A Revised Neural Framework for Face Processing

Face perception relies on computations carried out in face-selective cortical areas. These areas have been intensively investigated for two decades, and this work has been guided by an influential neural model suggested by Haxby and colleagues in 2000. Here, we review new findings about face-selective areas that suggest the need for modifications and additions to the Haxby model. We suggest a revised framework based on (a) evidence for multiple routes from early visual areas into the face-processing system, (b) information about the temporal characteristics of these areas, (c) indications that the fusiform face area contributes to the perception of changeable aspects of faces, (d) the greatly elevated…