Title
Process and Domain Specificity in Regions Engaged for Face Processing: An fMRI Study of Perceptual Differentiation
Abstract
The degree to which face-specific brain regions are specialized for different kinds of perceptual processing is debated. This study parametrically varied demands on featural, first-order configural, or second-order configural processing of faces and houses in a perceptual matching task to determine the extent to which the process of perceptual differentiation was selective for faces regardless of processing type (domain-specific account), specialized for specific types of perceptual processing regardless of category (process-specific account), engaged in category-optimized processing (i.e., configural face processing or featural house processing), or reflected generalized perceptual differentiation (i.e., differentiation that crosses category and processing type boundaries). ROIs were identified in a separate localizer run or with a similarity regressor in the face-matching runs. The predominant principle accounting for fMRI signal modulation in most regions was generalized perceptual differentiation. Nearly all regions showed perceptual differentiation for both faces and houses for more than one processing type, even if the region was identified as face-preferential in the localizer run. Consistent with process specificity, some regions showed perceptual differentiation for first-order processing of faces and houses (right fusiform face area and occipito-temporal cortex and right lateral occipital complex), but not for featural or second-order processing. Somewhat consistent with domain specificity, the right inferior frontal gyrus showed perceptual differentiation only for faces in the featural matching task. The present findings demonstrate that the majority of regions involved in perceptual differentiation of faces are also involved in differentiation of other visually homogenous categories.
Year
DOI
Venue
2012
10.1162/jocn_a_00273
Cognitive Neuroscience, Journal of
Field
DocType
Volume
Brain mapping,Processing type,Domain specificity,Signal modulation,Fusiform face area,Image processing,Psychology,Cognitive psychology,Perception,Visual perception
Journal
24
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
12
0898-929X
1
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.40
7
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Collins, H110.40
Zhu, X211.07
Ramesh S. Bhatt321.38
Clark, J410.40