title: Hemispheric asymmetry in discriminating faces differing for featural or configural (second-order relations) aspects.
abstract: The human capacity to discriminate among different faces relies on distinct parallel subprocesses, based either on the analysis of configural aspects or on the sequential analysis of the single elements of a face. A particular type of configural processing consists of considering whether two faces differ in terms of internal spacing among their features, referred to as second-order relations processing. Findings from electrophysiological, neuroimaging, and lesion studies suggest that, overall, configural processes rely more on the right hemisphere, whereas analysis of single features would involve more the left. However, results are not always consistent, and behavioral evidence for a right-hemisphere specialization in second-order relations processing is lacking. Here, we used divided visual field presentation to investigate the possible different contributions of the two hemispheres to face discrimination based on relational versus featural processing. Our data indicate a right-hemispheric specialization in relational processing of upright (but not inverted) faces. Furthermore, we provide evidence regarding the involvement of both the right and left hemispheres in the processing of faces differing for inner features, suggesting that both analytical and configural modes of processing are at play.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy, zaira.cattaneo@unimib.it.
authors.forename: Zaira
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Renzi
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bona
authors.forename: Lotfi B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Merabet
authors.forename: Claus-Christian
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Carbon
authors.forename: Tomaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vecchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005145:Face; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult