Neural bases of eye and gaze processing: The core of social cognition

Itier, Roxane J.; Batty, Magali

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.02.004

Cited by 521 publications

(467 citation statements)

References 284 publications

(424 reference statements)

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“…Furthermore, inversion did not impact the processing of human eyes while it had a detrimental effect on the processing of animal eyes (especially for dogs), reflecting a lack of expertise in accurately processing animal eyes. This particular sensitivity to human eyes is not surprising given the fundamental importance of eyes in social cognition (Emery, 2000;Itier and Batty, 2009). Furthermore, of all species, human eyes possess the largest ratio of exposed sclera size in the eye outline (Kobayashi and Kohshima, 1997).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…During the early stages of development, infants show a particular sensitivity for eyes to which they attend more than any other facial feature (Maurer, 1985). The eyes are central to all aspects of face processing including identity, emotion and gaze discrimination (see Itier and Batty, 2009 for a recent review) and the N170 is sensitive to eyes as shown by equally large or larger amplitudes for eyes than faces (Bentin et al, 1996;Itier et al, 2006;Itier et al, 2007;Jemel et al, 1999;Taylor et al, 2001). Because human eyes have a distinct morphology compared to eyes of other animals, including a white sclera that other species do not possess (Kobayashi and Kohshima, 1997), species sensitivity for eyes seems sensible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To our knowledge, only one previous study investigated the early neural response to eyes of various species and reported a larger N170 to human eyes compared to dog and cat eyes (Shibata et al, 2002), supporting an early species sensitivity to eyes. The eyes are at the core of a recent model of early face processing which proposes that the N170 and its modulations reflect mainly the response modulation of face and eye selective neurons (Itier et al, 2007;Itier and Batty, 2009). Given their central role early on in face processing, eyes could drive the response of the visual system to faces of other species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Species sensitivity of early face and eye processing

2011

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Humans are better at recognizing human faces than faces of other species. However, it is unclear whether this species sensitivity can be seen at early perceptual stages of face processing and whether it involves species sensitivity for important facial features like the eyes. These questions were addressed by comparing the modulations of the N170 ERP component to faces, eyes and eyeless faces of humans, apes, cats and dogs, presented upright and inverted. Although all faces and isolated eyes yielded larger responses than the control object category (houses), the N170 was shorter and smaller to human than animal faces and larger to human than animal eyes. Most importantly, while the classic inversion effect was found for human faces, animal faces yielded no inversion effect or an opposite inversion effect, as seen for objects, suggesting a different neural process involved for humans faces compared to faces of other species. Thus, in addition to its general face and eye categorical sensitivity, the N170 appears particularly sensitive to the human species for both faces and eyes. The results are discussed in the context of a recent model of the N170 response involving face and eye sensitive neurons (Itier et al., 2007) where the eyes play a central role in face perception. The data support the intuitive idea that eyes are what make animal head fronts look face-like and that proficiency for the human species involves visual expertise for the human eyes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Species sensitivity of early face and eye processing

2011

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“…Such an approach fits with several eye-tracking studies that have similarly observed a particular focus on the mouth (Jones, Carr, & Klin, 2008; Klin, Jones, Schultz, Volkmar, & Cohen, 2002) and could reflect several different mechanisms. A bias toward the mouth (often also associated with a bias away from the eyes) could be associated with atypical communication in the condition (Langdell, 1978), an aversion to the socially intimidating eye region (Tanaka & Sung, 2013) or a failure to appreciate the utility of this information (Itier & Batty, 2009). Regardless of its origins, a mouth bias could negatively influence face-processing ability by preventing the exploitation of useful cues in the top half of the face (Peterson & Eckstein, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Equally, individual differences in scanning patterns could reflect atypical communicative skills in autism, driving variability in fixations to the eyes (particularly implicated in complex socio-emotional interactions) vs. the mouth (more critical for language and speech-related information) (Falck-Ytter, Fernell, Gillberg, & von Hofsten, 2010; Norbury et al, 2009). Finally, it could indicate an immature processing strategy associated with limited perceptual expertise with these social stimuli and a lack of appreciation of the importance/utility of this region (Itier & Batty, 2009). Irrespective of its origins, such an atypical profile is likely to negatively impact expertise because the eyes constitute a critical cue for face reading (Peterson & Eckstein, 2011)…”

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confidence: 99%

Atypical information-use in children with autism spectrum disorder during judgments of child and adult face identity

Ewing

Pellicano

King

et al. 2018

Developmental Neuropsychology

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Unusual patterns of fixation behavior in individuals with autism spectrum disorder during face tasks hint at atypical processing strategies that could contribute to diminished face expertise in this group. Here, we use the Bubbles reverse correlation technique to directly examine face-processing strategies during identity judgments in children with and without autism, and typical adults. Results support a qualitative atypicality in autistic face processing. We identify clear differences not only in the specific features relied upon for face judgments, but also more generally in the extent to which they demonstrate a flexible and adaptive profile of information use.

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The Social Penalty of Facial Lesions

Dey

Ishii

Byrne

et al. 2015

JAMA Facial Plast Surg

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IMPORTANCE To date, there have been no studies attempting to measure the multidimensional impact of facial lesions, before and after reconstruction, on social conversation. OBJECTIVE To measure the direct social impact of facial lesions before and after surgical reconstruction. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective randomized controlled experiment at an academic tertiary referral center. One hundred twenty casual observers viewed images of faces with lesions of varying sizes and locations before and after reconstruction as well as faces without lesions (normal faces) for comparison. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESObservers rated faces using a battery of metrics, including how comfortable they would be having a conversation with the participant in each facial image. The conversation questions were answered on a scale from 0 to 100, where the higher the score, the more comfortable the observer would be conversing with the subject. RESULTSThe mean (SD) conversation score for participants with normal faces was 85.02 (17.95) of 100 points. Facial lesions had a negative effect (or, a penalty) on conversation (61.63 [29.50]). Structural equation modeling showed this conversation penalty varied with lesion size and location, with large and central lesions generating the greatest penalty. Reconstructive surgery increased observers' comfort and willingness to converse with individuals with facial lesion by an average of 19.83 (95% CI,, an improvement that also varied with preoperative lesion size and location. Planned hypothesis testing showed that reconstructive surgery normalized observer comfort in communicating with people with small peripheral, small central, and large peripheral lesions. However, substantial discomfort communicating with patients with large central lesions remained after surgery. Observer-rated facial attractiveness, affect, and perceived quality of life also influenced this social communication measure. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Facial lesions induce a significant social penalty as rated by the casual observer. Specifically, observers are less comfortable communicating with people who have facial lesions. Surgical reconstruction of facial lesions increased observers' comfort in conversing with people with facial lesions, an impact that varied with lesion size and location.LEVEL OF EVIDENCE NA.

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Neural bases of eye and gaze processing: The core of social cognition

Cited by 521 publications

References 284 publications

Species sensitivity of early face and eye processing

Species sensitivity of early face and eye processing

Atypical information-use in children with autism spectrum disorder during judgments of child and adult face identity

The Social Penalty of Facial Lesions

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