Recognition Memory For Faces Research Articles

Verbal overshadowing and decision criterion effects on recognition memory for faces

Verbal overshadowing and decision criterion effects on recognition memory for faces

Prior familiarity enhances recognition memory of faces, not just images of faces, when accompanied by conceptual information.

A recent paper reported that recognition discriminability was improved for faces that were familiarized prior to study, but only if that familiarization protocol included conceptual information, like a name (Akan & Benjamin, Journal of Memory and Language,131, 104,433, 2023). In those experiments, familiarity with each facial identity was gained through exposures to the same facial image prior to study, and memory for each facial identity was tested using the same images across study and test. That design characteristic has a serious constraint on generality, since it is possible that prior conceptual information enhances memory for images (of faces), but not for the representation of the face itself. Here we evaluated whether this finding generalizes to a paradigm in which each exposure of a face is a novel image. In two experiments, faces were familiarized with orienting tasks that induced more perceptual or more conceptual processing prior to study and test phases. Results from recognition tests replicated the results from Akan and Benjamin (2023): (1) Discriminability was enhanced when prior familiarity involved conceptual processing but not when it involved perceptual processing, and (2) familiarity gained through either perceptual or conceptual processing led to an increase in both correct and false identifications. This successful replication in a design with exclusively novel images indicates that the discriminability advantage provided by conceptual familiarity goes beyond memory for facial images and applies to memory for faces. These findings have implications in practical contexts, such as eyewitness identification situations involving suspects who are previously known or familiar to the witness.

The effect of face race on metamemory: Examining its robustness and underlying mechanisms.

Perceivers typically exhibit better recognition memory for same-race faces than for cross-race faces, a phenomenon known as the cross-race effect (CRE). Despite its ubiquity, it is yet unclear whether people are metacognitively aware of the CRE. This research thoroughly investigates perceivers' metacognitive awareness of the CRE across five experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that both prospective (judgments of learning) and retrospective (confidence) metamemory judgments are sensitive to variations in the racial category and prototypicality of faces. Experiment 3 showed that participants' item-level prospective judgments are informed by beliefs about the impact of face race on memory performance. Experiment 4 revealed that global predictions are influenced by face race in the absence of direct stimulus experience, emphasizing the role of preexisting beliefs. Experiment 5 extended these findings by showing large crossover interactions between face race and participant race in both global predictions and item-level prospective judgments, indicating that both White and Black participants have higher metamemory estimates for ingroup faces. This experiment further showed that preexisting beliefs intensify the impact of face race on metamemory judgments yet do not fully account for it. Collectively, these experiments provide robust evidence of good metamemory accuracy for faces varying in racial categories and prototypicality among White participants and demonstrate that beliefs underlie the effect of face race on metamemory judgments among both White and Black participants, though this may not be the only mechanism involved. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Social Anxiety is Related to Worse Recognition Memory of Angry Faces

Social Anxiety is Related to Worse Recognition Memory of Angry Faces

The impact of bilateral versus unilateral anterior temporal lobe damage on face recognition, person knowledge and semantic memory.

The functional importance of the anterior temporal lobes (ATLs) has come to prominence in two active, albeit unconnected literatures-(i) face recognition and (ii) semantic memory. To generate a unified account of the ATLs, we tested the predictions from each literature and examined the effects of bilateral versus unilateral ATL damage on face recognition, person knowledge, and semantic memory. Sixteen people with bilateral ATL atrophy from semantic dementia (SD), 17 people with unilateral ATL resection for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE; left = 10, right = 7), and 14 controls completed tasks assessing perceptual face matching, person knowledge and general semantic memory. People with SD were impaired across all semantic tasks, including person knowledge. Despite commensurate total ATL damage, unilateral resection generated mild impairments, with minimal differences between left- and right-ATL resection. Face matching performance was largely preserved but slightly reduced in SD and right TLE. All groups displayed the familiarity effect in face matching; however, it was reduced in SD and right TLE and was aligned with the level of item-specific semantic knowledge in all participants. We propose a neurocognitive framework whereby the ATLs underpin a resilient bilateral representation system that supports semantic memory, person knowledge and face recognition.

