Cortical representations of bodies and faces are strongest in commonly experienced configurations

Nat Neurosci. 2010 Apr;13(4):417-8. doi: 10.1038/nn.2502. Epub 2010 Mar 7.

Abstract

Faces and bodies are perhaps the most salient and evolutionarily important visual stimuli. Using human functional imaging, we found that the strength of face and body representations depends on long-term experience. Representations were strongest for stimuli in their typical combinations of visual field and side (for example, left field, right body), although all conditions were simply reflections and translations of one another. Thus, high-level representations reflect the statistics with which stimuli occur.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Extremities*
  • Face*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual / physiology
  • Photic Stimulation / methods*
  • Reaction Time / physiology
  • Visual Cortex / physiology*
  • Visual Fields / physiology*
  • Visual Perception / physiology*
  • Young Adult