Face Patch Resting State Networks Link Face Processing to Social Cognition

Authors

Caspar M. Schwiedrzik, Laboratory of Neural Systems, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, United States of America.
Wilbert Zarco, Laboratory of Neural Systems, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, United States of America.
Stefan Everling, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Winrich A. Freiwald, Laboratory of Neural Systems, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, United States of America.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2015

Journal

PLoS biology

Volume

13

Issue

9

First Page

e1002245

URL with Digital Object Identifier

10.1371/journal.pbio.1002245

Abstract

Faces transmit a wealth of social information. How this information is exchanged between face-processing centers and brain areas supporting social cognition remains largely unclear. Here we identify these routes using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging in macaque monkeys. We find that face areas functionally connect to specific regions within frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices, as well as subcortical structures supporting emotive, mnemonic, and cognitive functions. This establishes the existence of an extended face-recognition system in the macaque. Furthermore, the face patch resting state networks and the default mode network in monkeys show a pattern of overlap akin to that between the social brain and the default mode network in humans: this overlap specifically includes the posterior superior temporal sulcus, medial parietal, and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, areas supporting high-level social cognition in humans. Together, these results reveal the embedding of face areas into larger brain networks and suggest that the resting state networks of the face patch system offer a new, easily accessible venue into the functional organization of the social brain and into the evolution of possibly uniquely human social skills.