Adaptive processes in normal and disordered face perception

面孔提供了丰富的社交线索来指导人际互动，大多数人能够区分数千张面孔，尽管它们在知觉上相似。这项研究调查了这些令人印象深刻的面部感知技能的基础，以及它们在自闭症中是如何被破坏的，自闭症是一种面孔感知受损的发育障碍。我们关注的是大脑如何自适应地调整其感知机制，以解释脸部的结构、身份、情感内容，甚至意图。揭示这些过程是如何在正常和异常面孔感知中发挥作用的，可以帮助开发有效的干预措施，当这些过程在自闭症中被破坏时。

Faces provide a wealth of social cues that guide interpersonal interactions, and most individuals are able to distinguish thousands of faces despite their perceptual similarity. This research investigates the foundations of these impressive face-perception skills and how they are disrupted in autism, a developmental disorder in which face perception is impaired. We focus on how the brain adaptively tailors its perceptual apparatus to interpret the structure of a face, for its identity, emotional content, and even intent. Uncovering how these processes function in normal and abnormal face perception could help develop effective interventions when these processes are disrupted in autism.