Differential activation of fusiform gyrus during fearful face processing in schizophrenia

How a visual stimulus is initially categorized as a face by the cortical face-processing network remains largely unclear. In this study we used functional MRI to study the dynamics of face detection in visual scenes by using a paradigm in which scenes containing faces or cars are revealed progressively as they emerge from visual noise. Participants were asked to respond as soon as they detected a face or car during the noise sequence. Among the face-sensitive regions identified based on a standard localizer, a high-level face-sensitive area, the right fusiform face area (FFA), showed the earliest difference between face and car activation. Critically, differential activation in FFA was observed before differential activation in the more posteriorly located occipital face area (OFA). A whole brain analysis confirmed these findings, with a face-sensitive cluster in the right fusiform gyrus being the only cluster showing face preference before successful behavioral detection. Overall, these findings indicate that following generic low-level visual analysis, a face stimulus presented in a gradually revealed visual scene is first detected in the right middle fusiform gyrus, only after which further processing spreads to a network of cortical and subcortical face-sensitive areas (including the posteriorly located OFA). These results provide further evidence for a nonhierarchical organization of the cortical face-processing network.

Download Full-text

Differential activation of the amygdala and the ‘social brain’ during fearful face-processing in Asperger Syndrome

Neuropsychologia ◽

10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.04.014 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 2-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 227

Author(s):

Chris Ashwin ◽

Simon Baron-Cohen ◽

Sally Wheelwright ◽

Michelle O’Riordan ◽

Edward T. Bullmore

Keyword(s):

Asperger Syndrome ◽

Face Processing ◽

Social Brain ◽

Differential Activation ◽

Fearful Face ◽

The Social

Download Full-text

Reduced early fearful face processing during perceptual distraction in high trait anxious participants

Psychophysiology ◽

10.1111/psyp.13819 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anna‐Lena Steinweg ◽

Sebastian Schindler ◽

Maximilian Bruchmann ◽

Robert Moeck ◽

Thomas Straube

Keyword(s):

Face Processing ◽

Fearful Face ◽

High Trait

Download Full-text

Reduced Fusiform Gyrus Activation During Face Processing in Pediatric Brain Tumor Survivors

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s135561772100117x ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Matthew C. Hocking ◽

Robert T. Schultz ◽

Jane E. Minturn ◽

Cole Brodsky ◽

May Albee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brain Tumor ◽

Social Behavior ◽

Face Processing ◽

Pediatric Brain Tumor ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Fusiform Gyrus ◽

The Social ◽

Social Difficulties ◽

Pediatric Brain

Abstract Objective: The neural mechanisms contributing to the social problems of pediatric brain tumor survivors (PBTS) are unknown. Face processing is important to social communication, social behavior, and peer acceptance. Research with other populations with social difficulties, namely autism spectrum disorder, suggests atypical brain activation in areas important for face processing. This case-controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study compared brain activation during face processing in PBTS and typically developing (TD) youth. Methods: Participants included 36 age-, gender-, and IQ-matched youth (N = 18 per group). PBTS were at least 5 years from diagnosis and 2 years from the completion of tumor therapy. fMRI data were acquired during a face identity task and a control condition. Groups were compared on activation magnitude within the fusiform gyrus for the faces condition compared to the control condition. Correlational analyses evaluated associations between neuroimaging metrics and indices of social behavior for PBTS participants. Results: Both groups demonstrated face-specific activation within the social brain for the faces condition compared to the control condition. PBTS showed significantly decreased activation for faces in the medial portions of the fusiform gyrus bilaterally compared to TD youth, ps ≤ .004. Higher peak activity in the left fusiform gyrus was associated with better socialization (r = .53, p < .05). Conclusions: This study offers initial evidence of atypical activation in a key face processing area in PBTS. Such atypical activation may underlie some of the social difficulties of PBTS. Social cognitive neuroscience methodologies may elucidate the neurobiological bases for PBTS social behavior.

