1
|
Tansey R, Graff K, Rai S, Merrikh D, Godfrey KJ, Vanderwal T, Bray S. Development of human visual cortical function: A scoping review of task- and naturalistic-fMRI studies through the interactive specialization and maturational frameworks. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 162:105729. [PMID: 38763178 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2024] [Revised: 05/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024]
Abstract
Overarching theories such as the interactive specialization and maturational frameworks have been proposed to describe human functional brain development. However, these frameworks have not yet been systematically examined across the fMRI literature. Visual processing is one of the most well-studied fields in neuroimaging, and research in this area has recently expanded to include naturalistic paradigms that facilitate study in younger age ranges, allowing for an in-depth critical appraisal of these frameworks across childhood. To this end, we conducted a scoping review of 94 developmental visual fMRI studies, including both traditional experimental task and naturalistic studies, across multiple sub-domains (early visual processing, category-specific higher order processing, naturalistic visual processing). We found that across domains, many studies reported progressive development, but few studies describe regressive or emergent changes necessary to fit the maturational or interactive specialization frameworks. Our findings suggest a need for the expansion of developmental frameworks and clearer reporting of both progressive and regressive changes, along with well-powered, longitudinal studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ryann Tansey
- Department of Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
| | - Kirk Graff
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Shefali Rai
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Daria Merrikh
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Kate J Godfrey
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Tamara Vanderwal
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Signe Bray
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Department of Radiology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wang J, Yamasaki BL, Booth JR. Phonological and Semantic Specialization in 9- to 10-Year-Old Children During Auditory Word Processing. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2023; 4:297-317. [PMID: 37229511 PMCID: PMC10205156 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
One of the core features of brain maturation is functional specialization. Previous research has found that 7- to 8-year-old children start to specialize in both the temporal and frontal lobes. However, as children continue to develop their phonological and semantic skills rapidly until approximately 10 years old, it remained unclear whether any changes in specialization later in childhood would be detected. Thus, the goal of the current study was to examine phonological and semantic specialization in 9- to 10-year-old children during auditory word processing. Sixty-one children were included in the analysis. They were asked to perform a sound judgment task and a meaning judgment task, each with both hard and easy conditions to examine parametric effects. Consistent with previous results from 7- to 8-year-old children, direct task comparisons revealed language specialization in both the temporal and frontal lobes in 9- to 10-year-old children. Specifically, the left dorsal inferior frontal gyrus showed greater activation for the sound than the meaning task whereas the left middle temporal gyrus showed greater activation for the meaning than the sound task. Interestingly, in contrast to the previously reported finding that 7- to 8-year-old children primarily engage a general control region during the harder condition for both tasks, we showed that 9- to 10-year-old children recruited language-specific regions to process the more difficult task conditions. Specifically, the left superior temporal gyrus showed greater activation for the phonological parametric manipulation whereas the left ventral inferior frontal gyrus showed greater activation for the semantic parametric manipulation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jin Wang
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
| | - Brianna L. Yamasaki
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
| | - James R. Booth
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Dai R, Huang Z, Weng X, He S. Early visual exposure primes future cross-modal specialization of the fusiform face area in tactile face processing in the blind. Neuroimage 2022; 253:119062. [PMID: 35263666 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/05/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The fusiform face area (FFA) is a core cortical region for face information processing. Evidence suggests that its sensitivity to faces is largely innate and tuned by visual experience. However, how experience in different time windows shape the plasticity of the FFA remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of visual experience at different time points of an individual's early development in the cross-modal face specialization of the FFA. Participants (n = 74) were classified into five groups: congenital blind, early blind, late blind, low vision, and sighted control. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired when the participants haptically processed carved faces and other objects. Our results showed a robust and highly consistent face-selective activation in the FFA region in the early blind participants, invariant to size and level of abstraction of the face stimuli. The cross-modal face activation in the FFA was much less consistent in other groups. These results suggest that early visual experience primes cross-modal specialization of the FFA, and even after the absence of visual experience for more than 14 years in early blind participants, their FFA can engage in cross-modal processing of face information.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rui Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Zirui Huang
- Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Xuchu Weng
- Institute for Brain Research and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
| | - Sheng He
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, 20031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Feng Y, Collignon O, Maurer D, Yao K, Gao X. Brief Postnatal Visual Deprivation Triggers Long-Lasting Interactive Structural and Functional Reorganization of the Human Cortex. Front Med (Lausanne) 2021; 8:752021. [PMID: 34869446 PMCID: PMC8635780 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2021.752021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients treated for bilateral congenital cataracts provide a unique model to test the role of early visual input in shaping the development of the human cortex. Previous studies showed that brief early visual deprivation triggers long-lasting changes in the human visual cortex. However, it remains unknown if such changes interact with the development of other parts of the cortex. With high-resolution structural and resting-state fMRI images, we found changes in cortical thickness within, but not limited to, the visual cortex in adult patients, who experienced transient visual deprivation early in life as a result of congenital cataracts. Importantly, the covariation of cortical thickness across regions was also altered in the patients. The areas with altered cortical thickness in patients also showed differences in functional connectivity between patients and normally sighted controls. Together, the current findings suggest an impact of early visual deprivation on the interactive development of the human cortex.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yixuan Feng
- Eye Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab of Ophthalmology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Olivier Collignon
- Institute of Research in Psychology/Institute of Neuroscience, University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.,Centro Interdipartimentale Mente/Cervello, Università di Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Daphne Maurer
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.,The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Ke Yao
- Eye Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab of Ophthalmology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoqing Gao
- Center for Psychological Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Is human face recognition lateralized to the right hemisphere due to neural competition with left-lateralized visual word recognition? A critical review. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 227:599-629. [PMID: 34731327 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02370-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The right hemispheric lateralization of face recognition, which is well documented and appears to be specific to the human species, remains a scientific mystery. According to a long-standing view, the evolution of language, which is typically substantiated in the left hemisphere, competes with the cortical space in that hemisphere available for visuospatial processes, including face recognition. Over the last decade, a specific hypothesis derived from this view according to which neural competition in the left ventral occipito-temporal cortex with selective representations of letter strings causes right hemispheric lateralization of face recognition, has generated considerable interest and research in the scientific community. Here, a systematic review of studies performed in various populations (infants, children, literate and illiterate adults, left-handed adults) and methodologies (behavior, lesion studies, (intra)electroencephalography, neuroimaging) offers little if any support for this reading lateralized neural competition hypothesis. Specifically, right-lateralized face-selective neural activity already emerges at a few months of age, well before reading acquisition. Moreover, consistent evidence of face recognition performance and its right hemispheric lateralization being modulated by literacy level during development or at adulthood is lacking. Given the absence of solid alternative hypotheses and the key role of neural competition in the sensory-motor cortices for selectivity of representations, learning, and plasticity, a revised language-related neural competition hypothesis for the right hemispheric lateralization of face recognition should be further explored in future research, albeit with substantial conceptual clarification and advances in methodological rigor.
Collapse
|
6
|
Sahraei I, Hildesheim FE, Thome I, Kessler R, Rusch KM, Sommer J, Kamp-Becker I, Stark R, Jansen A. Developmental changes within the extended face processing network: A cross-sectional functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Dev Neurobiol 2021; 82:64-76. [PMID: 34676995 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
In the field of face processing, the so-called "core network" has been intensively researched. Its neural activity can be reliably detected in children and adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, the core network's counterpart, the so-called "extended network," has been less researched. In the present study, we compared children's and adults' brain activity in the extended system, in particular in the amygdala, the insula, and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Using fMRI, we compared the brain activation pattern between children aged 7-9 years and adults during an emotional face processing task. On the one hand, children showed increased activity in the extended face processing system in relation to adults, particularly in the left amygdala, the right insula, and the left IFG. On the other hand, lateralization indices revealed a "leftward bias" in children's IFG compared to adults. These results suggest that brain activity associated with face processing is characterized by a developmental decrease in activity. They further show that the development is associated with a rightward migration of face-related IFG activation, possibly due to the competition for neural space between several developing brain functions ("developmental competition hypothesis").
