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The bottom-up and top-down processing of faces in the human occipitotemporal cortex
Xiaoxu Fan1,2, Fan Wang1,2, Hanyu Shao1
1State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Elife
|January 15, 2020
Summary
This study reveals the precise timing of human face processing in the brain. It highlights how the brain uses bottom-up, top-down, and contextual cues for face recognition, especially with ambiguous input.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Face processing is extensively studied, yet the dynamic engagement of cortical areas remains unclear.
- Understanding the temporal sequence of neural activation is crucial for deciphering face recognition mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To uncover the precise timing and sequence of activation in core face-selective brain regions.
- To investigate the roles of bottom-up, top-down, and contextual processing in face perception.
Main Methods:
- Utilized functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Magnetoencephalography (MEG) in human participants.
- Analyzed neural responses to normal faces, faces with misarranged features, and two-tone Mooney faces.
- Examined responses to contextual cues presented without explicit facial features.
Main Results:
- Normal face processing showed a bottom-up sequence from posterior to anterior occipital areas.
- This bottom-up sequence persisted even with misarranged facial features.
- Ambiguous Mooney faces engaged top-down processing from the posterior fusiform face area to the occipital face area.
- Contextual cues alone triggered simultaneous responses in right ventral face-selective regions, indicating parallel contextual facilitation.
Conclusions:
- Chronicles the precise timing of bottom-up, top-down, and context-facilitated processing in the occipital-temporal face network.
- Emphasizes the critical role of top-down processing, particularly for incomplete or ambiguous facial information.
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