Journal
CEREBRAL CORTEX
Volume 21, Issue 1, Pages 35-47Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhq050
Keywords
CMF; contrast gain; face recognition; FFA; V1
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [EY017081, MH076054]
- National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD)
- Sidney J. Bear Trust
- Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) [P41RR14075]
- NATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH RESOURCES [P41RR014075] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE [R01EY017081] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH [K23MH076054] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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An intriguing region of human visual cortex (the fusiform face area; FFA) responds selectively to faces as a general higher-order stimulus category. However, the potential role of lower-order stimulus properties in FFA remains incompletely understood. To clarify those lower-level influences, we measured FFA responses to independent variation in 4 lower-level stimulus dimensions using standardized face stimuli and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). These dimensions were size, position, contrast, and rotation in depth (viewpoint). We found that FFA responses were strongly influenced by variations in each of these image dimensions; that is, FFA responses were not invariant to any of them. Moreover, all FFA response functions were highly correlated with V1 responses (r = 0.95-0.99). As in V1, FFA responses could be accurately modeled as a combination of responses to 1) local contrast plus 2) the cortical magnification factor. In some measurements (e.g., face size or a combinations of multiple cues), the lower-level variations dominated the range of FFA responses. Manipulation of lower-level stimulus parameters could even change the category preference of FFA from face selective to object selective. Altogether, these results emphasize that a significant portion of the FFA response reflects lower-level visual responses.
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