Functional selectivity for face processing in the temporal voice area of early deaf individuals.

ABSTRACT: Brain systems supporting face and voice processing both contribute to the extraction of important information for social interaction (e.g., person identity). How does the brain reorganize when one of these channels is absent? Here, we explore this question by combining behavioral and multimodal neuroimaging measures (magneto-encephalography and functional imaging) in a group of early deaf humans. We show enhanced selective neural response for faces and for individual face coding in a specific region of the auditory cortex that is typically specialized for voice perception in hearing individuals. In this region, selectivity to face signals emerges early in the visual processing hierarchy, shortly after typical face-selective responses in the ventral visual pathway. Functional and effective

SUBMITTER: Benetti S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5547585 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature