Development of face perception
General Description
We study the development of face perception by means of behavioral and electrophysiological (ERPs) methods. For instance, we have shown that the basic response properties of the N170 face-sensitive component do NOT change specifically for faces between 4 and 18 years old (Kuefner et al., 2010, PDF):
- Changes (i.e., decrease of N170 latency and amplitude) are general (also found for nonface objects)
- Larger N170 response to faces is stable across development
In our most recent studies, we have used fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) with EEG in infants (de Heering & Rossion, 2015) to show that the right hemisphere of young infants (4-6 months) is able to discriminate faces from other objects in complex images at a single glance, images being presented at a fast rate of 6 Hz (166 ms of stimulus onset asynchrony).
Related Papers
de Heering, A. & Rossion, B. (2015). Rapid categorization of natural face images in the infant right hemisphere. eLife 2015;4;e06564. [PDF]
de Heering, A., Rossion, B., Maurer, D. (2012). Developmental changes in face recognition during childhood: evidence from upright and inverted faces. Cognitive Development, 27, 17-27. [PDF]
Kuefner, D., de Heering, A., Jacques, C., Palmero-Soler, E., Rossion, B. (2010). Early visually evoked electrophysiological responses over the human brain (P1, N170) show stable patterns of face-sensitivity from 4 years to adulthood. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 3:67. doi:10.3389/neuro.09.067.2009 [PDF]
de Heering, A., de Liedekerke, C., Deboni, M., Rossion, B. (2010). The role of experience during childhood in shaping the other-race face effect. Developmental Science, 13, 181-187. [PDF]
de Heering, A., Turati, C., Rossion, B., Bulf, H., Goffaux, V., & Simion, F. (2008). Newborns' face recognition is based on spatial frequencies below 0.5 cycles per degree. Cognition, 106, 444-454. [PDF] [slideshow summary]
de Heering , A. & Houthuys, S. & Rossion, B. (2007). Holistic face processing is mature at 4 years of age: evidence from the composite face effect. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 96, 57-70. [PDF] [slideshow summary]