Neural correlates of woman face processing by 2-month-old infants

Nathalie Tzourio-Mazoyer, Scania De Schonen, Fabrice Crivello, Bryan Reutter, Yannick Aujard, Bernard Mazoyer
NeuroImage. 2002-02-01; 15(2): 454-461
DOI: 10.1006/nimg.2001.0979

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1. Neuroimage. 2002 Feb;15(2):454-61.

Neural correlates of woman face processing by 2-month-old infants.

Tzourio-Mazoyer N(1), De Schonen S, Crivello F, Reutter B, Aujard Y, Mazoyer B.

Author information:
(1)Groupe d’Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, UMR 6095 CNRS, CEA, Université de Caen
and Université Paris V, GIP Cyceron, 14074 Caen Cedex, France.

The age of 2 months marks a turn in the development of face processing in humans
with the emergence of recognition based on internal feature configuration. We
studied the neural bases of this early cognitive expertise, critical for adaptive
behavior in the social world, by mapping with positron emission tomography the
brain activity of 2-month-old alert infants while looking at unknown woman faces.
We observed the activation of a distributed network of cortical areas that
largely overlapped the adult face-processing network, including the so-called
fusiform face area. We also evidenced the activation of left superior temporal
and inferior frontal gyri, regions associated, in adults, with language
processing. These findings demonstrates that cognitive development proceeds early
in functionally active interconnected cortical areas despite the fact they have
not all yet reached full metabolic maturation.

DOI: 10.1006/nimg.2001.0979
PMID: 11798279 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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