Development of emotion recognition: Role of hemispheric laterality for processing facial expressions of emotion

This thesis explores 5 to 12-year-olds recognition of facial emotion expression. The primary aim was to explore the electrophysiological patterns of activation in children and to assess the relationship of the development of hemispheric asymmetry for emotion processing with the development of different facial emotion recognition skills. These aims were examined in four studies, two of which used an EEG paradigm, and two of which were behavioural studies (one longitudinal and one cross-sectional). There were four key findings in this investigation:1) The CFT is an explicit test of laterality; 2) development differences in ERP activation for standard facial emotion showed a reduction of amplitudes with increasing age and that laterality patterns differed between the children in middle childhood, children in late childhood, and adults; 3) children’s facial emotion recognition development varies depending on the emotion, the intensity, and task; 4) there is an association between the development of laterality and children’s developing ability to accurately match facial expressions. These four primary findings were discussed with reference to our current understanding regarding the development of facial emotion recognition skills and the underlying neuropsychological development.