Origins of Face Responses in the Human Cortex: fNIRS and fMRI Evidence From Infants
Name
saxe-kosakowski-2025-origins-of-face-responses-in-the-human-cortex-fnirs-and-fmri-evidence-from-infants.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.27 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
3b9cf59019f38f865a1dbc2a04b5698f
Author(s)
Saxe, Rebecca
Kosakowski, Heather L
Date Issued
October 2025
Journal
Current Directions in Psychological Science
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Citation
Saxe, R., & Kosakowski, H. L. (2025). Origins of Face Responses in the Human Cortex: fNIRS and fMRI Evidence From Infants. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 34(5), 278-286.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
In adults, cortical regions in the fusiform face area (FFA), superior temporal sulcus (STS), and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) respond selectively to faces but underlie distinct perceptual and social processes. When do each of these regions, and their distinctive functions, develop? We reviewed recent studies of awake human infants’ cortical responses to faces using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and functional MRI (fMRI). The results converged and do not support a slow, sequential posterior-to-anterior development of face-selective responses. Instead, cortical face-selective responses arise very early and simultaneously in infancy and may reflect distinctively social processes from the start.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214251327113
