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Romagnano V, Kubon J, Sokolov AN, Fallgatter AJ, Braun C, Pavlova MA. Dynamic brain communication underwriting face pareidolia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2401196121. [PMID: 38588422 PMCID: PMC11032489 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2401196121] [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: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Face pareidolia is a tendency to seeing faces in nonface images that reflects high tuning to a face scheme. Yet, studies of the brain networks underwriting face pareidolia are scarce. Here, we examined the time course and dynamic topography of gamma oscillatory neuromagnetic activity while administering a task with nonface images resembling a face. Images were presented either with canonical orientation or with display inversion that heavily impedes face pareidolia. At early processing stages, the peaks in gamma activity (40 to 45 Hz) to images either triggering or not face pareidolia originate mainly from the right medioventral and lateral occipital cortices, rostral and caudal cuneus gyri, and medial superior occipital gyrus. Yet, the difference occurred at later processing stages in the high-frequency range of 80 to 85 Hz over a set of the areas constituting the social brain. The findings speak rather for a relatively late neural network playing a key role in face pareidolia. Strikingly, a cutting-edge analysis of brain connectivity unfolding over time reveals mutual feedforward and feedback intra- and interhemispheric communication not only within the social brain but also within the extended large-scale network of down- and upstream regions. In particular, the superior temporal sulcus and insula strongly engage in communication with other brain regions either as signal transmitters or recipients throughout the whole processing of face-pareidolia images.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Romagnano
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
| | - Julian Kubon
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
| | - Alexander N. Sokolov
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
| | - Andreas J. Fallgatter
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
| | - Christoph Braun
- Magnetoencephalography Center, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
| | - Marina A. Pavlova
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
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Collyer L, Ireland J, Susilo T. A limited visual search advantage for illusory faces. Atten Percept Psychophys 2024; 86:717-730. [PMID: 38228847 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-023-02833-y] [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] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
The human visual system is very sensitive to the presence of faces in the environment, so much so that it can produce the perception of illusory faces in everyday objects. Growing research suggests that illusory faces and real faces are processed by similar perceptual and neural mechanisms, but whether this similarity extends to visual attention is less clear. A visual search study showed that illusory faces have a search advantage over objects when the types of objects vary to match the objects in the illusory faces (e.g., chair, pepper, clock) (Keys et al., 2021). Here, we examine whether the search advantage for illusory faces over objects remains when compared against objects that belong to a single category (flowers). In three experiments, we compared visual search of illusory faces, real faces, variable objects, and uniform objects (flowers). Search for real faces was best compared with all other types of targets. In contrast, search for illusory faces was only better than search for variable objects, not uniform objects. This result shows a limited visual search advantage for illusory faces and suggests that illusory faces may not be processed like real faces in visual attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lizzie Collyer
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn, New Zealand
| | - Jake Ireland
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn, New Zealand
| | - Tirta Susilo
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn, New Zealand.
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3
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Sharma S, Vinken K, Livingstone MS. When the whole is only the parts: non-holistic object parts predominate face-cell responses to illusory faces. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.22.558887. [PMID: 37790322 PMCID: PMC10542491 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.22.558887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Humans are inclined to perceive faces in everyday objects with a face-like configuration. This illusion, known as face pareidolia, is often attributed to a specialized network of 'face cells' in primates. We found that face cells in macaque inferotemporal cortex responded selectively to pareidolia images, but this selectivity did not require a holistic, face-like configuration, nor did it encode human faceness ratings. Instead, it was driven mostly by isolated object parts that are perceived as eyes only within a face-like context. These object parts lack usual characteristics of primate eyes, pointing to the role of lower-level features. Our results suggest that face-cell responses are dominated by local, generic features, unlike primate visual perception, which requires holistic information. These findings caution against interpreting neural activity through the lens of human perception. Doing so could impose human perceptual biases, like seeing faces where none exist, onto our understanding of neural activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saloni Sharma
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Kasper Vinken
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
