Specific components of face perception in the human fusiform gyrus studied by tomographic estimates of magnetoencephalographic signals: a tool for the evaluation of non-verbal communication in psychosomatic paradigms)

AIMS The aim of this study was to determine the specific spatiotemporal activation patterns of face perception in the fusiform gyrus (FG). The FG is a key area in the specialized brain system that makes possible the recognition of face with ease and speed in our daily life. Characterization of FG response provides a quantitative method for evaluating the fundamental functions that contribute to non-verbal communication in various psychosomatic paradigms. METHODS The MEG signal was recorded during passive visual stimulus presentation with three stimulus types - Faces, Hands and Shoes. The stimuli were presented separately to the central and peripheral visual fields. We performed statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis of tomographic estimates of activity to compare activity between a pre- and post-stimulus period in the same object (baseline test), and activity between objects (active test). The time course of regional activation curves was analyzed for each stimulus condition. RESULTS The SPM baseline test revealed a response to each stimulus type, which was very compact at the initial segment of main M(FG)170. For hands and shoes the area of significant change remains compact. For faces the area expanded widely within a few milliseconds and its boundaries engulfed the other object areas. The active test demonstrated that activity for faces was significantly larger than the activity for hands. The same face specific compact area as in the baseline test was identified, and then again expanded widely. For each stimulus type and presentation in each one of the visual fields locations, the analysis of the time course of FG activity identified three components in the FG: M(FG)100, M(FG)170, and M(FG)200 - all showed preference for faces. CONCLUSION Early compact face-specific activity in the FG expands widely along the occipito-ventral brain within a few milliseconds. The significant difference between faces and the other object stimuli in M(FG)100 shows that processing of faces is already differentiated from processing of other objects within 100 ms. Standardization of the three face-specific MEG components could have diagnostic value for the integrity of the initial process of non-verbal communication in various psychosomatic paradigms.