Erratum: Expert face processing requires visual input to the right hemisphere during infancy

Background.The ability to identify faces has been interpreted as a cerebral specialization based on the evolutionary importance of these social stimuli, and a number of studies have shown that this function is mainly lateralized in the right hemisphere. The aim of this study was to assess the right-hemispheric specialization in face recognition in unfamiliar circumstances.Methods.Using a divided visual field paradigm, we investigated hemispheric asymmetries in the matching of two subsequent faces, using two types of transformation hindering identity recognition, namely upside-down rotation and spatial “explosion” (female and male faces were fractured into parts so that their mutual spatial relations were left intact), as well as their combination.Results.We confirmed the right-hemispheric superiority in face processing. Moreover, we found a decrease of the identity recognition for more extreme “levels of explosion” and for faces presented upside-down (either as sample or target stimuli) than for faces presented upright, as well as an advantage in the matching of female compared to male faces.Discussion.We conclude that the right-hemispheric superiority for face processing is not an epiphenomenon of our expertise, because we are not often exposed to inverted and “exploded” faces, but rather a robust hemispheric lateralization. We speculate that these results could be attributable to the prevalence of right-handedness in humans and/or to early biases in social interactions.

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Hemispheric Asymmetries for Whole-Based and Part-Based Face Processing in the Human Fusiform Gyrus

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/089892900562606 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 793-802 ◽

Cited By ~ 281

Author(s):

Bruno Rossion ◽

Laurence Dricot ◽

Anne Devolder ◽

Jean-Michel Bodart ◽

Marc Crommelinck ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Face Processing ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Fusiform Gyrus ◽

Homologous Region ◽

Double Dissociation ◽

Face Features ◽

Behavioral Studies ◽

Anatomical Localization ◽

The Right ◽

New Evidence

Behavioral studies indicate a right hemisphere advantage for processing a face as a whole and a left hemisphere superiority for processing based on face features. The present PET study identifies the anatomical localization of these effects in well-defined regions of the middle fusiform gyri of both hemispheres. The right middle fusiform gyrus, previously described as a face-specific region, was found to be more activated when matching whole faces than face parts whereas this pattern of activity was reversed in the left homologous region. These lateralized differences appeared to be specific to faces since control objects processed either as wholes or parts did not induce any change of activity within these regions. This double dissociation between two modes of face processing brings new evidence regarding the lateralized localization of face individualization mechanisms in the human brain.

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Reduction in White Matter Connectivity, Revealed by Diffusion Tensor Imaging, May Account for Age-related Changes in Face Perception

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.2008.20025 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 268-284 ◽

Cited By ~ 76

Author(s):

Cibu Thomas ◽

Linda Moya ◽

Galia Avidan ◽

Kate Humphreys ◽

Kwan Jin Jung ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽

White Matter ◽

Face Perception ◽

Face Processing ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Temporal Cortex ◽

Age Related ◽

The Right ◽

White Matter Connectivity

An age-related decline in face processing, even under conditions in which learning and memory are not implicated, has been well documented, but the mechanism underlying this perceptual alteration remains unknown. Here, we examine whether this behavioral change may be accounted for by a reduction in white matter connectivity with age. To this end, we acquired diffusion tensor imaging data from 28 individuals aged 18 to 86 years and quantified the number of fibers, voxels, and fractional anisotropy of the two major tracts that pass through the fusiform gyrus, the pre-eminent face processing region in the ventral temporal cortex. We also measured the ability of a subset of these individuals to make fine-grained discriminations between pairs of faces and between pairs of cars. There was a significant reduction in the structural integrity of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) in the right hemisphere as a function of age on all dependent measures and there were also some changes in the left hemisphere, albeit to a lesser extent. There was also a clear age-related decrement in accuracy of perceptual discrimination, especially for more challenging perceptual discriminations, and this held to a greater degree for faces than for cars. Of greatest relevance, there was a robust association between the reduction of IFOF integrity in the right hemisphere and the decline in face perception, suggesting that the alteration in structural connectivity between the right ventral temporal and frontal cortices may account for the age-related difficulties in face processing.

