scholarly journals The Neurological Asymmetry of Self-Face Recognition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Janowska ◽  
Brianna Balugas ◽  
Matthew Pardillo ◽  
Victoria Mistretta ◽  
Katherine Chavarria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Direct Inhibition ◽  
Hemisphere Dominance

While the desire to uncover the neural correlates of consciousness has taken numerous directions, self-face recognition has been a constant in attempts to isolate aspects of self-awareness. The neuroimaging revolution of the 1990’s bought about systematic attempts to isolate the underlying neural basis self-face recognition. These studies, including some of the first fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) studies, revealed a right hemisphere bias for self-face recognition in a diverse set of regions including the insula, the Dorsal Frontal Lobe, the Temporal Parietal Junction and Medial Temporal Cortex. Confirmation of these data (which are correlational) was provided by TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) and patients in which direct inhibition or ablation of right hemisphere regions leads to a disruption or absence of self-face recognition. These data are consistent with a number of theories including a right hemisphere dominance for self-awareness and/or a right hemisphere specialization for identifying significant social relationships including to oneself.

scholarly journals The Neurological Asymmetry of Self-Face Recognition

Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1135
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Janowska ◽  
Brianna Balugas ◽  
Matthew Pardillo ◽  
Victoria Mistretta ◽  
Katherine Chavarria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Direct Inhibition ◽  
Hemisphere Dominance

While the desire to uncover the neural correlates of consciousness has taken numerous directions, self-face recognition has been a constant in attempts to isolate aspects of self-awareness. The neuroimaging revolution of the 1990s brought about systematic attempts to isolate the underlying neural basis of self-face recognition. These studies, including some of the first fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) examinations, revealed a right-hemisphere bias for self-face recognition in a diverse set of regions including the insula, the dorsal frontal lobe, the temporal parietal junction, and the medial temporal cortex. In this systematic review, we provide confirmation of these data (which are correlational) which were provided by TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) and patients in which direct inhibition or ablation of right-hemisphere regions leads to a disruption or absence of self-face recognition. These data are consistent with a number of theories including a right-hemisphere dominance for self-awareness and/or a right-hemisphere specialization for identifying significant social relationships, including to oneself.

Imaging Fatigue of Interference Control Reveals the Neural Basis of Executive Resource Depletion

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Persson ◽  
Anne Larsson ◽  
Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz
Keyword(s):  
Executive Control ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Interference Control ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Executive Process

Executive control coordinates, prioritizes, and selects task-relevant representations under conditions of conflict. Behavioral evidence has documented that executive resources are separable, finite, and can be temporarily depleted; however, the neural basis for such resource limits are largely unknown. Here, we investigate the neural correlates underlying the fatigue or depletion of interference control, an executive process hypothesized to mediate competition among candidate memory representations. Using a pre/post continuous acquisition fMRI design, we demonstrate that, compared with a nondepletion control group, the depletion group showed a fatigue-induced performance deficit that was specific to interference control and accompanied by a left-to-right shift in the network of active regions. Specifically, we observed decreased BOLD signal in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), striatum, and the cerebellum, along with a corresponding increase in right hemisphere regions including the IFG, insular, and temporal cortex. Depletion-related changes in activation magnitude correlated with behavioral changes, suggesting that decreased recruitment of task-relevant regions, including left IFG, contributes to impaired interference control. These results provide new evidence about the brain dynamics of “process-specific” fatigue and suggest that depletion may pose a significant limitation on the cognitive and neural resources available for executive control.

scholarly journals The neural dynamics of familiar face recognition

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Géza Gergely Ambrus ◽  
Daniel Kaiser ◽  
Radoslaw Martin Cichy ◽  
Gyula Kovács
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Identity Information ◽  
Face Identity ◽  
Familiar Face ◽  
Invariant Representations

