Can perceptual expertise accountfor the own-race bias in face recognition? A split-brain study

The own-race bias (ORB) in facial recognition is characterised by increased accuracy in recognition of individuals from one's own racial group, relative to individuals from other racial groups. Here we report data from a split-brain patient indicating that the ORB may be tied to functions lateralised in the right cerebral hemisphere. Patient JW (a Caucasian) performed a delayed match-to-sample task for faces that varied both the race of the facial memoranda-Caucasian or Japanese-and the cerebral hemisphere performing the task. While JW's left hemisphere showed no effect of race on facial recognition, his right hemisphere demonstrated a significant performance advantage for Caucasian faces. These findings are discussed in relation to stimulus familiarity and the development of perceptual expertise.