1
|
Abassi Abu Rukab S, Khayat N, Hochstein S. High-level visual search in children with autism. J Vis 2022; 22:6. [PMID: 35994261 PMCID: PMC9419456 DOI: 10.1167/jov.22.9.6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual search has been classified as easy feature search, with rapid target detection and little set size dependence, versus slower difficult search with focused attention, with set size–dependent speed. Reverse hierarchy theory attributes these classes to rapid high cortical-level vision at a glance versus low-level vision with scrutiny, attributing easy search to high-level representations. Accordingly, faces “pop out” of heterogeneous object photographs. Individuals with autism have difficulties recognizing faces, and we now asked if this disability disturbs their search for faces. We compare search times and set size slopes for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and those with neurotypical development (NT) when searching for faces. Human face targets were found rapidly, with shallow set size slopes. The between-group difference between slopes (18.8 vs. 11.3 ms/item) is significant, suggesting that faces may not “pop out” as easily, but in our view does not warrant classifying ASD face search as categorically different from that of NT children. We also tested search for different target categories, dog and lion faces, and nonface basic categories, cars and houses. The ASD group was generally a bit slower than the NT group, and their slopes were somewhat steeper. Nevertheless, the overall dependencies on target category were similar: human face search fastest, nonface categories slowest, and dog and lion faces in between. We conclude that autism may spare vision at a glance, including face detection, despite its reported effects on face recognition, which may require vision with scrutiny. This dichotomy is consistent with the two perceptual modes suggested by reverse hierarchy theory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Safa'a Abassi Abu Rukab
- ELSC Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Research and Silberman Institute for Life Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.,
| | - Noam Khayat
- ELSC Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Research and Silberman Institute for Life Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.,
| | - Shaul Hochstein
- ELSC Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Research and Silberman Institute for Life Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.,
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Jin H, Hayward WG, Corballis PM. All-or-none neural mechanisms underlying face categorization: evidence from the N170. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:777-793. [PMID: 35288746 PMCID: PMC9890453 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Categorization of visual stimuli is an intrinsic aspect of human perception. Whether the cortical mechanisms underlying categorization operate in an all-or-none or graded fashion remains unclear. In this study, we addressed this issue in the context of the face-specific N170. Specifically, we investigated whether N170 amplitudes grade with the amount of face information available in an image, or a full response is generated whenever a face is perceived. We employed linear mixed-effects modeling to inspect the dependency of N170 amplitudes on stimulus properties and duration, and their relationships to participants' subjective perception. Consistent with previous studies, we found a stronger N170 evoked by faces presented for longer durations. However, further analysis with equivalence tests revealed that this duration effect was eliminated when only faces perceived with high confidence were considered. Therefore, previous evidence supporting the graded hypothesis is more likely to be an artifact of mixing heterogeneous "all" and "none" trial types in signal averaging. These results support the hypothesis that the N170 is generated in an all-or-none manner and, by extension, suggest that categorization of faces may follow a similar pattern.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haiyang Jin
- Corresponding author: Haiyang Jin, Department of Psychology, New York University Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
| | - William G Hayward
- Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Centennial Campus, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Paul M Corballis
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland Central, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand,Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, 85 Park Road, Grafton, Auckland 1023, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Roehe MA, Kluger DS, Schroeder SCY, Schliephake LM, Boelte J, Jacobsen T, Schubotz RI. Early alpha/beta oscillations reflect the formation of face-related expectations in the brain. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0255116. [PMID: 34310657 PMCID: PMC8312971 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Although statistical regularities in the environment often go explicitly unnoticed, traces of implicit learning are evident in our neural activity. Recent perspectives have offered evidence that both pre-stimulus oscillations and peri-stimulus event-related potentials are reliable biomarkers of implicit expectations arising from statistical learning. What remains ambiguous, however, is the origination and development of these implicit expectations. To address this lack of knowledge and determine the temporal constraints of expectation formation, pre-stimulus increases in alpha/beta power were investigated alongside a reduction in the N170 and a suppression in peri-/post-stimulus gamma power. Electroencephalography was acquired from naive participants who engaged in a gender classification task. Participants were uninformed, that eight face images were sorted into four reoccurring pairs which were pseudorandomly hidden amongst randomly occurring face images. We found a reduced N170 for statistically expected images at left parietal and temporo-parietal electrodes. Furthermore, enhanced gamma power following the presentation of random images emphasized the bottom-up processing of these arbitrary occurrences. In contrast, enhanced alpha/beta power was evident pre-stimulus for expected relative to random faces. A particularly interesting finding was the early onset of alpha/beta power enhancement which peaked immediately after the depiction of the predictive face. Hence, our findings propose an approximate timeframe throughout which consistent traces of enhanced alpha/beta power illustrate the early prioritisation of top-down processes to facilitate the development of implicitly cued face-related expectations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marlen A. Roehe
