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Face familiarity decisions take 200 milliseconds in the human brain: electrophysiological evidence from a Go/No-­‐go speeded task

Face familiarity decisions take 200 milliseconds in the human brain: electrophysiological evidence from a Go/No-­‐go speeded task

Authors: 
Caharel, S., Ramon, M., & Rossion, B.
Year: 
2013
Journal: 
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
Abstract: 

Recognizing a familiar face rapidly is a fundamental human brain function. Here we used scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) to determine the minimal time needed to classify a face as personally familiar or unfamiliar. Go (familiar) and No-go (unfamiliar) responses elicited clear differential waveforms from 210 milliseconds (ms) onward, this difference being first observed at right occipito-temporal electrode sites. Similar but delayed (by about 40 s) responses were observed when Go response were required to the unfamiliar rather than familiar faces, in a second group of participants. In both groups, a small increase of amplitude was also observed on the right hemisphere N170 face-sensitive component for familiar faces. However, unlike the post-200 milliseconds differential Go/No-go effect, this effect was unrelated to behavior and disappeared with repetition of unfamiliar faces. These observations indicate that accumulation of evidence within the first 200 ms post stimulus onset is sufficient for the human brain to decide whether a person is familiar based on his/her face, a time frame that puts strong constraints on the time-course of face processing.

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