scholarly journals Altered topology of neural circuits in congenital prosopagnosia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Rosenthal ◽  
Michal Tanzer ◽  
Erez Simony ◽  
Uri Hasson ◽  
Marlene Behrmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Regional Correlation ◽  
Congenital Prosopagnosia ◽  
The Face ◽  
Mri Scans

AbstractUsing a novel fMRI-based inter-subject functional correlation (ISFC) approach, which isolates stimulus-locked inter-regional correlation patterns, we compared the cortical topology of the neural circuit for face processing in participants with congenital prosopagnosia (CP) and matched controls. Whereas the anterior temporal lobe served as the major network hub for face processing in controls, this was not the case for the CPs. Instead, this group evinced hyper-connectivity in posterior regions of the visual cortex, mostly associated with the lateral occipital and the inferior temporal cortices. Moreover, the extent to which the network organization was atypical differed as a function of the severity of the face recognition deficit. These results offer new insights into the perturbed cortical topology in CP, which may serve as the underlying neural basis of the behavioral deficits typical of this disorder. The approach adopted here has the potential to uncover altered topologies in other neurodevelopmental disorders, as well.Significance StatementCongenital prosopagnosia (CP; ‘face blindness’), a developmental deficit in face recognition, is thought to affect up to 3% of the population. Understanding its neural basis is challenging as there is no obvious deficit on conventional structural or functional MRI scans. Using an innovative, fMRI-based inter-subject correlation approach geared towards tracking inter-regional stimulus-locked brain activation, the present study uncovers marked topological differences in a distributed brain network of higher-order visual regions in CP relative to controls. Alteration in topology also differs as a function of the severity of the deficit. These findings shed new light on the neural perturbations underlying CP, and the analytic approach we have adopted may have utility in elucidating the neural basis of other neurodevelopmental disorders such as dyslexia or amusia.

scholarly journals Altered topology of neural circuits in congenital prosopagnosia

eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Rosenthal ◽  
Michal Tanzer ◽  
Erez Simony ◽  
Uri Hasson ◽  
Marlene Behrmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Behavioral Deficits ◽  
Functional Correlation ◽  
Regional Correlation ◽  
Congenital Prosopagnosia ◽  
The Face

Using a novel, fMRI-based inter-subject functional correlation (ISFC) approach, which isolates stimulus-locked inter-regional correlation patterns, we compared the cortical topology of the neural circuit for face processing in participants with an impairment in face recognition, congenital prosopagnosia (CP), and matched controls. Whereas the anterior temporal lobe served as the major network hub for face processing in controls, this was not the case for the CPs. Instead, this group evinced hyper-connectivity in posterior regions of the visual cortex, mostly associated with the lateral occipital and the inferior temporal cortices. Moreover, the extent of this hyper-connectivity was correlated with the face recognition deficit. These results offer new insights into the perturbed cortical topology in CP, which may serve as the underlying neural basis of the behavioral deficits typical of this disorder. The approach adopted here has the potential to uncover altered topologies in other neurodevelopmental disorders, as well.

Face Inversion Effect Emerges Under Critical Configural Discrepancy

2010 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jisien Yang ◽  
Adrian Schwaninger
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Inversion Effect ◽  
Configural Processing ◽  
Major Contributor ◽  
Face Inversion Effect ◽  
Configural Information ◽  
Face Inversion ◽  
The Face

Configural processing has been considered the major contributor to the face inversion effect (FIE) in face recognition. However, most researchers have only obtained the FIE with one specific ratio of configural alteration. It remains unclear whether the ratio of configural alteration itself can mediate the occurrence of the FIE. We aimed to clarify this issue by manipulating the configural information parametrically using six different ratios, ranging from 4% to 24%. Participants were asked to judge whether a pair of faces were entirely identical or different. The paired faces that were to be compared were presented either simultaneously (Experiment 1) or sequentially (Experiment 2). Both experiments revealed that the FIE was observed only when the ratio of configural alteration was in the intermediate range. These results indicate that even though the FIE has been frequently adopted as an index to examine the underlying mechanism of face processing, the emergence of the FIE is not robust with any configural alteration but dependent on the ratio of configural alteration.

Face Perception in Face Transplant Patients

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (05) ◽  
pp. 525-533
Author(s):  
Evrim Gülbetekin ◽  
Seda Bayraktar ◽  
Özlenen Özkan ◽  
Hilmi Uysal ◽  
Ömer Özkan
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Object Recognition ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Recognition Performance ◽  
Discrimination Performance ◽  
Object Discrimination ◽  
Face Transplantation ◽  
Transplant Patients ◽  
Facial Surgery ◽  
The Face

