Editing Face perception (section)

=== BOLD fMRI mapping and the fusiform face area ===
The majority of fMRI studies use [[Blood-oxygen-level-dependent imaging|blood oxygen level dependent]] (BOLD) contrast to determine which areas of the brain are activated by various cognitive functions.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=KannurpattiRypmaBiswal|first1=S.S.B.|title=Prediction of task-related BOLD fMRI with amplitude signatures of resting-state fMRI|journal=Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience|date=March 2012|volume=6|pages=7|doi=10.3389/fnsys.2012.00007|pmid=22408609|pmc=3294272|first2=Bart|last2=Biswal|first3=B|last3=Bharat |doi-access=free}}</ref>

One study used BOLD [[functional magnetic resonance imaging|fMRI]] mapping to identify activation in the brain when subjects viewed both cars and faces. They found that the [[occipital face area]], the fusiform face area, the [[superior temporal sulcus]], the amygdala, and the anterior/inferior cortex of the temporal lobe all played roles in contrasting faces from cars, with initial face perception beginning in the fusiform face area and occipital face areas. This entire region forms a network that acts to distinguish faces. The processing of faces in the brain is known as a "sum of parts" perception.<ref name="Gold 2012 427–434">{{cite journal|last=Gold|first=J.M.|author2=Mundy, P.J.|author3=Tjan, B.S.|title=The perception of a face is no more than the sum of its parts|journal=Psychological Science|year=2012|volume=23|issue=4|pages=427–434|doi=10.1177/0956797611427407|pmid=22395131|pmc=3410436}}</ref>

However, the individual parts of the face must be processed first in order to put all of the pieces together. In early processing, the occipital face area contributes to face perception by recognizing the eyes, nose, and mouth as individual pieces.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pitcher|first=D.|author2=Walsh, V.|author3=Duchaine, B.|title=The role of the occipital face area in the cortical face perception network|journal=Experimental Brain Research|year=2011|volume=209|issue=4|pages=481–493|doi=10.1007/s00221-011-2579-1|pmid=21318346|s2cid=6321920}}</ref>

Researchers also used BOLD fMRI mapping to determine the patterns of activation in the brain when parts of the face were presented in combination and when they were presented singly.<ref name=Arcurio12>{{cite journal|last=Arcurio|first=L.R.|author2=Gold, J.M.|author3=James, T.W.|year=2012|title=The response of face-selective cortex with single face parts and part combinations|journal=Neuropsychologia|volume=50|issue=10|pages=2454–9|doi=10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.06.016|pmc=3423083|pmid=22750118}}</ref> The occipital face area is activated by the visual perception of single features of the face, for example, the nose and mouth, and preferred combination of two-eyes over other combinations. This suggests that the occipital face area recognizes the parts of the face at the early stages of recognition.

On the contrary, the fusiform face area shows no preference for single features, because the fusiform face area is responsible for "holistic/configural" information,<ref name=Arcurio12/> meaning that it puts all of the processed pieces of the face together in later processing. This is supported by a study which found that regardless of the orientation of a face, subjects were impacted by the configuration of the individual facial features. Subjects were also impacted by the coding of the relationships between those features. This shows that processing is done by a summation of the parts in later stages of recognition.<ref name="Gold 2012 427–434" />