Abstract
Faces represent important information for social communication, because social information, such as face-color, expression, and gender, is obtained from faces. Therefore, individuals' tend to find faces unconsciously, even in objects. Why is face-likeness perceived in non-face objects? Previous event-related potential (ERP) studies showed that the P1 component (early visual processing), the N170 component (face detection), and the N250 component (personal detection) reflect the neural processing of faces. Inverted faces were reported to enhance the amplitude and delay the latency of P1 and N170. To investigate face-likeness processing in the brain, we explored the face-related components of the ERP through a face-like evaluation task using natural faces, cars, insects, and Arcimboldo paintings presented upright or inverted. We found a significant correlation between the inversion effect index and face-like scores in P1 in both hemispheres and in N170 in the right hemisphere. These results suggest that judgment of face-likeness occurs in a relatively early stage of face processing.
Highlights
Faces are the most important visual stimuli for social communication
These results suggest that the face inversion index can be used as indicator of face-likeness in early face processing
Previous studies have suggested that face-likeness processing or face-ness detection occurred in the early visual cortex (Balas and Koldewyn, 2013)
Summary
Faces are the most important visual stimuli for social communication. When humans see each other’s faces, personal information can be read immediately, and emotions can be understood from facial expression and color. In this way, face perception is valuable for humans. People tend to find faces unconsciously, even in objects (e.g., ceiling stains, clouds in the sky, etc.). Even infants preferentially watch face-like objects (Kato and Mugitani, 2015). This phenomenon is called “face pareidolia,” and is a kind of visual illusion, not a hallucination. Do humans perceive face-likeness in non-face objects?
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