Development of Face Perception: Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Investigations

对日常社会交往至关重要的识别面孔的能力从童年开始提高 到成年在成年人中，面孔识别是由人类枕叶腹侧的一系列区域介导的。 和颞叶皮层，构成腹面网络。腹面的选择性和空间范围 网络从童年到成年的发展，与年龄相关的面部识别的改善相关。 然而，这种发展的神经机制，发展速度，以及因素之间的关系， 这些因素并不十分清楚。这项研究的目标是填补这些 通过确定解剖学和功能性大脑之间的关系， 发展和理解这些发展如何最终导致改善行为。实现 为了实现这些目标，本研究将结合联合收割机对儿童（5-10岁）进行横断面和纵向测量 老年人）和成年人（23-28岁）获得创新的功能性磁共振多模态测量 磁共振成像（fMRI），定量MRI（qMRI），弥散加权成像（DWI），以及每个患者的行为 参与者。目标1将采用fMRI，qMRI和面部识别行为的纵向测量， 确定面部网络中灰质和功能选择性的发展速率，如果 灰质和功能的发展同时发生，或者一个先于另一个，如果神经发育 与面部识别的行为改善相关。目标2将采用横截面和纵向 使用fMRI、DWI、qMRI和行为进行测量，以确定面部的白色物质属性是否以及如何 网络发展，如果白色物质的发展与功能或行为发展有关， 如果白色物质和功能发育同时或依次发生。目标3将使用功能磁共振成像和人口 感受野（pRF）建模，以确定腹侧面部网络中的pRF是否以及如何从儿童期起发生变化 到成年期，以及是否pRF特性的发展与面部的固定模式有关。目标4将测试神经 从童年到成年，面孔选择性反应对面孔转换变得不那么敏感， 从而改进了在不同尺寸或视图下的面部的不同实例上的泛化。 重要的是，在每一个目标中，我们不仅要研究腹面网络的发展， 的人类腹侧视觉流更广泛地阐明发展的影响的特异性。总的来说， 这项研究将促进对面部发育的神经机制的理解。 认识，它将阐明有关解剖学之间的关系， 功能性大脑发育，并将提供多方面发育率的第一次测量 人类腹侧颞叶皮层的解剖和功能。这项研究将为今后的研究提供重要的基础。 对典型和非典型疾病的研究，包括发育性面容失认症、威廉姆斯综合征和 自闭症

The ability to recognize faces, which is critical for everyday social interactions, improves from childhood to adulthood. In adults, face recognition is mediated by a series of regions in the ventral aspect of human occipital and temporal cortex, constituting the ventral face network. The selectivity and spatial extent of the ventral face network develop from childhood to adulthood, in correlation with age-related improvements in face recognition. However, the neural mechanisms of this development, the rate of development, and the relation among factors that govern this development are not well understood. The goals of the proposed research are to fill these substantial gaps in knowledge by determining the relationship between anatomical and functional brain development and understanding how these developments ultimately lead to improved behavior. To achieve these goals, the research will combine cross-sectional and longitudinal measurements in children (5-10 years old) and adults (23-28 years old) obtaining innovative multimodal measurements of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), quantitative MRI (qMRI), diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), and behavior in each participant. Aim 1 will employ longitudinal measurements of fMRI, qMRI, and face recognition behavior to determine what is the rate of the development of gray matter and functional selectivity in the face network, if development of gray matter and function occur together or one precedes the other, and if neural developments correlate with behavioral improvements in face recognition. Aim 2 will employ cross-sectional and longitudinal measurements using fMRI, DWI, qMRI, and behavior to determine if and how white matter properties of the face network develop, if white matter developments are linked with either functional or behavioral development, and if development of white matter and function occur together or in sequence. Aim 3 will use fMRI and population receptive field (pRF) modeling to determine if and how pRFs in the ventral face network change from childhood to adulthood, and if development of pRF properties is related to fixation patterns on faces. Aim 4 will test if neural responses in face-selective become less sensitive to face transformations from childhood to adulthood, consequently improving generalization across different instances of the face under different sizes or views. Critically, in each aim we will examine not only the development of the ventral face network but the development of the human ventral visual stream more broadly to elucidate the specificity of developmental effects. Overall, the proposed research will advance understanding of neural mechanisms underlying the development of face recognition, it will elucidate completing developmental theories regarding the relation between anatomical and functional brain development, and will provide the first measurements of the developmental rate of multiple facets of human ventral temporal cortex anatomy and function. This research will provide an essential basis for future research on typical and atypical conditions including developmental prosopagnosia, Williams Syndrome, and autism.