Face recognition systems in monkey and human: are they the same thing?

Abstract

Primate societies are based on face recognition. Face recognition mechanisms have been studied most extensively in humans and macaque monkeys. In both species, multiple brain areas specialized for face processing have been found, and their functional properties are characterized with increasing detail, so we can now begin to address questions about similarities and differences of face-recognition systems across species with 25 million years of separate evolution. Both systems are organized into multiple face-selective cortical areas in spatial arrangements and with functional specializations, implying both hierarchical and parallel modes of information processing. Yet open questions about homologies remain. To address these, future studies employing similar techniques and experimental designs across multiple species are needed to identify a putative core primate face processing system and to understand its differentiations into the multiple branches of the primate order.