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isabell Sahraei
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Franziska E Hildesheim
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Ina Thome
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Roman Kessler
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany.,Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Gjøvik, Norway.,University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Kristin M Rusch
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Jens Sommer
- Core-Facility Brainimaging, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Inge Kamp-Becker
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Rudolf Stark
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Jansen
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Core-Facility Brainimaging, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Golarai G, Ghahremani DG, Greenwood AC, Gabrieli JDE, Eberhardt JL. The development of race effects in face processing from childhood through adulthood: Neural and behavioral evidence. Dev Sci 2020; 24:e13058. [PMID: 33151616 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Most adults are better at recognizing recently encountered faces of their own race, relative to faces of other races. In adults, this race effect in face recognition is associated with differential neural representations of own- and other-race faces in the fusiform face area (FFA), a high-level visual region involved in face recognition. Previous research has linked these differential face representations in adults to viewers' implicit racial associations. However, despite the fact that the FFA undergoes a gradual development which continues well into adulthood, little is known about the developmental time-course of the race effect in FFA responses. Also unclear is how this race effect might relate to the development of face recognition or implicit associations with own- or other-races during childhood and adolescence. To examine the developmental trajectory of these race effects, in a cross-sectional study of European American (EA) children (ages 7-11), adolescents (ages 12-16) and adults (ages 18-35), we evaluated responses to adult African American (AA) and EA face stimuli, using functional magnetic resonance imaging and separate behavioral measures outside the scanner. We found that FFA responses to AA and EA faces differentiated during development from childhood into adulthood; meanwhile, the magnitudes of race effects increased in behavioral measures of face-recognition and implicit racial associations. These three race effects were positively correlated, even after controlling for age. These findings suggest that social and perceptual experiences shape a protracted development of the race effect in face processing that continues well into adulthood.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Golijeh Golarai
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Dara G Ghahremani
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - John D E Gabrieli
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Hildesheim FE, Debus I, Kessler R, Thome I, Zimmermann KM, Steinsträter O, Sommer J, Kamp-Becker I, Stark R, Jansen A. The Trajectory of Hemispheric Lateralization in the Core System of Face Processing: A Cross-Sectional Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Pilot Study. Front Psychol 2020; 11:507199. [PMID: 33123034 PMCID: PMC7566903 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.507199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Face processing is mediated by a distributed neural network commonly divided into a “core system” and an “extended system.” The core system consists of several, typically right-lateralized brain regions in the occipito-temporal cortex, including the occipital face area (OFA), the fusiform face area (FFA) and the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS). It was recently proposed that the face processing network is initially bilateral and becomes right-specialized in the course of the development of reading abilities due to the competition between language-related regions in the left occipito-temporal cortex (e.g., the visual word form area, VWFA) and the FFA for common neural resources. In the present pilot study, we assessed the neural face processing network in 12 children (aged 7–9 years) and 10 adults with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The hemispheric lateralization of the core face regions was compared between both groups. The study had two goals: First, we aimed to establish an fMRI paradigm suitable for assessing activation in the core system of face processing in young children at the single subject level. Second, we planned to collect data for a power analysis to calculate the necessary group size for a large-scale cross-sectional imaging study assessing the ontogenetic development of the lateralization of the face processing network, with focus on the FFA. It was possible to detect brain activity in the core system of 75% of children at the single subject level. The average scan-to-scan motion of the included children was comparable to adults, ruling out that potential activation differences between groups are caused by unequal motion artifacts. Hemispheric lateralization of the FFA was 0.07 ± 0.48 in children (indicating bilateral activation) and −0.32 ± 0.52 in adults (indicating right-hemispheric dominance). These results thus showed, as expected, a trend for increased lateralization in adults. The estimated effect size for the FFA lateralization difference was d = 0.78 (indicating medium to large effects). An adequately powered follow-up study (sensitivity 0.8) testing developmental changes of FFA lateralization would therefore require the inclusion of 18 children and 26 adults.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Franziska E Hildesheim
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Isabell Debus
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Roman Kessler
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Ina Thome
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Kristin M Zimmermann
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Olaf Steinsträter
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.,Core-Facility Brainimaging, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Jens Sommer
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.,Core-Facility Brainimaging, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Inge Kamp-Becker
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Rudolf Stark
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.,Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Andreas Jansen
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.,Core-Facility Brainimaging, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Lochy A, Schiltz C, Rossion B. The right hemispheric dominance for face perception in preschool children depends on the visual discrimination level. Dev Sci 2020; 23:e12914. [PMID: 31618490 PMCID: PMC7379294 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Revised: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The developmental origin of human adults' right hemispheric dominance in response to face stimuli remains unclear, in particular because young infants' right hemispheric advantage in face-selective response is no longer present in preschool children, before written language acquisition. Here we used fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) with scalp electroencephalography (EEG) to test 52 preschool children (5.5 years old) at two different levels of face discrimination: discrimination of faces against objects, measuring face-selectivity, or discrimination between individual faces. While the contrast between faces and nonface objects elicits strictly bilateral occipital responses in children, strengthening previous observations, discrimination of individual faces in the same children reveals a strong right hemispheric lateralization over the occipitotemporal cortex. Picture-plane inversion of the face stimuli significantly decreases the individual discrimination response, although to a much smaller extent than in older children and adults tested with the same paradigm. However, there is only a nonsignificant trend for a decrease in right hemispheric lateralization with inversion. There is no relationship between the right hemispheric lateralization in individual face discrimination and preschool levels of readings abilities. The observed difference in the right hemispheric lateralization obtained in the same population of children with two different paradigms measuring neural responses to faces indicates that the level of visual discrimination is a key factor to consider when making inferences about the development of hemispheric lateralization of face perception in the human brain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aliette Lochy
- Cognitive Science and Assessment InstituteEducation, Culture, Cognition, and Society Research UnitUniversity of LuxemburgEsch‐sur AlzetteLuxembourg
| | - Christine Schiltz
- Cognitive Science and Assessment InstituteEducation, Culture, Cognition, and Society Research UnitUniversity of LuxemburgEsch‐sur AlzetteLuxembourg
| | - Bruno Rossion
- IPSYUniversité Catholique de LouvainLouvain‐La‐NeuveBelgium
- CNRSCRANUniversité de LorraineNancyFrance
- CHRU‐NancyUniversité de LorraineNancyFrance
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Mares I, Ewing L, Farran EK, Smith FW, Smith ML. Developmental changes in the processing of faces as revealed by EEG decoding. Neuroimage 2020; 211:116660. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Revised: 01/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
|
11
|
Higuchi H, Iwaki S, Uno A. Altered visual character and object recognition in Japanese-speaking adolescents with developmental dyslexia. Neurosci Lett 2020; 723:134841. [PMID: 32081567 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.134841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Revised: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/16/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Many studies have confirmed a brain dysfunction in people with developmental dyslexia (DD) in certain brain regions, including the left superior temporal gyrus and the left fusiform gyrus. However, the neurobiological substrates in Japanese-speaking people with dyslexia are not fully understood, mostly due to the uniqueness of the orthographic systems. Since a substantial part of the written Japanese includes the logographic Kanji as well as the phonographic Kana systems, the reading disability might be caused not only by a dysfunction in the phonological system, but also by a dysfunction in the visual recognition system. Previous studies reported altered hierarchical visual word form processing in the left occipitotemporal cortex; however, it remains unclear whether the altered hierarchical visual processing is language stimuli-specific. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether (a) Japanese-speaking individuals with DD exhibit atypical hierarchical visual processing, and if so, (b) whether the altered hierarchical visual processing is language stimuli-specific or not. The present study investigated the brain activation pattern for the hierarchical component of the Kanji characters and object stimuli in typically developing (TD) adolescents and adolescents with DD using functional magnetic resonance imaging. For the Kanji characters, adolescents with DD showed a greater activation in the left occipital gyrus and right occipital fusiform gyrus, and this hyperactivity was also found for pseudo and artificial Kanji characters. These results imply reliance on an early visual system in Kanji reading in Japanese-speaking adolescents with DD. Additionally, we also investigated the brain activity for object stimuli, and adolescents with DD showed a greater activation in the bilateral occipital gyri compared with the TD adolescents. These results imply an altered hierarchical visual processing characterized by overactivation in the early visual areas, which is a not restricted to language stimulus only.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hiroki Higuchi
- Automotive Human Factors Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8566, Japan.