AbstractIn real-life situations, the appearance of a person’s face can vary substantially across different encounters, making face recognition a challenging task for the visual system. Recent fMRI decoding studies have suggested that face recognition is supported by identity representations located in regions of the occipito-temporal cortex. Here, we used EEG to elucidate the temporal emergence of these representations. Human participants (both sexes) viewed a set of highly variable face images of four highly familiar celebrities (two male, two female), while performing an orthogonal task. Univariate analyses of event-related EEG responses revealed a pronounced differentiation between male and female faces, but not between identities of the same sex. Using multivariate representational similarity analysis, we observed a gradual emergence of face identity representations, with an increasing degree of invariance. Face identity information emerged rapidly, starting shortly after 100ms from stimulus onset. From 400ms after onset and predominantly in the right hemisphere, identity representations showed two invariance properties: (1) they equally discriminated identities of opposite sexes and of the same sex, and (2) they were tolerant to image-based variations. These invariant representations may be a crucial prerequisite for successful face recognition in everyday situations, where the appearance of a familiar person can vary drastically.Significance StatementRecognizing the face of a friend on the street is a task we effortlessly perform in our everyday lives. However, the necessary visual processing underlying familiar face recognition is highly complex. As the appearance of a given person varies drastically between encounters, for example across viewpoints or emotional expressions, the brain needs to extract identity information that is invariant to such changes. Using multivariate analyses of EEG data, we characterize how invariant representations of face identity emerge gradually over time. After 400ms of processing, cortical representations reliably differentiated two similar identities (e.g., two famous male actors), even across a set of highly variable images. These representations may support face recognition under challenging real-life conditions.

Neural Bases and Development of Face Recognition in Autism

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-44,57-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Marcus ◽  
Charles A. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Neural System ◽  
Inferior Temporal Cortex ◽  
Object Processing ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Further Development

AbstractThis paper critically examines the literature on face recognition in autism, including a discussion of the neural correlates of this ability. The authors begin by selectively reviewing the behavioral and cognitive neuroscience research on whether faces are represented by a “special” behavioral and neural system—one distinct from object processing. The authors then offer a neuroconstructivist model that attempts to account for the robust finding that certain regions in the inferior temporal cortex are recruited in the service of face recognition. This is followed by a review of the evidence supporting the view that face recognition is atypical in individuals with autism. This face-recognition deficit may indicate a continued risk for the further development of social impairments. The authors conclude by speculating on the role of experience in contributing to this atypical developmental pattern and its implications for normal development of face processing.

scholarly journals Neural microgenesis of personally familiar face recognition

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (35) ◽  
pp. E4835-E4844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meike Ramon ◽  
Luca Vizioli ◽  
Joan Liu-Shuang ◽  
Bruno Rossion
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Inferior Temporal Cortex ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Familiar Face ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
The Face

Despite a wealth of information provided by neuroimaging research, the neural basis of familiar face recognition in humans remains largely unknown. Here, we isolated the discriminative neural responses to unfamiliar and familiar faces by slowly increasing visual information (i.e., high-spatial frequencies) to progressively reveal faces of unfamiliar or personally familiar individuals. Activation in ventral occipitotemporal face-preferential regions increased with visual information, independently of long-term face familiarity. In contrast, medial temporal lobe structures (perirhinal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus) and anterior inferior temporal cortex responded abruptly when sufficient information for familiar face recognition was accumulated. These observations suggest that following detailed analysis of individual faces in core posterior areas of the face-processing network, familiar face recognition emerges categorically in medial temporal and anterior regions of the extended cortical face network.

scholarly journals Perceptual and Semantic Components of Memory for Objects and Faces: A PET Study

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 430-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon S. Simons ◽  
Kim S. Graham ◽  
Adrian M. Owen ◽  
Karalyn Patterson ◽  
John R. Hodges
Keyword(s):  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Inferior Temporal Cortex ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
Blood Flow Increase ◽  
The Right

Previous studies have suggested differences in the neural substrates of recognition memory when the contributions of perceptual and semantic information are manipulated. In a within-subjects design PET study, we investigated the neural correlates of the following factors: material type (objects or faces), semantic knowledge (familiar or unfamiliar items), and perceptual similarity at study and test (identical or different pictures). There was consistent material-specific lateralization in frontal and temporal lobe regions when the retrieval of different types of nonverbal stimuli was compared, with objects activating bilateral areas and faces preferentially activating the right hemisphere. Retrieval of memories for nameable, familiar items was associated with increased activation in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, while memory for unfamiliar items involved occipital regions. Recognition memory for different pictures of the same item at study and test produced blood flow increase in left inferior temporal cortex. These results have implications for our understanding of the neural correlates of perceptual and semantic contributions to recognition memory.

scholarly journals Left hemisphere abnormalities in developmental prosopagnosia when looking at faces but not words

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Gerlach ◽  
Solja K Klargaard ◽  
Dag Alnæs ◽  
Knut K Kolskår ◽  
Jens Karstoft ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Left Hemisphere ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Lateral Occipital Complex ◽  
Line Drawings ◽  
Neural Underpinnings ◽  
Mri Study

