Cortical specialisation for face processing: face-sensitive event-related potential components in 3- and 12-month-old infants
Abstract
The adult N170 is considered to be an electrophysiological marker of specialised mechanisms for face processing, but little is known about its developmental origin. Previous work has identified two face-sensitive infant ERP components (N290 and P400) (J. Cog. Neurosci. 14 (2002), 199). In the present study, we assessed the specificity (to upright human faces) of these infant components at 3 and 12 months. At 12 months the degree of specificity observed in both components was similar to that seen in the adult N170. In contrast, at 3 months of age the N290 and P400 did not show the same level of specificity for human faces as that observed at 12 months. Our findings suggest that (1) both face-sensitive components increase in their specificity for upright human faces during development, and (2) the adult N170 is not preceded by a single developmental precursor, but rather emerges as a consequence of the integration of two functionally and morphologically distinct components (N290 and P400).
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The P400 is a positive-going deflection that typically peaks around 300 to 600 ms after stimulus onset.
“Secondly, the P400 is a positive-going deflection that typically peaks around 300 to 600 ms after stimulus onset [40–42].”
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- Authors
- Halit, H., de Haan, M., & Johnson, M. H.
- Affiliations
- University of London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Halit, H
- ORCID
- Johnson, M.H
- Venue
- NeuroImage
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2003-07
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 1180-1193
- ISSN
- 1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2078151790
- Cited by
- 338
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 46 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 4.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Face recognition and analysis
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Keywords
- face processing, N170, P400, event-related potentials, infant brain development
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Haplorhini, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Face, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Orientation, Visual Perception
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