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The Study of Face Processing in Social Anxiety Disorder Based on Face-Specific N170 Component

Journal of Healthcare Engineering ◽

10.1155/2022/6003973 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 2022 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Xuejing Bi ◽

Min Guo ◽

Jianqin Cao ◽

Yanhua Hao

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Social Anxiety ◽

Social Anxiety Disorder ◽

Face Processing ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Asymmetry Index ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

N170 Component ◽

Before And After ◽

The Right

Although previous studies showed that social anxiety disorder (SAD) exhibits the attentional bias for angry faces, few studies investigated effective face recognition combined with event-related potential (ERP) technique in SAD patients, especially the treatment effect. This study examines the differences in face processing in SAD patients before and after treatment and healthy control people (H-group). High-density EEG scans were registered in response to emotional schematic faces, particularly interested in the face processing N170 component. Analysis of N170 amplitude revealed a larger N170 for P-group-pre in response to inverted and upright stimuli than H-group in the right hemisphere. The result of the intragroup t-test showed that N170 was delayed for inverted relative to upright faces only in P-group-post and H-group but not in P-group-pre. Remarkably, the results of ANOVAs manifested that emotional expression cannot modulate N170 for SAD patients. Besides, the N170-based asymmetry index (AI) was introduced to analyze the left- and right-hemisphere dominance of N170 for three groups. It was found that, with the improvement of patients’ treatment, the value of A I N 170 − b a s e d presented a decreasing trend. These results together suggested that there was no inversion effect observed for patients with SAD. The change in the value of A I N 170 − b a s e d can be used as potential electrophysiological markers for the diagnosis and treatment effects on patients with SAD.

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Variable Left-hemisphere Language and Orthographic Lateralization Reduces Right-hemisphere Face Lateralization

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_00757 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 27 (5) ◽

pp. 913-925 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Eva M. Dundas ◽

David C. Plaut ◽

Marlene Behrmann

Keyword(s):

Left Hemisphere ◽

Face Processing ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Hemispheric Specialization ◽

Neural Systems ◽

Discrimination Accuracy ◽

Left Handed ◽

Representational Space ◽

The Right ◽

Interactive Account

It is commonly believed that, in right-handed individuals, words and faces are processed by distinct neural systems: one in the left hemisphere (LH) for words and the other in the right hemisphere (RH) for faces. Emerging evidence suggests, however, that hemispheric selectivity for words and for faces may not be independent of each other. One recent account suggests that words become lateralized to the LH to interact more effectively with language regions, and subsequently, as a result of competition with words for representational space, faces become lateralized to the RH. On this interactive account, left-handed individuals, who as a group show greater variability with respect to hemispheric language dominance, might be expected to show greater variability in their degree of RH lateralization of faces as well. The current study uses behavioral measures and ERPs to compare the hemispheric specialization for both words and faces in right- and left-handed adult individuals. Although both right- and left-handed groups demonstrated LH over RH superiority in discrimination accuracy for words, only the right-handed group demonstrated RH over LH advantage in discrimination accuracy for faces. Consistent with this, increased right-handedness was related to an increase in RH superiority for face processing, as measured by the strength of the N170 ERP component. Interestingly, the degree of RH behavioral superiority for face processing and the amplitude of the RH N170 for faces could be predicted by the magnitude of the N170 ERP response to words in the LH. These results are discussed in terms of a theoretical account in which the typical RH face lateralization fails to emerge in individuals with atypical language lateralization because of weakened competition from the LH representation of words.

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A Novel Contact-Lens System to Assess Visual Hemispheric Asymmetries

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.1992.74.2.567 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 74 (2) ◽

pp. 567-575 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

H. Edward Fouty ◽

Ronald A. Yeo ◽

Michael W. Otto ◽

Charles R. Briggs

Keyword(s):

Contact Lens ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Visual Stimulation ◽

Visual Input ◽

Light Transmittance ◽

Lens System ◽

Soft Contact ◽

Soft Contact Lens ◽

Visuospatial Tasks ◽

The Right

A soft contact-lens system for achieving unilateral visual stimulation in a free vision format is described. Initial testing with light transmittance and visual perimetry indicated that the lenses created artificial visual-field deficits. The efficacy of the lenses as a technique for lateralizing visual input was evaluated by examining within-subject differences in performance on two visuospatial tasks. Speed and accuracy of performance were greater with visual input directed to the right hemisphere. These data support the lens design as a useful alternative to tachistoscopic procedures and previous lens systems.