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Palmisano A, Chiarantoni G, Bossi F, Conti A, D'Elia V, Tagliente S, Nitsche MA, Rivolta D. Face pareidolia is enhanced by 40 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) of the face perception network. Sci Rep 2023; 13:2035. [PMID: 36739325 PMCID: PMC9899232 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29124-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Pareidolia refers to the perception of ambiguous sensory patterns as carrying a specific meaning. In its most common form, pareidolia involves human-like facial features, where random objects or patterns are illusionary recognized as faces. The current study investigated the neurophysiological correlates of face pareidolia via transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). tACS was delivered at gamma (40 Hz) frequency over critical nodes of the "face perception" network (i.e., right lateral occipito-temporal and left prefrontal cortex) of 75 healthy participants while completing four face perception tasks ('Mooney test' for faces, 'Toast test', 'Noise pareidolia test', 'Pareidolia task') and an object perception task ('Mooney test' for objects). In this single-blind, sham-controlled between-subjects study, participants received 35 min of either Sham, Online, (40Hz-tACS_ON), or Offline (40Hz-tACS_PRE) stimulation. Results showed that face pareidolia was causally enhanced by 40Hz-tACS_PRE in the Mooney test for faces in which, as compared to sham, participants more often misperceived scrambled stimuli as faces. In addition, as compared to sham, participants receiving 40Hz-tACS_PRE showed similar reaction times (RTs) when perceiving illusory faces and correctly recognizing noise stimuli in the Toast test, thus not exhibiting hesitancy in identifying faces where there were none. Also, 40Hz-tACS_ON induced slower rejections of face pareidolia responses in the Noise pareidolia test. The current study indicates that 40 Hz tACS can enhance pareidolic illusions in healthy individuals and, thus, that high frequency (i.e., gamma band) oscillations are critical in forming coherent and meaningful visual perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalisa Palmisano
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
| | - Giulio Chiarantoni
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | | | - Alessio Conti
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Vitiana D'Elia
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Serena Tagliente
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Michael A Nitsche
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Center for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany.,Department of Neurology, University Medical Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany
| | - Davide Rivolta
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.,School of Psychology, University of East London (UEL), London, UK
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5
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Romagnano V, Sokolov AN, Steinwand P, Fallgatter AJ, Pavlova MA. Face pareidolia in male schizophrenia. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 8:112. [PMID: 36517504 PMCID: PMC9751144 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-022-00315-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Faces are valuable signals for efficient social interaction. Yet, social cognition including the sensitivity to a coarse face scheme may be deviant in schizophrenia (SZ). Tuning to faces in non-face images such as shadows, grilled toasts, or ink blots is termed face pareidolia. This phenomenon is poorly investigated in SZ. Here face tuning was assessed in 44 male participants with SZ and person-by-person matched controls by using recently created Face-n-Thing images (photographs of non-face objects to a varying degree resembling a face). The advantage of these images is that single components do not automatically trigger face processing. Participants were administered a set of images with upright and inverted (180° in the image plane) orientation. In a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm, they had to indicate whether an image resembled a face. The findings showed that: (i) With upright orientation, SZ patients exhibited deficits in face tuning: they provided much fewer face responses than controls. (ii) Inversion generally hindered face pareidolia. However, while in neurotypical males, inversion led to a drastic drop in face impression, in SZ, the impact of orientation was reduced. (iii) Finally, in accord with the signal detection theory analysis, the sensitivity index (d-prime) was lower in SZ, whereas no difference occurred in decision criterion. The outcome suggests altered face pareidolia in SZ is caused by lower face sensitivity rather than by alterations in cognitive bias. Comparison of these findings with earlier evidence confirms that tuning to social signals is lower in SZ, and warrants tailored brain imaging research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Romagnano
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Patrick Steinwand
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany.
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Gonçalves A, Hattori Y, Adachi I. Staring death in the face: chimpanzees' attention towards conspecific skulls and the implications of a face module guiding their behaviour. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:210349. [PMID: 35345434 PMCID: PMC8941397 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Chimpanzees exhibit a variety of behaviours surrounding their dead, although much less is known about how they respond towards conspecific skeletons. We tested chimpanzees' visual attention to images of conspecific and non-conspecific stimuli (cat/chimp/dog/rat), shown simultaneously in four corners of a screen in distinct orientations (frontal/diagonal/lateral) of either one of three types (faces/skulls/skull-shaped stones). Additionally, we compared their visual attention towards chimpanzee-only stimuli (faces/skulls/skull-shaped stones). Lastly, we tested their attention towards specific regions of chimpanzee skulls. We theorized that chimpanzee skulls retaining face-like features would be perceived similarly to chimpanzee faces and thus be subjected to similar biases. Overall, supporting our hypotheses, the chimpanzees preferred conspecific-related stimuli. The results showed that chimpanzees attended: (i) significantly longer towards conspecific skulls than other species skulls (particularly in forward-facing and to a lesser extent diagonal orientations); (ii) significantly longer towards conspecific faces than other species faces at forward-facing and diagonal orientations; (iii) longer towards chimpanzee faces compared with chimpanzee skulls and skull-shaped stones, and (iv) attended significantly longer to the teeth, similar to findings for elephants. We suggest that chimpanzee skulls retain relevant, face-like features that arguably activate a domain-specific face module in chimpanzees' brains, guiding their attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Gonçalves
- Language and Intelligence Section, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 484-8506 Aichi, Japan
