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并不奇怪，而且大脑中的特定区域似乎专门用于面部处理。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，关于所涉及的大脑区域的确切作用存在相当大的争论。我的研究项目检查了大脑中被认为在面部处理中发挥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）起着主导作用。这项研究计划使用行为和神经成像（fMRI）技术来调查这些结构所使用的潜在表征。我将使用功能磁共振成像适应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，大致上提出了以下问题：1）识别面孔的能力是否存在性别差异，这是否反映在一个半球与另一个半球相比，大脑皮层激活面孔的差异上？2)由右半球处理的并发手动任务是否比由左半球处理的任务更能干扰面部处理？3)在生命早期失去左眼（右半球主要从左眼接受输入）对面部处理和面部皮层激活的影响是否比在生命早期失去右眼更大？除了回答有关特定大脑结构在面部处理中的作用的基本问题外，这项研究计划的发现还将对临床评估和治疗因大脑这些区域受损而导致的神经功能缺损产生影响。

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.