- Jan 20, 2001
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Biocompare
Study suggests we are wired pretty early to recognize differences in faces . . . familiar vs unfamiliar.Researchers in Southern California have isolated brain regions that respond selectively to the cues of gender, ethnicity and identity in faces. Using a novel adaptation technique, they found evidence for neurons that are selectively tuned for gender, ethnicity and identity cues in an area not previously thought to be associated with face processing.
The last part is particularly interesting b/c one of my specialties is autism and there's been confusing research about whether the face/social issues of the disorder can be readily localized or more diffuse."A surprising percentage of the population -maybe 2 to 3% of the population- have a real inability to recognize faces or even tell if someone is a male or a female," says co-author Minna Ng, a graduate student at UCSD. "In the most extreme cases it's a clinical condition called prosopagnosia. Until now, most people assumed that difficulties with face recognition were due to cortical deficits near the fusiform gyrus. These data suggest that other brain regions may be involved. The fact that the cingulate gyrus is involved has some interesting implications for conditions like autism spectrum disorders."
