Behavioural and neuroimaging studies of face processing

识别人脸的身份和情感表达的能力在我们的日常生活中至关重要。因此，我们是这种能力的专家也就不足为奇了，而且，大脑中的特定区域似乎专门负责处理面部信息。虽然很明显大脑中的某些结构与面部处理有关，但在科学文献中，关于参与其中的大脑区域的确切作用一直存在相当大的争论。我的研究项目考察了大脑中被认为在面部处理中起作用的各种结构的功能作用，以及大脑的哪一侧（如果有的话）起主导作用。本研究项目使用行为和神经成像（fMRI）技术来研究这些结构使用的潜在表征。我将使用fMRI适应性来测量面部处理区域对视觉属性的选择性。我的研究计划包括三个主要项目，它们主要提出以下问题：1)在识别面孔的能力上是否存在性别差异，这是否反映在一个半球与另一个半球的面部皮层激活差异上？2)一个由右半球处理的并发手工任务是否比一个由左半球处理的并发手工任务对人脸处理的干扰更大？3)与早年失去右眼相比，早年失去左眼（右半球主要从左眼接收输入信息）是否更能影响面部加工和皮层的激活？除了回答关于特定大脑结构在面部处理中的作用的基本问题外，这项研究项目的发现还将对临床评估和治疗由这些大脑区域损伤引起的神经功能缺陷产生影响。

The ability to recognize the identity and emotional expression of a human face is of critical importance in our daily lives. It is therefore not surprising that we are such experts at this ability and further, that specific regions within the brain appear to be devoted to face processing. Although it is clear that certain structures in the brain are related to face processing, there has been considerable debate in the scientific literature, about the precise roles of the brain regions that are involved. My research program examines the functional roles of the various structures in the brain that are thought to play a role in face processing and indeed which side (if any) of the brain plays a dominant role. This research program uses both behavioural and neuroimaging (fMRI) techniques to investigate the underlying representations used by these structures. I will use fMRI adaptation to measure the selectivity of face processing regions for visual attributes. My research program consists of three main projects, which broadly ask the following questions: 1) Are there gender differences in ability to recognize faces and is this reflected in differences in cortical activation for faces in one hemisphere compared to the other? 2) Does a concurrent manual task that is processed by the right hemisphere interfere with face processing more than one that is processed by the left hemisphere? 3) Does losing the left eye early in life (from which the right hemisphere primarily receives its input) affect face processing and cortical activation for faces more than losing the right eye early in life? In addition to answering fundamental questions about the roles of specific brain structures for face processing the findings from this research program will have implications for the clinical evaluation and treatment of neurological deficits that result from damage to these areas of the brain.