Benton facial recognition test scores for predicting fusiform gyrus activity during face perception

Abstract

Face perception is a fundamental cognitive ability essential for social interactions. The Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT) is widely used to assess both normal and impaired face perception. However, whether BFRT scores could reflect neural activity associated with face perception, particularly in relation to holistic or configural face processing, remains unclear. To address this question, we administered the short form of the BFRT and acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data while participants passively viewed photographs of upright and inverted faces and houses. Regression analyses revealed that BFRT scores positively correlated with fMRI activity in the right fusiform gyrus in response to upright faces versus upright houses. Additionally, BFRT scores were positively associated with right fusiform gyrus activity in response to inverted versus upright faces. These findings suggest that BFRT scores serve as an indicator of right fusiform gyrus activity linked to holistic/configural face perception.

Keywords: Benton facial recognition test; Face; Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); Fusiform gyrus.

Fig. 1

Statistical parametric maps indicating significant right fusiform gyrus activity in response to upright faces (UF) versus upright houses (UH) (left) and inverted faces (IF) versus UF (right). Areas of activation are rendered on the spatially normalized brain of a representative participant. The blue cross marks the activation foci, and the red–yellow color scale represents the T-value. R, right hemisphere.

Fig. 2

Partial regression plots (with 95% prediction intervals) between Benton Facial Recognition Test scores and effect size in the right (R) and left (L) fusiform and parahippocampal gyri in response to upright faces (UF) versus upright houses (UH) and inverted faces (IF) versus UF. The effect size was determined by the differential parameter estimates between upright faces and upright houses or upright houses and upright faces. *, p < 0.05; n.s., p > 0.10.