Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
Neuropsychologia. 2011 Oct;49(12):3254-64. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.07.030. Epub 2011 Aug 6.
Research investigating the neural correlates of face processing has emphasized differences in neural activity when participants view faces versus other stimulus categories (e.g., houses). Much less is known about the neural mechanisms underlying the discrimination among individual faces. Using a large number of female faces, here we show that the amplitude of the face-sensitive N170 electrocortical component is related to a range of facial characteristics. The right N170 amplitude was related to eye color and face width. The left N170 amplitude was related to eye shape and face proportions, suggesting a functional dissociation between hemispheres. In contrast, the amplitude of the P100 and N250 components was largely unaffected by these facial characteristics. Consistent with recent findings in non-human primates, we identify for the first time evidence of human electrocortical brain potentials that are sensitive to variations in specific facial characteristics, a prerequisite for recognizing the identity of individual faces.
研究面部处理的神经相关性强调了参与者观看面部与其他刺激类别（例如房屋）时神经活动的差异。对于个体面部之间的区分所基于的神经机制，我们知之甚少。在这里，我们使用大量女性面孔表明，面部敏感 N170 皮质电成分的幅度与一系列面部特征有关。右 N170 幅度与眼睛颜色和面部宽度有关。左 N170 幅度与眼睛形状和面部比例有关，表明半球之间存在功能分离。相比之下，P100 和 N250 成分的幅度受这些面部特征的影响不大。与最近在非人类灵长类动物中的发现一致，我们首次确定了人类皮质脑电潜力对特定面部特征变化敏感的证据，这是识别个体面部身份的前提。
