Are Faces Special?
Are faces special? Critically evaluate the evidence that we have evolved a specialised neural network dedicated to processing faces. Brian Marron, 11461992, SF TSM.
INTRODUCTION
Processing faces is extremely important to humans as social beings. We are able to put and identity on thousands of faces (Gazzaniga, 2002) with ease, something we might take for granted. The value of this ability can be better understood when the world is viewed through the eyes of somebody with prosopagnosia, the inability to recognise faces. The following quotation from David Fine, a prosopagnosic describing the difficulty associated with the disorder.
“I often fail to recognise my children or even my wife … I have failed to acknowledge friends and, more distressingly, those in authority. At school I would get lines for not raising my cap to a teacher. As a young man I ignored girls whom I had met the night before – not a good mating strategy. I find networking all but impossible, and social situations … may cause acute anxiety.” (Fine, J. R. 2011 pp 455)
Face processing is something that almost all of us can do yet exactly how we process faces is not yet known. In this essay I will examine one of the most heatedly debated topics of face processing: Are faces special? That is to say, are faces processed in a special way compared to non-face stimuli and have humans evolved a specialised neural network to achieve this? The two sides of the argument have been debated for a long time and there is still no clear answer. (Hole & Byrne, 2010)
Research from both sides will be critically evaluated. Initially, evidence from psychological studies will be explored in an attempt to address whether faces are processed in the same way as non-face stimuli. After that the question of whether humans have evolved a specialised network dedicated to processing faces will be considered, drawing on evidence from studies of brain damage and neuroimaging.
If faces and only were processed in a different
INTRODUCTION
Processing faces is extremely important to humans as social beings. We are able to put and identity on thousands of faces (Gazzaniga, 2002) with ease, something we might take for granted. The value of this ability can be better understood when the world is viewed through the eyes of somebody with prosopagnosia, the inability to recognise faces. The following quotation from David Fine, a prosopagnosic describing the difficulty associated with the disorder.
“I often fail to recognise my children or even my wife … I have failed to acknowledge friends and, more distressingly, those in authority. At school I would get lines for not raising my cap to a teacher. As a young man I ignored girls whom I had met the night before – not a good mating strategy. I find networking all but impossible, and social situations … may cause acute anxiety.” (Fine, J. R. 2011 pp 455)
Face processing is something that almost all of us can do yet exactly how we process faces is not yet known. In this essay I will examine one of the most heatedly debated topics of face processing: Are faces special? That is to say, are faces processed in a special way compared to non-face stimuli and have humans evolved a specialised neural network to achieve this? The two sides of the argument have been debated for a long time and there is still no clear answer. (Hole & Byrne, 2010)
Research from both sides will be critically evaluated. Initially, evidence from psychological studies will be explored in an attempt to address whether faces are processed in the same way as non-face stimuli. After that the question of whether humans have evolved a specialised network dedicated to processing faces will be considered, drawing on evidence from studies of brain damage and neuroimaging.
If faces and only were processed in a different
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