Nikel Lara, Sliwinska Magdalena W, Kucuk Emel, Ungerleider Leslie G, Pitcher David
Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK.
School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK.
Cereb Cortex Commun. 2022 Aug 18;3(3):tgac036. doi: 10.1093/texcom/tgac036. eCollection 2022.
Neuroimaging studies identify multiple face-selective areas in the human brain. In the current study, we compared the functional response of the face area in the lateral prefrontal cortex to that of other face-selective areas. In Experiment 1, participants ( = 32) were scanned viewing videos containing faces, bodies, scenes, objects, and scrambled objects. We identified a face-selective area in the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG). In Experiment 2, participants ( = 24) viewed the same videos or static images. Results showed that the rIFG, right posterior superior temporal sulcus (rpSTS), and right occipital face area (rOFA) exhibited a greater response to moving than static faces. In Experiment 3, participants ( = 18) viewed face videos in the contralateral and ipsilateral visual fields. Results showed that the rIFG and rpSTS showed no visual field bias, while the rOFA and right fusiform face area (rFFA) showed a contralateral bias. These experiments suggest two conclusions; firstly, in all three experiments, the face area in the IFG was not as reliably identified as face areas in the occipitotemporal cortex. Secondly, the similarity of the response profiles in the IFG and pSTS suggests the areas may perform similar cognitive functions, a conclusion consistent with prior neuroanatomical and functional connectivity evidence.
神经影像学研究确定了人类大脑中多个面部选择性区域。在本研究中，我们比较了外侧前额叶皮质中面部区域与其他面部选择性区域的功能反应。在实验1中，对32名参与者观看包含面部、身体、场景、物体和杂乱物体的视频时进行扫描。我们在右侧额下回（rIFG）中确定了一个面部选择性区域。在实验2中，24名参与者观看相同的视频或静态图像。结果显示，rIFG、右侧颞上沟后部（rpSTS）和右侧枕部面部区域（rOFA）对动态面部的反应比对静态面部的反应更大。在实验3中，18名参与者观看对侧和同侧视野中的面部视频。结果显示，rIFG和rpSTS没有视野偏向，而rOFA和右侧梭状回面部区域（rFFA）表现出对侧偏向。这些实验得出两个结论：第一，在所有三个实验中，额下回中的面部区域不如枕颞叶皮质中的面部区域那样能被可靠地识别。第二，额下回和颞上沟后部反应模式的相似性表明这些区域可能执行相似的认知功能，这一结论与先前的神经解剖学和功能连接证据一致。