Effects of post-learning nap in the recognition memory for faces in habitual nappers

This study investigated the effects of diurnal nap in the recognition memory for faces in habitual nappers. Thirty volunteers with habitual midday napping (assigned as the sleep group) and 28 non-nappers (assigned as the wake group) participated in this study. Participants were instructed to memorize faces, and subsequently to perform two recognition tasks before and after nap/wakefulness, i.e., an immediate recognition and a delayed recognition. There were three experimental conditions: same faces with the same view angle (S-S condition); same faces with a different view angle (22.5°) (S-D condition); and novel faces (NF condition). A mixed repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that the sleep group exhibited significantly longer reaction times (RT) following their nap compared to those of the wake group; no significant between-group differences were observed in accuracy or sensitivity (d’). Furthermore, both groups were more conservative in the delayed recognition task compared to the immediate recognition task, but the sleep group was more conservative after their nap (vs pre-nap), reflected by the criterion (β, Ohit/Ofalse alarm). Further stepwise regression analysis revealed a positive relationship between duration of stage N3 sleep and normalized RT difference before/after nap on the S-S condition. These findings suggest that an immediate nap following face learning is associated with memory reorganization during N3 sleep in habitual nappers, rendering the memories not readily accessible.

38 Assessing Memory for Emotions Separately from Emotion Recognition

Objective:Accurate processing of facial displays of emotion is critical for effective communication. A robust literature has documented impairment in the ability to recognize facial affect in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI), but research is scarce about memory for facial affect. Disruptions in recognizing and remembering the emotions of others can undermine relationship quality and may result in psychosocial dysfunction. Importantly, the extant literature indicates that facial affect recognition dissociates from other cognitive abilities such that it is likely a distinct neuronal process. Thus, explicit measurement of affect recognition and memory for emotions may be critical for implementing and refining rehabilitation interventions. The present study examined the relationship between recognition and memory for emotions using a novel computerized task and explored its associations with other cognitive abilities.Participants and Methods:Participants were adults who were neurologically healthy (n = 31) or had a history of moderate to severe TBI (n = 26). The battery included the novel Assessment of Facial Affect Recognition and Memory (AFARM), Cambridge Face Memory Test (face memory without emotion), Wechsler Test of Adult Reading, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Judgment of Line Orientation, Oral Symbol Digit Modalities, Digit Span, FAS, Animal Fluency, and the Affect Intensity Measure (experienced emotion). Spearman correlations examined the relationship of AFARM performance with the test battery. Logistic regression models examined whether immediate-delay (ID-EM) and long-delay face emotion-memory (LD-EM) accounted for unique variance in group membership beyond recognition accuracy of facial affect and memory for faces.Results:AFARM demonstrated relationships with neuropsychological and mood variables in the expected directions across and within groups, with the strongest associations observed for memory for verbal information (rs = .51 to .58) and processing speed (rs = .48 to .57). Consistent with traditional list-learning tests, ID- and LD-EM were highly correlated (r = .85). Experienced affect intensity was inversely associated with ID-EM (r = -.29) and LD-EM (r = -.38) but not with recognition accuracy (r = -.10). Logistic regression examining ID-EM was significant, χ2(3) = 26.05, p < .001, Nagelkerke R2 = .49. ID-EM accounted for unique variance in group status (p = .006; OR = 0.65) after accounting for recognition accuracy and face memory. Similarly, the model examining LD-EM was significant χ2(3) = 27.70, p < .001, Nagelkerke R2 = .43; LD-EM was significant after accounting for other variables (p = .017; OR = 0.69).Conclusions:The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that memory for emotions represents a unique component of social cognition that is separate from recognition. Accuracy in identifying emotions, face recognition memory, and memory for emotions are strongly related but not wholly redundant processes. Consistent with prior literature, subjective experience of emotion had substantial effects on objective performance tasks, indicating that an individual's intense experience of their own emotions can disrupt sensitivity to the emotions of others. Future research should assess the extent to which memory for emotions relates to psychosocial outcomes such as the quality and quantity of interpersonal relationships.

Does Tactile Stimulation of the Face Affect the Processing of Other Faces? Neural and Behavioural Effects of Facial Touch

ABSTRACTThe integration of vision and touch is proposed as a critical factor for processing one’s own body and the bodies of others in the brain. We hypothesize that tactile stimulation on an individual’s face may change the ability to process the faces of other, but not the processing of other visual images. We aimed to determine if facial touch increased the activity of the mirror system and face recognition memory of the observer. Therefore, mu suppression was measured to compare the effect of facial touch in performing two visual tasks. The participants observed faces and non-face visual images under two sets of conditions. In the first condition, a robotic finger touched the participant’s cheek while in the second condition, no touch occurred. Upon each observational task, the participants were given in a recognition test. Behavioral results indicated that facial touch improved recognition performance for faces, but not for non-face visual images. Tactile stimulation increased mu suppression in both occipital and central electrodes during face processing; however, the suppression did not significantly change during non-face visual processing. Our findings support the concept that the brain uses a self-body representation, as a reference to understand the mental states or behaviors of others.

