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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.04.14.488206

Top-down modulation and cortical-AMG/HPC interaction in familiar face processing

Fan, X.·Guo, Q.·Zhang, X.·Fei, L.·He, S.·Weng, X.
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Abstract

Humans can accurately recognize familiar faces in only a few hundred milliseconds, but the underlying neural mechanism remains unclear. Here we recorded intracranial electrophysiological signals from ventral temporal cortex (VTC), superior/middle temporal cortex (STC/MTC), medial parietal cortex (MPC) and amygdala/hippocampus (AMG/HPC) in 20 epilepsy patients while they viewed faces of famous people and strangers as well as common objects. In posterior VTC and MPC, familiarity-sensitive responses emerged significantly later than initial face-selective responses, suggesting that familiarity enhances face representations after they are first being extracted. Moreover, viewing famous faces increased the coupling between cortical areas and AMG/HPC in multiple frequency bands. These findings imply that the top-down modulation in local face-selective response and interactions between cortical face areas and AMG/HPC contribute to the superior recognition of familiar faces. TeaserTop-down modulation and cortical-AMG/HPC interactions contribute to the superior processing of familiar faces.

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Fan, X., Guo, Q., Zhang, X., Fei, L., He, S., Weng, X.. 2022-04-15. Top-down modulation and cortical-AMG/HPC interaction in familiar face processing. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.14.488206

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