| | - Sunao Iwaki
- Automotive Human Factors Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8566, Japan
| | - Akira Uno
- Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Laboratory of Advanced Research D, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8577, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Representational similarity analysis reveals atypical age-related changes in brain regions supporting face and car recognition in autism. Neuroimage 2020; 209:116322. [PMID: 31786166 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Revised: 10/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with atypical activation in the ventral stream during face processing. The current study further characterizes the development of face processing in ASD using a multivoxel pattern analysis, which assesses the similarity in the representation of exemplars from the same category. METHODS Ninety-two children, adolescents and adults - with and without ASD - performed the Cambridge Face Memory Test, the Australian Face Memory Test, and a matched car memory test. Regions of interest during these tasks included Fusiform Face Area (FFA), based on the literature, and additional, structurally-defined regions in the ventral stream. Group differences in the patterns of activity within these ROIs when memorizing exemplars were examined using a representational similarity analysis (RSA). RESULTS The RSA revealed significant interactions between age group and diagnostic group in R FFA, with increasing similarity within a category (faces, cars) into adulthood typically but not in those with ASD. This pattern was also evident in structurally defined ventral stream regions, namely L inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), bilateral temporoparietal junction (TPJ), L inferior temporal lobule, and the R fusiform gyrus. CONCLUSIONS The specialization of face and object processing from adolescence to adulthood evident in typical development may be impaired in ASD, undermining the ability to reach adult-level visual processing in those with ASD.
Collapse
|
13
|
Irimia A, Lei X, Torgerson CM, Jacokes ZJ, Abe S, Van Horn JD. Support Vector Machines, Multidimensional Scaling and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Reveal Structural Brain Abnormalities Associated With the Interaction Between Autism Spectrum Disorder and Sex. Front Comput Neurosci 2018; 12:93. [PMID: 30534065 PMCID: PMC6276724 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2018.00093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite substantial efforts, it remains difficult to identify reliable neuroanatomic biomarkers of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Studies which use standard statistical methods to approach this task have been hampered by numerous challenges, many of which are innate to the mathematical formulation and assumptions of general linear models (GLM). Although the potential of alternative approaches such as machine learning (ML) to identify robust neuroanatomic correlates of psychiatric disease has long been acknowledged, few studies have attempted to evaluate the abilities of ML to identify structural brain abnormalities associated with ASD. Here we use a sample of 110 ASD patients and 83 typically developing (TD) volunteers (95 females) to assess the suitability of support vector machines (SVMs, a robust type of ML) as an alternative to standard statistical inference for identifying structural brain features which can reliably distinguish ASD patients from TD subjects of either sex, thereby facilitating the study of the interaction between ASD diagnosis and sex. We find that SVMs can perform these tasks with high accuracy and that the neuroanatomic correlates of ASD identified using SVMs overlap substantially with those found using conventional statistical methods. Our results confirm and establish SVMs as powerful ML tools for the study of ASD-related structural brain abnormalities. Additionally, they provide novel insights into the volumetric, morphometric, and connectomic correlates of this epidemiologically significant disorder.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrei Irimia
- Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Keck School of Medicine, USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Xiaoyu Lei
- Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Keck School of Medicine, USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Carinna M. Torgerson
- Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Keck School of Medicine, USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Zachary J. Jacokes
- Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Keck School of Medicine, USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Sumiko Abe
- Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Keck School of Medicine, USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - John D. Van Horn
- Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Keck School of Medicine, USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Kelly KR, Gallie BL, Steeves JKE. Early monocular enucleation selectively disrupts neural development of face perception in the occipital face area. Exp Eye Res 2018; 183:57-61. [PMID: 30291860 DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2018.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2018] [Revised: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 09/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Retinoblastoma generally occurs before 5 years of age and often requires enucleation (surgical removal of one eye) of the cancerous eye. We have previously shown using behavioural methods that this disruption in binocular vision during the critical period of visual development results in impaired face perception. In this case series study, we sought to determine the underlying neural correlates of this face perception deficit by examining brain activity in regions of cortex that preferentially respond to visual images of faces and places in 6 adults who had one eye enucleated early in life due to retinoblastoma. A group of 10 binocularly-intact adult controls were recruited for comparison. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted over two separate runs for each participant in one scanning session. Each run consisted of 6 blocks each of face, place, and object images. Region-of-interest analyses were conducted to locate face-preferential [fusiform face area (FFA), occipital face area (OFA)] and place-preferential [parahippocampal place area (PPA), transverse occipital sulcus (TOS)] regions-of-interest. Descriptive statistics are reported. Results. Enucleated adults exhibited reduced functional activation in face-preferential regions (left FFA, right OFA, left OFA), but similar activation within the face-preferential right FFA and the place-preferential regions (bilateral PPA and TOS). Conclusions. These results indicate that early monocular enucleation prevents robust development of late-maturing face processing capabilities and that this disruption is specific to face networks and not to networks supporting other visual image categories.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Brenda L Gallie
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Jennifer K E Steeves
- Centre for Vision Research and Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada; Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Taylor CM, Olulade OA, Luetje MM, Eden GF. An fMRI study of coherent visual motion processing in children and adults. Neuroimage 2018; 173:223-239. [PMID: 29477442 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2016] [Revised: 01/24/2018] [Accepted: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a large corpus of brain imaging studies examining the dorsal visual pathway, especially area V5/MT during visual motion perception. However, despite evidence suggesting a protracted development of the dorsal visual stream, and a role of this pathway in neurodevelopmental disorders, V5/MT has not been characterized developmentally. Further, experiential factors such as reading acquisition may play a modulating role in any age-dependent changes. Here we used a coherent visual motion detection task to examine V5/MT activity and connectivity in typical participants in two studies: a Cross- Sectional Study comparing adults and children; and a Longitudinal Study of 2nd graders followed into 3rd grade. In the Cross-Sectional Study, a whole-brain analysis revealed no differences between the two groups, whereas a region of interest (ROI) approach identified greater activation in left (right trending) V5/MT in adults compared to children. However, when we measured V5/MT activation individually for each participant, children and adults showed no difference in the location or intensity of activation, although children did exhibit relatively larger extent of V5/MT activation bilaterally. There was also relatively greater functional connectivity in the children between left and right occipitotemporal cortex, including V5/MT. The Longitudinal Study revealed no changes in V5/MT activation for any measures of activation or functional connectivity from 2nd to 3rd grade. Finally, there was no evidence of an association between reading and V5/MT over time, nor predictive power of V5/MT activity for later reading. Together, our results indicate similar V5/MT activity across age groups, with relatively greater extent of V5/MT activation and functional connectivity in children relative to adults, bilaterally. These differences were not apparent over the time course of one year, suggesting that these developmental changes occur over a more protracted period.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C M Taylor
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
| | - O A Olulade
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
| | - M M Luetje
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
| | - G F Eden
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Golarai G, Liberman A, Grill-Spector K. Experience Shapes the Development of Neural Substrates of Face Processing in Human Ventral Temporal Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:1229-1244. [PMID: 26683171 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In adult humans, the ventral temporal cortex (VTC) represents faces in a reproducible topology. However, it is unknown what role visual experience plays in the development of this topology. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging in children and adults, we found a sequential development, in which the topology of face-selective activations across the VTC was matured by age 7, but the spatial extent and degree of face selectivity continued to develop past age 7 into adulthood. Importantly, own- and other-age faces were differentially represented, both in the distributed multivoxel patterns across the VTC, and also in the magnitude of responses of face-selective regions. These results provide strong evidence that experience shapes cortical representations of faces during development from childhood to adulthood. Our findings have important implications for the role of experience and age in shaping the neural substrates of face processing in the human VTC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kalanit Grill-Spector
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University.,Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-213, USA
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Right but not left hemispheric discrimination of faces in infancy. Nat Hum Behav 2017; 2:67-79. [DOI: 10.1038/s41562-017-0249-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Accepted: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
|
18
|
