ERP study of viewpoint-independence in familiar-face recognition

While faces are recognized viewpoint-dependently, familiar faces are recognized in a relatively viewpoint-independent manner. We conducted a cognitive ERP experiment to investigate the effect of viewpoint-independence for familiar-face recognition. The present results showed that facial angle differences were reflected by N170 latency and N250 amplitude. Furthermore, the N250 difference was attenuated in the left hemisphere for famous faces and in the right hemisphere for one's own face. We concluded that familiar faces are first recognized viewpoint-dependently, but then are represented viewpoint-independently. The laterality difference observed in N250 may be related to a self-relevant process in the Fight hemisphere, while a familiarity process is associated with the left hemisphere. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.