Abstract:  Both body language and facial expression recognition provide sensitive clues about individual emotion recognition. Facial expression and bodily expression can be detected to a similar extent in the early stages of visual processing, where reflects the subcortical processing pathway and the dorsal route structures associated with unconscious threat information cues for automated processing. Both body language and facial expression recognition have similar N170 component, which reflect early visual coding in the temporal occipital visual cortex. Nonetheless, the N170 component of body language and facial expression involve different neural processes. Moreover, the N170 component and vertex positive potential (VPP) of facial expression processing are superior to the responses to body language processing. The early posterior negativity (EPN) component reflects visual coding in late attentional processing. The P3 and the late positive component (LPC) represent higher cognitive processing in the fronto-parietal cortices, and facial expression require more cognitive resources than physical actions. Furthermore, there is a special N190 response to body language based in the extrastriate body area (EBA). It is sensitive to emotions expressed by body language and information from physical actions. This special visual coding may represent a social adaptation mechanism effectively for the perception of the emotions and intentions of others. Future research should focus on the influence of emotional body language on the processing of facial expressions, the integration of facial and bodily cues during emotional change perception and others.

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