title: Modulation of the N170 adaptation profile by higher level factors.
abstract: Event-related potentials provide strong evidence for a face-specific process that peaks at about 170 ms following stimulus onset--the N170 effect. The N170 has been shown to be sensitive to adaptation, reflected in an amplitude reduction by repeated face presentation, which is usually considered to be driven by bottom-up processes. Here we investigated whether the N170 adaptation profile can be modulated by top-down factors aiming at holistic or feature-based processing. Adaptor stimuli were Mooney faces, isolated facial features (eyes or mouths), or houses. Target faces required either a gender decision (holistic task), or a decision on a facial feature (detail task). We observed an intricate crossover interaction pattern, reflected in opposite effects on adaptation to Mooney faces and eyes as compared to mouth conditions. These findings provide evidence that adaptation effects can be modulated by top-down processes.
authors: Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany; Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: schinkel@physik.hu-berlin.de.
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Schinkel
authors: Department of Computer Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
authors: Galina
authors: G
authors: Ivanova
authors: Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany; Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany; Institute for Complex Systems and Mathematical Biology, University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
authors: Jürgen
authors: J
authors: Kurths
authors: Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
authors: Werner
authors: W
authors: Sommer
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003657:Decision Making; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual; D005123:Eye; D005145:Face; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009055:Mouth; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adaptation; ERP; Face processing; N170