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Comparative Study
. 2004 Oct;45(7):1228-34.
doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00321.x.

Face-sensitive cortical processing in early infancy

Hanife Halit  1 , Gergely Csibra, Agnes Volein, Mark H Johnson
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Face-sensitive cortical processing in early infancy

Hanife Halit et al. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2004 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Debates about the developmental origins of adult face processing could be directly addressed if a clear infant neural marker could be identified. Previous research with infants remains open to criticism regarding the control stimuli employed.

Methods: We recorded ERPs from adults and 3-month-old infants while they watched faces and matched visual noise stimuli.

Results: We observed similar amplitude enhancement for faces in the infant N290 and adult N170. In contrast, the infant P400 showed only a latency effect, making it unlikely to be the main precursor of the adult N170.

Conclusions: We conclude that there is some degree of specificity of cortical processing of faces as early as 3 months of age.

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