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Organization and functions of cells responsive to faces in the temporal cortex
D I Perrett1, J K Hietanen, M W Oram
1Department of Psychology, University of St Andrews, Fife, U.K.
Summary
Neurons in the macaque brain
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Primate Brain Research
- Visual Cortex Studies
Background:
- Face-selective cells are identified in various temporal cortex regions of macaque brains.
- These regions include the inferior temporal cortex and the superior temporal sulcus (STS).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functional organization and properties of face- and head-selective cells in the macaque brain.
- To explore the role of these cells in visual processing, object recognition, and social attention.
Main Methods:
- Electrophysiological recordings in macaque temporal cortex.
- Analysis of cell selectivity for different views of faces and heads.
- Examination of anatomical connections from the STS to parietal cortex.
Main Results:
- Distinct populations of cells in the STS upper bank show selectivity for specific views of faces and heads.
- These cells are organized in discrete, modular patches (3-5 mm) within the STS.
- STS output connections also exhibit a modular organization, linking to the parietal cortex.
Conclusions:
- Face and head recognition may involve parallel processing of different views, combined for view-independent recognition.
- Cellular sensitivity to head view could support the analysis of social attention and interactions.
- Modular organization suggests specialized processing streams within the temporal cortex for visual information.