Effects of age on face perception: Reduced eye region discrimination ability but intact holistic processing.

While age-related decline in face recognition memory is well-established, the degree of decline in face perceptual abilities across the lifespan and the underlying mechanisms are incompletely characterized. In the present study, we used the part-whole task to examine lifespan changes in holistic and featural processing. After studying an intact face, participants are tested for memory of a face part (eyes, nose, mouth) with the target and foil part presented either in isolation or in the context of the whole face. To the extent that parts are encoded into a holistic face representation, an advantage is expected for part recognition when tested in the whole face condition. The task therefore provides measures of holistic processing (whole-over-isolated-part trial advantage) and featural processing for each part when tested in isolation. Using a large sample of 3,341 online participants aged 18-69 years, we found that while discrimination of the eye region decreased beginning in the 50s, both mouth discrimination accuracy and the holistic advantage of whole versus part trial discrimination were stable with age. In separate analyses by gender, we found that age-related declines in eye region accuracy were more pronounced in males than females. We discuss potential mechanistic explanations for this eye region-specific decline with age, including age-related hearing loss directing attention toward the mouth. Further, we discuss how this could be related to the age-related positivity effect, which is associated with reduced sensitivity to eye-related emotions (e.g., anger) but preserved mouth-related emotion sensitivity (e.g., happiness). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Haven’t I seen you before? Conceptual but not perceptual prior familiarity enhances face recognition memory

Prior familiarity with a face seems to substantively change the way we encode and recognize later instances of that face. We report five experiments that examine the effects of varying levels of prior familiarity and conceptual knowledge on face recognition memory. All experiments employed a 3-phase procedure, in which faces were familiarized in varying ways and to varying extents prior to study and test. Across experiments, increased prior familiarity led to a simultaneous increase in both correct and false identification rates, either when familiarity was gained through passive exposures or conceptual processing. Discriminability, on the other hand, was enhanced by prior familiarity only when the level of familiarity was high and when it involved conceptual processing (Experiments 1–3). Familiarity engendered by passive exposure affected response bias equivalently to more active orienting tasks, but it reduced discriminability in a standard Old/New recognition test (Experiment 4) and did not lead to an enhancement in discriminability in a lineup identification task (Experiment 5). Familiarity engendered by trait evaluations (Experiments 1–3) or name learning (Experiments 2–5) increased discriminability and yielded a more liberal response bias. These results suggest that the benefits of prior familiarity on discriminability in recognition memory are determined by the presence of prior conceptual knowledge. The implications of this work for eyewitness identification situations in which the suspect is known or familiar to the witness are discussed.

Category-specific and category-general neural codes of recognition memory in the ventral visual pathway

Researchers have identified category-specific brain regions, such as the fusiform face area (FFA) and parahippocampal place area (PPA) in the ventral visual pathway, which respond preferentially to one particular category of visual objects. In addition to their category-specific role in visual object identification and categorization, regions in the ventral visual pathway play critical roles in recognition memory. Nevertheless, it is not clear whether the contributions of those brain regions to recognition memory are category-specific or category-general. To address this question, the present study adopted a subsequent memory paradigm and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to explore category-specific and category-general neural codes of recognition memory in the visual pathway. The results revealed that the right FFA and the bilateral PPA showed category-specific neural patterns supporting recognition memory of faces and scenes, respectively. In contrast, the lateral occipital cortex seemed to carry category-general neural codes of recognition memory. These results provide neuroimaging evidence for category-specific and category-general neural mechanisms of recognition memory in the ventral visual pathway.

Background Music and Memory in Mild Cognitive Impairment: The Role of Interindividual Differences.

Recent research has shown that background music may improve memory consolidation and retrieval. Nevertheless, in the clinical conditions preceding dementia such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), there is no current evidence speaking to what effect background music during memory tasks has on impaired cognition. Across three experiments, we investigated if background music is able to improve memory performance, the most impacted cognitive domain in amnestic MCI. We tested the effect of background music by using a face recognition memory task in patients with amnestic MCI. In Experiment 1, we tested the effect of background music on memory when it was played solely during an encoding phase. In Experiment 2, we explored effects of background music when played during both encoding and recognition phases. In Experiment 3, we explored the role of musically induced arousal on memory. The main finding from these three experiments was that background music played during a memory task did not improve or worsen participant performance. However, when exposed to high-arousal music, memory performance was predicted by individual mood regulation. For low-arousal music conditions, there was a negative relationship between rating scores for music pleasantness and performance on the memory task. Our results suggest that the benefits of background music on memory in individuals with MCI are modulated by interindividual preferences towards music.