Okamoto Y, Kosaka H, Kitada R, Seki A, Tanabe HC, Hayashi MJ, Kochiyama T, Saito DN, Yanaka HT, Munesue T, Ishitobi M, Omori M, Wada Y, Okazawa H, Koeda T, Sadato N. Age-dependent atypicalities in body- and face-sensitive activation of the EBA and FFA in individuals with ASD. Neurosci Res 2017; 119:38-52. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2017.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2016] [Revised: 01/28/2017] [Accepted: 02/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
|
19
|
Word and object recognition during reading acquisition: MEG evidence. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2017; 24:21-32. [PMID: 28119183 PMCID: PMC5437840 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2016] [Revised: 11/28/2016] [Accepted: 01/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies on adults suggest that reading-induced brain changes might not be limited to linguistic processes. It is still unclear whether these results can be generalized to reading development. The present study shows to which extent neural responses to verbal and nonverbal stimuli are reorganized while children learn to read. MEG data of thirty Basque children (4-8y) were collected while they were presented with written words, spoken words and visual objects. The evoked fields elicited by the experimental stimuli were compared to their scrambled counterparts. Visual words elicited left posterior (200-300ms) and temporal activations (400-800ms). The size of these effects increased as reading performance improved, suggesting a reorganization of children's visual word responses. Spoken words elicited greater left temporal responses relative to scrambles (300-700ms). No evidence for the influence of reading expertise was observed. Brain responses to objects were greater than to scrambles in bilateral posterior regions (200-500ms). There was a greater left hemisphere involvement as reading errors decreased, suggesting a strengthened verbal decoding of visual configurations with reading acquisition. The present results reveal that learning to read not only influences written word processing, but also affects visual object recognition, suggesting a non-language specific impact of reading on children's neural mechanisms.
Collapse
|
20
|
The evolvement of discrete representations from continuous stimulus properties: A possible overarching principle of cognition. Behav Brain Sci 2017; 40:e172. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x16002314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AbstractLeibovich et al. propose that non-symbolic numerosity abilities develop from the processing of more basic, continuous magnitudes such as size, area, and density. Here I review similar arguments arising in the visual perception field and further propose that the evolvement of discrete representations from continuous stimulus properties may be a fundamental characteristic of cognitive development.
Collapse
|
21
|
Zhou G, Liu J, Ding XP, Fu G, Lee K. Development of Effective Connectivity during Own- and Other-Race Face Processing: A Granger Causality Analysis. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:474. [PMID: 27713696 PMCID: PMC5031708 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2016] [Accepted: 09/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous developmental studies have suggested that other-race effect (ORE) in face recognition emerges as early as in infancy and develops steadily throughout childhood. However, there is very limited research on the neural mechanisms underlying this developmental ORE. The present study used Granger causality analysis (GCA) to examine the development of children's cortical networks in processing own- and other-race faces. Children were between 3 and 13 years. An old-new paradigm was used to assess their own- and other-race face recognition with ETG-4000 (Hitachi Medical Co., Japan) acquiring functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data. After preprocessing, for each participant and under each face condition, we obtained the causal map by calculating the weights of causal relations between the time courses of [oxy-Hb] of each pair of channels using GCA. To investigate further the differential causal connectivity for own-race faces and other-race faces at the group level, a repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the GCA weights for each pair of channels with the face race task (own-race face vs. other-race face) as the within-subject variable and the age as a between-subject factor (continuous variable). We found an age-related increase in functional connectivity, paralleling a similar age-related improvement in behavioral face processing ability. More importantly, we found that the significant differences in neural functional connectivity between the recognition of own-race faces and that of other-race faces were modulated by age. Thus, like the behavioral ORE, the neural ORE emerges early and undergoes a protracted developmental course.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Guifei Zhou
- School of Computer and Information Technology, Beijing Jiaotong UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Jiangang Liu
- School of Computer and Information Technology, Beijing Jiaotong UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Xiao Pan Ding
- Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, University of TorontoToronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychology, National University of SingaporeSingapore, Singapore
| | - Genyue Fu
- Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhou, China
| | - Kang Lee
- Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, University of TorontoToronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal UniversityJinhua, China
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Zhu X, Bhatt RS, Joseph JE. Pruning or tuning? Maturational profiles of face specialization during typical development. Brain Behav 2016; 6:e00464. [PMID: 27313976 PMCID: PMC4907975 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2015] [Revised: 01/14/2016] [Accepted: 03/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Face processing undergoes significant developmental change with age. Two kinds of developmental changes in face specialization were examined in this study: specialized maturation, or the continued tuning of a region to faces but little change in the tuning to other categories; and competitive interactions, or the continued tuning to faces accompanied by decreased tuning to nonfaces (i.e., pruning). METHODS Using fMRI, in regions where adults showed a face preference, a face- and object-specialization index were computed for younger children (5-8 years), older children (9-12 years) and adults (18-45 years). The specialization index was scaled to each subject's maximum activation magnitude in each region to control for overall age differences in the activation level. RESULTS Although no regions showed significant face specialization in the younger age group, regions strongly associated with social cognition (e.g., right posterior superior temporal sulcus, right inferior orbital cortex) showed specialized maturation, in which tuning to faces increased with age but there was no pruning of nonface responses. Conversely, regions that are associated with more basic perceptual processing or motor mirroring (right middle temporal cortex, right inferior occipital cortex, right inferior frontal opercular cortex) showed competitive interactions in which tuning to faces was accompanied by pruning of object responses with age. CONCLUSIONS The overall findings suggest that cortical maturation for face processing is regional-specific and involves both increased tuning to faces and diminished response to nonfaces. Regions that show competitive interactions likely support a more generalized function that is co-opted for face processing with development, whereas regions that show specialized maturation increase their tuning to faces, potentially in an activity-dependent, experience-driven manner.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xun Zhu
- Department of Psychology Shihezi University Xinjiang China; Department of Neurosciences Medical University of South Carolina Charleston South Carolina 29425
| | - Ramesh S Bhatt
- Department of Psychology College of Arts and Sciences University of Kentucky Lexington Kentucky 40506
| | - Jane E Joseph
- Department of Neurosciences Medical University of South Carolina Charleston South Carolina 29425
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Behrmann M, Scherf KS, Avidan G. Neural mechanisms of face perception, their emergence over development, and their breakdown. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2016; 7:247-63. [PMID: 27196333 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2015] [Revised: 03/17/2016] [Accepted: 03/27/2016] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Face perception is probably the most developed visual perceptual skill in humans, most likely as a result of its unique evolutionary and social significance. Much recent research has converged to identify a host of relevant psychological mechanisms that support face recognition. In parallel, there has been substantial progress in uncovering the neural mechanisms that mediate rapid and accurate face perception, with specific emphasis on a broadly distributed neural circuit, comprised of multiple nodes whose joint activity supports face perception. This article focuses specifically on the neural underpinnings of face recognition, and reviews recent structural and functional imaging studies that elucidate the neural basis of this ability. In addition, the article covers some of the recent investigations that characterize the emergence of the neural basis of face recognition over the course of development, and explores the relationship between these changes and increasing behavioural competence. This paper also describes studies that characterize the nature of the breakdown of face recognition in individuals who are impaired in face recognition, either as a result of brain damage acquired at some point or as a result of the failure to master face recognition over the course of development. Finally, information regarding similarities between the neural circuits for face perception in humans and in nonhuman primates is briefly covered, as is the contribution of subcortical regions to face perception. WIREs Cogn Sci 2016, 7:247-263. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1388 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marlene Behrmann
- Department of Psychology and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - K Suzanne Scherf
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Galia Avidan
- Department of Psychology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Abstract
Expertise in recognizing facial identity, and, in particular, sensitivity to subtle differences in the spacing among facial features, improves into adolescence. To assess the influence of experience, we tested adults and 8-year-olds with faces differing only in the spacing of facial features. Stimuli were human adult, human 8-year-old, and monkey faces. We show that adults' expertise is shaped by experience: They were 9% more accurate in seeing differences in the spacing of features in upright human faces than in upright monkey faces. Eight-year-olds were 14% less accurate than adults for both human and monkey faces (Experiment 1), and their accuracy for human faces was not higher for children's faces than for adults'faces (Experiment 2). The results indicate that improvements in face recognition after age 8 are not related to experience with human faces and may be related to general improvements in memory or in perception (e.g., hyperacuity and spatial integration).
