Gyral Crowns Contribute to the Cortical Infrastructure of Human Face Processing

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuroanatomy

Background:

• Cortical folding, specifically gyral crown height, is crucial for brain function and individual behavioral differences.
• The relationship between functional specialization and gyral crowns, particularly in clinical populations, remains understudied.
• Face perception relies on specialized brain regions like the fusiform gyrus (FG).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between gyral crown morphology and the face-selective region of the FG.
• To examine differences in FG gyral crown height and size between individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DPs) and neurotypical controls (NTs).
• To determine if these structural differences correlate with face recognition abilities.

Main Methods:

• Compared gyral crown height and FG face-selective region size in DPs (N=22) and NTs (N=25) using neuroimaging techniques.
• Replicated findings on the relationship between gyral crowns and FG region size in a larger sample of NTs (N=1,053).
• Correlated structural measurements with face perception performance.

Main Results:

• Individuals with DP showed decreased size and gyral crown height in the middle FG face-selective region compared to NTs.
• These structural differences were significantly related to face perception abilities.
• The association between gyral crown height and FG face-selective region size was confirmed in a large neurotypical cohort.

Conclusions:

• Gyral crown height is a significant neuroanatomical factor influencing the cortical infrastructure for face processing.
• Reduced gyral crown height in the FG is associated with impaired face recognition in developmental prosopagnosia.
• This finding provides a novel neuroanatomical insight into face perception applicable to both clinical and neurotypical populations.