title: Controlling for interstimulus perceptual variance abolishes N170 face selectivity.
abstract: Establishing when and how the human brain differentiates between object categories is key to understanding visual cognition. Event-related potential (ERP) investigations have led to the consensus that faces selectively elicit a negative wave peaking 170 ms after presentation, the 'N170'. In such experiments, however, faces are nearly always presented from a full front view, whereas other stimuli are more perceptually variable, leading to uncontrolled interstimulus perceptual variance (ISPV). Here, we compared ERPs elicited by faces, cars and butterflies while--for the first time--controlling ISPV (low or high). Surprisingly, the N170 was sensitive, not to object category, but to ISPV. In addition, we found category effects independent of ISPV 70 ms earlier than has been generally reported. These results demonstrate early ERP category effects in the visual domain, call into question the face selectivity of the N170 and establish ISPV as a critical factor to control in experiments relying on multitrial averaging.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Brigantia Building, Penrallt Road, University of Wales, Bangor, LL57 2AS, UK. g.thierry@bangor.ac.uk
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thierry
authors.forename: Clara D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Downing
authors.forename: Alan J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Pegna
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*