Face-Selective Responses Present in Multiple Regions of the Human Infant Brain

AbstractFaces are a rich source of social information. How does the infant brain develop the ability to recognize faces and identify potential social partners? We collected functional magnetic neuroimaging (fMRI) data from 49 awake human infants (aged 2.5-9.7 months) while they watched movies of faces, bodies, objects, and scenes. Face-selective responses were observed not only in ventral temporal cortex (VTC) but also in superior temporal sulcus (STS), and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). Face responses were also observed (but not fully selective) in the amygdala and thalamus. We find no evidence that face-selective responses develop in visual perception regions (VTC) prior to higher order social perception (STS) or social evaluation (MPFC) regions. We suggest that face-selective responses may develop in parallel across multiple cortical regions. Infants’ brains could thus simultaneously process faces both as a privileged category of visual images, and as potential social partners.

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The Human Intraparietal Sulcus Modulates Task-Evoked Functional Connectivity

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhz133 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 875-887

Author(s):

Kai Hwang ◽

James M Shine ◽

Dillan Cellier ◽

Mark D’Esposito

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Temporal Cortex ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Intraparietal Sulcus ◽

Top Down ◽

Adaptive Communication ◽

Wide Range ◽

Functional Connectivity Strength ◽

Ventral Temporal Cortex ◽

Cortical Regions

Abstract Past studies have demonstrated that flexible interactions between brain regions support a wide range of goal-directed behaviors. However, the neural mechanisms that underlie adaptive communication between brain regions are not well understood. In this study, we combined theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the sources of top-down biasing signals that influence task-evoked functional connectivity. Subjects viewed sequences of images of faces and buildings and were required to detect repetitions (2-back vs. 1-back) of the attended stimuli category (faces or buildings). We found that functional connectivity between ventral temporal cortex and the primary visual cortex (VC) increased during processing of task-relevant stimuli, especially during higher memory loads. Furthermore, the strength of functional connectivity was greater for correct trials. Increases in task-evoked functional connectivity strength were correlated with increases in activity in multiple frontal, parietal, and subcortical (caudate and thalamus) regions. Finally, we found that TMS to superior intraparietal sulcus (IPS), but not to primary somatosensory cortex, decreased task-specific modulation in connectivity patterns between the primary VC and the parahippocampal place area. These findings demonstrate that the human IPS is a source of top-down biasing signals that modulate task-evoked functional connectivity among task-relevant cortical regions.

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Combined neural tuning in human ventral temporal cortex resolves the perceptual ambiguity of morphed 2-D images

10.1101/460337 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Mona Rosenke ◽

Nicolas Davidenko ◽

Kalanit Grill-Spector ◽

Kevin S. Weiner

Keyword(s):

Temporal Cortex ◽

Behavioral Model ◽

Behavioral Performance ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Domain Specific ◽

Estimated Parameters ◽

Adjacent Face ◽

Ventral Temporal Cortex ◽

Cortical Regions ◽

The Relationship

ABSTRACTWe have an amazing ability to categorize objects in the world around us. Nevertheless, how cortical regions in human ventral temporal cortex (VTC), which is critical for categorization, support this behavioral ability, is largely unknown. Here, we examined the relationship between neural responses and behavioral performance during the categorization of morphed silhouettes of faces and hands, which are animate categories processed in cortically adjacent regions in VTC. Our results reveal that the combination of neural responses from VTC face- and body-selective regions more accurately explains behavioral categorization than neural responses from either region alone. Furthermore, we built a model that predicts a person’s behavioral performance using estimated parameters of brain-behavioral relationships from a different group of people. We further show that this brain-behavioral model generalizes to adjacent face- and body-selective regions in lateral occipito-temporal cortex. Thus, while face- and body-selective regions are located within functionally-distinct domain-specific networks, cortically adjacent regions from both networks likely integrate neural responses to resolve competing and perceptually ambiguous information from both categories.

