The fusiform face area subserves face perception, not generic within-category identification

The function of the fusiform face area (FFA), a face-selective region in human extrastriate cortex, is a matter of active debate. Here we measured the correlation between FFA activity measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral outcomes in perceptual tasks to determine the role of the FFA in the detection and within-category identification of faces and objects. Our data show that FFA activation is correlated on a trial-by-trial basis with both detecting the presence of faces and identifying specific faces. However, for most non-face objects (including cars seen by car experts), within-category identification performance was correlated with activation in other regions of the ventral occipitotemporal cortex, not the FFA. These results indicate that the FFA is involved in both detection and identification of faces, but that it has little involvement in within-category identification of non-face objects (including objects of expertise).

[1]  K. H. Britten,et al.  Neuronal correlates of a perceptual decision , 1989, Nature.

[2]  William T. Newsome,et al.  Cortical microstimulation influences perceptual judgements of motion direction , 1990, Nature.

[3]  M. Farah.  Visual Agnosia: Disorders of Object Recognition and What They Tell Us about Normal Vision , 1990 .

[4]  T. Allison,et al.  Human extrastriate visual cortex and the perception of faces, words, numbers, and colors. , 1994, Cerebral cortex.

[5]  T. Allison,et al.  Face-sensitive regions in human extrastriate cortex studied by functional MRI. , 1995, Journal of neurophysiology.

[6]  T. Allison,et al.  Face-Specific Processing in the Human Fusiform Gyrus , 1997, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[7]  M. Tarr,et al.  Levels of categorization in visual recognition studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging , 1997, Current Biology.

[8]  N. Kanwisher,et al.  The Fusiform Face Area: A Module in Human Extrastriate Cortex Specialized for Face Perception , 1997, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[9]  A. Dale,et al.  Selective averaging of rapidly presented individual trials using fMRI , 1997, Human brain mapping.

[10]  K. Nakayama,et al.  Binocular Rivalry and Visual Awareness in Human Extrastriate Cortex , 1998, Neuron.

[11]  T. Allison,et al.  Temporal Cortex Activation in Humans Viewing Eye and Mouth Movements , 1998, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[12]  A M Dale,et al.  Randomized event‐related experimental designs allow for extremely rapid presentation rates using functional MRI , 1998, Neuroreport.

[13]  Nancy Kanwisher,et al.  A cortical representation of the local visual environment , 1998, Nature.

[14]  K. Nakayama,et al.  The effect of face inversion on the human fusiform face area , 1998, Cognition.

[15]  Russell A. Epstein,et al.  The Parahippocampal Place Area Recognition, Navigation, or Encoding? , 1999, Neuron.

[16]  Leslie G. Ungerleider,et al.  Distributed representation of objects in the human ventral visual pathway. , 1999, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[17]  Jeffrey D. Schall,et al.  The detection of visual signals by macaque frontal eye field during masking , 1999, Nature Neuroscience.

[18]  R. Dolan,et al.  Contrast polarity and face recognition in the human fusiform gyrus , 1999, Nature Neuroscience.

[19]  M. Tarr,et al.  Activation of the middle fusiform 'face area' increases with expertise in recognizing novel objects , 1999, Nature Neuroscience.

[20]  S. Edelman,et al.  Differential Processing of Objects under Various Viewing Conditions in the Human Lateral Occipital Complex , 1999, Neuron.

[21]  K. Grill-Spector,et al.  The dynamics of object-selective activation correlate with recognition performance in humans , 2000, Nature Neuroscience.

[22]  Leslie G. Ungerleider,et al.  Distributed Neural Systems for the Generation of Visual Images , 2000, Neuron.

[23]  N. Kanwisher,et al.  Mental Imagery of Faces and Places Activates Corresponding Stimulus-Specific Brain Regions , 2000, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[24]  M. Tarr,et al.  The Fusiform Face Area is Part of a Network that Processes Faces at the Individual Level , 2000, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[25]  J. Haxby,et al.  The distributed human neural system for face perception , 2000, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[26]  M. Tarr,et al.  FFA: a flexible fusiform area for subordinate-level visual processing automatized by expertise , 2000, Nature Neuroscience.

[27]  I. Gauthier,et al.  Expertise for cars and birds recruits brain areas involved in face recognition , 2000, Nature Neuroscience.

[28]  J. Haxby,et al.  Distinct representations of eye gaze and identity in the distributed human neural system for face perception , 2000, Nature Neuroscience.

[29]  J. Schall,et al.  Antecedents and correlates of visual detection and awareness in macaque prefrontal cortex , 2000, Vision Research.

[30]  N. Kanwisher.  Domain specificity in face perception , 2000, Nature Neuroscience.

[31]  M. Bar,et al.  Cortical Mechanisms Specific to Explicit Visual Object Recognition , 2001, Neuron.

[32]  Talma Hendler,et al.  Center–periphery organization of human object areas , 2001, Nature Neuroscience.

[33]  A. Ishai,et al.  Distributed and Overlapping Representations of Faces and Objects in Ventral Temporal Cortex , 2001, Science.

[34]  Jon Driver,et al.  Seen Gaze-Direction Modulates Fusiform Activity and Its Coupling with Other Brain Areas during Face Processing , 2001, NeuroImage.

[35]  Talma Hendler,et al.  Vase or face? A neural correlate of shape-selective grouping processes in the human brain , 2001, NeuroImage.

[36]  S Zeki,et al.  The relationship between cortical activation and perception investigated with invisible stimuli , 2002, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[37]  N. Kanwisher,et al.  How Distributed Is Visual Category Information in Human Occipito-Temporal Cortex? An fMRI Study , 2002, Neuron.

[38]  Timothy J. Andrews,et al.  Activity in the Fusiform Gyrus Predicts Conscious Perception of Rubin's Vase–Face Illusion , 2002, NeuroImage.

[39]  N. Kanwisher,et al.  Stages of processing in face perception: an MEG study , 2002, Nature Neuroscience.

[40]  Talma Hendler,et al.  Analysis of the Neuronal Selectivity Underlying Low fMRI Signals , 2002, Current Biology.

[41]  Bruno Rossion,et al.  The functionally defined right occipital and fusiform “face areas” discriminate novel from visually familiar faces , 2003, NeuroImage.

[42]  Doris Y. Tsao,et al.  Faces and objects in macaque cerebral cortex , 2003, Nature Neuroscience.

[43]  Rafael Malach,et al.  Face-selective Activation in a Congenital Prosopagnosic Subject , 2003, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[44]  R. Dolan,et al.  Distinct spatial frequency sensitivities for processing faces and emotional expressions , 2003, Nature Neuroscience.

[45]  David J. Heeger,et al.  Neuronal correlates of perception in early visual cortex , 2003, Nature Neuroscience.

[46]  L. Chalupa,et al.  The visual neurosciences , 2004 .

[47]  N. Kanwisher,et al.  PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Research Article Visual Recognition As Soon as You Know It Is There, You Know What It Is , 2022 .

[48]  N. Newman.  The Visual Neurosciences , 2005 .