title: Dissociation of face-selective cortical responses by attention.
abstract: We studied attentional modulation of cortical processing of faces and houses with functional MRI and magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG detected an early, transient face-selective response. Directing attention to houses in "double-exposure" pictures of superimposed faces and houses strongly suppressed the characteristic, face-selective functional MRI response in the fusiform gyrus. By contrast, attention had no effect on the M170, the early, face-selective response detected with MEG. Late (>190 ms) category-related MEG responses elicited by faces and houses, however, were strongly modulated by attention. These results indicate that hemodynamic and electrophysiological measures of face-selective cortical processing complement each other. The hemodynamic signals reflect primarily late responses that can be modulated by feedback connections. By contrast, the early, face-specific M170 that was not modulated by attention likely reflects a rapid, feed-forward phase of face-selective processing.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Brain and Cognition and Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. mfurey@mail.nih.gov
authors.forename: Maura L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Furey
authors.forename: Topi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanskanen
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Beauchamp
authors.forename: Sari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Avikainen
authors.forename: Kimmo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uutela
authors.forename: Riitta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hari
authors.forename: James V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Haxby
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual; D005145:Face; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D015225:Magnetoencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception