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Wang R, Lu X, Jiang Y. Distributed and hierarchical neural encoding of multidimensional biological motion attributes in the human brain. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:8510-8522. [PMID: 37118887 PMCID: PMC10786095 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The human visual system can efficiently extract distinct physical, biological, and social attributes (e.g. facing direction, gender, and emotional state) from biological motion (BM), but how these attributes are encoded in the brain remains largely unknown. In the current study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate this issue when participants viewed multidimensional BM stimuli. Using multiple regression representational similarity analysis, we identified distributed brain areas, respectively, related to the processing of facing direction, gender, and emotional state conveyed by BM. These brain areas are governed by a hierarchical structure in which the respective neural encoding of facing direction, gender, and emotional state is modulated by each other in descending order. We further revealed that a portion of the brain areas identified in representational similarity analysis was specific to the neural encoding of each attribute and correlated with the corresponding behavioral results. These findings unravel the brain networks for encoding BM attributes in consideration of their interactions, and highlight that the processing of multidimensional BM attributes is recurrently interactive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruidi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Beijing 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, 26 Science Park Road, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Xiqian Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Beijing 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, 26 Science Park Road, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Yi Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Beijing 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, 26 Science Park Road, Beijing 102206, China
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2
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Thorat S, Peelen MV. Body shape as a visual feature: Evidence from spatially-global attentional modulation in human visual cortex. Neuroimage 2022; 255:119207. [PMID: 35427768 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Feature-based attention modulates visual processing beyond the focus of spatial attention. Previous work has reported such spatially-global effects for low-level features such as color and orientation, as well as for faces. Here, using fMRI, we provide evidence for spatially-global attentional modulation for human bodies. Participants were cued to search for one of six object categories in two vertically-aligned images. Two additional, horizontally-aligned, images were simultaneously presented but were never task-relevant across three experimental sessions. Analyses time-locked to the objects presented in these task-irrelevant images revealed that responses evoked by body silhouettes were modulated by the participants' top-down attentional set, becoming more body-selective when participants searched for bodies in the task-relevant images. These effects were observed both in univariate analyses of the body-selective cortex and in multivariate analyses of the object-selective visual cortex. Additional analyses showed that this modulation reflected response gain rather than a bias induced by the cues, and that it reflected enhancement of body responses rather than suppression of non-body responses. These findings provide evidence for a spatially-global attention mechanism for body shapes, supporting the rapid and parallel detection of conspecifics in our environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sushrut Thorat
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Marius V Peelen
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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3
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Báez-Mendoza R, Vázquez Y, Mastrobattista EP, Williams ZM. Neuronal Circuits for Social Decision-Making and Their Clinical Implications. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:720294. [PMID: 34658766 PMCID: PMC8517320 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.720294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social living facilitates individual access to rewards, cognitive resources, and objects that would not be otherwise accessible. There are, however, some drawbacks to social living, particularly when competing for scarce resources. Furthermore, variability in our ability to make social decisions can be associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. The neuronal mechanisms underlying social decision-making are beginning to be understood. The momentum to study this phenomenon has been partially carried over by the study of economic decision-making. Yet, because of the similarities between these different types of decision-making, it is unclear what is a social decision. Here, we propose a definition of social decision-making as choices taken in a context where one or more conspecifics are involved in the decision or the consequences of it. Social decisions can be conceptualized as complex economic decisions since they are based on the subjective preferences between different goods. During social decisions, individuals choose based on their internal value estimate of the different alternatives. These are complex decisions given that conspecifics beliefs or actions could modify the subject's internal valuations at every choice. Here, we first review recent developments in our collective understanding of the neuronal mechanisms and circuits of social decision-making in primates. We then review literature characterizing populations with neuropsychiatric disorders showing deficits in social decision-making and the underlying neuronal circuitries associated with these deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymundo Báez-Mendoza
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Yuriria Vázquez
- Laboratory of Neural Systems, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Emma P. Mastrobattista
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Ziv M. Williams
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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4
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Zhou L, Tang Z, Zuo Z, Zhou K. Neural Mechanism Underlying the Sleep Deprivation-Induced Abnormal Bistable Perception. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:583-592. [PMID: 34322696 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 06/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Quality sleep is vital for physical and mental health. No matter whether sleep problems are a consequence of or contributory factor to mental disorders, people with psychosis often suffer from severe sleep disturbances. Previous research has shown that acute sleep deprivation (SD) can cause transient brain dysfunction and lead to various cognitive impairments in healthy individuals. However, the relationship between sleep disturbance and bistable perception remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether the bistable perception could be affected by SD and elucidated the functional brain changes accompanying SD effects on bistable perception using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We found that the 28-h SD resulted in slower perceptual transitions in healthy individuals. The reduced perceptual transition was accompanied by the decreased activations in rivalry-related frontoparietal areas, including the right superior parietal lobule, right frontal eye field, and right temporoparietal junction. We speculated that SD might disrupt the normal function of these regions crucial for bistable perception, which mediated the slower rivalry-related perceptual transitions in behavior. Our findings revealed the neural changes underlying the abnormal bistable perception following the SD. It also suggested that SD might offer a new window to understand the neural mechanisms underlying the bistable perception.
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Barton JJS, Davies-Thompson J, Corrow SL. Prosopagnosia and disorders of face processing. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2021; 178:175-193. [PMID: 33832676 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-821377-3.00006-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Face recognition is a form of expert visual processing. Acquired prosopagnosia is the loss of familiarity for facial identity and has several functional variants, namely apperceptive, amnestic, and associative forms. Acquired forms are usually caused by either occipitotemporal or anterior temporal lesions, right or bilateral in most cases. In addition, there is a developmental form, whose functional and structural origins are still being elucidated. Despite their difficulties with recognizing faces, some of these subjects still show signs of covert recognition, which may have a number of explanations. Other aspects of face perception can be spared in prosopagnosic subjects. Patients with other types of face processing difficulties have been described, including impaired expression processing, impaired lip-reading, false familiarity for faces, and a people-specific amnesia. Recent rehabilitative studies have shown some modest ability to improve face perception in prosopagnosic subjects through perceptual training protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason J S Barton
- Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
| | - Jodie Davies-Thompson
- Face Research Swansea, Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Sketty, United Kingdom
| | - Sherryse L Corrow
- Visual Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, Bethel University, St. Paul, MN, United States
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Arizpe JM, Noles DL, Tsao JW, Chan AWY. Eye Movement Dynamics Differ between Encoding and Recognition of Faces. Vision (Basel) 2019; 3:vision3010009. [PMID: 31735810 PMCID: PMC6802769 DOI: 10.3390/vision3010009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2018] [Revised: 11/15/2018] [Accepted: 12/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial recognition is widely thought to involve a holistic perceptual process, and optimal recognition performance can be rapidly achieved within two fixations. However, is facial identity encoding likewise holistic and rapid, and how do gaze dynamics during encoding relate to recognition? While having eye movements tracked, participants completed an encoding ("study") phase and subsequent recognition ("test") phase, each divided into blocks of one- or five-second stimulus presentation time conditions to distinguish the influences of experimental phase (encoding/recognition) and stimulus presentation time (short/long). Within the first two fixations, several differences between encoding and recognition were evident in the temporal and spatial dynamics of the eye-movements. Most importantly, in behavior, the long study phase presentation time alone caused improved recognition performance (i.e., longer time at recognition did not improve performance), revealing that encoding is not as rapid as recognition, since longer sequences of eye-movements are functionally required to achieve optimal encoding than to achieve optimal recognition. Together, these results are inconsistent with a scan path replay hypothesis. Rather, feature information seems to have been gradually integrated over many fixations during encoding, enabling recognition that could subsequently occur rapidly and holistically within a small number of fixations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M. Arizpe
- Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Children’s Foundation Research Institute, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis, TN 38103, USA
- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Danielle L. Noles
- Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Children’s Foundation Research Institute, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis, TN 38103, USA
- School of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Jack W. Tsao
- Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Children’s Foundation Research Institute, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis, TN 38103, USA
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Memphis, TN 38104, USA
| | - Annie W.-Y. Chan
- Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Children’s Foundation Research Institute, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis, TN 38103, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Department of Life Sciences, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Brunel University London, London, UB8 3PH, UK
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7
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Bayet L, Zinszer B, Pruitt Z, Aslin RN, Wu R. Dynamics of neural representations when searching for exemplars and categories of human and non-human faces. Sci Rep 2018; 8:13277. [PMID: 30185919 PMCID: PMC6125483 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31526-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Face perception abilities in humans exhibit a marked expertise in distinguishing individual human faces at the expense of individual faces from other species (the other-species effect). In particular, one behavioural effect of such specialization is that human adults search for and find categories of non-human faces faster and more accurately than a specific non-human face, and vice versa for human faces. However, a recent visual search study showed that neural responses (event-related potentials, ERPs) were identical when finding either a non-human or human face. We used time-resolved multivariate pattern analysis of the EEG data from that study to investigate the dynamics of neural representations during a visual search for own-species (human) or other-species (non-human ape) faces, with greater sensitivity than traditional ERP analyses. The location of each target (i.e., right or left) could be decoded from the EEG, with similar accuracy for human and non-human faces. However, the neural patterns associated with searching for an exemplar versus a category target differed for human faces compared to non-human faces: Exemplar representations could be more reliably distinguished from category representations for human than non-human faces. These findings suggest that the other-species effect modulates the nature of representations, but preserves the attentional selection of target items based on these representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurie Bayet
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
| | - Benjamin Zinszer
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Zoe Pruitt
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | | | - Rachel Wu
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
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Rakotonirina H, Kappeler PM, Fichtel C. The role of facial pattern variation for species recognition in red-fronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons). BMC Evol Biol 2018; 18:19. [PMID: 29433448 PMCID: PMC5809826 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-018-1126-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2017] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Species recognition, i.e., the ability to distinguish conspecifics from heterospecifics, plays an essential role in reproduction. The role of facial cues for species recognition has been investigated in several non-human primate species except for lemurs. We therefore investigated the role of facial cues for species recognition in wild red-fronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons) at Kirindy Forest. We presented adult red-fronted lemurs pictures of male faces from five species including red-fronted lemurs, three closely related species, white-fronted lemurs (E. albifrons), brown lemurs (E. fulvus), rufous brown lemurs (E. rufus), and genetically more distant red-bellied lemurs (E. rubriventer), occurring in allopatry with the study population. We predicted that red-fronted lemurs respond stronger to conspecific than to heterospecific pictures and that females show stronger responses than males. In addition, if genetic drift has played a role in the evolution of facial color patterns in the members of this genus, we predicted that responses of red-fronted lemurs correlate negatively with the genetic distance to the different species stimuli. RESULTS Red-fronted lemurs looked significantly longer at pictures of their own species than at those of heterospecifics. Females spent less time looking at pictures of white-fronted, brown and red-bellied lemurs than males did, but not to pictures of red-bellied lemurs and a control stimulus. Individuals also exhibited sniffing behavior while looking at visual stimuli, and the time spent sniffing was significantly longer for pictures of conspecifics compared to those of heterospecifics. Moreover, the time spent looking and sniffing towards the pictures correlated negatively with the genetic distance between their own species and the species presented as stimulus. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that red-fronted lemurs have the ability for species recognition using visual facial cues, which may allow them to avoid costly interbreeding. If so, sexual selection might have influenced the evolution of facial patterns in eulemurs. Since responses also correlated with genetic distance, our findings suggest a potential role of genetic drift as well as sexual selection in influencing the evolution of facial variation in eulemurs. Because study subjects looked and sniffed towards the presented pictures, red-fronted lemurs might have the ability for multi-modal species recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanitriniaina Rakotonirina
- Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany.
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Peter M Kappeler
- Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Wallotstr. 19, 14193, Berlin, Germany
| | - Claudia Fichtel
- Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany
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Battistoni E, Stein T, Peelen MV. Preparatory attention in visual cortex. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2017; 1396:92-107. [PMID: 28253445 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2016] [Revised: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 01/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Top-down attention is the mechanism that allows us to selectively process goal-relevant aspects of a scene while ignoring irrelevant aspects. A large body of research has characterized the effects of attention on neural activity evoked by a visual stimulus. However, attention also includes a preparatory phase before stimulus onset in which the attended dimension is internally represented. Here, we review neurophysiological, functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetoencephalography, electroencephalography, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies investigating the neural basis of preparatory attention, both when attention is directed to a location in space and when it is directed to nonspatial stimulus attributes (content-based attention) ranging from low-level features to object categories. Results show that both spatial and content-based attention lead to increased baseline activity in neural populations that selectively code for the attended attribute. TMS studies provide evidence that this preparatory activity is causally related to subsequent attentional selection and behavioral performance. Attention thus acts by preactivating selective neurons in the visual cortex before stimulus onset. This appears to be a general mechanism that can operate on multiple levels of representation. We discuss the functional relevance of this mechanism, its limitations, and its relation to working memory, imagery, and expectation. We conclude by outlining open questions and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Battistoni
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Timo Stein
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Marius V Peelen
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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10
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Faces elicit different scanning patterns depending on task demands. Atten Percept Psychophys 2017; 79:1050-1063. [DOI: 10.3758/s13414-017-1284-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION Patients with schizophrenia have a large-scaled and severe cognitive impairment. This study examines whether a well-established deficit in face recognition in schizophrenia is a part of this general cognitive impairment or is specific to faces per se. METHOD The differential deficit in matching upright faces as compared with two psychometrically matched control tasks (matching inverted faces and matching none-face objects) was assessed in two well-matched samples of schizophrenics (n = 40) and controls (n = 40). RESULTS Indicating a generalised cognitive deficit, schizophrenics were impaired in all tasks. Importantly, however, the deficit in matching upright faces was stronger in magnitude (15.6%) than the deficits in matching inverted faces (10.1%) and non-face objects (10.2%). Consistently, schizophrenics showed weaker face inversion effects, indicating a configural processing dysfunction. CONCLUSION These results provide compelling evidence for a face-specific deficit in schizophrenia that may be associated with, but separable from, a generalised cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed M Megreya
- a Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Education , Qatar University , Doha , Qatar
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12
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Gu D, Nguyen M, Yan W. Cross Models for Twin Recognition. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DIGITAL CRIME AND FORENSICS 2016. [DOI: 10.4018/ijdcf.2016100103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Nowadays, Biometrics has become a popular tool in personal identification as it can use physiological or behavioral characteristics to identify individuals. Recent advances in information technology has increased the accuracy of biometric to another level, there is still a slew of problems existed, such as complex environment, aging and unique problems. Among many classes of identifications, recognizing twins is one of the most difficult tasks as they resemble each other. This affects the use of biometrics in general cases and raises potential risks of biometrics in access control. In this paper, the authors manage to distinguish twins using four different models, namely, face recognition, ear recognition, voice recognition and lip movement recognition. Their results show that voice recognition has the best performance in twin recognition with 100% accuracy. This is much higher than that of face recognition and ear recognition (with 58% and 53% respectively); and lip movement recognition that yields 76% accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Datong Gu
- Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Minh Nguyen
- Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Weiqi Yan
- Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
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Discrimination of human faces by archerfish (Toxotes chatareus). Sci Rep 2016; 6:27523. [PMID: 27272551 PMCID: PMC4895153 DOI: 10.1038/srep27523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2015] [Accepted: 05/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Two rival theories of how humans recognize faces exist: (i) recognition is innate, relying on specialized neocortical circuitry, and (ii) recognition is a learned expertise, relying on general object recognition pathways. Here, we explore whether animals without a neocortex, can learn to recognize human faces. Human facial recognition has previously been demonstrated for birds, however they are now known to possess neocortex-like structures. Also, with much of the work done in domesticated pigeons, one cannot rule out the possibility that they have developed adaptations for human face recognition. Fish do not appear to possess neocortex-like cells, and given their lack of direct exposure to humans, are unlikely to have evolved any specialized capabilities for human facial recognition. Using a two-alternative forced-choice procedure, we show that archerfish (Toxotes chatareus) can learn to discriminate a large number of human face images (Experiment 1, 44 faces), even after controlling for colour, head-shape and brightness (Experiment 2, 18 faces). This study not only demonstrates that archerfish have impressive pattern discrimination abilities, but also provides evidence that a vertebrate lacking a neocortex and without an evolutionary prerogative to discriminate human faces, can nonetheless do so to a high degree of accuracy.
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Burrows AM, Li L, Waller BM, Micheletta J. Social variables exert selective pressures in the evolution and form of primate mimetic musculature. J Anat 2016; 228:595-607. [PMID: 26750637 PMCID: PMC4804140 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammals use their faces in social interactions more so than any other vertebrates. Primates are an extreme among most mammals in their complex, direct, lifelong social interactions and their frequent use of facial displays is a means of proximate visual communication with conspecifics. The available repertoire of facial displays is primarily controlled by mimetic musculature, the muscles that move the face. The form of these muscles is, in turn, limited by and influenced by phylogenetic inertia but here we use examples, both morphological and physiological, to illustrate the influence that social variables may exert on the evolution and form of mimetic musculature among primates. Ecomorphology is concerned with the adaptive responses of morphology to various ecological variables such as diet, foliage density, predation pressures, and time of day activity. We present evidence that social variables also exert selective pressures on morphology, specifically using mimetic muscles among primates as an example. Social variables include group size, dominance 'style', and mating systems. We present two case studies to illustrate the potential influence of social behavior on adaptive morphology of mimetic musculature in primates: (1) gross morphology of the mimetic muscles around the external ear in closely related species of macaque (Macaca mulatta and Macaca nigra) characterized by varying dominance styles and (2) comparative physiology of the orbicularis oris muscle among select ape species. This muscle is used in both facial displays/expressions and in vocalizations/human speech. We present qualitative observations of myosin fiber-type distribution in this muscle of siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), and human to demonstrate the potential influence of visual and auditory communication on muscle physiology. In sum, ecomorphologists should be aware of social selective pressures as well as ecological ones, and that observed morphology might reflect a compromise between the demands of the physical and the social environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne M Burrows
- Department of Physical Therapy, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ly Li
- Department of Physical Therapy, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Bridget M Waller
- Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
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Tan C, Poggio T. Neural Tuning Size in a Model of Primate Visual Processing Accounts for Three Key Markers of Holistic Face Processing. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0150980. [PMID: 26985989 PMCID: PMC4795648 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2016] [Accepted: 02/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Faces are an important and unique class of visual stimuli, and have been of interest to neuroscientists for many years. Faces are known to elicit certain characteristic behavioral markers, collectively labeled “holistic processing”, while non-face objects are not processed holistically. However, little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms. The main aim of this computational simulation work is to investigate the neural mechanisms that make face processing holistic. Using a model of primate visual processing, we show that a single key factor, “neural tuning size”, is able to account for three important markers of holistic face processing: the Composite Face Effect (CFE), Face Inversion Effect (FIE) and Whole-Part Effect (WPE). Our proof-of-principle specifies the precise neurophysiological property that corresponds to the poorly-understood notion of holism, and shows that this one neural property controls three classic behavioral markers of holism. Our work is consistent with neurophysiological evidence, and makes further testable predictions. Overall, we provide a parsimonious account of holistic face processing, connecting computation, behavior and neurophysiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheston Tan
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Visual Computing Department, Institute for Infocomm Research, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
- * E-mail: (CT); (TP)
| | - Tomaso Poggio
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail: (CT); (TP)
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Bulf H, Brenna V, Valenza E, Johnson SP, Turati C. Many faces, one rule: the role of perceptual expertise in infants' sequential rule learning. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1595. [PMID: 26539142 PMCID: PMC4612650 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2015] [Accepted: 10/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Rule learning is a mechanism that allows infants to recognize and generalize rule-like patterns, such as ABB or ABA. Although infants are better at learning rules from speech vs. non-speech, rule learning can be applied also to frequently experienced visual stimuli, suggesting that perceptual expertise with material to be learned is critical in enhancing rule learning abilities. Yet infants' rule learning has never been investigated using one of the most commonly experienced visual stimulus category available in infants' environment, i.e., faces. Here, we investigate 7-month-olds' ability to extract rule-like patterns from sequences composed of upright faces and compared their results to those of infants who viewed inverted faces, which presumably are encountered far less frequently than upright faces. Infants were habituated with face triads in either an ABA or ABB condition followed by a test phase with ABA and ABB triads composed of faces that differed from those showed during habituation. When upright faces were used, infants generalized the pattern presented during habituation to include the new face identities showed during testing, but when inverted faces were presented, infants failed to extract the rule. This finding supports the idea that perceptual expertise can modulate 7-month-olds' abilities to detect rule-like patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hermann Bulf
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, University of Milano-BicoccaMilano, Italy
- Milan Center of Neuroscience (NeuroMI)Milano, Italy
| | - Viola Brenna
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, University of Milano-BicoccaMilano, Italy
| | - Eloisa Valenza
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università degli Studi di PadovaPadova, Italy
- Interdepartmental Center for Cognitive Science, Università degli Studi di PadovaPadova, Italy
| | - Scott P. Johnson
- Department of Psychology, University of CaliforniaLos Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Chiara Turati
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, University of Milano-BicoccaMilano, Italy
- Milan Center of Neuroscience (NeuroMI)Milano, Italy
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Rats (Rattus norvegicus) flexibly retrieve objects' non-spatial and spatial information from their visuospatial working memory: effects of integrated and separate processing of these features in a missing-object recognition task. Anim Cogn 2015; 19:91-107. [PMID: 26311419 PMCID: PMC4701772 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-015-0915-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2014] [Revised: 08/08/2015] [Accepted: 08/16/2015] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
After being trained to find a previous missing object within an array of four different objects, rats received occasional probe trials with such test arrays rotated from that of their respective three-object study arrays. Only animals exposed to each object’s non-spatial features consistently paired with both its spatial features (feeder’s relative orientation and direction) in the first experiment or with only feeder’s relative orientation in the second experiment (Fixed Configuration groups) were adversely affected by probe trial test array rotations. This effect, however, was less persistent for this group in the second experiment but re-emerged when objects’ non-spatial features were later rendered uninformative. Animals that had both types of each object’s features randomly paired over trials but not between a trial’s study and test array (Varied Configuration groups) were not adversely affected on probe trials but improved their missing-object recognition in the first experiment. These findings suggest that the Fixed Configuration groups had integrated each object’s non-spatial with both (in Experiment 1) or one (in Experiment 2) of its spatial features to construct a single representation that they could not easily compare to any object in a rotated probe test array. The Varied Configuration groups must maintain separate representations of each object’s features to solve this task. This prevented them from exhibiting such adverse effects on rotated probe trial test arrays but enhanced the rats’ missing-object recognition in the first experiment. We discussed how rats’ flexible use (retrieval) of encoded information from their visuospatial working memory corresponds to that of humans’ visuospatial memory in object change detection and complex object recognition tasks. We also discussed how foraging-specific factors may have influenced each group’s performance in this task.