Download Full-text

Beyond the core face-processing network: intracerebral stimulation of a face-selective area in the right anterior fusiform gyrus elicits transient prosopagnosia

Frontiers in Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/conf.fnins.2015.89.00087 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Jonas Jacques ◽

Rossion Bruno

Keyword(s):

Face Processing ◽

Fusiform Gyrus ◽

The Core ◽

Selective Area ◽

The Right ◽

Processing Network ◽

Stimulation Of

Download Full-text

The Connectivity Fingerprint of the Fusiform Gyrus Captures the Risk of Developing Autism in Infants with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhz233 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 2199-2214

Author(s):

Benoit Scherrer ◽

Anna K Prohl ◽

Maxime Taquet ◽

Kush Kapur ◽

Jurriaan M Peters ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tuberous Sclerosis ◽

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex ◽

Face Processing ◽

Genetic Disorder ◽

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

The Body ◽

Fusiform Gyrus ◽

Benign Tumors ◽

Anatomical Connectivity

Abstract Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by benign tumors throughout the body; it is generally diagnosed early in life and has a high prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), making it uniquely valuable in studying the early development of autism, before neuropsychiatric symptoms become apparent. One well-documented deficit in ASD is an impairment in face processing. In this work, we assessed whether anatomical connectivity patterns of the fusiform gyrus, a central structure in face processing, capture the risk of developing autism early in life. We longitudinally imaged TSC patients at 1, 2, and 3 years of age with diffusion compartment imaging. We evaluated whether the anatomical connectivity fingerprint of the fusiform gyrus was associated with the risk of developing autism measured by the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI). Our findings suggest that the fusiform gyrus connectivity captures the risk of developing autism as early as 1 year of age and provides evidence that abnormal fusiform gyrus connectivity increases with age. Moreover, the identified connections that best capture the risk of developing autism involved the fusiform gyrus and limbic and paralimbic regions that were consistent with the ASD phenotype, involving an increased number of left-lateralized structures with increasing age.

Download Full-text

Time course of gamma-band oscillation associated with face processing in the inferior occipital gyrus and fusiform gyrus: A combined fMRI and MEG study

Human Brain Mapping ◽

10.1002/hbm.23505 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 38 (4) ◽

pp. 2067-2079 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Shota Uono ◽

Wataru Sato ◽

Takanori Kochiyama ◽

Yasutaka Kubota ◽

Reiko Sawada ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Face Processing ◽

Time Course ◽

Gamma Band ◽

Fusiform Gyrus ◽

Gamma Band Oscillation

Download Full-text

Fusiform Gyrus Face Selectivity Relates to Individual Differences in Facial Recognition Ability

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.2010.21545 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 23 (7) ◽

pp. 1723-1740 ◽

Cited By ~ 106

Author(s):

Nicholas Furl ◽

Lúcia Garrido ◽

Raymond J. Dolan ◽

Jon Driver ◽

Bradley Duchaine

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Face Processing ◽

Statistical Parametric Mapping ◽

Fusiform Gyrus ◽

Face Identification ◽

Functional Responses ◽

Temporal Lobes ◽

Repetition Suppression ◽

Recognition Ability ◽

Face Selectivity

Regions of the occipital and temporal lobes, including a region in the fusiform gyrus (FG), have been proposed to constitute a “core” visual representation system for faces, in part because they show face selectivity and face repetition suppression. But recent fMRI studies of developmental prosopagnosics (DPs) raise questions about whether these measures relate to face processing skills. Although DPs manifest deficient face processing, most studies to date have not shown unequivocal reductions of functional responses in the proposed core regions. We scanned 15 DPs and 15 non-DP control participants with fMRI while employing factor analysis to derive behavioral components related to face identification or other processes. Repetition suppression specific to facial identities in FG or to expression in FG and STS did not show compelling relationships with face identification ability. However, we identified robust relationships between face selectivity and face identification ability in FG across our sample for several convergent measures, including voxel-wise statistical parametric mapping, peak face selectivity in individually defined “fusiform face areas” (FFAs), and anatomical extents (cluster sizes) of those FFAs. None of these measures showed associations with behavioral expression or object recognition ability. As a group, DPs had reduced face-selective responses in bilateral FFA when compared with non-DPs. Individual DPs were also more likely than non-DPs to lack expected face-selective activity in core regions. These findings associate individual differences in face processing ability with selectivity in core face processing regions. This confirms that face selectivity can provide a valid marker for neural mechanisms that contribute to face identification ability.

Download Full-text