Page 1 |
Save page Remove page | Previous | 1 of 106 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large (1000x1000 max)
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
|
i
THE NEURAL CORRELATES OF FACE RECOGNITION
by
Xiaokun Xu
_____________________________________________________________
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(PSYCHOLOGY)
August 2013
Copyright 2013 Xiaokun Xu
Object Description
| Title | The neural correlates of face recognition |
| Author | Xu, Xiaokun |
| Author email | xiaokunx@usc.edu;xiaokun82@gmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Psychology |
| School | College of Letters, Arts And Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2013-06-13 |
| Date submitted | 2013-07-26 |
| Date approved | 2013-07-26 |
| Restricted until | 2013-07-26 |
| Date published | 2013-07-26 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Biederman, Irving |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Baker, Laura A. Mel, Bartlett W. Tjan, Bosco S. |
| Abstract | Humans are exceptionally good at face recognition. Within a fraction of a second, we not only detect the presence of a face, but also determine its identity, expression, orientation, age, sex, and attractiveness. This process involves collaboration of specific regions in the cortex, but how the different face attributes are processed and represented has remained unclear. This thesis is toward the understanding of the neural correlates supporting the detection and configural coding of face, as well as the representations of various face attributes, particularly of face individuation in both normal subjects and an acquired prosopagnosics MJH. ❧ In the first study, I examined the detection threshold of face in MJH and controls. The results revealed a significant face detection deficit in MJH compared with controls, suggesting the contribution of ventral temporal cortex to face detection. Secondly, I provided a neurocomputational account of the configural effect in face perception, that is the better discrimination of whole faces, compared with isolated face parts. The computational simulation and psychophysical results suggested that it is the overlapping receptor field of Gabor kernels that coding different part of faces gave rise to the holistic representation of face. Finally, previous research has shown that the Gabor-jet model predicts almost perfectly the psychophysical similarity of faces and other complex shapes. By using this model to scale image similarities among faces, I could compare the neural representation of the high-level face attributes without the low-level image similarity confounds. The results of two fMRI adaptation experiments revealed two cortical loci - the Fusiform face area (FFA) and occipital face area (OFA) tuning to face identity in normal subjects. On the other hand, MJH’s lesions in these areas could have led to his complete loss of ability in identifying faces. Behavioral and imaging results indicate no functional plasticity that had alleviated his deficits, even after the four decades subsequent to the lesions he suffered in early childhood. Taken together, these results elicited the important role of FFA and OFA played in both detection and more abstract coding of human faces. |
| Keyword | configural effect; prosopagnosia; fMRI; face identification; FFA |
| Language | English |
| Format (imt) | application/pdf |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Xu, Xiaokun |
| Physical access | The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given. |
| Repository name | University of Southern California Digital Library |
| Repository address | USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 7002, 106 University Village, Los Angeles, California 90089-7002, USA |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-XuXiaokun-1853.pdf |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume7/etd-XuXiaokun-1853.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | i THE NEURAL CORRELATES OF FACE RECOGNITION by Xiaokun Xu _____________________________________________________________ A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PSYCHOLOGY) August 2013 Copyright 2013 Xiaokun Xu |
