Fixation location on upright and inverted faces modulates the N170

Peter de Lissa; Genevieve McArthur; Stefan Hawelka; Romina Palermo; Yatin Mahajan; Florian Hutzler

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.02.006

Fixation location on upright and inverted faces modulates the N170

Neuropsychologia. 2014 May:57:1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.02.006. Epub 2014 Mar 4.

Authors

Peter de Lissa¹, Genevieve McArthur², Stefan Hawelka³, Romina Palermo⁴, Yatin Mahajan⁵, Florian Hutzler³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cognitive Science, ARC Centre for Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia. Electronic address: peter.delissa@mq.edu.au.
² Department of Cognitive Science, ARC Centre for Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
³ Centre for Neurocognitive Research & Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34 A-5020, Salzburg, Austria.
⁴ School of Psychology, and ARC Centre for Cognition and its Disorders, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
⁵ Department of Cognitive Science, ARC Centre for Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia; MARCS Institute, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.

PMID: 24607846
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.02.006

Abstract

The current study used event-related potentials (ERP) in combination with a variable viewing position paradigm (VVPP) to direct fixations to specific face parts (eyes or mouths) in upright or inverted whole faces. The N170 elicited by the VVPP was greater to faces than to non-face objects (wristwatches), and was delayed and enhanced in response to face inversion. A larger N170 response was elicited when the participants׳ fixation was directed to the eyes than when directed to the mouths of both upright and inverted faces, an effect that was also modulated by the spatial location of the face in the visual field. The N170 face inversion effect (upright minus inverted) was greater when fixations were directed to the mouth than when directed to the eyes, suggesting that the point of fixation within a face modulates brain potentials due to contributions from the features themselves, as well as their relative location in the visual field.

Keywords: Eyes; Face; Fixation; Inversion; N170; Perception.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Analysis of Variance
Attention / physiology*
Brain Mapping
Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials / physiology*
Face*
Female
Fixation, Ocular / physiology*
Humans
Male
Pattern Recognition, Visual / physiology*
Photic Stimulation
Reaction Time / physiology
Young Adult