Table 1.

Comparing the processing characteristics of vision, audition, and touch for perceiving emotions.

Processing Characteristic	Face	Voice	Touch
Topographic maps	Yes	Yes	Yes
Slow and fast processing streams	Yes	Yes	Yes
Enhanced response to social vs non-social stimuli	Yes	Yes	Yes
Enhanced response to emotional vs. neutral expression	Yes	Yes	Yes
Peripheral receptor numbers	100M	16,000	~100,000
ERP markers within the first 200 ms	Yes	Yes	?
Perception requires temporal integration	No	Yes	Yes
Coordination with other modality	Voice	Face	?
Extent of processing before primary sensory cortex	Low	High	Low
Processing streams that bypass primary sensory cortex	Probably	Minimal?	Yes
Does stimulus perception induce feelings?	Sometimes	Yes	Yes