RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Face-Selective Responses Present in Multiple Regions of the Human Infant Brain
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.12.04.471085
DO 10.1101/2021.12.04.471085
A1 Kosakowski, Heather L.
A1 Cohen, Michael A.
A1 Herrara, Lyneé
A1 Nichoson, Isabel
A1 Kanwisher, Nancy
A1 Saxe, Rebecca
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/12/05/2021.12.04.471085.abstract
AB Faces are a rich source of social information. How does the infant brain develop the ability to recognize faces and identify potential social partners? We collected functional magnetic neuroimaging (fMRI) data from 49 awake human infants (aged 2.5-9.7 months) while they watched movies of faces, bodies, objects, and scenes. Face-selective responses were observed not only in ventral temporal cortex (VTC) but also in superior temporal sulcus (STS), and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). Face responses were also observed (but not fully selective) in the amygdala and thalamus. We find no evidence that face-selective responses develop in visual perception regions (VTC) prior to higher order social perception (STS) or social evaluation (MPFC) regions. We suggest that face-selective responses may develop in parallel across multiple cortical regions. Infants’ brains could thus simultaneously process faces both as a privileged category of visual images, and as potential social partners.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.