- Department of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Otto-Creutzfeldt-Centre for Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Daniel S. Kluger
- Otto-Creutzfeldt-Centre for Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Svea C. Y. Schroeder
- Department of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Otto-Creutzfeldt-Centre for Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | | | - Jens Boelte
- Department of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Otto-Creutzfeldt-Centre for Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Thomas Jacobsen
- Experimental Psychology Unit, Helmut-Schmidt-University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ricarda I. Schubotz
- Department of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Otto-Creutzfeldt-Centre for Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Mazzi C, Massironi G, Sanchez-Lopez J, De Togni L, Savazzi S. Face Recognition Deficits in a Patient With Alzheimer's Disease: Amnesia or Agnosia? The Importance of Electrophysiological Markers for Differential Diagnosis. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 12:580609. [PMID: 33408626 PMCID: PMC7779478 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.580609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Face recognition deficits are frequently reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and often attributed to memory impairment. However, it has been hypothesized that failure in identifying familiar people could also be due to deficits in higher-level perceptual processes, since there is evidence showing a reduced inversion effect for faces but not for cars in AD. To address the involvement of these higher processes, we investigated event-related potential (ERP) neural correlates of faces in a patient with AD showing a face recognition deficit. Eight healthy participants were tested as a control group. Participants performed different tasks following the stimulus presentation. In experiment 1, they should indicate whether the stimulus was either a face or a house or a scrambled image. In experiments 2 and 3, they should discriminate between upright and inverted faces (in experiment 2, stimuli were faces with neutral or fearful expressions, while in experiment 3, stimuli were famous or unfamiliar faces). Electrophysiological results reveal that the typical face-specific modulation of the N170 component, which is thought to reflect the structural encoding of faces, was not present in patient MCG, despite being affected by the emotional content of the face implicitly processed by MCG. Conversely, the N400 component, which is thought to reflect the recruitment of the memory trace of the face identity, was found to be implicitly modulated in MCG. These results may identify a possible role for gnosic processes in face recognition deficits in AD and suggest the importance of adopting an integrated approach to the AD diagnosis while considering electrophysiological markers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Mazzi
- Perception and Awareness (PandA) Lab, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.,Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Gloria Massironi
- Center for Cognitive Decline and Dementia, ULSS 9 Scaligera, Verona, Italy
| | - Javier Sanchez-Lopez
- Centro de Investigacion en Ciencias Cognitivas, Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - Laura De Togni
- Center for Cognitive Decline and Dementia, ULSS 9 Scaligera, Verona, Italy
| | - Silvia Savazzi
- Perception and Awareness (PandA) Lab, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.,Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Yan X, Rossion B. A robust neural familiar face recognition response in a dynamic (periodic) stream of unfamiliar faces. Cortex 2020; 132:281-295. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2020] [Revised: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
|
6
|
Campbell A, Louw R, Michniak E, Tanaka JW. Identity-specific neural responses to three categories of face familiarity (own, friend, stranger) using fast periodic visual stimulation. Neuropsychologia 2020; 141:107415. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Revised: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
|
7
|
Yan X, Zimmermann FGS, Rossion B. An implicit neural familiar face identity recognition response across widely variable natural views in the human brain. Cogn Neurosci 2020; 11:143-156. [DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2020.1712344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqian Yan
- CNRS, CRAN, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, Université de Louvain, Belgium
| | - Friederike GS Zimmermann
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, Université de Louvain, Belgium
- BG Klinikum Humburg, Neurologie, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Bruno Rossion
- CNRS, CRAN, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, Université de Louvain, Belgium
- CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, France
