The Fusiform Face Area Is Engaged in Holistic, Not Parts-Based, Representation of Faces

Abstract

Numerous studies with functional magnetic resonance imaging have shown that the fusiform face area (FFA) in the human brain plays a key role in face perception. Recent studies have found that both the featural information of faces (e.g., eyes, nose, and mouth) and the configural information of faces (i.e., spatial relation among features) are encoded in the FFA. However, little is known about whether the featural information is encoded independent of or combined with the configural information in the FFA. Here we used multi-voxel pattern analysis to examine holistic representation of faces in the FFA by correlating spatial patterns of activation with behavioral performance in discriminating face parts with face configurations either present or absent. Behaviorally, the absence of face configurations (versus presence) impaired discrimination of face parts, suggesting a holistic representation in the brain. Neurally, spatial patterns of activation in the FFA were more similar among correct than incorrect trials only when face parts were presented in a veridical face configuration. In contrast, spatial patterns of activation in the occipital face area, as well as the object-selective lateral occipital complex, were more similar among correct than incorrect trials regardless of the presence of veridical face configurations. This finding suggests that in the FFA faces are represented not on the basis of individual parts but in terms of the whole that emerges from the parts.

Neural Decoding Reveals Impaired Face Configural Processing in the Right Fusiform Face Area of Individuals with Developmental Prosopagnosia

“…Here we show, for the first time, that in DPs the representation of the T-shape face part configuration is impaired in the right FFA, likely precluding this brain region from supporting other components of face configural processing. Given the importance of face configural processing in face identity representation and the critical role the right FFA plays in mediating such processing (Schiltz and Rossion, 2006;Liu et al, 2010;Richler et al, 2011;Parvizi et al, 2012;Wang et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2012), we believe that the impairments seen here may account for DPs' behavioral face processing deficits. We propose that the right FFA's face configural process-ing deficit should therefore be regarded as an important, if not one of the key, neural impairment of DP.…”

“…Among the brain regions involved in face processing, the right FFA has been shown to play an important role in face configural processing (Schiltz and Rossion, 2006;Liu et al, 2010;Parvizi et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2012). Intriguingly, despite the presence of behavioral face configural processing deficits, individuals with DP have been shown to exhibit normal face selectivity and normal fMRI face identity adaptation in their right FFA (Furl et al, 2011;Avidan et al, 2014).…”

“…Because of the importance of the T-shape arrangement in mediating face configural processing (Maurer et al, 2002) and the involvement of the right FFA in such configural processing (Schiltz and Rossion, 2006;Liu et al, 2010;Parvizi et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2012), here we examined whether the right FFA in DPs would show the same sensitivity to the T-shape arrangement of the face parts. Specifically, we used 20 unique gray-scaled East Asian male face images and segmented each image horizontally into two parts with the upper part containing the two eyes, and the lower part containing the nose and the mouth.…”

“…This includes the representation of the T-shape arrangement of the face parts, and within the T-shape arrangement, better representations of face parts and the spacing between parts (Young et al, 1987;Tanaka and Farah, 1993;Maurer et al, 2002;Yovel et al, 2005). Among the multiple occipital and temporal brain regions exhibiting face selectivity in the human brain, the right fusiform face area (FFA;Kanwisher et al, 1997) is believed to play a central role in face configural processing (Schiltz and Rossion, 2006;Liu et al, 2010;Parvizi et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2012).…”

Neural Basis of Identity Information Extraction from Noisy Face Images

“…The estimated ␤-weights of each regressor served as input for the second-level whole-brain random-effects analysis, treating subjects as random factors. For visualization purposes, the IF Ͼ NF and NF Ͼ IF contrasts were projected with p FDR Ͻ 0.05 threshold onto the smoothed ICBM152 brain (Mazziotta et al, 1995(Mazziotta et al, , 2001a using BrainNet Viewer (Xia et al, 2013; http://www.nitrc.org/projects/bnv/). Stereotaxic coordinates are reported in Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) space and regional labels were derived using the AAL atlas (Tzourio-Mazoyer et al, 2002) provided with xjView 8 (http://www.alivelearn.net/xjview8/).…”