Brain regions involved in identity memory: Research reports

Face recognition

August 2006

No specialized face area

Another study has come out casting doubt on the idea that there is an area of the brain specialized for faces. The fusiform gyrus has been dubbed the "fusiform face area", but a detailed imaging study has revealed that different patches of neurons respond to different images. However, twice as many of the patches are predisposed to faces versus inanimate objects (cars and abstract sculptures), and patches that respond to faces outnumber those that respond to four-legged animals by 50%. But patches that respond to the same images are not physically connected, implying a "face area" may not even exist.
The study was published online 6 August and will be published in the September issue of Nature Neuroscience. Full reference
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060830005949.htm

December 2004

How the brain is wired for faces

The question of how special face recognition is — whether it is a process quite distinct from recognition of other objects, or whether we are simply highly practiced at this particular type of recognition — has been a subject of debate for some time. A new imaging study has concluded that the fusiform face area (FFA), a brain region crucially involved in face recognition, extracts configural information about faces rather than processing spatial information on the parts of faces. The study also indicated that the FFA is only involved in face recognition.
The study appeared in the December 2 issue of Neuron. Full reference
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-12/cp-htb112304.htm

How the brain recognizes a face

Face recognition involves at least three stages. An imaging study has now localized these stages to particular regions of the brain. It was found that the inferior occipital gyrus was particularly sensitive to slight physical changes in faces. The right fusiform gyrus (RFG), appeared to be involved in making a more general appraisal of the face and compares it to the brain's database of stored memories to see if it is someone familiar. The third activated region, the anterior temporal cortex (ATC), is believed to store facts about people and is thought to be an essential part of the identifying process.
The study was published in the January 1 issue of Nature Neuroscience. Full reference
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/4086319.stm

October 2004

Can't place a name to the face you just saw?

We’re all familiar with that “I know I know it, I just can’t bring it to mind” feeling. Among researchers, this is known as FOK — “feeling of knowing”. It is a common phenomenon, that occurs more frequently as we age. A new imaging study involving a dozen people aged 22 to 32, has investigated the FOK state using pictures of 300 famous and not-so-famous faces. They found that the medial prefrontal cortex showed activity during the FOK state, but not when the subjects either knew or did not know a face. Possibly this reflects a state in which subjects were evaluating the correctness of retrieved information. Additionally, the anterior cingulate area became activated both in the FOK state and when subjects successfully retrieved a name but with some effort. The anterior cingulate area is associated with cognitive conflict processes which allow a person to detect errors in automatic behavior responses. The results suggest that, during a FOK state, the brain may be enlisting additional processes to aid in recalling accurate memories.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-10/uoa-cpa102604.htm

Autobiographical

May 2005

Long-term storage of autobiographical memories

By studying in detail the ability of patients with selective brain damage to recall events in their past, researchers have helped settle a long-standing controversy about whether long-term memory of one's personal experiences continue to be stored in the medial temporal lobe, or whether they gradually become independent of this area. The evidence from this new study suggests that autobiographical memories gradually become distributed throughout the neocortex.
The research was published in the June 2 issue of Neuron. Full reference
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/cp-wlm052605.htm

November 2004

What happens in the brain when we remember our own past

A new imaging study has managed to distinguish between two types of autobiographical memory — the “facts” of our lives (e.g., knowing that you attended your cousin’s wedding last year), and the experiences of our lives (e.g., remembering traveling to the wedding, the events and people). As with much autobiographical memory research, the study used a diary-type procedure, whereby volunteers spent several months recording the events of their lives on a micro cassette recorder, as well as personal facts of their lives. These recordings were then played back to the volunteers while their brains were being scanned with fMRI. The results showed that the two types of autobiographical memory engaged different parts of the brain, even when the memories concerned the same contents. Recall of personal episodic memories more strongly engaged parts of the frontal lobes involved in self-awareness, as well as areas involved in visual memory.
The study was published in the November issue of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. Full reference
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-11/bcfg-whi111604.htm

September 2004

New technique sheds light on autobiographical memory

A new technique for studying autobiographical memory has revealed new findings about autobiographical memory, and may prove useful in studying age-related cognitive impairment. Previous inconsistencies between controlled laboratory studies of memory (typically, subjects are asked to remember items they have previously seen in the laboratory, such as words presented on a computer screen) and studies of autobiographical memory have seemed to indicate that the brain may function differently in the two processes. However, such differences might instead reflect how the memories are measured. In an effort to provide greater control over the autobiographical memories, volunteer subjects were given cameras and instructed to take pictures of campus scenes. The subjects were also instructed to remember the taking of each picture as an individual event, noting the physical conditions and their psychological state, such as their mood and associations with the subject of the images. The subjects were then shown a selection of campus photos they had not taken. While their brains were scanned, they were then shown a mix of their own photos with those they had not taken, and asked to indicate whether each photo was new, seen earlier in the lab, or one they had taken themselves. The researchers found that recalling the autobiographical memories activated many of the same brain areas as laboratory memories (the medial temporal lobe and the prefrontal cortex); however, they also activated brain areas associated with "self-referential processing" (processing information about one's self), and regions associated with retrieval of visual and spatial information, as well as showing a higher level of activity in the recollection areas in the hippocampus.
The report will appear in the November issue of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-09/du-blm092904.htm