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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Co-analysis of Brain Structure and Function using fMRI and Diffusion-weighted Imaging
Published on: November 8, 2012
Face processing without awareness in the right fusiform gyrus
James P Morris1, Kevin A Pelphrey, Gregory McCarthy
1Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Abstract:
We investigated brain activity evoked by faces which were not consciously perceived by subjects. Subdural electrophysiological recordings and functional neuroimaging studies have each demonstrated face-specific processing in the fusiform gyrus (FFG) of humans. Using pattern masks, a stimulus can be presented but not consciously perceived, and thus can be used to assay obligatory or automatic processes. Here, using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging and pattern masking, we observed that masked faces but not masked objects activated the right FFG. Other regions activated by consciously perceived unmasked faces were not activated when faces were masked. These data provide strong evidence for an automatic face-processing region in the right FFG.
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