Word and face processing engage overlapping distributed networks: Evidence from RSVP and EEG investigations.

Robinson, Amanda K.; Plaut, David C.; Behrmann, Marlene

doi:10.1037/xge0000302

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Almost certainly, distributed neural networks mediate both visual word and face processing (Harris et al, 2015; Robinson, Plaut & Behrmann, 2017). The degree to which nodes and connections in these networks overlap is not clear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hemispheric organization in disorders of development

et al. 2017

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A recent theoretical account posits that, during the acquisition of word recognition in childhood, the pressure to couple visual and language representations in the left hemisphere (LH) results in competition with the LH representation of faces, which consequently become largely, albeit not exclusively, lateralized to the right hemisphere (RH). We explore predictions from this hypothesis using a hemifield behavioral paradigm with words and faces as stimuli, with concurrent ERP measurement, in a group of adults with developmental dyslexia (DD) or with congenital prosopagnosia (CP), and matched control participants. Behaviorally, the DD group exhibited clear deficits in both word and face processing relative to controls, while the CP group showed a specific deficit in face processing only. This pattern was mirrored in the ERP data too. The DD group evinced neither the normal ERP pattern of RH dominance for faces nor the LH dominance for words. In contrast, the CP group showed the typical ERP superiority for words in the LH but did not show the typical RH superiority for faces. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the typical hemispheric organization for words can develop in the absence of typical hemispheric organization for faces but not vice versa, supporting the account of interactive perceptual development.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hemispheric organization in disorders of development

et al. 2017

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“…This has important theoretical implications for how object recognition is organized in the visual system. The distributed view suggests that object processing is performed by networks of visual regions, and that some of these regions are involved in the perception of several types of stimuli 66– 68 . The modular view claims that different categories of objects—particularly faces—are processed by distinct dedicated cortical regions 69– 71 .…”

Section: Is Prosopagnosia Only About Faces?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress in perceptual research: the case of prosopagnosia

Albonico

Barton

2019

F1000Res

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Prosopagnosia is an impairment in the ability to recognize faces and can be acquired after a brain lesion or occur as a developmental variant. Studies of prosopagnosia make important contributions to our understanding of face processing and object recognition in the human visual system. We review four areas of advances in the study of this condition in recent years. First are issues surrounding the diagnosis of prosopagnosia, including the development and evaluation of newer tests and proposals for diagnostic criteria, especially for the developmental variant. Second are studies of the structural basis of prosopagnosia, including the application of more advanced neuroimaging techniques in studies of the developmental variant. Third are issues concerning the face specificity of the defect in prosopagnosia, namely whether other object processing is affected to some degree and in particular the status of visual word processing in light of recent predictions from the “many-to-many hypothesis”. Finally, there have been recent rehabilitative trials of perceptual learning applied to larger groups of prosopagnosic subjects that show that face impairments are not immutable in this condition.

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“…Similarly, ECoG studies have reported both distinct and overlapping responses to faces and written words, with a bias for overlap towards the FG (Matsuo et al, 2013). The functional relevance of this overlap is contentious as it has been proposed to reflect shared neural circuitry (e.g., Behrmann and Plaut, 2013; Robinson et al, 2017) or distinct but spatially overlapping neural circuitry (e.g., Harris et al, 2016). While fMRI studies have examined the functional relationship between the neural patterns of faces and words in VOTC regions sensitive to words (Nestor et al, 2012) or defined anatomically (Harris et al, 2016), no studies have isolated and compared the selective responses (i.e., faces>control vs. words>control), and there is, to our knowledge, no iEEG data to complement the (few) fMRI studies on this topic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissociated face- and word-selective intracerebral responses in the human ventral occipito-temporal cortex

Hagen

Lochy

Jacques³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The extent to which faces and written words share neural circuitry in the human brain is actively debated. Here we compared face-selective and word-selective responses in a large group of patients (N = 37) implanted with intracerebral depth electrodes in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex (VOTC). Both face-selective (i.e., significantly different responses to faces vs. nonface visual objects) and word-selective (i.e., significantly different responses to words vs. pseudofonts) neural activity is isolated through frequency-tagging. Critically, this sensitive approach allows to objectively quantify category-selective neural responses and disentangle them from general visual responses. About 70% of significant contacts show either only face-selectivity or only word-selectivity, with the expected right and left hemispheric dominance, respectively. Spatial dissociations are also found within core regions of face and word processing, with a medio-lateral dissociation in the fusiform gyrus (FG) and surrounding sulci, while a postero-anterior dissociation is found in the inferior occipital gyrus (IOG). Only 30% of the significant contacts show both face- and word-selective responses. Critically, in these contacts, across the VOTC or in the FG and surrounding sulci, between-category selective-amplitudes (faces vs. words) showed no-to-weak correlations, despite strong correlations in both the within-category selective amplitudes (face-face, word-word) and the general visual responses to words and faces. Overall, we conclude that category-selectivity for faces and written words is largely dissociated in the human VOTC.Significance StatementIn modern human societies, faces and written words have become arguably the most significant stimuli of the visual environment. Despite extensive research in neuropsychology, electroencephalography and neuroimaging over the past three decades, whether these two types of visual signals are recognized by similar or dissociated processes and neural networks remains unclear. Here we provide an original contribution to this outstanding scientific issue by directly comparing frequency-tagged face- and word-selective neural responses in a large group of epileptic patients implanted with intracerebral electrodes covering the ventral occipito-temporal cortex. While general visual responses to words and faces show significant overlap, the respective category-selective responses are neatly dissociated in spatial location and magnitude, pointing to largely dissociated processes and neural networks.

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Word and face processing engage overlapping distributed networks: Evidence from RSVP and EEG investigations.

Cited by 16 publications

References 48 publications

Hemispheric organization in disorders of development

Hemispheric organization in disorders of development

Progress in perceptual research: the case of prosopagnosia

Dissociated face- and word-selective intracerebral responses in the human ventral occipito-temporal cortex

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