ArticleNature communications2024
Face cells encode object parts more than facial configuration of illusory faces.
Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Early face deprivation leads to long-lasting deficits in cortical face processing.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Mapping macaque to human cortex with natural scene responses.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Face pareidolia minimally engages macaque face selective neurons.Progress in neurobiology · 2025Article
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Abstract
Humans perceive illusory faces in everyday objects with a face-like configuration, an illusion known as face pareidolia. Face-selective regions in humans and monkeys, believed to underlie face perception, have been shown to respond to face pareidolia images. Here, we investigated whether pareidolia selectivity in macaque inferotemporal cortex is explained by the face-like configuration that drives the human perception of illusory faces. We found that face cells responded selectively to pareidolia images. This selectivity did not correlate with human faceness ratings and did not require the face-like configuration. Instead, it was driven primarily by the "eye" parts of the illusory face, which are simply object parts when viewed in isolation. In contrast, human perceptual pareidolia relied primarily on the global configuration and could not be explained by "eye" parts. Our results indicate that face-cells encode local, generic features of illusory faces, in misalignment with human visual perception, which requires holistic information.
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