Comparing face patch systems in macaques and humans

TLDR

Face recognition is crucial for primate social behavior, and both humans and macaques rely on specialized face-selective cortical areas whose precise organization and cross‑species correspondence remain debated. The study examined the organization of face‑selective regions across the temporal lobe in many macaque and human subjects. Using comparative neuroimaging across numerous macaque and human subjects, the authors mapped face‑selective cortical regions along the temporal lobe. Macaques exhibited six stereotypically arranged face‑selective regions, while humans had three known areas plus an additional anterior collateral sulcus region, indicating a closer anatomical correspondence than previously thought.

Abstract

Face recognition is of central importance for primate social behavior. In both humans and macaques, the visual analysis of faces is supported by a set of specialized face areas. The precise organization of these areas and the correspondence between individual macaque and human face-selective areas are debated. Here, we examined the organization of face-selective regions across the temporal lobe in a large number of macaque and human subjects. Macaques showed 6 regions of face-selective cortex arranged in a stereotypical pattern along the temporal lobe. Human subjects showed, in addition to 3 reported face areas (the occipital, fusiform, and superior temporal sulcus face areas), a face-selective area located anterior to the fusiform face area, in the anterior collateral sulcus. These results suggest a closer anatomical correspondence between macaque and human face-processing systems than previously realized.