Effects of individuation and categorization on face representations in the visual cortex. (24th August 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kim, Hyehyeon; Kim, Gayoung; Lee, Sue-Hyun
• Is Part Of: Neuroscience letters. Volume 708(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-08-24
• Subjects: Face perception -- Face decoding -- Individuation -- Categorization -- FFA -- fMRI; Neurology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Research -- Periodicals; Neurologie -- Périodiques; Neuroanatomie -- Périodiques; Neuropharmacologie -- Périodiques; Neurophysiologie -- Périodiques; Neurology; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 617.48
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2019.134344
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0304-3940

Abstract

Highlights: The specificity of neural responses for individual faces in the FFA is flexible. Individual faces could be decoded during individuation but not during categorization. Face representations depends on the behavioral goals of face individuation and categorization. Abstract: The human faculty of distinguishing thousands of faces critically contributes to face identification and our social interactions. While prior studies have revealed the involvement of the fusiform face area (FFA) in the individuation processing of faces, there are also reports supporting that the responses of the FFA is flexible depending on tasks. Here, we investigated whether the specificity of neural responses in the FFA for individual faces depends on the need for individuation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that individual face images could be decoded from response patterns of the FFA when individuation was required for the task but not when only categorization according to a common feature such as race or gender was necessary. These results suggest that the specificity of neural responses for individual faces is flexible in the FFA, depending on the behavioral goal of face individuation.