Collapse
|
25
|
Jüttner M, Wakui E, Petters D, Davidoff J. Developmental Commonalities between Object and Face Recognition in Adolescence. Front Psychol 2016; 7:385. [PMID: 27014176 PMCID: PMC4791401 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2015] [Accepted: 03/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In the visual perception literature, the recognition of faces has often been contrasted with that of non-face objects, in terms of differences with regard to the role of parts, part relations and holistic processing. However, recent evidence from developmental studies has begun to blur this sharp distinction. We review evidence for a protracted development of object recognition that is reminiscent of the well-documented slow maturation observed for faces. The prolonged development manifests itself in a retarded processing of metric part relations as opposed to that of individual parts and offers surprising parallels to developmental accounts of face recognition, even though the interpretation of the data is less clear with regard to holistic processing. We conclude that such results might indicate functional commonalities between the mechanisms underlying the recognition of faces and non-face objects, which are modulated by different task requirements in the two stimulus domains.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Jüttner
- Department of Psychology, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston UniversityBirmingham, UK
- *Correspondence: Martin Jüttner, ; Jules Davidoff,
| | - Elley Wakui
- School of Psychology, University of East LondonLondon, UK
| | - Dean Petters
- Department of Psychology, Birmingham City UniversityBirmingham, UK
| | - Jules Davidoff
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of LondonLondon, UK
- *Correspondence: Martin Jüttner, ; Jules Davidoff,
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Joseph JE, Zhu X, Gundran A, Davies F, Clark JD, Ruble L, Glaser P, Bhatt RS. Typical and atypical neurodevelopment for face specialization: an FMRI study. J Autism Dev Disord 2015; 45:1725-41. [PMID: 25479816 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2330-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their relatives process faces differently from typically developed (TD) individuals. In an fMRI face-viewing task, TD and undiagnosed sibling (SIB) children (5-18 years) showed face specialization in the right amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, with left fusiform and right amygdala face specialization increasing with age in TD subjects. SIBs showed extensive antero-medial temporal lobe activation for faces that was not present in any other group, suggesting a potential compensatory mechanism. In ASD, face specialization was minimal but increased with age in the right fusiform and decreased with age in the left amygdala, suggesting atypical development of a frontal-amygdala-fusiform system which is strongly linked to detecting salience and processing facial information.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jane E Joseph
- Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Clinical Sciences Building, Room 325E, MSC 616, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA,
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
27
|
Cohen Kadosh K, Krause B, King AJ, Near J, Cohen Kadosh R. Linking GABA and glutamate levels to cognitive skill acquisition during development. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:4334-45. [PMID: 26350618 PMCID: PMC4832309 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2015] [Revised: 07/06/2015] [Accepted: 07/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Developmental adjustments in the balance of excitation and inhibition are thought to constrain the plasticity of sensory areas of the cortex. It is unknown however, how changes in excitatory or inhibitory neurochemical expression (glutamate, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)) contribute to skill acquisition during development. Here we used single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to reveal how differences in cortical glutamate vs. GABA ratios relate to face proficiency and working memory abilities in children and adults. We show that higher glutamate levels in the inferior frontal gyrus correlated positively with face processing proficiency in the children, but not the adults, an effect which was independent of age-dependent differences in underlying cortical gray matter. Moreover, we found that glutamate/GABA levels and gray matter volume are dissociated at the different maturational stages. These findings suggest that increased excitation during development is linked to neuroplasticity and the acquisition of new cognitive skills. They also offer a new, neurochemical approach to investigating the relationship between cognitive performance and brain development across the lifespan.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kathrin Cohen Kadosh
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Beatrix Krause
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew J King
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Jamie Near
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Roi Cohen Kadosh
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Pascalis O, Kelly DJ. The Origins of Face Processing in Humans: Phylogeny and Ontogeny. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2015; 4:200-9. [PMID: 26158945 DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01119.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Faces are crucial for nonverbal communication in humans and related species. From the first moments of life, newborn infants prefer to look at human faces over almost any other form of stimuli. Since this finding was first observed, there has been much debate regarding the "special" nature of face processing. Researchers have put forward numerous developmental models that attempt to account for this early preference and subsequent maturation of the face processing system. In this article, we review these models and their supporting evidence drawing on literature from developmental, evolutionary, and comparative psychology. We conclude that converging data from these fields strongly suggests that face processing is conducted by a dedicated and complex neural system, is not human specific, and is unlikely to have emerged recently in evolutionary history.
