A critical issue in object recognition research is how the parts of an object are analyzed by the visual system and combined into a perceptual whole. However, most of the previous research has examined how changes to object parts influence recognition of the whole, rather than recognition of the parts themselves. This is particularly true of the research on face recognition, and especially with questions related to the neural substrates. Here, we investigated patterns of BOLD fMRI brain activation with internal face parts (features) presented singly and in different combinations. A preference for single features over combinations was found in the occipital face area (OFA) as well as a preference for the two-eyes combination stimulus over other combination stimulus types. The fusiform face area (FFA) and lateral occipital cortex (LO) showed no preferences among the single feature and combination stimulus types. The results are consistent with a growing view that the OFA represents processes involved in early, feature-based analysis.

A hallmark of alcohol dependence (AD) is continuing to drink despite the risk of negative consequences. Currently, it is not known if the pattern of disordered activation in AD is more compatible with an over-sensitive reward system, a deficit in control systems, or a combination of both to produce the high risk-taking behavior observed in ADs. Here, alcohol cues were used in an ecological decisions-to-drink task that involved high- and low-risk scenarios where the chance of serious negative imagined consequences was varied. Non-alcohol cues were included as control stimuli. fMRI was used to measure BOLD signal change in 15 AD and 16 control women. This design allowed us to address two major questions concerning alcohol dependence: first, is there a specific pattern of disordered activation that drives the heightened endorsement of high-risk decisions-to-drink in ADs? And, second, is that pattern specific to decisions-to-drink or does it generalize to other appetitive and/or neutral cues? The results showed that, during high-risk decisions-to-drink, AD women activated reward circuits, cognitive control circuits, and regions of the default-mode network (DMN), while control women deactivated approach circuits and showed enhanced activation in regions of the DMN. Group differences were found only for decisions-to-drink, suggesting that they are specific to alcohol cues. Simultaneous activation of reward networks, cognitive control networks, and the DMN in AD women suggests that over-endorsement of high-risk drinking decisions by AD women may be due to a problem with switching between different neural networks.

The face inversion effect has been used as a basis for claims about the specialization of face-related perceptual and neural processes. One of these claims is that the fusiform face area (FFA) is the site of face-specific feature-based and/or configural/holistic processes that are responsible for producing the face inversion effect. However, the studies on which these claims were based almost exclusively used stimulus manipulations of whole faces. Here, we tested inversion effects using single, discrete features and combinations of multiple discrete features, in addition to whole faces, using both behavioral and fMRI measurements. In agreement with previous studies, we found behavioral inversion effects with whole faces and no inversion effects with a single eye stimulus or the two eyes in combination. However, we also found behavioral inversion effects with feature combination stimuli that included features in the top and bottom halves (eyes-mouth and eyes-nose-mouth). Activation in the FFA showed an inversion effect for the whole-face stimulus only, which did not match the behavioral pattern. Instead, a pattern of activation consistent with the behavior was found in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, which is a component of the extended face-preferring network. The results appear inconsistent with claims that the FFA is the site of face-specific feature-based and/or configural/holistic processes that are responsible for producing the face inversion effect. They are more consistent with claims that the FFA shows a stimulus preference for whole upright faces.

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Music is a ubiquitous feature of young adults' social drinking environments, yet no studies have assessed whether and how it impacts risky decisions to drink alcohol. Previous research on the influence of music on risky decisions is largely based around decision tasks with monetary incentives. Methods-To assess the impact of music listening on risky drinking decisions, the current study used visual alcohol cues paired with hypothetical risky drinking scenarios (e.g. "You do not have a safe ride home," for alcohol). Young adult women with a history of alcohol abuse (N = 34), and casual-drinking control women (N = 29), made hypothetical decisions about whether or not to drink alcohol, or eat food (an appetitive control condition), in risky contexts while personal "party music" (music chosen by participants for "going out") and "home music" (music chosen for "staying in") played in the background. The main dependent measure-likelihood of drinkingwas reported on a 4-point scale where 1 corresponded to "very unlikely," and 4 to "very likely." Results-Listening to party music while making decisions increased the likelihood of making risky drinking decisions regardless of a history of alcohol abuse, while other personal music did not. Further, party music specifically increased the likelihood of risky drinking decisions relative to risky eating decisions. As expected, those with a history of alcohol abuse made more risky drinking decisions in general, regardless of the type of music heard. Discussion-The results suggest that party music is an important feature of the drinking environment associated with increased risky decisions about drinking alcohol in young adult