The fusiform face area and occipital face area show sensitivity to spatial relations in faces

Behavioral research indicates that successful face individuation is associated with sensitivity to subtle spatial relations between facial features, as well as to the features themselves. We used a blocked functional magnetic resonance adaptation paradigm to examine the sensitivity of the core face...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe European journal of neuroscience Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 721 - 733
Main Authors Rhodes, Gillian, Michie, Patricia T., Hughes, Matthew E., Byatt, Graham
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2009
Subjects
Adult
Brain Mapping
Face
face perception
Facial Expression
Female
fusiform face area
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
inversion
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
occipital face area
Occipital Lobe - physiology
Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology
Photic Stimulation
Space Perception - physiology
spatial relations
Temporal Lobe - physiology
Time Factors
Visual Pathways - physiology
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Behavioral research indicates that successful face individuation is associated with sensitivity to subtle spatial relations between facial features, as well as to the features themselves. We used a blocked functional magnetic resonance adaptation paradigm to examine the sensitivity of the core face network to spatial relations in faces. The fusiform face area (FFA) was sensitive to spatial relations, responding more strongly to a single face presented with various feature spacings than to repeated presentations of an identical face. This response to spacing variations was as strong as the response to a series of distinct identities. There were no hemisphere effects in sensitivity to spatial relations, although FFAs were larger on the right. The right occipital face area (OFA) was also sensitive to spatial relations in faces. Few participants showed left OFAs. The superior temporal sulcus (STS), which does not code identity, showed little sensitivity to either relational changes or changes in identity. We suggest that the sensitivity of the FFA and right OFA to spatial relations in faces may contribute to our impressive ability to individuate faces despite their similarity as visual patterns.
Bibliography:ArticleID:EJN6861
istex:52B2CC2B4E94B7A5F4E9D4C363A6BE32EBF48A39
ark:/67375/WNG-GQBVZV57-2
ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ObjectType-Article-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:0953-816X
1460-9568
DOI:10.1111/j.1460-9568.2009.06861.x