Visual category-selectivity for faces, places and objects emerges along different developmental trajectories.
Open accessAbstract
The organization of category-selective regions in ventral visual cortex is well characterized in human adults. We investigated a crucial, previously unaddressed, question about how this organization emerges developmentally. We contrasted the developmental trajectories for face-, object-, and place-selective activation in the ventral visual cortex in children, adolescents, and adults. Although children demonstrated adult-like organization in object- and place-related cortex, as a group they failed to show consistent face-selective activation in classical face regions. The lack of a consistent neural signature for faces was attributable to (1) reduced face-selectivity and extent of activation within the regions that will become the FFA, OFA, and STS in adults, and (2) smaller volumes and considerable variability in the locus of face-selective activation in individual children. In contrast, adolescents showed an adult-like pattern of face-selective activation, although it was more right-lateralized. These findings reveal critical age-related differences in the emergence of category-specific functional organization in the visual cortex and support a model of brain development in which specialization emerges from interactions between experience-dependent learning and the maturing brain.
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The volume changes contrast with face-sensitive cortex reports, where younger groups have smaller clusters than adults and adolescents fall between.
“These changes differ from the reports in face-sensitive cortex, which present smaller activated clusters in younger age groups compared with adults, with adolescents somewhere in between (Golarai et al., 2007, 2010; Scherf et al., 2007).”
From The Development of Cortical Sensitivity to Visual Word Forms (2011) · cites this paper as Scherf et al., 2007
Volume changes in fMRI activations are documented for face processing, but no comparable data exist for the VWFA.
“Developmental changes in the volume of fMRI activations have been recorded in the domain of face processing (Golarai, Liberman, Yoon, & Grill-Spector, 2010; Golarai et al., 2007; Scherf, Behrmann, Humphreys, & Luna, 2007), but to our knowledge, there are no data on parallel changes in the VWFA.”
From The Development of Cortical Sensitivity to Visual Word Forms (2011) · cites this paper as Scherf et al., 2007
In Scherf et al. (2007), no further changes in functional specificity for face processing were noted between adolescence and adulthood, but activity became more bilateral with age.
“In this study, no further changes in functional specificity for face processing were noted between adolescence and adulthood, but activity became more bilateral with age.”
From The social brain in adolescence: evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies (2011) · cites this paper as Scherf et al., 2007
In Scherf et al. (2007), an age-related increase in size of face-selective FFA was observed between childhood and adolescence, as well as an increase in face-selective superior temporal sulcus (STS).
“an age-related increase in size of face-selective FFA was observed between childhood and adolescence, as well as an increase in face-selective superior temporal sulcus (STS) (Scherf et al., 2007).”
From The social brain in adolescence: evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies (2011) · cites this paper as Scherf et al., 2007
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- Authors
- Scherf, K. S., Behrmann, M., Humphreys, K., & Luna, B.
- Affiliations
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Carnegie Mellon University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Scherf, K. Suzanne
- Venue
- Developmental Science
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2007-04-02
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- F15-30
- ISSN
- 1363-755X (ISSN-L)
- 1467-7687
- OpenAlex
- W2004995289
- Cited by
- 395
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 25 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 20
- FWCI
- 9.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Locations
- Developmental Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- KiltHub Repository (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- KiltHub Repository
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (T32HD049354, U19HD035469)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Keywords
- ventral visual cortex, face agnosia, fusiform face area, superior temporal sulcus, brain development, children, adolescents, age differences, laterality, experience-dependent learning, functional specialization
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aging, Brain Mapping, Child, Child, Preschool, Critical Period, Psychological, Face, Female, Humans, Functional Laterality, Male, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Photic Stimulation, Visual Cortex
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