| Autor: |
McGugin RW; Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Wilson Hall, PMB 407817, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37240-7817, USA., Ryan KF; Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Wilson Hall, PMB 407817, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37240-7817, USA., Tamber-Rosenau BJ; Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Wilson Hall, PMB 407817, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37240-7817, USA.; Department of Psychology, University of Houston, 126 Heyne Building, 3695 Cullen Blvd, Houston, TX 77204, USA., Gauthier I; Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Wilson Hall, PMB 407817, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37240-7817, USA. |
| Abstrakt: |
The expertise hypothesis suggests the fusiform face area (FFA) is more responsive to faces than to other categories because of experience individuating faces. Accordingly, individual differences in FFA's selectivity for faces should relate to differences in behavioral face-recognition ability. However, previous studies have not demonstrated this, while the comparable association is often observed with nonface objects. We created a training paradigm with conditions sufficient to observe the same effect with faces. First, we selected subjects with a wide range of behavioral face-recognition abilities, then we manipulated experience with an artificial race of faces based on subjects' pretraining ability, maximizing variability in face individuation. Neural selectivity was measured for Caucasian faces and artificial-race faces relative to control objects. Selecting subjects for greater variability in face-recognition ability revealed an association between behavior and FFA selectivity for Caucasian faces, with an effect exclusive to the middle right FFA (FFA2). Manipulating experience with artificial-race faces led to stronger brain-behavior correlation for artificial-race faces, also in right FFA2. Group analyses showed an overlap of these effects for Caucasian and artificial-race faces in right FFA2. The right FFA2 appears particularly sensitive to experience with faces just as it is for nonface objects. |
