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Abstract
To study top-down face processing, the present study used an experimental paradigm
in which participants detected non-existent faces in pure noise images. Conventional
BOLD signal analysis identified three regions involved in this illusory face detection.
These regions included the left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in addition to the right
fusiform face area (FFA) and right occipital face area (OFA), both of which were previously
known to be involved in both top-down and bottom-up processing of faces. We used Dynamic
Causal Modeling (DCM) and Bayesian model selection to further analyze the data, revealing
both intrinsic and modulatory effective connectivities among these three cortical
regions. Specifically, our results support the claim that the orbitofrontal cortex
plays a crucial role in the top-down processing of faces by regulating the activities
of the occipital face area, and the occipital face area in turn detects the illusory
face features in the visual stimuli and then provides this information to the fusiform
face area for further analysis.
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