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Boutet I, Shah DK, Collin CA, Berti S, Persike M, Meinhardt-Injac B. Age-related changes in amplitude, latency and specialization of ERP responses to faces and watches. AGING NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2020; 28:37-64. [PMID: 31905310 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2019.1708253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Healthy aging is associated with impairments in face recognition. While earlier research suggests that these impairments arise during memory retrieval, more recent findings suggest that earlier mechanisms, at the perceptual stage, may also be at play. However, results are often inconsistent and very few studies have included a non-face control stimulus to facilitate interpretation of results with respect to the implication of specialized face mechanisms vs. general cognitive factors. To address these issues, P100, N170 and P200 event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured during processing of faces and watches. For faces, age-related differences were found for P100, N170 and P200 ERPs. For watches, age-related differences were found for N170 and P200 ERPs. Older adults showed less selective and less lateralized N170 responses to faces, suggesting that ERPs can detect age-related de-differentiation of specialized face networks. We conclude that age-related impairments in face recognition arise in part from difficulties in the earliest perceptual stages of visual information processing. A working model is presented based on coarse-to-fine analysis of visually similar exemplars.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- I Boutet
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - D K Shah
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - C A Collin
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - S Berti
- Department of Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg University , Mainz, Germany
| | - M Persike
- Department of Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg University , Mainz, Germany
| | - B Meinhardt-Injac
- Catholic University of Applied Science Berlin (KHSB) , Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Estudillo AJ, Kaufmann JM, Bindemann M, Schweinberger SR. Multisensory stimulation modulates perceptual and post perceptual face representations: Evidence from event-related potentials. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 48:2259-2271. [PMID: 30107052 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2016] [Revised: 07/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Seeing a face being touched in spatial and temporal synchrony with the own face produces a bias in self-recognition, whereby the other face becomes more likely to be perceived as the self. The present study employed event-related potentials to explore whether this enfacement effect reflects initial face encoding, enhanced distinctiveness of the enfaced face, modified self-identity representations, or even later processing stages that are associated with the emotional processing of faces. Participants were stroked in synchrony or asynchrony with an unfamiliar face they observed on a monitor in front of them, in a situation approximating a mirror image. Subsequently, event-related potentials were recorded during the presentation of (a) a previously synchronously stimulated face, (b) an asynchronously stimulated face, (c) observers' own face, (d) filler faces, and (e) a to-be-detected target face, which required a response. Observers reported a consistent enfacement illusion after synchronous stimulation. Importantly, the synchronously stimulated face elicited more prominent N170 and P200 responses than the asynchronously stimulated face. By contrast, similar N250 and P300 responses were observed in these conditions. These results suggest that enfacement modulates early neural correlates of face encoding and facial prototypicality, rather than identity self-representations and associated emotional processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro J Estudillo
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Semenyih, Malaysia.,School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.,Department of Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Jürgen M Kaufmann
- Department of Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Jena, Germany.,DFG Research Unit Person Perception, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Stefan R Schweinberger
- Department of Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Jena, Germany.,DFG Research Unit Person Perception, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Jena, Germany.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Zimmermann FGS, Yan X, Rossion B. An objective, sensitive and ecologically valid neural measure of rapid human individual face recognition. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:181904. [PMID: 31312474 PMCID: PMC6599768 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Humans may be the only species able to rapidly and automatically recognize a familiar face identity in a crowd of unfamiliar faces, an important social skill. Here, by combining electroencephalography (EEG) and fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS), we introduce an ecologically valid, objective and sensitive neural measure of this human individual face recognition function. Natural images of various unfamiliar faces are presented at a fast rate of 6 Hz, allowing one fixation per face, with variable natural images of a highly familiar face identity, a celebrity, appearing every seven images (0.86 Hz). Following a few minutes of stimulation, a high signal-to-noise ratio neural response reflecting the generalized discrimination of the familiar face identity from unfamiliar faces is observed over the occipito-temporal cortex at 0.86 Hz and harmonics. When face images are presented upside-down, the individual familiar face recognition response is negligible, being reduced by a factor of 5 over occipito-temporal regions. Differences in the magnitude of the individual face recognition response across different familiar face identities suggest that factors such as exposure, within-person variability and distinctiveness mediate this response. Our findings of a biological marker for fast and automatic recognition of individual familiar faces with ecological stimuli open an avenue for understanding this function, its development and neural basis in neurotypical individual brains along with its pathology. This should also have implications for the use of facial recognition measures in forensic science.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Friederike G. S. Zimmermann
