Distinct neural-behavioral correspondence within face processing and attention networks for the composite face effect

• Published in: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Fla.), 2022-02, Vol.246, p.118756-118756, Article 118756
• Main Authors: Chen, Changming, Lou, Yixue, Li, Hong, Yuan, Jiajin, Yang, Jiemin, Winskel, Heather, Qin, Shaozheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Attention - physiology; Brain Mapping - methods; Cerebral Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; Cognition; Cognitive ability; Composite face effect; Echo-Planar Imaging - methods; Face; Face recognition; Facial Recognition - physiology; Female; Frontal gyrus; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Fusiform gyrus; Humans; Hypotheses; Identity formation; Insula; Male; Multidimensional scaling; Nerve Net - diagnostic imaging; Nerve Net - physiology; Pattern recognition; Representational similarity analysis; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1053-8119; 1095-9572
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118756

•The composite face effect (CFE) is central for face recognition research, its association with attention processes has been long debated but neuroimaging evidence remains absent.•Neurocognitive correlates of the CFE were investigated by fMRI scanning, leveraging independent functional localizers, univariate and multidimensional analyses.•Multidimensional scaling identified two principal dimensions in the behavioral CFE effect, suggesting the contribution of attentional and decision components.•Beyond the face processing network, univariate GLM analysis revealed noticeable involvement of regions in the attention network in the CFE effect.•ROI-based and whole-brain representation similarity analyses showed better behavioral-neural correspondence in the attention network over the face processing network. The composite face effect (CFE) is recognized as a hallmark for holistic face processing, but our knowledge remains sparse about its cognitive and neural loci. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging with independent localizer and complete composite face task, we here investigated its neural-behavioral correspondence within face processing and attention networks. Complementing classical comparisons, we adopted a dimensional reduction approach to explore the core cognitive constructs of the behavioral CFE measurement. Our univariate analyses found an alignment effect in regions associated with both the extended face processing network and attention networks. Further representational similarity analyses based on Euclidian distances among all experimental conditions were used to identify cortical regions with reliable neural-behavioral correspondences. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchical clustering analyses for neural-behavioral correspondence data revealed two principal components underlying the behavioral CFE effect, which fit best to the neural responses in the bilateral insula and medial frontal gyrus. These findings highlight the distinct neurocognitive contributions of both face processing and attentional networks to the behavioral CFE outcome, which bridge the gaps between face recognition and attentional control models.