NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND THE PROCESSING OF EMO TIONAL INFORMATION BY MEANSOF FACIAL EXPRESSION

When studying the processes of human communication, it is considered t hat the interchange is established by means of verbal and non verbal i nformation. The verbal message is always combined with non verbal comp onents, which sometimes modify the semantic contents of the statement. The intonation with which the discourse is emitted, and the gestual a ctivity of the transmitter are fundamental elements of the communicati on, which determine the relation level which the transmitter and the r eceptor establish. Within the field of non verbal communication, speci fically regarding the gestual activity, the facial expression and its perception, constitute one of the most important sources of communicat ion, as they are the means by which emotion are manifested. Neuropsych ology has studied the neurophysiological bases of the emotional inform ation processing, by means of the facial expression. The results of cl inical and experimental investigations suggest that the capacity for r ecognizing and for expressing emotions is the result of a very complex activity, in which different processes, which are produced by differe nt neurophysiological mechanisms which have not been completely identi fied, are implied.