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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) of the Visual Cortex with Wide-View Retinotopic Stimulation

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) of the Visual Cortex with Wide-View Retinotopic Stimulation

Published on: December 8, 2023

Differential development of the ventral visual cortex extends through adolescence.

Golijeh Golarai¹, Alina Liberman, Jennifer M D Yoon

¹Department of Psychology, Stanford University Stanford, CA, USA.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

|March 6, 2010

Summary

The brain

Keywords:

adolescent development face processing fusiform face area gender parahippocampal place area ventral temporal cortex

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Developmental Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

The ventral temporal cortex (VTC) contains specialized regions for processing objects, faces, and places.
The fusiform face area (FFA), crucial for face recognition, shows prolonged development into adolescence.
The developmental trajectory and endpoint of face selectivity in the VTC remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the developmental trajectory of face, object, and place selective regions within the VTC in adolescents and adults.
To determine if VTC functional specialization continues into late adolescence.
To correlate VTC development with face recognition memory performance.

Main Methods:

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to study adolescents (12-16 years) and adults (18-40 years).
Analyses focused on the volume and response amplitude of face, object, and place selective activations in the VTC.
Correlation analyses examined the relationship between VTC development and recognition memory for faces, objects, and places.

Main Results:

Face-selective regions in the right VTC, including the FFA, were significantly larger in adults than adolescents, with volume positively correlated with age.
Increased face selectivity in adults was linked to higher response amplitudes and greater differentiation of neural patterns for faces versus non-face stimuli across the VTC.
Object- and place-selective regions showed no significant developmental changes in volume or response amplitude between the age groups.
Right FFA volume positively correlated with face recognition memory performance, but not with object or place recognition memory.

Conclusions:

Face selectivity in the ventral temporal cortex undergoes significant prolonged development throughout adolescence.
This developmental period is specifically associated with enhanced face recognition memory abilities.
Findings highlight the protracted maturation of specialized neural systems for face processing in humans.