Orientation tuning of face identity coding in the brain, a pattern-analysis fMRI approach.

Faces are core visual stimuli. They reveal peers identity and are intense social interfaces. Humans process faces very efficiently despite the fact that face information is conveyed via subtle physical variations and is often modulated by variations in pose and lighting. All visual stimuli are processed in an hierarchical way, starting with an analysis in terms of primary dimensions and ending with a more high-level representation. In this project, we will investigate to what extent the structure of visual information imposed at primary levels of visual processing is preserved in the ventral visual cortex where regions have been found that respond selectively to faces and face identity.

Keywords:Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology, Face recognition

Disciplines:Biological and physiological psychology, General psychology, Other psychology and cognitive sciences