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, Université de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- BG Klinikum Hamburg, Bergedorfer Straße 10, 21033 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Xiaoqian Yan
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, Université de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, Université de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, CRAN, 54000 Nancy, France
- CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, 54000 Nancy, France
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Individual differences in face processing captured by ERPs. Int J Psychophysiol 2016; 101:1-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2015] [Revised: 12/24/2015] [Accepted: 12/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|
12
|
The neural speed of familiar face recognition. Neuropsychologia 2015; 75:390-401. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.06.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2014] [Revised: 06/10/2015] [Accepted: 06/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
|
13
|
Tye C, Battaglia M, Bertoletti E, Ashwood KL, Azadi B, Asherson P, Bolton P, McLoughlin G. Altered neurophysiological responses to emotional faces discriminate children with ASD, ADHD and ASD+ADHD. Biol Psychol 2014; 103:125-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2014] [Revised: 08/04/2014] [Accepted: 08/25/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
|
14
|
Rossion B. Understanding face perception by means of human electrophysiology. Trends Cogn Sci 2014; 18:310-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2014.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 153] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2014] [Revised: 02/26/2014] [Accepted: 02/27/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
|
15
|
Fukushima H, Hirata S, Matsuda G, Ueno A, Fuwa K, Sugama K, Kusunoki K, Hiraki K, Tomonaga M, Hasegawa T. Neural representation of face familiarity in an awake chimpanzee. PeerJ 2014; 1:e223. [PMID: 24392287 PMCID: PMC3869181 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2013] [Accepted: 11/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Evaluating the familiarity of faces is critical for social animals as it is the basis of individual recognition. In the present study, we examined how face familiarity is reflected in neural activities in our closest living relative, the chimpanzee. Skin-surface event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were measured while a fully awake chimpanzee observed photographs of familiar and unfamiliar chimpanzee faces (Experiment 1) and human faces (Experiment 2). The ERPs evoked by chimpanzee faces differentiated unfamiliar individuals from familiar ones around midline areas centered on vertex sites at approximately 200 ms after the stimulus onset. In addition, the ERP response to the image of the subject's own face did not significantly diverge from those evoked by familiar chimpanzees, suggesting that the subject's brain at a minimum remembered the image of her own face. The ERPs evoked by human faces were not influenced by the familiarity of target individuals. These results indicate that chimpanzee neural representations are more sensitive to the familiarity of conspecific than allospecific faces.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hirokata Fukushima
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo , Japan ; Faculty of Sociology, Kansai University , Japan
| | - Satoshi Hirata
- Great Ape Research Institute of Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories, Inc. , Japan ; Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University , Japan
| | - Goh Matsuda
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo , Japan ; JST, CREST , Japan
| | - Ari Ueno
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo , Japan ; Department of Human Relations Studies, School of Human Cultures, The University of Shiga Prefecture , Japan
| | - Kohki Fuwa
- Great Ape Research Institute of Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories, Inc. , Japan ; EarthMate-ChimpanzeeNEXT , Japan
| | - Keiko Sugama
- Great Ape Research Institute of Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories, Inc. , Japan
| | - Kiyo Kusunoki
- Great Ape Research Institute of Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories, Inc. , Japan ; EarthMate-ChimpanzeeNEXT , Japan
| | - Kazuo Hiraki
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo , Japan
| | - Masaki Tomonaga
- Section of Language and Intelligence, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University , Japan
| | | |
Collapse
|
16
|
Barragan-Jason G, Besson G, Ceccaldi M, Barbeau EJ. Fast and Famous: Looking for the Fastest Speed at Which a Face Can be Recognized. Front Psychol 2013; 4:100. [PMID: 23460051 PMCID: PMC3586696 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2012] [Accepted: 02/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Face recognition is supposed to be fast. However, the actual speed at which faces can be recognized remains unknown. To address this issue, we report two experiments run with speed constraints. In both experiments, famous faces had to be recognized among unknown ones using a large set of stimuli to prevent pre-activation of features which would speed up recognition. In the first experiment (31 participants), recognition of famous faces was investigated using a rapid go/no-go task. In the second experiment, 101 participants performed a highly time constrained recognition task using the Speed and