Distinct facial expressions represent pain and pleasure across cultures
Distinct facial expressions represent pain and pleasure across cultures. Chaona Chen et al (2018), PNAS Realworld studies show that the facial expressions produced during pain and orgasmtwo different and intense affective experiencesare virtually indistinguishable. However, this finding is counterintuitive, because facial expressions are widely considered to be a powerful tool for social interaction. Consequently, debate continues as to whether the facial expressions of these extreme positive and negative affective states serve a communicative function. Here, we address this debate from a novel angle by modeling the mental representations of dynamic facial expressions of pain and orgasm in 40 observers in each of two cultures (Western, East Asian) using a datadriven method. Using a complementary approach of machine learning, an informationtheoretic analysis, and a human perceptual discrimination task, we show that mental representations of pain and orgasm are phy
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