Processing of famous faces and medial temporal lobe event-related potentials: a depth electrode study.
The present study aims at analyzing the modulation of two types of event-related potentials originating from the human medial temporal lobe, the rhinal AMTL-N400 and the hippocampal P600 by the processing of famous faces. Therefore, we used a face recognition paradigm in which subjects had to discriminate the faces of famous persons from the faces of non-famous persons. Eleven patients with unilateral medial temporal lobe epilepsy undergoing intrahippocampal depth electrode recording for presurgical evaluation participated in this study. Event-related potentials (ERP) were recorded while a sequence of famous and non-famous faces was presented to the patients. The presentation of each face was repeated. The faces evoked N400-like potentials (anterior medial temporal lobe N400, AMTL-N400) in the rhinal cortex and P600-like potentials in the hippocampus. ERPs elicited by famous faces were contrasted with ERPs elicited by non-famous faces. The first presentation of famous faces elicited an enhanced AMTL-N400 and an enhanced hippocampal P600 in comparison to the second presentations of the famous faces or the (first and second presentation of the) non-famous faces. This findings are discussed in terms of associative semantic memory processes and the retrieval of person-specific information from long-term memory stores triggered by the processing of famous faces.
Dietl
T
T
Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Strasse, 25, D-53115 Bonn, Germany. t.dietl@web.de
Trautner
P
P
Staedtgen
M
M
Vannucci
M
M
Vannuchi
M
M
Mecklinger
A
A
Grunwald
T
T
Clusmann
H
H
Elger
C E
CE
Kurthen
M
M
D000328:Adult; D004566:Electrodes; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual; D005145:Face; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*