Accuracy Boosting procedure. Results indicate that the fastest speed at which a face can be recognized is around 360–390 ms. Such latencies are about 100 ms longer than the latencies recorded in similar tasks in which subjects have to detect faces among other stimuli. We discuss which model of activation of the visual ventral stream could account for such latencies. These latencies are not consistent with a purely feed-forward pass of activity throughout the visual ventral stream. An alternative is that face recognition relies on the core network underlying face processing identified in fMRI studies (OFA, FFA, and pSTS) and reentrant loops to refine face representation. However, the model of activation favored is that of an activation of the whole visual ventral stream up to anterior areas, such as the perirhinal cortex, combined with parallel and feed-back processes. Further studies are needed to assess which of these three models of activation can best account for face recognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gladys Barragan-Jason
- Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, Université de Toulouse, CNRS-UMR 5549 Toulouse, France
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
17
|
Abstract
We explored the usefulness of eye fixation durations as a dependent measure in a concealed knowledge test, drawing on Ryan, Hannula, and Cohen (2007), who found eye fixations on a familiar face to be longer than fixations on an unknown face. However, in their study, participants always had to select the known face out of three faces; thus, recognition and response intention could not be differentiated. In the experimental phase of our experiment, participants saw six faces per trial and had to select one of them. We had three conditions: In the first, one of the six faces was a known face, and the participants had to conceal that knowledge and select another face (concealed display); in another, one of the six faces was a known face, and the participants had to select that face (revealed display); or finally, all six faces were unknown, and participants had to select any of the six faces (neutral display). Using fixation durations as the dependent measure, we found a pure and early recognition effect; that is, fixations on the concealed faces (known but not selected) were longer than fixations on the nonselected unknown target faces in the neutral display. In addition, we found a response intention effect; that is, fixation durations on the selected known faces were longer than those on concealed faces (known but not selected).
Collapse
|
18
|
The effects of face expertise training on the behavioral performance and brain activity of adults with high functioning autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 2012; 42:278-93. [PMID: 21484517 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-011-1243-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The effect of expertise training with faces was studied in adults with ASD who showed initial impairment in face recognition. Participants were randomly assigned to a computerized training program involving either faces or houses. Pre- and post-testing included standardized and experimental measures of behavior and event-related brain potentials (ERPs), as well as interviews after training. After training, all participants met behavioral criteria for expertise with the specific stimuli on which they received training. Scores on standardized measures improved after training for both groups, but only the face training group showed an increased face inversion effect behaviorally and electrophysiological changes to faces in the P100 component. These findings suggest that individuals with ASD can gain expertise in face processing through training.
Collapse
|
19
|
Buján A, Galdo-Álvarez S, Lindín M, Díaz F. An event-related potentials study of face naming: Evidence of phonological retrieval deficit in the tip-of-the-tongue state. Psychophysiology 2012; 49:980-90. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2012.01374.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2011] [Accepted: 02/08/2012] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Buján
- Laboratory of Psychophysiology and Cognitive Neuroscience; Faculty of Psychology; University of Santiago de Compostela; Spain
| | - Santiago Galdo-Álvarez
- Laboratory of Psychophysiology and Cognitive Neuroscience; Faculty of Psychology; University of Santiago de Compostela; Spain
| | - Mónica Lindín
- Laboratory of Psychophysiology and Cognitive Neuroscience; Faculty of Psychology; University of Santiago de Compostela; Spain
| | - Fernando Díaz
- Laboratory of Psychophysiology and Cognitive Neuroscience; Faculty of Psychology; University of Santiago de Compostela; Spain
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Pierce LJ, Scott LS, Boddington S, Droucker D, Curran T, Tanaka JW. The n250 brain potential to personally familiar and newly learned faces and objects. Front Hum Neurosci 2011; 5:111. [PMID: 22059071 PMCID: PMC3204460 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2011.00111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2010] [Accepted: 09/14/2011] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies employing event-related potentials have shown that when participants are monitoring for a novel target face, the presentation of their own face elicits an enhanced negative brain potential in posterior channels approximately 250 ms after stimulus onset. Here, we investigate whether the own face N250 effect generalizes to other highly familiar objects, specifically, images of the participant’s own dog and own car. In our experiments, participants were asked to monitor for a pre-experimentally unfamiliar target face (Joe), a target dog (Experiment 1: Joe’s Dog) or a target car (Experiment 2: Joe’s Car). The target face and object stimuli were presented with non-target foils that included novel face and object stimuli, the participant’s own face, their own dog (Experiment 1), and their own car (Experiment 2). The consistent findings across the two experiments were the following: (1) the N250 potential differentiated the target faces and objects from the non-target face and object foils and (2) despite being non-targets, the own face and own objects produced an N250 response that was equal in magnitude to the target faces and objects by the end of the experiment. Thus, as indicated by its response to personally familiar and recently familiarized faces and objects, the N250 component is a sensitive index of individuated representations in visual memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lara J Pierce
