Neural processing of human faces: a magnetoencephalographic study

• Published in: Experimental brain research Vol. 118; no. 4; pp. 501 - 510
• Main Authors: Swithenby, S. J., Bailey, A. J., Bräutigam, S., Josephs, O. E., Jousmäki, V., Tesche, C. D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin Springer 01.02.1998
• Subjects: Adult; Algorithms; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - cytology; Brain - physiology; Brain research; Cognition - physiology; Face; Face recognition (Psychology); Female; Functional Laterality - physiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Magnetoencephalography; Male; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Models, Psychological; Neurons - physiology; Physiological aspects; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Visual Perception - physiology; United States; Human; Visual stimulus; Face presentation; Magnetoencephalography; Topography; Central nervous system; Information processing; Cognition; Brain (vertebrata)
• ISSN: 0014-4819; 1432-1106
• DOI: 10.1007/s002210050306

This is a whole head magnetoencephalographic (MEG) study of the neural processing of briefly presented images of human faces in 14 normal subjects. The experiments involved three tasks of increasing complexity, involving image categorisation, image comparison and the identification of emotion. The analyses were based on average responses to repeated stimuli in the different image categories. These averages were processed to give numerical measures of the power within defined regions and latency spans. The only statistically significant difference in these data between the response to faces and other images is in the right occipito-temporal channels at a latency of 140 ms. The face-specific response is largely independent of the task. Source modelling suggests an extended source in the ventral occipito-temporal region. The analysis supports the notions of both face-specificity and right hemisphere dominance for all image types at early latencies.