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Combined Neural Tuning in Human Ventral Temporal Cortex Resolves the Perceptual Ambiguity of Morphed 2D Images

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhaa081 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (9) ◽

pp. 4882-4898

Author(s):

Mona Rosenke ◽

Nicolas Davidenko ◽

Kalanit Grill-Spector ◽

Kevin S Weiner

Keyword(s):

Temporal Cortex ◽

Behavioral Performance ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Domain Specific ◽

Estimated Parameters ◽

Adjacent Face ◽

Ventral Temporal Cortex ◽

Cortical Regions ◽

Brain Behavior ◽

The Relationship

Abstract We have an amazing ability to categorize objects in the world around us. Nevertheless, how cortical regions in human ventral temporal cortex (VTC), which is critical for categorization, support this behavioral ability, is largely unknown. Here, we examined the relationship between neural responses and behavioral performance during the categorization of morphed silhouettes of faces and hands, which are animate categories processed in cortically adjacent regions in VTC. Our results reveal that the combination of neural responses from VTC face- and body-selective regions more accurately explains behavioral categorization than neural responses from either region alone. Furthermore, we built a model that predicts a person’s behavioral performance using estimated parameters of brain–behavior relationships from a different group of people. Moreover, we show that this brain–behavior model generalizes to adjacent face- and body-selective regions in lateral occipitotemporal cortex. Thus, while face- and body-selective regions are located within functionally distinct domain-specific networks, cortically adjacent regions from both networks likely integrate neural responses to resolve competing and perceptually ambiguous information from both categories.

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Impression Formation in the Human Infant Brain

Cerebral Cortex Communications ◽

10.1093/texcom/tgaa070 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kathleen M Krol ◽

Tobias Grossmann

Keyword(s):

Impression Formation ◽

Person Perception ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Preference Test ◽

Human Infant ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Human Infants ◽

Brain Responses ◽

Infant Brain ◽

Neutral Expression

Abstract Forming an impression of another person is an essential aspect of human social cognition linked to medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) function in adults. The current study examined the neurodevelopmental origins of impression formation by testing the hypothesis that infants rely on processes localized in mPFC when forming impressions about individuals who appear friendly or threatening. Infants’ brain responses were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy while watching 4 different face identities displaying either smiles or frowns directed toward or away from them (N = 77). This was followed by a looking preference test for these face identities (now displaying a neutral expression) using eyetracking. Our results show that infants’ mPFC responses distinguish between smiling and frowning faces when directed at them and that these responses predicted their subsequent person preferences. This suggests that the mPFC is involved in impression formation in human infants, attesting to the early ontogenetic emergence of brain systems supporting person perception and adaptive behavior.

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Face selectivity in human infant ventral temporal cortex.

Journal of Vision ◽

10.1167/jov.20.11.790 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (11) ◽

pp. 790

Author(s):

Heather L. Kosakowski ◽

MIchael Cohen ◽

Boris Keil ◽

Atsushi Takahashi ◽

Isabel Nichoson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Temporal Cortex ◽

Human Infant ◽

Face Selectivity ◽

Ventral Temporal Cortex

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Impression formation in the human infant brain

10.31234/osf.io/yd8pa ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kathleen Marie Krol ◽

Tobias Grossmann

Keyword(s):

Impression Formation ◽

Person Perception ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Preference Test ◽

Human Infant ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Human Infants ◽

Brain Responses ◽

Infant Brain ◽

Neutral Expression

Forming an impression of another person is an essential aspect of human social cognition linked to medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) function in adults. The current study examined the neurodevelopmental origins of impression formation by testing the hypothesis that infants rely on processes localized in mPFC when forming impressions about individuals who appear friendly or threatening. Infants’ brain responses were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) while watching four different face identities displaying either smiles or frowns directed toward or away from them (N = 77). This was followed by a looking preference test for these face identities (now displaying a neutral expression) using eyetracking. Our results show that infants’ mPFC responses distinguish between smiling and frowning faces when directed at them and that these responses predicted their subsequent person preferences. This suggests that the mPFC is involved in impression formation in human infants, attesting to the early ontogenetic emergence of brain systems supporting person perception and adaptive behavior.

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