Levine S C, Banich M T, Koch-Weser M P
Department of Pediatrics and Behavioral Sciences, University of Chicago, IL 60637.
Brain Cogn. 1988 Dec;8(3):303-25. doi: 10.1016/0278-2626(88)90057-7.
Face-recognition ability has been claimed to be qualitatively different from other pattern-recognition abilities. One argument for this claim is the finding of a significant right hemisphere advantage for the recognition of upright but not inverted faces. However, this argument is justified only if this orientation-sensitive pattern is unique to faces. In the present study, comparable patterns of orientation-sensitive involvement of the right hemisphere are found for the recognition of faces and houses. This finding is interpreted as evidence for a right hemisphere schema formation capacity that is applied not only to upright faces but also to other familiar classes of stimuli in their canonical upright orientation. It is suggested that any greater right hemisphere involvement in the recognition of upright faces is due to our greater expertise at recognizing faces than other stimulus types. We also find evidence that only a subset of right-handed adults show orientation-sensitive right hemisphere involvement in the recognition of faces and houses: in particular, those dextrals with a characteristic hemispheric arousal asymmetry in favor of the right hemisphere. In contrast, dextrals with a characteristic arousal asymmetry in favor of the left hemisphere do not show significant visual field asymmetries for faces or houses in either upright or inverted orientations.
人脸识别能力被认为在性质上不同于其他模式识别能力。支持这一观点的一个论据是，发现右半球在识别正立而非倒立的面孔时具有显著优势。然而，只有当这种对方向敏感的模式是面孔所独有时，这一论据才成立。在本研究中，发现右半球对面孔和房屋的识别存在类似的方向敏感参与模式。这一发现被解释为右半球模式形成能力的证据，这种能力不仅适用于正立面孔，也适用于其他处于标准正立方向的熟悉刺激类别。有人认为，右半球在识别正立面孔时参与度更高，是因为我们在识别面孔方面比其他刺激类型更具专业能力。我们还发现，只有一部分右利手成年人在面孔和房屋识别中表现出方向敏感的右半球参与：特别是那些具有有利于右半球的特征性半球唤醒不对称的右利手。相比之下，具有有利于左半球的特征性唤醒不对称的右利手在正立或倒立方向的面孔或房屋识别中均未表现出明显的视野不对称。
