Papers

Peer-reviewed
Jun, 2014

The processing of faces across non-rigid facial transformation develops at 7 month of age: a fNIRS-adaptation study

BMC NEUROSCIENCE
  • Megumi Kobayashi
  • ,
  • Yumiko Otsuka
  • ,
  • So Kanazawa
  • ,
  • Masami K. Yamaguchi
  • ,
  • Ryusuke Kakigi

Volume
15
Number
First page
81
Last page
Language
English
Publishing type
Research paper (scientific journal)
DOI
10.1186/1471-2202-15-81
Publisher
BIOMED CENTRAL LTD

Background: Using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), our previous neural adaptation studies found that infants' bilateral temporal regions process facial identity (FiHN 5:153, 2011). In addition, we revealed that size-invariant processing of facial identity develops by 5 months of age (NR 23:984-988, 2012), while view-invariant processing develops around 7 months of age (FiHN 5:153, 2011). The aim in the current study was to examine whether infants' brains process facial identity across the non-rigid transformation of facial features by using the neural adaptation paradigm. We used NIRS to compare hemodynamic changes in the bilateral temporal areas of 5- to 6-month-olds and 7- to 8-month-olds during presentations of an identical face and of different faces.
Results: We found that (1) the oxyhemoglobin concentration around the T5 and T6 positions increased significantly during the presentation of different faces only in 7- to 8-month-olds and (2) 7- to 8-month-olds, but not 5- to 6-month-olds, showed attenuation in these channels to the presentation of the same face rather than to the presentation of different faces, regardless of non-rigid changes in facial features.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that the processing of facial identity with non-rigid facial transformation develops around 7 months after birth.

Link information
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2202-15-81
PubMed
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24965204
Web of Science
https://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=JSTA_CEL&SrcApp=J_Gate_JST&DestLinkType=FullRecord&KeyUT=WOS:000338788500002&DestApp=WOS_CPL
ID information
  • DOI : 10.1186/1471-2202-15-81
  • ISSN : 1471-2202
  • Pubmed ID : 24965204
  • Web of Science ID : WOS:000338788500002

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