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Boutet I, Taler V, Collin CA. On the particular vulnerability of face recognition to aging: a review of three hypotheses. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1139. [PMID: 26347670 PMCID: PMC4543816 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2015] [Accepted: 07/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Age-related face recognition deficits are characterized by high false alarms to unfamiliar faces, are not as pronounced for other complex stimuli, and are only partially related to general age-related impairments in cognition. This paper reviews some of the underlying processes likely to be implicated in theses deficits by focusing on areas where contradictions abound as a means to highlight avenues for future research. Research pertaining to the three following hypotheses is presented: (i) perceptual deterioration, (ii) encoding of configural information, and (iii) difficulties in recollecting contextual information. The evidence surveyed provides support for the idea that all three factors are likely to contribute, under certain conditions, to the deficits in face recognition seen in older adults. We discuss how these different factors might interact in the context of a generic framework of the different stages implicated in face recognition. Several suggestions for future investigations are outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Boutet
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa , Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Vanessa Taler
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa , Ottawa, ON, Canada ; School of Psychology, Bruyère Research Institute , Ottawa ON, Canada
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Kliegl KM, Watrin L, Huckauf A. Duration perception of emotional stimuli: Using evaluative conditioning to avoid sensory confounds. Cogn Emot 2014; 29:1350-67. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2014.978841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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20
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Ghodrati M, Rajaei K, Ebrahimpour R. The importance of visual features in generic vs. specialized object recognition: a computational study. Front Comput Neurosci 2014; 8:78. [PMID: 25202259 PMCID: PMC4141282 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2014.00078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2014] [Accepted: 07/01/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It is debated whether the representation of objects in inferior temporal (IT) cortex is distributed over activities of many neurons or there are restricted islands of neurons responsive to a specific set of objects. There are lines of evidence demonstrating that fusiform face area (FFA-in human) processes information related to specialized object recognition (here we say within category object recognition such as face identification). Physiological studies have also discovered several patches in monkey ventral temporal lobe that are responsible for facial processing. Neuronal recording from these patches shows that neurons are highly selective for face images whereas for other objects we do not see such selectivity in IT. However, it is also well-supported that objects are encoded through distributed patterns of neural activities that are distinctive for each object category. It seems that visual cortex utilize different mechanisms for between category object recognition (e.g., face vs. non-face objects) vs. within category object recognition (e.g., two different faces). In this study, we address this question with computational simulations. We use two biologically inspired object recognition models and define two experiments which address these issues. The models have a hierarchical structure of several processing layers that simply simulate visual processing from V1 to aIT. We show, through computational modeling, that the difference between these two mechanisms of recognition can underlie the visual feature and extraction mechanism. It is argued that in order to perform generic and specialized object recognition, visual cortex must separate the mechanisms involved in within category from between categories object recognition. High recognition performance in within category object recognition can be guaranteed when class-specific features with intermediate size and complexity are extracted. However, generic object recognition requires a distributed universal dictionary of visual features in which the size of features does not have significant difference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masoud Ghodrati
- Brain and Intelligent Systems Research Laboratory (BISLab), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University Tehran, Iran ; School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM) Tehran, Iran ; Department of Physiology, Monash University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Karim Rajaei
- Brain and Intelligent Systems Research Laboratory (BISLab), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University Tehran, Iran ; School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM) Tehran, Iran
| | - Reza Ebrahimpour
- Brain and Intelligent Systems Research Laboratory (BISLab), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University Tehran, Iran ; School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM) Tehran, Iran
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21
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Peelen MV, Kastner S. Attention in the real world: toward understanding its neural basis. Trends Cogn Sci 2014; 18:242-50. [PMID: 24630872 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2014.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2013] [Revised: 02/06/2014] [Accepted: 02/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The efficient selection of behaviorally relevant objects from cluttered environments supports our everyday goals. Attentional selection has typically been studied in search tasks involving artificial and simplified displays. Although these studies have revealed important basic principles of attention, they do not explain how the brain efficiently selects familiar objects in complex and meaningful real-world scenes. Findings from recent neuroimaging studies indicate that real-world search is mediated by 'what' and 'where' attentional templates that are implemented in high-level visual cortex. These templates represent target-diagnostic properties and likely target locations, respectively, and are shaped by object familiarity, scene context, and memory. We propose a framework for real-world search that incorporates these recent findings and specifies directions for future study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marius V Peelen
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto (TN), Italy.
| | - Sabine Kastner
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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Wallis G. Toward a unified model of face and object recognition in the human visual system. Front Psychol 2013; 4:497. [PMID: 23966963 PMCID: PMC3744012 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2012] [Accepted: 07/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Our understanding of the mechanisms and neural substrates underlying visual recognition has made considerable progress over the past 30 years. During this period, accumulating evidence has led many scientists to conclude that objects and faces are recognised in fundamentally distinct ways, and in fundamentally distinct cortical areas. In the psychological literature, in particular, this dissociation has led to a palpable disconnect between theories of how we process and represent the two classes of object. This paper follows a trend in part of the recognition literature to try to reconcile what we know about these two forms of recognition by considering the effects of learning. Taking a widely accepted, self-organizing model of object recognition, this paper explains how such a system is affected by repeated exposure to specific stimulus classes. In so doing, it explains how many aspects of recognition generally regarded as unusual to faces (holistic processing, configural processing, sensitivity to inversion, the other-race effect, the prototype effect, etc.) are emergent properties of category-specific learning within such a system. Overall, the paper describes how a single model of recognition learning can and does produce the seemingly very different types of representation associated with faces and objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guy Wallis
- Centre for Sensorimotor Neuroscience, School of Human Movement Studies, University of QueenslandQLD, Australia
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23
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24
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Shannon RW, Patrick CJ, Venables NC, He S. 'Faceness' and affectivity: evidence for genetic contributions to distinct components of electrocortical response to human faces. Neuroimage 2013; 83:609-15. [PMID: 23769918 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2012] [Revised: 05/07/2013] [Accepted: 06/01/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to recognize a variety of different human faces is undoubtedly one of the most important and impressive functions of the human perceptual system. Neuroimaging studies have revealed multiple brain regions (including the FFA, STS, OFA) and electrophysiological studies have identified differing brain event-related potential (ERP) components (e.g., N170, P200) possibly related to distinct types of face information processing. To evaluate the heritability of ERP components associated with face processing, including N170, P200, and LPP, we examined ERP responses to fearful and neutral face stimuli in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. Concordance levels for early brain response indices of face processing (N170, P200) were found to be stronger for MZ than DZ twins, providing evidence of a heritable basis to each. These findings support the idea that certain key neural mechanisms for face processing are genetically coded. Implications for understanding individual differences in recognition of facial identity and the emotional content of faces are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert W Shannon
- University of Minnesota, Department of Psychology, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0344, USA.
