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Article

N170 – An Index of Categorical Face Perception?

An ERP Study of Human, Nonhuman Primate, and Dog Faces

Published Online:November 23, 2011https://doi.org/10.1027/0269-8803/a000057

Abstract

The N170 ERP component is larger for human faces than objects and sensitive to their orientation and race. To learn how it reflects the processing of faces of different species, we recorded event-related potentials in response to upright or inverted unfamiliar faces of human beings, monkeys, and dogs of different races as well as objects. Upright and inverted faces were presented in a between-subject design and elicited a reliable N170. It decreased from human to monkey to dog faces, and inversion enhanced and delayed it for all categories. We suggest that the results favor categorical over prototypical processing.

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