Fast temporal dynamics and causal relevance of face processing in the human temporal cortex

This study investigated the temporal dynamics and causal relevance of face processing in the human temporal cortex (TC) using intracranial recordings in eight participants. Face-selective responses were clustered in the ventral TC, exhibiting a posterior-to-anterior gradient in response time and selectivity. A sparse model using human face-selective sites performed as well as or better than anatomically distributed models in discriminating faces from non-faces. Electrical stimulation of the posterior fusiform site (pFUS) causally influenced conscious face processing, suggesting anatomically discrete but temporally distributed response profiles.

Jessica Schrouff, Omri Raccah, Sori Baek, Vinitha Rangarajan, Sina Salehi, Janaina Mourão-Miranda, Zeinab Helili, Amy L. Daitch, Josef Parvizi