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25
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Gruss LF, Wieser MJ, Schweinberger SR, Keil A. Face-evoked steady-state visual potentials: effects of presentation rate and face inversion. Front Hum Neurosci 2012. [PMID: 23205009 PMCID: PMC3506985 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Face processing can be explored using electrophysiological methods. Research with event-related potentials has demonstrated the so-called face inversion effect, in which the N170 component is enhanced in amplitude and latency to inverted, compared to upright, faces. The present study explored the extent to which repetitive lower-level visual cortical engagement, reflected in flicker steady-state visual evoked potentials (ssVEPs), shows similar amplitude enhancement to face inversion. We also asked if inversion-related ssVEP modulation would be dependent on the stimulation rate at which upright and inverted faces were flickered. To this end, multiple tagging frequencies were used (5, 10, 15, and 20 Hz) across two studies (n = 21, n = 18). Results showed that amplitude enhancement of the ssVEP for inverted faces was found solely at higher stimulation frequencies (15 and 20 Hz). By contrast, lower frequency ssVEPs did not show this inversion effect. These findings suggest that stimulation frequency affects the sensitivity of ssVEPs to face inversion.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Forest Gruss
- Department of Psychology, Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida Gainesville, FL, USA
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26
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Wiley RH. Specificity and multiplicity in the recognition of individuals: implications for the evolution of social behaviour. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2012; 88:179-95. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2012.00246.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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27
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Santana SE, Lynch Alfaro J, Alfaro ME. Adaptive evolution of facial colour patterns in Neotropical primates. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:2204-11. [PMID: 22237906 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The rich diversity of primate faces has interested naturalists for over a century. Researchers have long proposed that social behaviours have shaped the evolution of primate facial diversity. However, the primate face constitutes a unique structure where the diverse and potentially competing functions of communication, ecology and physiology intersect, and the major determinants of facial diversity remain poorly understood. Here, we provide the first evidence for an adaptive role of facial colour patterns and pigmentation within Neotropical primates. Consistent with the hypothesis that facial patterns function in communication and species recognition, we find that species living in smaller groups and in sympatry with a higher number of congener species have evolved more complex patterns of facial colour. The evolution of facial pigmentation and hair length is linked to ecological factors, and ecogeographical rules related to UV radiation and thermoregulation are met by some facial regions. Our results demonstrate the interaction of behavioural and ecological factors in shaping one of the most outstanding facial diversities of any mammalian lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharlene E Santana
- UCLA Center for Society and Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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28
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OSTOJIC P, PHILLIPS JG. MEMORABILITY OF ALTERNATIVE PASSWORD SYSTEMS. INT J PATTERN RECOGN 2011. [DOI: 10.1142/s0218001409007429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Randomly generated alphanumeric passwords are widely used to restrict access to computer networks but are readily forgotten, resulting in costs to both organizations and users. In order to address this, there is a need to develop and evaluate new forms of memorable passwords. Drawing on memory research and the importance of meaning, the efficacy of three alternative "password" systems having varying degrees of personal meaning were compared with the more traditional but personally meaningless randomly generated alphanumeric passwords. Twenty experienced computer users self-generated four-string variable passwords based on alphanumerics, symbols of personal meaning and faces. Additionally, participants were assigned a meaningless, randomly generated four-character alphanumeric password. Password memorability was measured in terms of acquisition (number of trials/time to criterion), retention (from forgetting functions) and retrieval (time to recall/recognize the passwords). Meaning was found to assist memorability and a mediating effect of familiarity was also observed. Contrary to expectation, self-generated, meaningful symbol-based passwords were not the best remembered of the password types studied but may still be a viable overall alternative.
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Affiliation(s)
- P. OSTOJIC
- Changing Minds Psychological Services, Suite 406, Level 4/530 Little Collins Street Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia
| | - J. G. PHILLIPS
- School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, Monash University Clayton Campus, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
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29
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Abstract
Previous studies on nonhuman primates have shown inconsistencies in their processing of first- and second-order relational properties of facial stimuli. Using greeble stimuli sharing configural properties with faces, this study assessed configural processing in baboons. Five baboons were trained to recognize a positive stimulus among pairs of greebles in a two-alternative forced choice task. They were then tested with new stimulus pairs involving either a first-order version, with modifications in global qualitative spatial relations, or a second-order version, with modifications of finer spatial relations. Performance remained above chance in all test conditions, including when only second-order cues were available, but it was higher for first-order trials. It is proposed that an extensive training with greebles led to the processing of second-order relational properties. These results demonstrate that configural sensitivity is not restricted to faces in baboons and suggest that a common mechanism may support configural processing for face and nonface stimuli.
