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01-04-2011 | Review

The role of the occipital face area in the cortical face perception network

Authors: David Pitcher, Vincent Walsh, Bradley Duchaine

Published in: Experimental Brain Research | Issue 4/2011

Abstract

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have identified spatially distinct face-selective regions in human cortex. These regions have been linked together to form the components of a cortical network specialized for face perception but the cognitive operations performed in each region are not well understood. In this paper, we review the evidence concerning one of these face-selective regions, the occipital face area (OFA), to better understand what cognitive operations it performs in the face perception network. Neuropsychological evidence and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies demonstrate the OFA is necessary for accurate face perception. fMRI and TMS studies investigating the functional role of the OFA suggest that it preferentially represents the parts of a face, including the eyes, nose, and mouth and that it does so at an early stage of visual perception. These studies are consistent with the hypothesis that the OFA is the first stage in a hierarchical face perception network in which the OFA represents facial components prior to subsequent processing of increasingly complex facial features in higher face-selective cortical regions.

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Title: The role of the occipital face area in the cortical face perception network
Authors: David Pitcher
Vincent Walsh
Bradley Duchaine
Publication date: 01-04-2011
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: Experimental Brain Research / Issue 4/2011
Print ISSN: 0014-4819
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1106
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-011-2579-1

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The role of the occipital face area in the cortical face perception network

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