Face processing in Williams syndrome is already atypical in infancy

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Genetics

Background:

• Face processing is a fundamental socio-cognitive skill.
• Theories debate whether face processing is an innate module or develops progressively.
• Williams syndrome (WS) has been proposed as evidence for an innate face-processing module due to preserved abilities in adolescents/adults despite intellectual impairment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate face processing abilities in infants with Williams syndrome (WS).
• To determine if atypical face processing in WS is present from infancy or develops later.
• To compare face processing in infants with WS to typically developing infants and infants with Down syndrome.

Main Methods:

• An infant familiarization/novelty paradigm was employed.
• Infants with WS were compared to typically developing controls and Down syndrome controls matched for mental and chronological age.
• Participants were habituated to a schematic face and then presented with novel faces featuring changes in either facial features or configuration.

Main Results:

• Typically developing infants and Down syndrome infants successfully processed configural changes.
• Infants with WS did not process configural changes, indicating a deficit in this area.
• Infants with WS were only sensitive to featural changes, showing a distinct syndrome-specific profile.

Conclusions:

• The findings challenge the theory that an independent, innate face-processing module exists.
• The case of Williams syndrome cannot be used to support the innate module hypothesis for face processing.
• Atypical face processing in WS is evident in infancy, suggesting early developmental differences rather than later emergence.