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31
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Graves I, Butavicius M, MacLeod V, Heyer R, Parsons K, Kuester N, McCormac A, Jacques P, Johnson R. The Role of the Human Operator in Image-Based Airport Security Technologies. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-17764-4_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2023]
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32
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Hong Liu
- a Department of Psychology, McGill University, Quebec, Canada
| | - Avi Chaudhuri
- a Department of Psychology, McGill University, Quebec, Canada
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33
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Bub DN. METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES CONFRONTING PET AND fMRI STUDIES OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION. Cogn Neuropsychol 2010; 17:467-84. [DOI: 10.1080/026432900410793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
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Chien SHL, Hsu HY, Su BH. Discriminating “top-heavy” versus “bottom-heavy” geometric patterns in 2- to 4.5-month-old infants. Vision Res 2010; 50:2029-36. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2010.06.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2010] [Revised: 06/16/2010] [Accepted: 06/30/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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35
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The neural basis of visual object learning. Trends Cogn Sci 2009; 14:22-30. [PMID: 19945336 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2009.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2009] [Revised: 10/31/2009] [Accepted: 11/09/2009] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Object vision in human and nonhuman primates is often cited as a primary example of adult plasticity in neural information processing. It has been hypothesized that visual experience leads to single neurons in the monkey brain with strong selectivity for complex objects, and to regions in the human brain with a preference for particular categories of highly familiar objects. This view suggests that adult visual experience causes dramatic local changes in the response properties of high-level visual cortex. Here, we review the current neurophysiological and neuroimaging evidence and find that the available data support a different conclusion: adult visual experience introduces moderate, relatively distributed effects that modulate a pre-existing, rich and flexible set of neural object representations.
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36
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Intent to remember briefly presented human faces and other pictorial stimuli enhances recognition memory. Mem Cognit 2009; 37:667-78. [PMID: 19487758 DOI: 10.3758/mc.37.5.667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Since the early days of psychology, researchers have investigated whether or not intending to remember information affects subsequent memory performance. The literature contains methodological issues and empirical contradictions, with ambiguous effects. In five experiments, a total of 576 participants viewed a rapid series of pictorial stimuli under either incidental- or intentional-memory conditions. Although the methodology was stringent, intent to remember consistently enhanced recognition memory. Recognition was enhanced even when participants viewed a picture of a human face, of an ape face, or of a bird for as little as 0.5-1.0 sec, with no interstimulus interval between it and the next picture. Rehearsal, depth of processing, and attentional allocation are discussed to explain how people might intentionally encode pictorial information to enhance their subsequent recognition memory performance.
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37
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Too real for comfort? Uncanny responses to computer generated faces. COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR 2009; 25:695-710. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2008.12.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 279] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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38
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Ashworth ARS, Vuong QC, Rossion B, Tarr MJ. Recognizing rotated faces and Greebles: What properties drive the face inversion effect? VISUAL COGNITION 2008. [DOI: 10.1080/13506280701381741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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39
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Anilkumar APP, Kumari V, Mehrotra R, Aasen I, Mitterschiffthaler MT, Sharma T. An fMRI study of face encoding and recognition in first-episode schizophrenia. Acta Neuropsychiatr 2008; 20:129-38. [PMID: 25385522 DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-5215.2008.00280.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia has been associated with limited abilities to interact effectively in social situations. Face perception and ability to recognise familiar faces are critical for social interaction. Patients with chronic schizophrenia are known to show impaired face recognition. Studying first-episode (FE) patients allows the exclusion of confounding effects of chronicity, medication and institutionalisation in this deficit. OBJECTIVE To determine brain (dys)functions during a face encoding and recognition paradigm in FE schizophrenia. METHODS Thirteen antipsychotic-naïve FE schizophrenia patients and 13 age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a face encoding and recognition paradigm. Behavioural responses were recorded on line. RESULTS Patients recognised significantly fewer of previously presented faces than the controls (p = 0.008). At the neural level, both groups activated a network of regions including the fusiform area, occipital, temporal and frontal regions. In brain activity, the two groups did not differ in any region during encoding or recognition conditions (p > 0.05, corrected or uncorrected). CONCLUSIONS Our findings show impaired face recognition without a significant alteration of related brain activity in FE schizophrenia patients. It is possible that neural changes become more strongly evident with progression of the illness, and manifest themselves as behavioural impairments during the early course.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anantha P P Anilkumar
- 1Division of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Veena Kumari
- 3Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Ravi Mehrotra
- 1Division of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Ingrid Aasen
- 1Division of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
| | | | - Tonmoy Sharma
- 5Clinical Neuroscience Research Centre, Dartford, Kent, UK
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40
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Goossens BM, Dekleva M, Reader SM, Sterck EH, Bolhuis JJ. Gaze following in monkeys is modulated by observed facial expressions. Anim Behav 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Abstract
Faces convey a great variety of information, for example about the species, gender, age, identity and even mood or intentions. A recent study sheds light on the neural mechanisms for encoding a face's gaze direction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Sigala
- Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics Spemannstrasse 38, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany
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43
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Simion F, Leo I, Turati C, Valenza E, Dalla Barba B. How face specialization emerges in the first months of life. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2007; 164:169-85. [DOI: 10.1016/s0079-6123(07)64009-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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44
