Recognizing Faces, 2

Humans find it almost impossible to recognize a face if it is upside down, or lit from an unfamiliar angle, or viewed as a photographic negative. (Interestingly, individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia are sometimes able to identify a face when seen upside down.) Some studies have shown gender differences in facial recognition. In general, men tend to recognize fewer faces of women than women do, whereas no sex differences were found with regard to male faces. When attempting the complex task of recognizing faces, nerve pathways make connections in the brain to recall memories. A person’s voice can help with facial recognition. The Seminal Model of face perception, proposes three stages of face processing including recognition of the facial features, recall of memories linked with that face, and name recall—which may or may not occur in that order. The representation of an entire face may be filed in a single neuron. This is sometimes referred to as the Jennifer Aniston phenomenon. Researchers reportedly touched a single neuron inside a person’s brain and the patient reported seeing Jennifer Aniston’s face. More tomorrow.