Cortical control of facial expression.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing anatomical and functional motor control studies without systematic methodology.
PubMed 26418049 · doi:10.1002/cne.23908
What was done
Narrative review synthesizing findings from human and nonhuman primate studies on the cortical motor pathways underlying voluntary versus emotional facial expressions.
What was found
The abstract reports no quantitative data or statistical estimates. It outlines a distributed cortical network involving at least five regions per hemisphere: primary motor cortex, ventral lateral premotor cortex, supplementary motor area (medial wall), and rostral and caudal cingulate cortex. Innervation is bilaterally distributed for the upper face and predominantly contralateral for the lower face. Voluntary expression relies on the primary motor cortex, ventral lateral premotor cortex, and supplementary motor area, while emotional expression relies on rostral and caudal cingulate regions receiving limbic input.
Why it matters
Clarifies the anatomical separation between voluntary and emotionally driven motor pathways for facial movement, providing a framework for understanding facial paresis dissociations in clinical neurology.
Limits
As a narrative review, it lacks systematic search criteria, quality appraisal, and quantitative synthesis. Specific sample sizes, species-specific differences, and experimental paradigms are not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports The upper part of the human face displays more involuntary, truthful emotional expression than the lower part of the face, which is under greater voluntary motor control.