AbstractThe authors tested face discrimination, face recognition, object discrimination, and object recognition in two face transplantation patients (FTPs) who had facial injury since infancy, a patient who had a facial surgery due to a recent wound, and two control subjects. In Experiment 1, the authors showed them original faces and morphed forms of those faces and asked them to rate the similarity between the two. In Experiment 2, they showed old, new, and implicit faces and asked whether they recognized them or not. In Experiment 3, they showed them original objects and morphed forms of those objects and asked them to rate the similarity between the two. In Experiment 4, they showed old, new, and implicit objects and asked whether they recognized them or not. Object discrimination and object recognition performance did not differ between the FTPs and the controls. However, the face discrimination performance of FTP2 and face recognition performance of the FTP1 were poorer than that of the controls were. Therefore, the authors concluded that the structure of the face might affect face processing.

scholarly journals Looking beyond the face area: lesion network mapping of prosopagnosia

Brain ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (12) ◽  
pp. 3975-3990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander L Cohen ◽  
Louis Soussand ◽  
Sherryse L Corrow ◽  
Olivier Martinaud ◽  
Jason J S Barton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Face Area ◽  
The Face ◽  
Network Mapping

Face blindness can occur after injury to a variety of brain locations, and yet the regions critical for face recognition remain unclear. Cohen et al. show that lesions that cause face blindness map to a specific brain network, and use this to predict subclinical deficits in an independent lesion cohort.

Multi-Item Discriminability Pattern to Faces in Developmental Prosopagnosia Reveals Distinct Mechanisms of Face Processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 2986-2996
Author(s):  
Xue Tian ◽  
Ruosi Wang ◽  
Yuanfang Zhao ◽  
Zonglei Zhen ◽  
Yiying Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Processing ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Normal Population ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Face Area ◽  
Normal Individuals ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Right

Abstract Previous studies have shown that individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) show specific deficits in face processing. However, the mechanism underlying the deficits remains largely unknown. One hypothesis suggests that DP shares the same mechanism as normal population, though their faces processing is disproportionally impaired. An alternative hypothesis emphasizes a qualitatively different mechanism of DP processing faces. To test these hypotheses, we instructed DP and normal individuals to perceive faces and objects. Instead of calculating accuracy averaging across stimulus items, we used the discrimination accuracy for each item to construct a multi-item discriminability pattern. We found DP’s discriminability pattern was less similar to that of normal individuals when perceiving faces than perceiving objects, suggesting that DP has qualitatively different mechanism in representing faces. A functional magnetic resonance imaging study was conducted to reveal the neural basis and found that multi-voxel activation patterns for faces in the right fusiform face area and occipital face area of DP were deviated away from the mean activation pattern of normal individuals. Further, the face representation was more heterogeneous in DP, suggesting that deficits of DP may come from multiple sources. In short, our study provides the first direct evidence that DP processes faces qualitatively different from normal population.

Reduced spatial integration in the ventral visual cortex underlies face recognition deficits in developmental prosopagnosia

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Witthoft ◽  
Sonia Poltoratski ◽  
Mai Nguyen ◽  
Golijeh Golarai ◽  
Alina Liberman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Spatial Integration ◽  
Brain Abnormalities ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Recognition Ability ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Retinotopic Organization

Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is characterized by deficits in face recognition without gross brain abnormalities. However, the neural basis of DP is not well understood. We measured population receptive fields (pRFs) in ventral visual cortex of DPs and typical adults to assess the contribution of spatial integration to face processing. While DPs showed typical retinotopic organization of ventral visual cortex and normal pRF sizes in early visual areas, we found significantly reduced pRF sizes in face-selective regions and in intermediate areas hV4 and VO1. Across both typicals and DPs, face recognition ability correlated positively with pRF size in both face-selective regions and VO1, whereby participants with larger pRFs perform better. However, face recognition ability is correlated with both pRF size and ROI volume only in face-selective regions. These findings suggest that smaller pRF sizes in DP may reflect a deficit in spatial integration affecting holistic processing required for face recognition.

scholarly journals Detailed Exploration of Face-related Processing in Congenital Prosopagnosia: 1. Behavioral Findings

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 1130-1149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlene Behrmann ◽  
Galia Avidan ◽  
Jonathan J. Marotta ◽  
Rutie Kimchi
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Exposure Duration ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Congenital Prosopagnosia ◽  
Global Configuration ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Extended Exposure

We show that five individuals with congenital prosopagnosia (CP) are impaired at face recognition and discrimination and do not exhibit the normal superiority for upright over inverted faces despite intact visual acuity, low-level vision and intelligence, and in the absence of any obvious neural concomitant. Interestingly, the deficit is not limited to faces: The CP individuals were also impaired at discriminating common objects and novel objects although to a lesser extent than discriminating faces. The perceptual deficit may be attributable to a more fundamental visual processing disorder; the CP individuals exhibited difficulty in deriving global configurations from simple visual stimuli, even with extended exposure duration and considerable perceptual support in the image. Deriving a global configuration from local components is more critical for faces than for other objects, perhaps accounting for the exaggerated deficit in face processing. These findings elucidate the psychological mechanisms underlying CP and support the link between configural and face processing.

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