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Origins of Face Responses in the Human Cortex: fNIRS and fMRI Evidence From Infants

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In adults, cortical regions in the fusiform face area (FFA), superior temporal sulcus (STS), and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) respond selectively to faces, but underlie distinct perceptual and social processes. When do each of these regions, and their distinctive functions, develop? We review recent studies of awake human infants' cortical responses to faces using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results converge, and argue against slow sequential posterior-to-anterior development of face-selective responses. Instead, cortical face-selective responses arise very early and simultaneously in infancy, and may reflect distinctively social processes from the start.

Source: Current Directions in Psychological Science

DOI: 10.1177/09637214251327113

Authors: Rebecca Saxe, Heather L. Kosakowski

Institutions: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University

Language: English

Topic: Face Recognition and Perception

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,900

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development