Collapse
|
29
|
de Bie HMA, de Ruiter MB, Ouwendijk M, Oostrom KJ, Wilke M, Boersma M, Veltman DJ, Delemarre-van de Waal HA. Using fMRI to Investigate Memory in Young Children Born Small for Gestational Age. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0129721. [PMID: 26132815 PMCID: PMC4488594 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2014] [Accepted: 05/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) can lead to infants being born small for gestational age (SGA). SGA is associated with differences in brain anatomy and impaired cognition. We investigated learning and memory in children born SGA using neuropsychological testing and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Study Design 18 children born appropriate for gestational age (AGA) and 34 SGA born children (18 with and 16 without postnatal catch-up growth) participated in this study. All children were between 4 and 7 years old. Cognitive functioning was assessed by IQ and memory testing (Digit/Word Span and Location Learning). A newly developed fMRI picture encoding task was completed by all children in order to assess brain regions involved in memory processes. Results Neuropsychological testing demonstrated that SGA children had IQ’s within the normal range but lower than in AGA and poorer performances across measures of memory. Using fMRI, we observed memory related activity in posterior parahippocampal gyrus as well as the hippocampus proper. Additionally, activation was seen bilaterally in the prefrontal gyrus. Children born SGA showed less activation in the left parahippocampal region compared to AGA. Conclusions This is the first fMRI study demonstrating different brain activation patterns in 4-7 year old children born SGA, suggesting that intrauterine growth restriction continues to affect neural functioning in children later-on.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Henrica M. A. de Bie
- Department of Pediatrics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Michiel B. de Ruiter
- Department of Psychosocial Research and Epidemiology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Mieke Ouwendijk
- Department of Pediatric Psychology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Kim J. Oostrom
- Department of Pediatric Psychology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marko Wilke
- Department of Pediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine and Experimental Pediatric Neuroimaging Neuroimaging Group, Children’s Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Maria Boersma
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Dick J. Veltman
- Department of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Henriette A. Delemarre-van de Waal
- Department of Pediatrics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
He W, Garrido MI, Sowman PF, Brock J, Johnson BW. Development of effective connectivity in the core network for face perception. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:2161-73. [PMID: 25704356 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2014] [Revised: 01/22/2015] [Accepted: 01/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
This study measured effective connectivity within the core face network in young children using a paediatric magnetoencephalograph (MEG). Dynamic casual modeling (DCM) of brain responses was performed in a group of adults (N = 14) and a group of young children aged from 3 to 6 years (N = 15). Three candidate DCM models were tested, and the fits of the MEG data to the three models were compared at both individual and group levels. The results show that the connectivity structure of the core face network differs significantly between adults and children. Further, the relative strengths of face network connections were differentially modulated by experimental conditions in the two groups. These results support the interpretation that the core face network undergoes significant structural configuration and functional specialization between four years of age and adulthood.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wei He
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, New South Wales, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and Its Disorders, Macquarie University, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
31
|
Dundas EM, Plaut DC, Behrmann M. An ERP investigation of the co-development of hemispheric lateralization of face and word recognition. Neuropsychologia 2014; 61:315-23. [PMID: 24933662 PMCID: PMC4251456 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2013] [Revised: 04/03/2014] [Accepted: 05/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The adult human brain would appear to have specialized and independent neural systems for the visual processing of words and faces. Extensive evidence has demonstrated greater selectivity for written words in the left over right hemisphere, and, conversely, greater selectivity for faces in the right over left hemisphere. This study examines the emergence of these complementary neural profiles, as well as the possible relationship between them. Using behavioral and neurophysiological measures, in adults, we observed the standard finding of greater accuracy and a larger N170 ERP component in the left over right hemisphere for words, and conversely, greater accuracy and a larger N170 in the right over the left hemisphere for faces. We also found that although children aged 7-12 years revealed the adult hemispheric pattern for words, they showed neither a behavioral nor a neural hemispheric superiority for faces. Of particular interest, the magnitude of their N170 for faces in the right hemisphere was related to that of the N170 for words in their left hemisphere. These findings suggest that the hemispheric organization of face recognition and of word recognition does not develop independently, and that word lateralization may precede and drive later face lateralization. A theoretical account for the findings, in which competition for visual representations unfolds over the course of development, is discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eva M Dundas
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890, USA.
| | - David C Plaut
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890, USA.
| | - Marlene Behrmann
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Bate S, Bennetts RJ. The rehabilitation of face recognition impairments: a critical review and future directions. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:491. [PMID: 25100965 PMCID: PMC4107857 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2014] [Accepted: 06/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
While much research has investigated the neural and cognitive characteristics of face recognition impairments (prosopagnosia), much less work has examined their rehabilitation. In this paper, we present a critical analysis of the studies that have attempted to improve face-processing skills in acquired and developmental prosopagnosia, and place them in the context of the wider neurorehabilitation literature. First, we examine whether neuroplasticity within the typical face-processing system varies across the lifespan, in order to examine whether timing of intervention may be crucial. Second, we examine reports of interventions in acquired prosopagnosia, where training in compensatory strategies has had some success. Third, we examine reports of interventions in developmental prosopagnosia, where compensatory training in children and remedial training in adults have both been successful. However, the gains are somewhat limited-compensatory strategies have resulted in labored recognition techniques and limited generalization to untrained faces, and remedial techniques require longer periods of training and result in limited maintenance of gains. Critically, intervention suitability and outcome in both forms of the condition likely depends on a complex interaction of factors, including prosopagnosia severity, the precise functional locus of the impairment, and individual differences such as age. Finally, we discuss future directions in the rehabilitation of prosopagnosia, and the possibility of boosting the effects of cognitive training programmes by simultaneous administration of oxytocin or non-invasive brain stimulation. We conclude that future work using more systematic methods and larger participant groups is clearly required, and in the case of developmental prosopagnosia, there is an urgent need to develop early detection and remediation tools for children, in order to optimize intervention outcome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Bate
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth UniversityPoole, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
33
|
Paul B, Appelbaum M, Carapetian S, Hesselink J, Nass R, Trauner D, Stiles J. Face and location processing in children with early unilateral brain injury. Brain Cogn 2014; 88:6-13. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2014.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2013] [Revised: 03/05/2014] [Accepted: 03/08/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
|
34
|
Meinhardt-Injac B, Persike M, Meinhardt G. Integration of internal and external facial features in 8- to 10-year-old children and adults. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2014; 149:96-105. [PMID: 24769271 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2014.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2013] [Revised: 03/18/2014] [Accepted: 03/26/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Investigation of whole-part and composite effects in 4- to 6-year-old children gave rise to claims that face perception is fully mature within the first decade of life (Crookes & McKone, 2009). However, only internal features were tested, and the role of external features was not addressed, although external features are highly relevant for holistic face perception (Sinha & Poggio, 1996; Axelrod & Yovel, 2010, 2011). In this study, 8- to 10-year-old children and adults performed a same-different matching task with faces and watches. In this task participants attended to either internal or external features. Holistic face perception was tested using a congruency paradigm, in which face and non-face stimuli either agreed or disagreed in both features (congruent contexts) or just in the attended ones (incongruent contexts). In both age groups, pronounced context congruency and inversion effects were found for faces, but not for watches. These findings indicate holistic feature integration for faces. While inversion effects were highly similar in both age groups, context congruency effects were stronger for children. Moreover, children's face matching performance was generally better when attending to external compared to internal features. Adults tended to perform better when attending to internal features. Our results indicate that both adults and 8- to 10-year-old children integrate external and internal facial features into holistic face representations. However, in children's face representations external features are much more relevant. These findings suggest that face perception is holistic but still not adult-like at the end of the first decade of life.
Collapse
|
35
|
Knowles MM, Hay DC. The role of inner and outer face parts in holistic processing: a developmental study. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2014; 149:106-16. [PMID: 24769272 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2014.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2013] [Revised: 03/27/2014] [Accepted: 03/29/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The effects of inner-outer feature interactions with unfamiliar faces were investigated in 6- and 10-year-old children and adults (20-30 years) to determine their contribution in holistic face vision. Participants completed a two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) task under two conditions. The congruent condition used whole, inner-only, and outer-only stimuli. The incongruent condition used stimuli combining the inner features from one face with outer features from a novel face, or vice versa. Results yielded strong congruency effects which were moderated by pronounced feature-type asymmetries specific to developmental stage. Adults showed an inner-feature preference during congruent trials, but no asymmetry for incongruent trials. Children showed no asymmetry for congruent trials, but an outer-feature preference for incongruent trials. These findings concur with recent theoretical developments indicating that adults and children are likely to differ in the types of feature-specific information they preferentially encode in face perception, and that holistic effects are moderated differently in adults and children as a function of feature type.