| | - Yuko Hattori
- Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 484-8506 Aichi, Japan
| | - Ikuma Adachi
- Language and Intelligence Section, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 484-8506 Aichi, Japan
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7
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Göbel N, Möller JC, Hollenstein N, Binder A, Oechsner M, Ide J, Urwyler P, Cazzoli D, Müri RM. Face Perception and Pareidolia Production in Patients With Parkinson's Disease. Front Neurol 2021; 12:669691. [PMID: 34413822 PMCID: PMC8370466 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.669691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, visual misperceptions are a major problem within the non-motor symptoms. Pareidolia, i.e., the tendency to perceive a specific, meaningful image in an ambiguous visual pattern, is a phenomenon that occurs also in healthy subjects. Literature suggests that the perception of face pareidolia may be increased in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to examine, within the same experiment, face perception and the production of face pareidolia in PD patients and healthy controls (HC). Thirty participants (15 PD patients and 15 HC) were presented with 47 naturalistic photographs in which faces were embedded or not. The likelihood to perceive the embedded faces was modified by manipulating their transparency. Participants were asked to decide for each photograph whether a face was embedded or not. We found that PD patients were significantly less likely to recognize embedded faces than controls. However, PD patients also perceived faces significantly more often in locations where none were actually present than controls. Linear regression analyses showed that gender, age, hallucinations, and Multiple-Choice Vocabulary Intelligence Test (MWT) score were significant predictors of face pareidolia production in PD patients. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was a significant predictor for pareidolia production in PD patients in trials in which a face was embedded in another region [F (1, 13) = 24.4, p = <0.001]. We conclude that our new embedded faces paradigm is a useful tool to distinguish face perception performance between HC and PD patients. Furthermore, we speculate that our results observed in PD patients rely on disturbed interactions between the Dorsal (DAN) and Ventral Attention Networks (VAN). In photographs in which a face is present, the VAN may detect this as a behaviourally relevant stimulus. However, due to the deficient communication with the DAN in PD patients, the DAN would not direct attention to the correct location, identifying a face at a location where actually none is present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Göbel
- Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and BioMedical Research, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jens Carsten Möller
- Rehaklinik Zihlschlacht, Centre for Neurological Rehabilitation, Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf, Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany
| | - Nathalie Hollenstein
- Rehaklinik Zihlschlacht, Centre for Neurological Rehabilitation, Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Binder
- Rehaklinik Zihlschlacht, Centre for Neurological Rehabilitation, Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Oechsner
- Rehaklinik Zihlschlacht, Centre for Neurological Rehabilitation, Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf, Switzerland
| | - Jörg Ide
- Rehaklinik Zihlschlacht, Centre for Neurological Rehabilitation, Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf, Switzerland
| | - Prabitha Urwyler
- Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.,Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, ARTORG Center, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Dario Cazzoli
- Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and BioMedical Research, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.,Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, ARTORG Center, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - René M Müri
- Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and BioMedical Research, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.,Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, ARTORG Center, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Murakami H, Shiraishi T, Umehara T, Omoto S, Takahashi M, Motegi H, Maku T, Sato T, Takatsu H, Komatsu T, Bono K, Sakai K, Mitsumura H, Iguchi Y. Face pareidolia is associated with right striatal dysfunction in drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease. Neurol Sci 2021; 42:5327-5334. [PMID: 33884529 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-021-05238-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM Some patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) present with pareidolia, an illusion of a meaningless stimulus as a familiar object known to the observer. Since the striatum is associated with processing of visual information, we investigated correlations of pareidolia with motor symptoms and striatal dopaminergic function. METHOD A noise pareidolia test, assessment of motor symptoms using MDS-UPDRS and 123I-Ioflupane SPECT were performed in 58 drug-naïve PD patients. A number of images in which a participant noticed an illusory face (number of illusory responses) were compared with motor assessment scores and uptake of 123I-ioflupane in the striatum. RESULTS Of the 58 participants, 22 had at least one illusory response. Mean scores for MDS-UPDRS part III (p<0.05), rigidity (p<0.05), and rigidity on the left side of the body (p<0.01) in patients with pareidolia were significantly higher than those in patients without pareidolia. Uptake of 123I-ioflupane in the right caudate nucleus (p<0.05), anterior putamen (p<0.01), and posterior putamen (p<0.01) in patients with pareidolia was significantly lower than in patients without pareidolia. In the 22 patients with pareidolia, the number of illusory responses was significantly correlated with total scores for MDS-UPDRS part III (r=0.443, p<0.05) and subscores for bradykinesia (r=0.440, p<0.05) and bradykinesia on the left side of the body (r=0.564, p<0.01). The prevalence of pareidolia in left-dominant parkinsonism (16/30 patients) was higher than that in right-dominant parkinsonism (6/28 patients) (p<0.05 by chi-square test). CONCLUSION Pareidolia in PD patients is associated with dysfunction in the right striatum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hidetomo Murakami
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan.
