The Human Fetus Preferentially Engages with Face-like Visual Stimuli

Reid, Vincent M.; Dunn, Kirsty; Young, Robert J.; Amu, Johnson; Donovan, Tim; Reissland, Nadja

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.036

Cited by 53 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Specifically, some researchers have claimed that the deterioration in behavioral performance for inverted faces supports the claim that they are processed in a qualitatively different fashion than upright faces. According to this view, processing a face holistically depends on an upright representation, which is consistent with our lifelong daily experience, or may even be innate (Reid et al, 2017), whereas in the inverted condition individual face parts are processed independently, supporting the face internal representation hypothesis (Farah, Tanaka, & Drain, 1995;Rossion, 2013;Tanaka & Farah, 1993). However, others claim that face parts are encoded and represented independently and that HP is the consequence of an attentional strategy in which all face parts are attended as a whole (Richler & Gauthier, 2014).…”

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confidence: 75%

Holistic face representation is highly orientation-specific

2017

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It has long been argued that face processing requires disproportionate reliance on holistic processing (HP), relative to that required for nonface object recognition. Nevertheless, whether the holistic nature of face perception is achieved via a unique internal representation or by the employment of an automated attention mechanism is still debated. Previous studies had used the face inversion effect (FIE), a unique face-processing marker, or the face composite task, a gold standard paradigm measuring holistic processing, to examine the validity of these two different hypotheses, with some studies combining the two paradigms. However, the results of such studies remain inconclusive, particularly pertaining to the issue of the two proposed HP mechanisms-an internal representation as opposed to an automated attention mechanism. Here, using the complete composite paradigm design, we aimed to examine whether face rotation yields a nonlinear or a linear drop in HP, thus supporting an account that face processing is based either on an orientation-dependent internal representation or on automated attention. Our results reveal that even a relatively small perturbation in face orientation (30 deg away from upright) already causes a sharp decline in HP. These findings support the face internal representation hypothesis and the notion that the holistic processing of faces is highly orientation-specific.

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confidence: 75%

Holistic face representation is highly orientation-specific

2017

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“…In addition to the findings reported here, it is worth noting that preferences for particular stimuli observed in infancy are often not stable and are influenced by age as well as by external factors such as, the experienced environment (Liu et al, 2015 ; Tham et al, 2017 ). While it has been well established that faces attract children's attention, an attentional bias that is potentially already present in the unborn fetus (Reid et al, 2017 ), it remains unknown attention to faces changes across ages as a function of experience and maturation of attentional mechanisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Attention to Faces during the First 3 Years: Influences of Stimulus Type

2017

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The development of attention toward faces was explored during the first 3 years of life in 54 children aged between 3 and 36 months. In contrast to previous research, attention to faces was assessed using both static images and a dynamic video sequence in the same participants. Separate analyses at each age and exploratory longitudinal analyses indicate a preference for faces during the first year, followed by a decline during the second year. These results suggest that attention to faces does not follow a linear increasing pattern over development, and that social attention patterns are influenced by stimulus characteristics.

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“…Early preferential attention to social cues is a fundamental mechanism that facilitates interactions with other human beings. During the third trimester of gestation, the human foetus is already sensitive to both voices ( DeCasper and Spence, 1986 ) and face-like stimuli ( Reid et al, 2017 ). Newborns orient to biological motion ( Simion et al, 2008 ) and prefer their mothers’ voices to those of other females ( DeCasper and Fifer, 1980 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early alterations of social brain networks in young children with autism

Sperdin

Coito

Kojovic

et al. 2018

eLife

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Social impairments are a hallmark of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but empirical evidence for early brain network alterations in response to social stimuli is scant in ASD. We recorded the gaze patterns and brain activity of toddlers with ASD and their typically developing peers while they explored dynamic social scenes. Directed functional connectivity analyses based on electrical source imaging revealed frequency specific network atypicalities in the theta and alpha frequency bands, manifesting as alterations in both the driving and the connections from key nodes of the social brain associated with autism. Analyses of brain-behavioural relationships within the ASD group suggested that compensatory mechanisms from dorsomedial frontal, inferior temporal and insular cortical regions were associated with less atypical gaze patterns and lower clinical impairment. Our results provide strong evidence that directed functional connectivity alterations of social brain networks is a core component of atypical brain development at early stages of ASD.

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The Human Fetus Preferentially Engages with Face-like Visual Stimuli

Cited by 53 publications

References 0 publications

Holistic face representation is highly orientation-specific

Holistic face representation is highly orientation-specific

Development of Attention to Faces during the First 3 Years: Influences of Stimulus Type

Early alterations of social brain networks in young children with autism

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