Fusiform face area : domain specific or domain general?

• Main Author: Ho, Corrine Meiying.
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/48826
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

One of the most important visual stimuli to humans are faces. Not only do we encounter it daily, we also draw critical information from it to facilitate social interaction. Some behavioural, neuropsychological and neurophysiological evidence have targeted a region within the human ventral cortex thought to be involved in face perception, labelled the fusiform face area (FFA). However, the domain specific view of face perception is challenged by a domain general view. It is now known that expertise effects could account for activation in the FFA. Here, we review the literature on the two contrasting views surrounding the FFA. Research conducted by Nancy Kanwisher and Isabel Gauthier, who are the leading researchers in this field of research, will be the focus of this literature review. Supporting evidence for each view will also be included. Overall, this paper aims to provide a general framework for understanding the controversy surrounding research on the FFA. Critical discussions will also be made at the conclusion.