Seeing race, stopping action: neural dynamics of face-based inhibitory control

The human ability to suppress inappropriate or automatic responses is crucial for flexible and socially adaptive behavior. Inhibitory control is influenced by prominent environmental cues, including visual information gathered from the perception of others. Among the most salient features of people we interact with, face race stands out as a particularly powerful visual signal. Despite considerable research on face race perception and categorization, and recent evidence on cognitive control, the extent to which task-relevant face race influences inhibition remains unclear, yet relevant. To address this issue, we recorded the electrophysiological signals of West European participants while they performed a Go/No-Go task using West European (WE) and East Asian (EA) faces as stimuli targets. At the behavioral level, inhibitory efficiency was modulated by face race, with participants showing enhanced performance when inhibiting EA faces compared to WE ones. At the neural level, results revealed race-related modulation at both perceptual and post-perceptual processing stages. EA faces elicited a stronger P100, and a race effect on the No-Go P3 emerged, with greater amplitudes during its rising phase and anticipated latency for EA stimuli. Notably, the strength of the behavioral race effect correlated with the neural amplitude within time and location consistent with the No-Go P3. These results suggest modulation of the inhibitory cascade by task-relevant face race, spanning early perceptual and later control-related neural responses, and aligned overt effects on behavior.