- Department of Psychology, McGill University Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Dering B, Martin CD, Moro S, Pegna AJ, Thierry G. Face-sensitive processes one hundred milliseconds after picture onset. Front Hum Neurosci 2011; 5:93. [PMID: 21954382 PMCID: PMC3173839 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2011.00093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2011] [Accepted: 08/13/2011] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The human face is the most studied object category in visual neuroscience. In a quest for markers of face processing, event-related potential (ERP) studies have debated whether two peaks of activity – P1 and N170 – are category-selective. Whilst most studies have used photographs of unaltered images of faces, others have used cropped faces in an attempt to reduce the influence of features surrounding the “face–object” sensu stricto. However, results from studies comparing cropped faces with unaltered objects from other categories are inconsistent with results from studies comparing whole faces and objects. Here, we recorded ERPs elicited by full front views of faces and cars, either unaltered or cropped. We found that cropping artificially enhanced the N170 whereas it did not significantly modulate P1. In a second experiment, we compared faces and butterflies, either unaltered or cropped, matched for size and luminance across conditions, and within a narrow contrast bracket. Results of Experiment 2 replicated the main findings of Experiment 1. We then used face–car morphs in a third experiment to manipulate the perceived face-likeness of stimuli (100% face, 70% face and 30% car, 30% face and 70% car, or 100% car) and the N170 failed to differentiate between faces and cars. Critically, in all three experiments, P1 amplitude was modulated in a face-sensitive fashion independent of cropping or morphing. Therefore, P1 is a reliable event sensitive to face processing as early as 100 ms after picture onset.
Collapse
|
22
|
Harris JA, Wu CT, Woldorff MG. Sandwich masking eliminates both visual awareness of faces and face-specific brain activity through a feedforward mechanism. J Vis 2011; 11:11.7.3. [PMID: 21669859 DOI: 10.1167/11.7.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
It is generally agreed that considerable amounts of low-level sensory processing of visual stimuli can occur without conscious awareness. On the other hand, the degree of higher level visual processing that occurs in the absence of awareness is as yet unclear. Here, event-related potential (ERP) measures of brain activity were recorded during a sandwich-masking paradigm, a commonly used approach for attenuating conscious awareness of visual stimulus content. In particular, the present study used a combination of ERP activation contrasts to track both early sensory-processing ERP components and face-specific N170 ERP activations, in trials with versus without awareness. The electrophysiological measures revealed that the sandwich masking abolished the early face-specific N170 neural response (peaking at ~170 ms post-stimulus), an effect that paralleled the abolition of awareness of face versus non-face image content. Furthermore, however, the masking appeared to render a strong attenuation of earlier feedforward visual sensory-processing signals. This early attenuation presumably resulted in insufficient information being fed into the higher level visual system pathways specific to object category processing, thus leading to unawareness of the visual object content. These results support a coupling of visual awareness and neural indices of face processing, while also demonstrating an early low-level mechanism of interference in sandwich masking.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph A Harris
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
23
|
Webb SJ, Jones EJH, Merkle K, Murias M, Greenson J, Richards T, Aylward E, Dawson G. Response to familiar faces, newly familiar faces, and novel faces as assessed by ERPs is intact in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Int J Psychophysiol 2010; 77:106-17. [PMID: 20452382 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2009] [Revised: 04/23/2010] [Accepted: 04/28/2010] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have pervasive impairments in social functioning, which may include problems with processing and remembering faces. In this study, we examined whether posterior ERP components associated with identity processing (P2, N250 and face-N400) and components associated with early-stage face processing (P1 and N170) are atypical in ASD. We collected ERP responses to a familiar repeated face (Familiar), an unfamiliar repeated face (Other) and novel faces (Novels) in 29 high-functioning adults with ASD and matched controls. For both groups, the P2 and N250 were sensitive to repetition (Other vs. Novels) and personal familiarity (Familiar vs. Other), and the face-N400 was sensitive to repetition. Adults with ASD did not show significantly atypical processing of facial familiarity and repetition in an ERP paradigm, despite showing significantly poorer performance than controls on a behavioral test of face memory. This study found no evidence that early-stage facial identity processing is a primary contributor to the face recognition deficit in high-functioning ASD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara J Webb
- University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|