The Effect of Aging on Face-Name Recognition: An fMRI Study.

The aim of this study is to detect functional changes in the brain during the memory task with aging and the association between functional changes and memory performance. The study consisted of Young Adult Group (YAG, n=20) aged 20 to 25 and Late Adult Group (LAG, n=18) aged 60 to 70. Individuals with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores above 21 and no family history of Alzheimer's Disease were included in the study. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scanning was performed on all participants during a memory task including encoding (face and name), face and name recognition sub-tasks. Results indicated that LAG showed increased activity during face recognition task in left posterior cingulate cortex, left superior frontal cortex, left fusiform face area and another increased activity was found out during name recognition task in left superior frontal cortex, right prefrontal cortex, left anterior + posterior cingulate cortex. The accuracy of face recognition and name recognition memory tests were significantly lower in LAG (respectively, p=0.026; p=0.001). These results indicated that advanced age were associated with more widespread activation in brain during memory task. Thus with aging, individuals require more neuronal and cognitive resources during memory processing.

Eye size recognition of self and others among people with self-face dissatisfaction.

Previous studies have shown that individuals visually recognize their eye size as larger than the actual. However, it is unclear whether this cognitive tendency occurs in people with high self-face dissatisfaction. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether the cognitive size of one's own and others' eyes differs according to the degree of self-face dissatisfaction. Participants comprised 32 college students (5 males, 27 females; age: 21.3 ± 2.11) who completed the Face Dissatisfaction Scale (FDS) and a face recognition memory task. The task was to choose whether their or their friends' eyes in the face photos with changed eye size were larger or smaller than their actual eye size. The cognitively equivalent eye size to the actual one was estimated from a psychophysical function. We conducted a correlation analysis of the total scores on the FDS and the point of subjective equality (PSE) of eye size. We found a high negative correlation between the FDS and the PSE of own eye size. There was also a high positive correlation between the FDS and the PSE for all others' faces. Thus, high self-face dissatisfaction is differentially associated with cognitive distortions of the face, depending on whether it is self or other.

The impact of aging and repetition on eye movements and recognition memory

ABSTRACT The modulation of gaze fixations on neural activity in the hippocampus, a region critical for memory, has been shown to be weaker in older adults compared to younger adults. However, as such research has relied on indirect measures of memory, it remains unclear whether the relationship between visual exploration and direct measures of memory is similarly disrupted in aging. The current study tested older and younger adults on a face memory eye-tracking task previously used by our group that showed that recognition memory for faces presented across variable, but not fixed, viewpoints relies on a hippocampal-dependent binding function. Here, we examined how aging influences eye movement measures that reveal the amount (cumulative sampling) and extent (distribution of gaze fixations) of visual exploration. We also examined how aging influences direct (subsequent conscious recognition) and indirect (eye movement repetition effect) expressions of memory. No age differences were found in direct recognition regardless of facial viewpoint. However, the eye movement measures revealed key group differences. Compared to younger adults, older adults exhibited more cumulative sampling, a different distribution of fixations, and a larger repetition effect. Moreover, there was a positive relationship between cumulative sampling and direct recognition in younger adults, but not older adults. Neither age group showed a relationship between the repetition effect and direct recognition. Thus, despite similar direct recognition, age-related differences were observed in visual exploration and in an indirect eye-movement memory measure, suggesting that the two groups may acquire, retain, and use different facial information to guide recognition.

Facial Recognition Memory with Face Masks

Facial Recognition Memory with Face Masks

The Impact of Sleep on Face Recognition Memory: A Scoping Review.

Sleep has a major impact on a variety of human biological and cognitive functions. In particular, its impact on memory has attracted extensive research and has been amply demonstrated. However, it is still unclear whether sleep, or lack thereof, affects the ability to recognize faces. To clarify this, we conducted a scoping review on studies that included a face recognition memory task and any kind of sleep manipulation in adults without any sleep pathology. A systematic search and synthesis of peer-reviewed journal articles identified through the electronic databases Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, and PubMed was performed. A final sample of 18 articles, corresponding to 19 studies, met the eligibility criteria. The results of 13 articles suggested that sleep benefited face recognition ability, whereas two articles indicated a detrimental effect of sleep on performance, and four articles found no significant effects. This review highlights the high methodological variability between studies, in terms of sleep manipulation, retention interval, tasks used to probe face recognition, and other variables. In sum, although around one third of the studies show a beneficial effect of sleep on memory for faces, we suggest that future research should invest in replicating these findings with a stricter control of potentially confounding variables to allow stronger conclusions to be drawn.

