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Perceptual interference supports a non-modular account of face processing.
Isabel Gauthier1, Tim Curran, Kim M Curby
1Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Department of Psychology, 301 Wilson Hall, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37203, USA. isabel.gauthier@vanderbilt.edu
Nature Neuroscience
|March 11, 2003
Summary
Expertise in identifying objects like cars can interfere with face perception, suggesting shared brain mechanisms for processing familiar items. This challenges the idea of a unique face perception module.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
- Human Expertise
Background:
- Early visual processing stages are shared for faces and objects.
- Debate exists on whether face perception relies on a domain-specific module or expertise-driven mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functional independence of face and object processing.
- To determine if expertise influences the interaction between face and object perception.
Main Methods:
- Behavioral interference measures were employed.
- Electrophysiological measures, specifically event-related potentials (ERPs), were utilized.
- Participants with varying levels of car identification expertise were studied.
Main Results:
- Car perception interfered with concurrent face perception in human subjects.
- This interference increased with greater expertise in car identification.
- ERPs indicated interference originating from perceptual processes involved in holistic perception.
Conclusions:
- Expertise-based processing mechanisms, rather than a dedicated face module, may underlie face perception.
- Holistic perception mechanisms are shared between expert object recognition and face processing.