Differential effects of face-realism and emotion on event-related brain potentials and their implications for the uncanny valley theory
Source record
schindler-2017-erp-realism· 2017 · Scientific Reports
Evidence tier: B (peer-reviewed-journal) · Verification: verified-fulltext
Bottom line: N170 was U-shaped across realism (strongest for most abstract and most realistic faces), LPP increased linearly with realism, and EPN was unaffected by realism; no uncanny 'dip' was directly observed.
Citation
Sebastian Schindler, Eduard Zell, Mario Botsch, Johanna Kissler (2017). Differential effects of face-realism and emotion on event-related brain potentials and their implications for the uncanny valley theory. Scientific Reports, 7, 45003. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45003
Verification entry (identifiers, resolvers, claims with source locations): /data/citations.json#schindler-2017-erp-realism
Study design
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Design | EEG/ERP; the same faces rendered at 6 realism levels (1 = abstract to 6 = real photograph) × happy/angry/neutral expressions; no eeriness or likability ratings |
| Modality | cg-face |
| Stimuli | Stylisation continuum from abstract to photographic |
| Participants (N) | 33 |
| N detail | recruited (22 female, mean age 23.3); analysed N not confirmed |
| Topics | uncanny-valley, neural |
Results
| Metric | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| N170 | U-shaped (quadratic) across realism | stronger for most abstract and most realistic; realism × emotion interaction |
| EPN | no realism effect | modulated by emotion only (largest for angry) |
| LPP | linear increase with realism | no emotion effect |
| Uncanny valley in ERPs | not directly observed | authors suggest a perceptual basis for the hypothesis |
Moderators
- Happy expressions elicited weaker N170 as realism increased; angry expressions stronger
Mechanism relevance
perceptual-basis, against-affective-valley
Limitations
- No eeriness/likability measure
- Stylised CG continuum, not synthetic photoreal faces
Cited in
- MR-0002: The Uncanny Valley and Synthetic Media: Does It Exist, What Causes It, and Have Deepfakes Crossed It?
Verification
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Status | verified-fulltext |
| Compiler confidence | high |
| Checked on | 2026-10-07 |
| Via | nature.com article page (open access); author list on page may be truncated |