Different hemispheric specialization for face/word recognition: A high-density ERP study with hemifield visual stimulation.

Brain Behav

Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Neurological Institute, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.

Published: June 2020

AI Article Synopsis

  • The study investigates how the brain processes faces and words by looking at the right fusiform face area (FFA) and the left visual word fusiform area (VWFA) under different visual conditions.
  • Results show that visual awareness plays a key role in recognizing both faces and words, with the right hemisphere being more specialized for face recognition, particularly under clear viewing conditions.
  • The left VWFA did not demonstrate the same level of specialization for word recognition as the right FFA did for faces, highlighting a difference in how these two types of recognition occur neurologically in the Japanese brain.

Article Abstract

Introduction: The right fusiform face area (FFA) is important for face recognition, whereas the left visual word fusiform area (VWFA) is critical for word processing. Nevertheless, the early stages of unconscious and conscious face and word processing have not been studied systematically.

Materials And Methods: To explore hemispheric differences for face and word recognition, we manipulated the visual field (left vs. right) and stimulus duration (subliminal [17 ms] versus supraliminal [300 ms]). We recorded P100 and N170 peaks with high-density ERPs in response to faces/objects or Japanese words/scrambled words in 18 healthy young subjects.

Results: Contralateral P100 was larger than ipsilateral P100 for all stimulus types in the supraliminal, but not subliminal condition. The face- and word-N170s were not evoked in the subliminal condition. The N170 amplitude for the supraliminal face stimuli was significantly larger than that for the objects, and right hemispheric specialization was found for face recognition, irrespective of stimulus visual hemifield. Conversely, the supraliminal word-N170 amplitude was not significantly modulated by stimulus type, visual field, or hemisphere.

Conclusions: These results suggest that visual awareness is crucial for face and word recognition. Our study using hemifield stimulus presentation further demonstrates the robust right FFA for face recognition but not the left VWFA for word recognition in the Japanese brain.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7303374PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/brb3.1649DOI Listing

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