Comparison of cortical activation evoked by faces measured by intracranial field potentials and functional MRI: Two case studies

Abstract

The localization of neural processes contributing to face perception was studied in two patients using event-related field potentials (ERPs) recorded from subdural strips and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Despite the differences in the physiological bases of the two techniques, and in the tasks used to elicit activation, good correspondence was obtained in the anatomical patterns of activation. Face-specific ERPs (N200s) and fMRI activation by faces occurred at the same locations in the right ventral extrastriate region of both patients, and in a similar region of the left hemisphere of one patient. Some discrepancies were noted in the pattern of activation which may reflect the adequacy of the tasks in identifying face-specific as opposed to face-sensitive processing, and in the differential sensitivity of the methods to the temporal course of face processing.