accordance with the PRISMA approach. A literature search identified 30 empirical experiments that studied the effects of NIBS on FER. Potential determinants of the effect of NIBS on FER were the cortical target areas, the specific tasks under study, and the presence of psychopathology. Relevant cortical areas for improvement of FER with NIBS were the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ), the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), the left pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), and the somatosensory area. NIBS is a useful method to improve FER in health and disease. The observed heterogeneity of the impact of NIBS on FER can be explained by task demand and baseline performance.