Müsch Kathrin, Hamamé Carlos M, Perrone-Bertolotti Marcela, Minotti Lorella, Kahane Philippe, Engel Andreas K, Lachaux Jean-Philippe, Schneider Till R
Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
Cortex. 2014 Nov;60:34-51. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2014.06.006. Epub 2014 Jun 20.
Face processing depends on the orchestrated activity of a large-scale neuronal network. Its activity can be modulated by attention as a function of task demands. However, it remains largely unknown whether voluntary, endogenous attention and reflexive, exogenous attention to facial expressions equally affect all regions of the face-processing network, and whether such effects primarily modify the strength of the neuronal response, the latency, the duration, or the spectral characteristics. We exploited the good temporal and spatial resolution of intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) and recorded from depth electrodes to uncover the fast dynamics of emotional face processing. We investigated frequency-specific responses and event-related potentials (ERP) in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex (VOTC), ventral temporal cortex (VTC), anterior insula, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and amygdala when facial expressions were task-relevant or task-irrelevant. All investigated regions of interest (ROI) were clearly modulated by task demands and exhibited stronger changes in stimulus-induced gamma band activity (50-150 Hz) when facial expressions were task-relevant. Observed latencies demonstrate that the activation is temporally coordinated across the network, rather than serially proceeding along a processing hierarchy. Early and sustained responses to task-relevant faces in VOTC and VTC corroborate their role for the core system of face processing, but they also occurred in the anterior insula. Strong attentional modulation in the OFC and amygdala (300 msec) suggests that the extended system of the face-processing network is only recruited if the task demands active face processing. Contrary to our expectation, we rarely observed differences between fearful and neutral faces. Our results demonstrate that activity in the face-processing network is susceptible to the deployment of selective attention. Moreover, we show that endogenous attention operates along the whole face-processing network, and that these effects are reflected in frequency-specific changes in the gamma band.
面部处理依赖于一个大规模神经网络的协同活动。其活动可根据任务需求，通过注意力进行调节。然而，目前仍不清楚，对面部表情的自愿性内源性注意力和反射性外源性注意力是否同样会影响面部处理网络的所有区域，以及这些影响是否主要改变神经元反应的强度、潜伏期、持续时间或频谱特征。我们利用颅内脑电图（iEEG）良好的时间和空间分辨率，通过深度电极记录，以揭示情绪面部处理的快速动态过程。我们研究了在面部表情与任务相关或不相关时，枕颞叶腹侧皮质（VOTC）、颞叶腹侧皮质（VTC）、前岛叶、眶额皮质（OFC）和杏仁核的频率特异性反应和事件相关电位（ERP）。所有研究的感兴趣区域（ROI）都明显受到任务需求的调节，并且当面部表情与任务相关时，在刺激诱发的伽马波段活动（50 - 150赫兹）中表现出更强的变化。观察到的潜伏期表明，整个网络的激活在时间上是协调的，而不是沿着处理层次结构依次进行。VOTC和VTC对与任务相关面孔的早期和持续反应证实了它们在面部处理核心系统中的作用，但在前岛叶也有发生。OFC和杏仁核中强烈的注意力调节（300毫秒）表明，只有当任务需要积极的面部处理时，面部处理网络的扩展系统才会被激活。与我们的预期相反，我们很少观察到恐惧面孔和中性面孔之间的差异。我们的结果表明，面部处理网络中的活动容易受到选择性注意力部署的影响。此外，我们表明内源性注意力在整个面部处理网络中起作用，并且这些影响反映在伽马波段的频率特异性变化中。
