How the Brain Processes Faces

Stimuli were matched with respect to low-level properties, external features and high-level characteristics. (Credit: Face images courtesy of the Face-Place Database Project, Copyright 2008, Michael J. Tarr)

How the Brain Processes Faces: Neural System Responsible for Face Recognition Discovered -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (June 1, 2011) — Each time you see a person that you know, your brain rapidly and seemingly effortlessly recognizes that person by his or her face.

Until now, scientists believed that only a couple of brain areas mediate facial recognition. However, Carnegie Mellon University's Marlene Behrmann, David Plaut and Adrian Nestor have discovered that an entire network of cortical areas work together to identify faces. Published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), their findings will change the future of neural visual perception research and allow scientists to use this discovery to develop targeted remedies for disorders such as face blindness.

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