Collapse
|
36
|
Pinel P, Lalanne C, Bourgeron T, Fauchereau F, Poupon C, Artiges E, Le Bihan D, Dehaene-Lambertz G, Dehaene S. Genetic and Environmental Influences on the Visual Word Form and Fusiform Face Areas. Cereb Cortex 2014; 25:2478-93. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhu048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
|
37
|
Haist F, Adamo M, Han J, Lee K, Stiles J. The functional architecture for face-processing expertise: FMRI evidence of the developmental trajectory of the core and the extended face systems. Neuropsychologia 2013; 51:2893-908. [PMID: 23948645 PMCID: PMC3825803 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2013] [Revised: 08/02/2013] [Accepted: 08/02/2013] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Expertise in processing faces is a cornerstone of human social interaction. However, the developmental course of many key brain regions supporting face preferential processing in the human brain remains undefined. Here, we present findings from an FMRI study using a simple viewing paradigm of faces and objects in a continuous age sample covering the age range from 6 years through adulthood. These findings are the first to use such a sample paired with whole-brain FMRI analyses to investigate development within the core and extended face networks across the developmental spectrum from middle childhood to adulthood. We found evidence, albeit modest, for a developmental trend in the volume of the right fusiform face area (rFFA) but no developmental change in the intensity of activation. From a spatial perspective, the middle portion of the right fusiform gyrus most commonly found in adult studies of face processing was increasingly likely to be included in the FFA as age increased to adulthood. Outside of the FFA, the most striking finding was that children hyperactivated nearly every aspect of the extended face system relative to adults, including the amygdala, anterior temporal pole, insula, inferior frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus, and parietal cortex. Overall, the findings suggest that development is best characterized by increasing modulation of face-sensitive regions throughout the brain to engage only those systems necessary for task requirements.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frank Haist
- Psychiatry Department, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0115 USA
- Center for Human Development, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0115 USA
| | - Maha Adamo
- Center for Human Development, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0115 USA
| | - Jarnet Han
- Center for Human Development, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0115 USA
| | - Kang Lee
- Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto, 45 Walmer Road, Toronto, Ontario M5R 2X2 Canada
| | - Joan Stiles
- Center for Human Development, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0115 USA
- Cognitive Science Department, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0115 USA
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Scott LS, Fava E. The own-species face bias: A review of developmental and comparative data. VISUAL COGNITION 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2013.821431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
|
39
|
Hu S, Jin H, Chen Z, Mo L, Liu J. Failure in developing high-level visual functions after occipitoparietal lesions at an early age: a case study. Cortex 2013; 49:2689-99. [PMID: 23947986 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2013.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2012] [Revised: 04/06/2013] [Accepted: 07/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have identified several regions in the ventral visual pathway that are specialized for processing faces, words and general objects. However, little is known about the origin of the functional selectivity of these regions. Here, we reported a pediatric patient who suffered a left occipitoparietal lesion in the first year after birth from a subdural hematoma. After the hematoma was removed at the age of six, the hemianopia in the right visual field was alleviated, and no obvious deficits in low-level vision were observed in the patient at the age of twelve. In line with the behavioral observations, meridian mappings with fMRI showed that the early visual cortex of the left hemisphere was significantly activated, which was similar to that of the intact right hemisphere. However, the left ventral temporal cortex failed to show selective responses for faces, words and objects, which were in contrast to the normal selective responses for these objects in the right counterpart. Therefore, it is likely that the development of object selectivity in the ventral temporal cortex depends on visual inputs from the early visual cortex at an early age.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Siyuan Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
40
|
Cohen Kadosh K, Johnson MH, Dick F, Cohen Kadosh R, Blakemore SJ. Effects of age, task performance, and structural brain development on face processing. Cereb Cortex 2013; 23:1630-42. [PMID: 22661406 PMCID: PMC3446867 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhs150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In this combined structural and functional MRI developmental study, we tested 48 participants aged 7-37 years on 3 simple face-processing tasks (identity, expression, and gaze task), which were designed to yield very similar performance levels across the entire age range. The same participants then carried out 3 more difficult out-of-scanner tasks, which provided in-depth measures of changes in performance. For our analysis we adopted a novel, systematic approach that allowed us to differentiate age- from performance-related changes in the BOLD response in the 3 tasks, and compared these effects to concomitant changes in brain structure. The processing of all face aspects activated the core face-network across the age range, as well as additional and partially separable regions. Small task-specific activations in posterior regions were found to increase with age and were distinct from more widespread activations that varied as a function of individual task performance (but not of age). Our results demonstrate that activity during face-processing changes with age, and these effects are still observed when controlling for changes associated with differences in task performance. Moreover, we found that changes in white and gray matter volume were associated with changes in activation with age and performance in the out-of-scanner tasks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kathrin Cohen Kadosh
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
41
|
Scherf KS, Smyth JM, Delgado MR. The amygdala: an agent of change in adolescent neural networks. Horm Behav 2013; 64:298-313. [PMID: 23756154 PMCID: PMC3781589 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2012] [Revised: 05/03/2013] [Accepted: 05/28/2013] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
This article is part of a Special Issue "Puberty and Adolescence". A unique component of adolescent development is the need to master new developmental tasks in which peer interactions become primary (for the purposes of becoming autonomous from parents, forming intimate friendships, and romantic/sexual partnerships). Previously, it has been suggested that the ability to master these tasks requires an important re-organization in the relation between perceptual, motivational, affective, and cognitive systems in a very general and broad way that is fundamentally influenced by the infusion of sex hormones during pubertal development (Scherf et al., 2012). Herein, we extend this argument to suggest that the amygdala, which is vastly connected with cortical and subcortical regions and contains sex hormone receptors, may lie at the heart of this re-organization. We propose that during adolescent development there is a shift in the attribution of relevance to existing stimuli and contexts that is mediated by the amygdala (e.g., heightened relevance of peer faces, reduced relevance of physical distance from parents). As a result, amygdala inputs to existing stable neural networks are re-weighted (increased or decreased), which destabilizes the functional interactions among regions within these networks and allows for a critical restructuring of the network functional organization. This process of network re-organization enables processing of qualitatively new kinds of social information and the emergence of novel behaviors that support mastery of adolescent-specific developmental tasks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- K. Suzanne Scherf
- Dept. of Psychology, Center for Brain, Behavior & Cognition, and Social Science Research Institute, Penn State University
| | - Joshua M. Smyth
- Dept. of Biobehavioral Health and Social Science Research Institute, Penn State University
| | | |
Collapse
|
42
|
Scherf KS, Thomas C, Doyle J, Behrmann M. Emerging structure-function relations in the developing face processing system. Cereb Cortex 2013; 24:2964-80. [PMID: 23765156 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bht152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
To evaluate emerging structure-function relations in a neural circuit that mediates complex behavior, we investigated age-related differences among cortical regions that support face recognition behavior and the fiber tracts through which they transmit and receive signals using functional neuroimaging and diffusion tensor imaging. In a large sample of human participants (aged 6-23 years), we derived the microstructural and volumetric properties of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and control tracts, using independently defined anatomical markers. We also determined the functional characteristics of core face- and place-selective regions that are distributed along the trajectory of the pathways of interest. We observed disproportionately large age-related differences in the volume, fractional anisotropy, and mean and radial, but not axial, diffusivities of the ILF. Critically, these differences in the structural properties of the ILF were tightly and specifically linked with an age-related increase in the size of a key face-selective functional region, the fusiform face area. This dynamic association between emerging structural and functional architecture in the developing brain may provide important clues about the mechanisms by which neural circuits become organized and optimized in the human cortex.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- K Suzanne Scherf
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Cibu Thomas
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA, Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at the Uniformed Services, University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Jaime Doyle
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA and
| | - Marlene Behrmann
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Quinn PC, Tanaka JW, Lee K, Pascalis O, Slater AM. Are Faces Special to Infants? An Investigation of Configural and Featural Processing for the Upper and Lower Regions of Houses in 3- to 7-month-olds. VISUAL COGNITION 2013; 21:23-37. [PMID: 24093003 PMCID: PMC3786559 DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2013.764370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Three- to 7-month-olds were administered a house version of the Face Dimensions Test in which the featural and configural information of the upper and lower windows were systematically varied. The Dimensions Test has previously been used to study the processing of face features and their configurations by infants (Quinn & Tanaka, 2009). Just as was the case with faces, infants were shown to be sensitive to configural change in the upper and lower regions and to featural change in the upper region, but not to featural change in the lower region. The outcomes reflect either a face processing system that can generalize broadly to stimuli that are as different from faces as houses or a more general processing system with perceptual operations that can apply to both faces and houses.