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Op de Beeck HP, Baker CI, DiCarlo JJ, Kanwisher NG. Discrimination training alters object representations in human extrastriate cortex. J Neurosci 2006; 26:13025-36. [PMID: 17167092 PMCID: PMC6674948 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2481-06.2006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 172] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2006] [Revised: 10/30/2006] [Accepted: 11/04/2006] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual object recognition relies critically on learning. However, little is known about the effect of object learning in human visual cortex, and in particular how the spatial distribution of training effects relates to the distribution of object and face selectivity across the cortex before training. We scanned human subjects with high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they viewed novel object classes, both before and after extensive training to discriminate between exemplars within one of these object classes. Training increased the strength of the response in visual cortex to trained objects compared with untrained objects. However, training did not simply induce a uniform increase in the response to trained objects: the magnitude of this training effect varied substantially across subregions of extrastriate cortex, with some showing a twofold increase in response to trained objects and others (including the right fusiform face area) showing no significant effect of training. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of training effects could not be predicted from the spatial distribution of either pretrained responses or face selectivity. Instead, training changed the spatial distribution of activity across the cortex. These findings support a dynamic view of the ventral visual pathway in which the cortical representation of an object category is continuously modulated by experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hans P Op de Beeck
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
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Mason MF, Cloutier J, Macrae CN. On Construing Others: Category and Stereotype Activation from Facial Cues. SOCIAL COGNITION 2006. [DOI: 10.1521/soco.2006.24.5.540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
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Neiworth JJ, Hassett JM, Sylvester CJ. Face processing in humans and new world monkeys: the influence of experiential and ecological factors. Anim Cogn 2006; 10:125-34. [PMID: 16909230 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-006-0045-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2005] [Revised: 07/21/2006] [Accepted: 07/21/2006] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
This study tests whether the face-processing system of humans and a nonhuman primate species share characteristics that would allow for early and quick processing of socially salient stimuli: a sensitivity toward conspecific faces, a sensitivity toward highly practiced face stimuli, and an ability to generalize changes in the face that do not suggest a new identity, such as a face differently oriented. The look rates by adult tamarins and humans toward conspecific and other primate faces were examined to determine if these characteristics are shared. A visual paired comparison (VPC) task presented subjects with either a human face, chimpanzee face, tamarin face, or an object as a sample, and then a pair containing the previous stimulus and a novel stimulus was presented. The stimuli were either presented all in an upright orientation, or all in an inverted orientation. The novel stimulus in the pair was either an orientation change of the same face/object or a new example of the same type of face/object, and the stimuli were shown either in an upright orientation or in an inverted orientation. Preference to novelty scores revealed that humans attended most to novel individual human faces, and this effect decreased significantly if the stimuli were inverted. Tamarins showed preferential looking toward novel orientations of previously seen tamarin faces in the upright orientation, but not in an inverted orientation. Similarly, their preference to look longer at novel tamarin and human faces within the pair was reduced significantly with inverted stimuli. The results confirmed prior findings in humans that novel human faces generate more attention in the upright than in the inverted orientation. The monkeys also attended more to faces of conspecifics, but showed an inversion effect to orientation change in tamarin faces and to identity changes in tamarin and human faces. The results indicate configural processing restricted to particular kinds of primate faces by a New World monkey species, with configural processing influenced by life experience (human faces and tamarin faces) and specialized to process orientation changes specific to conspecific faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie J Neiworth
- Department of Psychology, Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057, USA.
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Reddy L, Reddy L, Koch C. Face identification in the near-absence of focal attention. Vision Res 2006; 46:2336-43. [PMID: 16542699 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2006.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2005] [Revised: 01/06/2006] [Accepted: 01/16/2006] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
In contrast to artificial geometric shapes, natural scenes and face-gender can be processed even when spatial attention is not fully available. In this study, we investigate whether a finer discrimination, at the level of the individual, is possible in the near-absence of focal attention. Using the paradigm, subjects performed face identification on faces of celebrities and relatively unfamiliar individuals, along with a task that is known to engage spatial attention. We find that face-identification performance is only modestly impaired under dual-task conditions. These results suggest that the visual system is well able to make complex judgments of natural stimuli, even when attention is not fully available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leila Reddy
- Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
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James KH, James TW, Jobard G, Wong ACN, Gauthier I. Letter processing in the visual system: different activation patterns for single letters and strings. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2006; 5:452-66. [PMID: 16541814 DOI: 10.3758/cabn.5.4.452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
One would expect that a lifetime of experience recognizing letters would have an important influence on the visual system. Surprisingly, there is limited evidence of a specific neural response to letters over visual control stimuli. We measured brain activation during a sequential matching task using isolated characters (Roman letters, digits, and Chinese characters) and strings of characters. We localized the visual word form area (VWFA) by contrasting the response to pseudowords against that for letter strings, but this region did not show any other sign of visual specialization for letters. In addition, a left fusiform area posterior to the VWFA was selective for letter strings, whereas a more anterior left fusiform region showed selectivity for single letters. The results of different analyses using both large regions of interest and inspections of individual patterns of response reveal a dissociation between selectivity for letter strings and selectivity for single letters. The results suggest that reading experience fine-tunes visual representations at different levels of processing. An important conclusion is that the processing of nonpronounceable letter strings cannot be assumed to be equivalent to single-letter perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin H James
- Psychology Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA.
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Johnson KJ, Fredrickson BL. "We all look the same to me": positive emotions eliminate the own-race in face recognition. Psychol Sci 2006; 16:875-81. [PMID: 16262774 PMCID: PMC1808554 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01631.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 202] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Extrapolating from the broaden-and-build theory, we hypothesized that positive emotion may reduce the own-race bias in facial recognition. In Experiments 1 and 2, Caucasian participants (N = 89) viewed Black and White faces for a recognition task. They viewed videos eliciting joy, fear, or neutrality before the learning (Experiment 1) or testing (Experiment 2) stages of the task. Results reliably supported the hypothesis. Relative to fear or a neutral state, joy experienced before either stage improved recognition of Black faces and significantly reduced the own-race bias. Discussion centers on possible mechanisms for this reduction of the own-race bias, including improvements in holistic processing and promotion of a common in-group identity due to positive emotions.
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Abstract
Studies of early face perception are used to develop a model of how face expressions might be transduced to initiate consonant internal affect, related outward expressions and other behaviours. Underlying neural mechanisms and processes are identified. The model is generalised to offer an account of aspects of typical preverbal social development. It is then used to develop aetiological hypotheses about the lack of social interest and motivation in autism and to provide a framework for evaluating other theories of autism. Although derived from existing literature, the model offers a distinctive account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Berger
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
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