Abstract Developmental prosopagnosia is a disorder characterized by profound and lifelong difficulties with face recognition in the absence of sensory or intellectual deficits or known brain injury. While there has been a surge in research on developmental prosopagnosia over the last decade and a half, the cognitive mechanisms behind the disorder and its neural underpinnings remain elusive. Most recently it has been proposed that developmental prosopagnosia may be a manifestation of widespread disturbance in neural migration which affects both face responsive brain regions as well as other category-sensitive visual areas. We present a combined behavioural and functional MRI study of face, object and word processing in a group of developmental prosopagnosics (N = 15). We show that developmental prosopagnosia is associated with reduced activation of core ventral face areas during perception of faces. The reductions were bilateral but tended to be more pronounced in the left hemisphere. As the first study to address category selectivity for word processing in developmental prosopagnosia, we do not, however, find evidence for reduced activation of the visual word form area during perception of orthographic material. We also find no evidence for reduced activation of the lateral occipital complex during perception of objects. These imaging findings correspond well with the behavioural performance of the developmental prosopagnosics, who show severe impairment for faces but normal reading and recognition of line drawings. Our findings suggest that a general deficit in neural migration across ventral occipito-temporal cortex is not a viable explanation for developmental prosopagnosia. The finding of left hemisphere involvement in our group of developmental prosopagnosics was at first surprising. However, a closer look at existing studies shows similar, but hitherto undiscussed, findings. These left hemisphere abnormalities seen in developmental prosopagnosia contrasts with lesion and imaging studies suggesting primarily right hemisphere involvement in acquired prosopagnosia, and this may reflect that the left hemisphere is important for the development of a normal face recognition network.

Functional Plasticity in Ventral Temporal Cortex following Cognitive Rehabilitation of a Congenital Prosopagnosic

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 1790-1802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph M. DeGutis ◽  
Shlomo Bentin ◽  
Lynn C. Robertson ◽  
Mark D'Esposito
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Face Identification ◽  
Face Area ◽  
Congenital Prosopagnosia ◽  
The Right

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to measure neural changes associated with training configural processing in congenital prosopagnosia, a condition in which face identification abilities are not properly developed in the absence of brain injury or visual problems. We designed a task that required discriminating faces by their spatial configuration and, after extensive training, prosopagnosic MZ significantly improved at face identification. Event-related potential results revealed that although the N170 was not selective for faces before training, its selectivity after training was normal. fMRI demonstrated increased functional connectivity between ventral occipital temporal face-selective regions (right occipital face area and right fusiform face area) that accompanied improvement in face recognition. Several other regions showed fMRI activity changes with training; the majority of these regions increased connectivity with face-selective regions. Together, the neural mechanisms associated with face recognition improvements involved strengthening early face-selective mechanisms and increased coordination between face-selective and nonselective regions, particularly in the right hemisphere.

scholarly journals Spatially Dissociated Intracerebral Maps for Face- and House-Selective Activity in the Human Ventral Occipito-Temporal Cortex

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 4026-4043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simen Hagen ◽  
Corentin Jacques ◽  
Louis Maillard ◽  
Sophie Colnat-Coulbois ◽  
Bruno Rossion ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Visual Recognition ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Visual Objects ◽  
Epileptic Patients ◽  
Comprehensive Mapping

Abstract We report a comprehensive mapping of the human ventral occipito-temporal cortex (VOTC) for selective responses to frequency-tagged faces or landmarks (houses) presented in rapid periodic trains of objects, with intracerebral recordings in a large sample (N = 75). Face-selective contacts are three times more numerous than house-selective contacts and show a larger amplitude, with a right hemisphere advantage for faces. Most importantly, these category-selective contacts are spatially dissociated along the lateral-to-medial VOTC axis, respectively, consistent with neuroimaging evidence. At the minority of “overlap” contacts responding selectively to both faces and houses, response amplitude to the two categories is not correlated, suggesting a contribution of distinct populations of neurons responding selectively to each category. The medio-lateral dissociation also extends into the underexplored anterior temporal lobe (ATL). In this region, a relatively high number of intracerebral recording contacts show category-exclusive responses (i.e., without any response to baseline visual objects) to faces but rarely to houses, in line with the proposed role of this region in processing people-related semantic information. Altogether, these observations shed novel insight on the neural basis of human visual recognition and strengthen the validity of the frequency-tagging approach coupled with intracerebral recordings in epileptic patients to understand human brain function.

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