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Is right hemisphere specialization for face discrimination specific to humans?
Author(s) -
Broad Kevin D.,
Mimmack Michael L.,
Kendrick Keith M.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1460-9568.2000.00934.x
Subject(s) - neuroscience , hippocampus , amygdala , psychology , temporal cortex , cortex (anatomy) , right hemisphere , posterior cingulate , basal (medicine) , lateralization of brain function , biology , cognitive psychology , endocrinology , insulin
Patterns of neural activation during face recognition were investigated in sheep by quantifying altered c‐fos mRNA expression in situations where faces (sheep vs. human) can (faces upright) and cannot (faces inverted) be discriminated. Exposure to upright faces selectively increased expression significantly more in the right inferior temporal cortex than in the left, and active choice between upright faces additionally increased expression bilaterally in basal amygdala and hippocampus (CA1–4). Exposure to inverted faces did not lead to enhanced activation in the right inferior temporal cortex, amygdala or hippocampus but instead increased expression levels in the diagonal band of Broca, parietal and cingulate cortices. These results show that discrimination of upright faces in sheep preferentially engages the right temporal cortex, as it does in humans, and that performance of active choices between such faces may additionally involve the basal amygdala and hippocampus.