| | - Tomotaka Shiraishi
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
| | - Tadashi Umehara
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
| | - Shusaku Omoto
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
| | - Maki Takahashi
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
| | - Haruhiko Motegi
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
| | - Takahiro Maku
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
| | - Takeo Sato
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
| | - Hiroki Takatsu
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
| | - Teppei Komatsu
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
| | - Keiko Bono
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
| | - Kenichiro Sakai
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
| | - Hidetaka Mitsumura
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
| | - Yasuyuki Iguchi
- Department of Neurology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8461, Japan
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9
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Kubon J, Sokolov AN, Popp R, Fallgatter AJ, Pavlova MA. Face Tuning in Depression. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:2574-2585. [PMID: 33350440 PMCID: PMC7799219 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The latest COVID-19 pandemic reveals that unexpected changes elevate depression bringing people apart, but also calling for social sharing. Yet the impact of depression on social cognition and functioning is not well understood. Assessment of social cognition is crucial not only for a better understanding of major depressive disorder (MDD), but also for screening, intervention, and remediation. Here by applying a novel experimental tool, a Face-n-Food task comprising a set of images bordering on the Giuseppe Arcimboldo style, we assessed the face tuning in patients with MDD and person-by-person matched controls. The key benefit of these images is that single components do not trigger face processing. Contrary to common beliefs, the outcome indicates that individuals with depression express intact face responsiveness. Yet, while in depression face sensitivity is tied with perceptual organization, in typical development, it is knotted with social cognition capabilities. Face tuning in depression, therefore, may rely upon altered behavioral strategies and underwriting brain mechanisms. To exclude a possible camouflaging effect of female social skills, we examined gender impact. Neither in depression nor in typical individuals had females excelled in face tuning. The outcome sheds light on the origins of the face sensitivity and alterations in social functioning in depression and mental well-being at large. Aberrant social functioning in depression is likely to be the result of deeply-rooted maladaptive strategies rather than of poor sensitivity to social signals. This has implications for mental well-being under the current pandemic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Kubon
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rebecca Popp
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.,LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders (DZNE), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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10
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Abo Hamza EG, Kéri S, Csigó K, Bedewy D, Moustafa AA. Pareidolia in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:746734. [PMID: 34955913 PMCID: PMC8702957 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.746734] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
While there are many studies on pareidolia in healthy individuals and patients with schizophrenia, to our knowledge, there are no prior studies on pareidolia in patients with bipolar disorder. Accordingly, in this study, we, for the first time, measured pareidolia in patients with bipolar disorder (N = 50), and compared that to patients with schizophrenia (N = 50) and healthy controls (N = 50). We have used (a) the scene test, which consists of 10 blurred images of natural scenes that was previously found to produce illusory face responses and (b) the noise test which had 32 black and white images consisting of visual noise and 8 images depicting human faces; participants indicated whether a face was present on these images and to point to the location where they saw the face. Illusory responses were defined as answers when observers falsely identified objects that were not on the images in the scene task (maximum illusory score: 10), and the number of noise images in which they reported the presence of a face (maximum illusory score: 32). Further, we also calculated the total pareidolia score for each task (the sum number of images with illusory responses in the scene and noise tests). The responses were scored by two independent raters with an excellent congruence (kappa > 0.9). Our results show that schizophrenia patients scored higher on pareidolia measures than both healthy controls and patients with bipolar disorder. Our findings are agreement with prior findings on more impaired cognitive processes in schizophrenia than in bipolar patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eid G Abo Hamza
- Psychology Department, College of Humanities and Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.,College of Education, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
| | - Szabolcs Kéri
- National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Physiology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Katalin Csigó
- National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dalia Bedewy
- Psychology Department, College of Humanities and Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.,College of Education, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
| | - Ahmed A Moustafa
- Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.,School of Psychology & Marcs Institute for Brain and Behaviour, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Pavlova MA, Romagnano V, Fallgatter AJ, Sokolov AN. Face pareidolia in the brain: Impact of gender and orientation. PLoS One 2021; 15:e0244516. [PMID: 33382767 PMCID: PMC7774913 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Research on face sensitivity is of particular relevance during the rapidly evolving Covid-19 pandemic leading to social isolation, but also calling for intact interaction and sharing. Humans possess high sensitivity even to a coarse face scheme, seeing faces in non-face images where real faces do not exist. The advantage of non-face images is that single components do not trigger face processing. Here by implementing a novel set of Face-n-Thing images, we examined (i) how face tuning alters with changing display orientation, and (ii) whether it is affected by observers’ gender. Young females and males were presented with a set of Face-n-Thing images either with canonical upright orientation or inverted 180° in the image plane. Face impression was substantially impeded by display inversion. Furthermore, whereas with upright display orientation, no gender differences were found, with inversion, Face-n-Thing images elicited face impression in females significantly more often. The outcome sheds light on the origins of the face inversion effect in general. Moreover, the findings open a way for examination of face sensitivity and underwriting brain networks in neuropsychiatric conditions related to the current pandemic (such as depression and anxiety), most of which are gender/sex-specific.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A. Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Valentina Romagnano
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J. Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders (DZNE), Medical School and University Hospital, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N. Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Event-Related Potentials Elicited by Face and Face Pareidolia in Parkinson's Disease. PARKINSONS DISEASE 2020; 2020:3107185. [PMID: 32318259 PMCID: PMC7150676 DOI: 10.1155/2020/3107185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Background Parkinson's disease is associated with impaired ability to recognize emotional facial expressions. In addition to a visual processing disorder, a visual recognition disorder may be involved in these patients. Pareidolia is a type of complex visual illusion that permits the interpretation of a vague stimulus as something known to the observer. Parkinson's patients experience pareidolic illusions. N170 and N250 waveforms are two event-related potentials (ERPs) involved in emotional facial expression recognition. Objective In this study, we investigated how Parkinson's patients process face and face-pareidolia stimuli at the neural level using N170, vertex positive potential (VPP), and N250 components of event-related potentials. Methods To examine the response of face and face-pareidolia processing in Parkinson's patients, we measured the N170, VPP, and N250 components of the event-related brain potentials in a group of 21 participants with Parkinson's disease and 26 control participants. Results We found that the latencies of N170 and VPP responses to both face and face-pareidolia stimuli were increased along with their amplitudes, and the amplitude of N250 responses decreased in Parkinson's patients compared to the control group. In both control and Parkinson's patients, face stimuli generated greater ERP amplitude and shorter latency in responses than did face-pareidolia stimuli. Conclusion The results of our study showed that ERPs associated with face and also face-pareidolia stimuli processing are changed in early-stage neurophysiological activity in the temporoparietal cortex of Parkinson's patients.
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Rolf R, Sokolov AN, Rattay TW, Fallgatter AJ, Pavlova MA. Face pareidolia in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2020; 218:138-145. [PMID: 32057538 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2020.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Faces convey valuable daily life social signals. As in most psychiatric conditions, non-verbal social cognition or its components including face processing may be aberrant in schizophrenia (SZ). Social participation of individuals with SZ is vital for their quality of life, and remediation of social abilities in this population is of high relevance both for society and clinical care. METHOD Tuning to faces in non-face images such as shadows, grilled toasts, or ink blots is called face pareidolia. Humans possess high sensitivity to facial signals: even fetuses and infants are well tuned to coarse face cues. Here we assessed face tuning in individuals with SZ and person-by-person matched controls by using a new experimental tool, a set of food-plate images bordering on the Giuseppe Arcimboldo style. The key benefit of these images is that single components do not trigger face processing. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The outcome indicates that individuals with SZ exhibit aberrant face tuning in face-like non-face images (χ2(1) = 17.44, p = 0.0001) that can hamper adaptive interaction with peers and social participation hindering, in turn, clinical remediation. Face response rate in SZ patients was related to the scores on the event arrangement task tapping social cognition (Pearson product-moment correlation, r = 0.602, p = 0.01) and on picture completion task assessing visual perceptual organization (Spearman's rho = 0.614, p = 0.009). Therefore, poor performance on the face tuning task is unlikely to be accounted for by deviant general cognitive abilities, but rather by impairments in perceptual integration and social cognition. Comparison of these findings with data in autism and other neuropsychiatric conditions provides novel insights on the origins of face tuning in SZ and triggers brain imaging research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Rolf
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tim W Rattay
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, and Center for Neurology, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; German Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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