the fusiform face area is engaged in holistic, not parts-based, representation of faces的梭状回面孔区从事整体,面临的不是器件,表示.pdfVIP

The Fusiform Face Area Is Engaged in Holistic, Not Parts- Based, Representation of Faces 1 1 1 1,2 Jiedong Zhang , Xiaobai Li , Yiying Song , Jia Liu * 1 State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, 2 Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China Abstract Numerous studies with functional magnetic resonance imaging have shown that the fusiform face area (FFA) in the human brain plays a key role in face perception. Recent studies have found that both the featural information of faces (e.g., eyes, nose, and mouth) and the configural information of faces (i.e., spatial relation among features) are encoded in the FFA. However, little is known about whether the featural information is encoded independent of or combined with the configural information in the FFA. Here we used multi-voxel pattern analysis to examine holistic representation of faces in the FFA by correlating spatial patterns of activation with behavioral performance in discriminating face parts with face configurations either present or absent. Behaviorally, the absence of face configurations (versus presence) impaired discrimination of face parts, suggesting a holistic representation in the brain. Neurally, spatial patterns of activation in the FFA were more similar among correct than incorrect trials only when face parts were presented in a veridical face configuration. In contrast, spatial patterns of activation in the occipital face area, as well as the object-selective lateral occipital complex, were more similar amo