Asymmetrical Activity in the Frontal Brain in Relation to Dominant-Submissive Eye Gaze Behaviour An EEG/Eye Tracking Study

Abstract

Asymmetrical activity of the frontal brain is linked with several different behavioural characteristics and traits. Various studies have found a connection between the Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS)/ Behavioural Activation System (BAS) scales and this brain asymmetry. The BIS scale is thought to give a strong indication of withdrawal tendencies, whereas the BAS scale gives strong indications of approach tendencies. The approach tendencies are associated with relative greater left frontal brain activity as well as dominant behaviour. It is hypothesized that dominance can be attributed to, as well as linked with frontal asymmetry in the brain. 25 students were recruited at the Utrecht University. This experiment attempts to find a connection between dominancy and asymmetrical activity of the brain. The N170, a neuronal response seen in occipitotemporal sites of the brain around 170 ms after human faces are shown, was used to verify if subliminal faces were processed by the individual. After analyzing the data, the expectations set prior to the experiment were not met. However, the N170 was confirmed to be a reliable indicator of faces processed by the brain. Also, several correlations were found between the N170 and brain asymmetry as well as the N170 and the BAS.