Anzellotti Stefano, Caramazza Alfonso
Cognitive Neuropsychology Laboratory, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Trento 38068, Italy.
Cereb Cortex. 2016 May;26(5):1900-9. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhu337. Epub 2015 Jan 26.
Recognizing the identity of a face is computationally challenging, because it requires distinguishing between similar images depicting different people, while recognizing even very different images depicting a same person. Previous human fMRI studies investigated representations of face identity in the presence of changes in viewpoint and in expression. Despite the importance of holistic processing for face recognition, an investigation of representations of face identity across different face parts is missing. To fill this gap, we investigated representations of face identity and their invariance across different face halves. Information about face identity with invariance across changes in the face half was individuated in the right anterior temporal lobe, indicating this region as the most plausible candidate brain area for the representation of face identity. In a complementary analysis, information distinguishing between different face halves was found to decline along the posterior to anterior axis in the ventral stream.
识别面部身份在计算上具有挑战性，因为这需要区分描绘不同人的相似图像，同时还要识别描绘同一个人的甚至非常不同的图像。先前的人类功能磁共振成像研究调查了在视角和表情变化的情况下面部身份的表征。尽管整体处理对于人脸识别很重要，但目前缺少对不同面部部位的面部身份表征的研究。为了填补这一空白，我们研究了面部身份的表征及其在不同半张脸之间的不变性。在右前颞叶中发现了关于面部身份的信息，该信息在半张脸变化时具有不变性，这表明该区域是最有可能表征面部身份的脑区。在一项补充分析中，发现区分不同半张脸的信息在腹侧流中沿后向前轴递减。