Collapse
|
44
|
Joseph JE, Swearingen JE, Clark JD, Benca CE, Collins HR, Corbly CR, Gathers AD, Bhatt RS. The changing landscape of functional brain networks for face processing in typical development. Neuroimage 2012; 63:1223-36. [PMID: 22906788 PMCID: PMC3637657 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.08.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2012] [Revised: 07/26/2012] [Accepted: 08/05/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Greater expertise for faces in adults than in children may be achieved by a dynamic interplay of functional segregation and integration of brain regions throughout development. The present study examined developmental changes in face network functional connectivity in children (5-12 years) and adults (18-43 years) during face-viewing using a graph-theory approach. A face-specific developmental change involved connectivity of the right occipital face area. During childhood, this node increased in strength and within-module clustering based on positive connectivity. These changes reflect an important role of the ROFA in segregation of function during childhood. In addition, strength and diversity of connections within a module that included primary visual areas (left and right calcarine) and limbic regions (left hippocampus and right inferior orbitofrontal cortex) increased from childhood to adulthood, reflecting increased visuo-limbic integration. This integration was pronounced for faces but also emerged for natural objects. Taken together, the primary face-specific developmental changes involved segregation of a posterior visual module during childhood, possibly implicated in early stage perceptual face processing, and greater integration of visuo-limbic connections from childhood to adulthood, which may reflect processing related to development of perceptual expertise for individuation of faces and other visually homogenous categories.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jane E Joseph
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
45
|
Hemispheric asymmetry in the fusiform gyrus distinguishes Homo sapiens from chimpanzees. Brain Struct Funct 2012; 218:1391-405. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-012-0464-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2012] [Accepted: 10/06/2012] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
|
46
|
Dundas EM, Plaut DC, Behrmann M. The joint development of hemispheric lateralization for words and faces. J Exp Psychol Gen 2012; 142:348-58. [PMID: 22866684 DOI: 10.1037/a0029503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Consistent with long-standing findings from behavioral studies, neuroimaging investigations have identified a region of the inferior temporal cortex that, in adults, shows greater face selectivity in the right than left hemisphere and, conversely, a region that shows greater word selectivity in the left than right hemisphere. What has not been determined is how this pattern of mature hemispheric specialization emerges over the course of development. The present study examines the hemispheric superiority for faces and words in children, young adolescents and adults in a discrimination task in which stimuli are presented briefly in either hemifield. Whereas adults showed the expected left and right visual field superiority for face and word discrimination, respectively, the young adolescents demonstrated only the right-field superiority for words and no field superiority for faces. Although the children's overall accuracy was lower than that of the older groups, like the young adolescents, they exhibited a right visual field superiority for words but no field superiority for faces. Interestingly, the emergence of face lateralization was correlated with reading competence, measured on an independent standardized test, after regressing out age, quantitative reasoning scores, and face discrimination accuracy. Taken together, these findings suggest that the hemispheric organization of face and word recognition do not develop independently and that word lateralization, which emerges earlier, may drive later face lateralization. A theoretical account in which competition for visual representations unfolds over the course of development is proposed to account for the findings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eva M Dundas
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
47
|
Gaffrey MS, Luby JL, Barch DM. Towards the study of functional brain development in depression: an Interactive Specialization approach. Neurobiol Dis 2012; 52:38-48. [PMID: 22750525 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2012.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2012] [Revised: 06/01/2012] [Accepted: 06/22/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Depression is a significant and impairing mood disorder with onset possible as early as age 3 and into adulthood. Given this varying pattern of age of onset, identifying the relationship between brain development and depression across the lifespan has proven elusive. This review identifies some of the factors that may have limited the advancement of our knowledge in this area and discusses how synthesizing established models of depression and normative brain development may help to overcome them. More specifically, it is suggested that current neurobiological models of depression fail to account for the developmental variance associated with early neural network development and the potential influence of experience on this process. The utility of applying an established framework of normative brain development to this topic is described and its potential utility for conceptualizing the influence of depression on brain function across the life span is addressed. Future directions including longitudinal neuroimaging studies of early onset depression and groups at risk for this disorder are proposed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Gaffrey
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
48
|
Joseph JE, Gathers AD, Bhatt RS. Progressive and regressive developmental changes in neural substrates for face processing: testing specific predictions of the Interactive Specialization account. Dev Sci 2012; 14:227-41. [PMID: 21399706 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.00963.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Face processing undergoes a fairly protracted developmental time course but the neural underpinnings are not well understood. Prior fMRI studies have only examined progressive changes (i.e., increases in specialization in certain regions with age), which would be predicted by both the Interactive Specialization (IS) and maturational theories of neural development. To differentiate between these accounts, the present study also examined regressive changes (i.e., decreases in specialization in certain regions with age), which is predicted by the IS but not maturational account. The fMRI results show that both progressive and regressive changes occur, consistent with IS. Progressive changes mostly occurred in occipital-fusiform and inferior frontal cortex whereas regressive changes largely emerged in parietal and lateral temporal cortices. Moreover, inconsistent with the maturational account, all of the regions involved in face viewing in adults were active in children, with some regions already specialized for face processing by 5 years of age and other regions activated in children but not specifically for faces. Thus, neurodevelopment of face processing involves dynamic interactions among brain regions including age-related increases and decreases in specialization and the involvement of different regions at different ages. These results are more consistent with IS than maturational models of neural development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jane E Joseph
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Kentucky, Chandler Medical Center, Lexington, KY 40536-0098, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
49
|
Pascalis O, de Viviés XDM, Anzures G, Quinn PC, Slater AM, Tanaka JW, Lee K. Development of face processing. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2011; 2:666-675. [PMID: 22039564 PMCID: PMC3203018 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
This article reviews the development of the face-processing system from birth, during infancy and through childhood, until it becomes the sophisticated system observed in adults. We begin by discussing the following major theoretical issues concerning the development of face expertise: (1) nature versus nurture or the role of experience in face processing, (2) level of processing (i.e., global, basic, subordinate, individual) and expertise, and (3) type of processing (i.e., holistic, configural, featural). This general overview will be followed by a closer examination of individual studies that investigate the development of face processing. These studies will include a review of (1) development of differential processing of faces and objects, (2) development of differential processing of faces of different species, (3) developmental changes in processing facial identity, and (4) developmental changes in the categorization of faces. Our review of the developmental literature reveals early competence in face-processing abilities with infants presenting a preference for face stimuli and facial discrimination using featural, configural, and holistic cues. This early competence is then later refined as evidenced by age-related changes throughout childhood. Some of the refinements are likely due to the development of general cognitive abilities, whereas some others may be face-specific. WIREs Cogni Sci 2011 2 666-675 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.146 This article is categorized under: Psychology > Development and Aging.
Collapse
|
50
|
Jeffery L, Rhodes G. Insights into the development of face recognition mechanisms revealed by face aftereffects. Br J Psychol 2011; 102:799-815. [DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.2011.02066.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|