A cross-lagged prospective network analysis of depression and anxiety and cognitive functioning components in midlife community adult women.

Scar theory proposes that heightened depression and anxiety precede and predict worse cognitive functioning outcomes, whereas the vulnerability theory posits the opposite pathway. However, most investigations on this topic have been cross-sectional, precluding causal inferences. Thus, we used cross-lagged prospective network analyses to facilitate causal inferences in understanding the relations between psychopathology and cognitive functioning components. Racially-diverse midlife women (n = 1816) participated in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation at two time-points, spanning one year apart. Five psychopathology (anxiety severity, depressed mood, somatic symptoms, positive affect, interpersonal problems) and four cognitive functioning nodes (working memory (WM), processing speed (PS), facial recognition (FCR), and verbal memory (VRM)) were assessed. All analyses adjusted for age, menopausal status, estradiol, and follicle-stimulating hormones. Contemporaneous networks yielded notable inverse between-node relations (edges) between interpersonal problems and reduced FCR and PS, and between depressed mood and lower FCR, VRM, or PS. Nodes that had the highest likelihood to bridge other constructs were positive affect, anxiety severity, WM, and VRM. Temporal networks produced edges consistent with the scar (v. vulnerability) hypotheses. Higher somatic symptoms were related to reduced PS and WM, and greater depressed mood was correlated with lower future PS and WM. Also, higher anxiety severity coincided with decreased future PS and WM. Greater positive affect was associated with stronger future PS, FCR, and WM. Also, positive affect had the strongest relations with other nodes. Findings suggest the importance of targeting symptoms and cognitive functioning simultaneously.

The mirror neuron system compensates for amygdala dysfunction - associated social deficits in individuals with higher autistic traits

The amygdala is a core node in the social brain which exhibits structural and functional abnormalities in Autism spectrum disorder and there is evidence that the mirror neuron system (MNS) can functionally compensate for impaired emotion processing following amygdala lesions. In the current study, we employed an fMRI paradigm in 241 subjects investigating MNS and amygdala responses to observation, imagination and imitation of dynamic facial expressions and whether these differed in individuals with higher (n = 77) as opposed to lower (n = 79) autistic traits. Results indicated that individuals with higher compared to lower autistic traits showed worse recognition memory for fearful faces, smaller real-life social networks, and decreased left basolateral amygdala (BLA) responses to imitation. Additionally, functional connectivity between the left BLA and the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) as well as some other MNS regions was increased in individuals with higher autistic traits, especially during imitation of fearful expressions. The left BLA-IFG connectivity significantly moderated the autistic group differences on recognition memory for fearful faces, indicating that increased amygdala-MNS connectivity could diminish the social behavioral differences between higher and lower autistic trait groups. Overall, findings demonstrate decreased imitation-related amygdala activity in individuals with higher autistic traits in the context of increased amygdala-MNS connectivity which may functionally compensate for amygdala dysfunction and social deficits. Training targeting the MNS may capitalize on this compensatory mechanism for therapeutic benefits in Autism spectrum disorder.

Attentional Features of Mindfulness are Better Predictors of Face Recognition than Empathy and Compassion-Based Constructs.

Recent research has employed measures of either empathy, compassion or mindfulness and linked better face recognition memory to higher scores of identification with all humanity and mindfulness but not empathy or compassion. Additionally, empathy, compassion and mindfulness have been suggested as concepts that intertwine, but research has not yet examined how their respective personality questionnaires map onto latent concepts. We employed these measures together to explore their factor structure and, using structural equation modelling, we investigated if the suggested latent variables predict recognition memory performance for face and non-face stimuli. Attentional notions of mindfulness described a latent factor that predicted face recognition. All self-compassion facets and the non-react mindfulness facet described a latent factor, which predicted false alarms in face recognition. Finally, empathy and compassion-based notions described one latent factor, which did not predict recognition performance. None of the latent variables predicted performance in either object or voice recognition. Collectively, findings indicate attention-based mindfulness to benefit face recognition, prompting further research into the potential of mindfulness to support the face recognition process.