Seeing the face through the eyes: a developmental perspective on face expertise

Teodora Gliga*, Gergely Csibra

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Book/Report typesChapterpeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

Most people are experts in face recognition. We propose that the special status of this particular body part in telling individuals apart is the result of a developmental process that heavily biases human infants and children to attend towards the eyes of others. We review the evidence supporting this proposal, including neuroimaging results and studies in developmental disorders, like autism. We propose that the most likely explanation of infants' bias towards eyes is the fact that eye gaze serves important communicative functions in humans.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationFrom Action to Cognition
EditorsC. Hofsten, K. Rosander
Pages323-339
Number of pages17
DOIs
StatePublished - 2007
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameProgress in Brain Research
Volume164
ISSN (Print)0079-6123

Keywords

  • amygdala
  • development
  • expertise
  • face recognition
  • gaze perception
  • infancy

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