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Separable Mechanisms in Face Processing: Evidence from Hemispheric Specialization

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.1991.3.1.42 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 42-58 ◽

Cited By ~ 136

Author(s):

Lynn A. Hillger ◽

Olivier Koenig

Keyword(s):

Left Hemisphere ◽

Face Processing ◽

Visual Processing ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Hemispheric Specialization ◽

Facial Feature ◽

General Purpose ◽

Facial Features ◽

Left And Right ◽

The Right

This article addresses three issues in face processing: First, is face processing primarily accomplished by the right hemisphere, or do both left- and right-hemisphere mechanisms play important roles? Second, are the mechanisms the same as those involved in general visual processing, or are they dedicated to face processing? Third, how can the mechanisms be characterized more precisely in terms of processes such as visual parsing? We explored these issues using the divided visual field methodology in four experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 provided evidence that both left- and right-hemisphere mechanisms are involved in face processing. In Experiment 1, a right-hemisphere advantage was found for both Same and Different trials when Same faces were identical and Different faces differed on all three internal facial features. Experiment 2 replicated the right-hemisphere advantage for Same trials but showed a left-hemisphere advantage for Different trials when one of three facial features differed between the target and the probe faces. Experiment 3 showed that the right-hemisphere advantage obtained with upright faces in Experiment 2 disappeared when the faces were inverted. This result suggests that there are right-hemisphere mechanisms specialized for processing upright faces, although it could not be determined whether these mechanisms are completely face-specific. Experiment 3 also provided evidence that the left-hemisphere mechanisms utilized in face processing tasks are general-purpose visual mechanisms not restricted to particular classes of visual stimuli. In Experiment 4, a left-hemisphere advantage was obtained when the task was to find one facial feature that was the same between the target and the probe faces. We suggest that left-hemisphere advantages shown in face processing are due to the parsing and analysis of the local elements of a face.

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III. Electrophysiological Studies of Face Processing in Williams Syndrome

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/089892900561977 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 12 (supplement 1) ◽

pp. 47-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 85

Author(s):

Debra L. Mills ◽

Twyla D. Alvarez ◽

Marie St. George ◽

Lawrence G. Appelbaum ◽

Ursula Bellugi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Williams Syndrome ◽

Language Processing ◽

Face Processing ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Processing Abilities ◽

Electrophysiological Studies ◽

The Right ◽

Match Effect ◽

Normal Adults

Williams Syndrome (WMS) is a genetically based disorder characterized by pronounced variability in performance across different domains of cognitive functioning. This study examined brain activity linked to face-processing abilities, which are typically spared in individuals with WMS. Subjects watched photographic pairs of upright or inverted faces and indicated if the second face matched or did not match the first face. Results from a previous study with normal adults showed dramatic differences in the timing and distribution of ERP effects linked to recognition of upright and inverted faces. In normal adults, upright faces elicited ERP differences to matched vs. mismatched faces at approximately 320 msec (N320) after the onset of the second stimulus. This “N320” effect was largest over anterior regions of the right hemisphere. In contrast, the mismatch/match effect for inverted faces consisted of a large positive component between 400 and 1000 msec (P500) that was largest over parietal regions and was symmetrical. In contrast to normal adults, WMS subjects showed an N320-mismatch effect for both upright and inverted faces. Additionally, the WMS subjects did not display the N320 right-hemisphere asymmetry observed in the normal adults. WMS subjects also displayed an abnormally small negativity at 100 msec (N100) and an abnormally large negativity at 200 msec (N200) to both upright and inverted faces. This ERP pattern was observed in all subjects with WMS but was not observed in the normal controls. These results may be linked to increased attention to faces in subjects with WMS and might be specific to the disorder. These results were consistent with our ERP studies of language processing in WMS, which suggested abnormal cerebral specialization for spared cognitive functions in individuals with WMS.

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Face Familiarity Decisions Take 200 msec in the Human Brain: Electrophysiological Evidence from a Go/No-go Speeded Task

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_00451 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 81-95 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Stephanie Caharel ◽

Meike Ramon ◽

Bruno Rossion

Keyword(s):

Human Brain ◽

Face Processing ◽

Brain Function ◽

Time Course ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Time Frame ◽

Familiar Face ◽

Scalp Eeg ◽

The Right ◽

Unfamiliar Faces

Recognizing a familiar face rapidly is a fundamental human brain function. Here we used scalp EEG to determine the minimal time needed to classify a face as personally familiar or unfamiliar. Go (familiar) and no-go (unfamiliar) responses elicited clear differential waveforms from 210 msec onward, this difference being first observed at right occipito-temporal electrode sites. Similar but delayed (by about 40 msec) responses were observed when go response were required to the unfamiliar rather than familiar faces, in a second group of participants. In both groups, a small increase of amplitude was also observed on the right hemisphere N170 face-sensitive component for familiar faces. However, unlike the post-200 msec differential go/no-go effect, this effect was unrelated to behavior and disappeared with repetition of unfamiliar faces. These observations indicate that accumulation of evidence within the first 200 msec poststimulus onset is sufficient for the human brain to decide whether a person is familiar based on his or her face, a time frame that puts strong constraints on the time course of face processing.

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